CTS Wins with 5S and Product Design Support from Missouri Enterprise

Sikeston, Missouri, is the proud home of Construction Trailer Specialists (CTS), an industry leader in specialized heavy-duty trailers for the construction and agricultural industries. Their product lines include specialized trailers used for scrap steel, construction and demolition hauling, road building and paving, agricultural uses and other specialty applications. CTS also produces custom units to efficiently haul tough-to-handle materials such as large coils, coal, clay and other goods that present hauling challenges.

CTS President Tom Collins knows the value of a clean and organized facility, both for operational efficiency and as a critical element of a positive workplace environment. Upon his arrival a few years ago, Tom quickly recognized CTS would benefit from professional assistance to help them implement 5S workplace organization principles, and to give them the little extra “engineering horsepower” they needed to make design improvements quickly and efficiently. He reached out to the experts at Missouri Enterprise, part of the MEP National Network™, for assistance.

Missouri Enterprise had just the expertise CTS needed to conquer both challenges. One of their lean manufacturing project managers came in to teach CTS employees about 5S, explaining what the elements of sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustainability mean and the benefits they bring. He then spent time on the floor, encouraging employees to use what they’d learned and guiding them as they reorganized and cleaned critical areas to align with 5S principles.

On the engineering side, one of Missouri Enterprise’s product design experts was brought in to help CTS make design improvements to their elliptical end dump trailers. These trailers endure heavy duty use in harsh material environments, and they require special structural bracing to make them strong enough for the beating they take on the job. When Missouri Enterprise arrived to assist with design changes, CTS explained that their existing design for body braces had an “added on” look and feel that wasn’t truly integrated into the trailer’s overall structural design.

Missouri Enterprise helped create a new design and drawings to vastly improve the structural strength and integrity of the trailer unit while at the same time eliminating hard-to-paint areas that were prone to rust and degradation. The unit also presents a better aesthetic appeal, looking like the precision-designed product it is. The resulting design was more efficient to produce and more durable and efficient in the field, resulting in higher profitability for CTS and greater end-user customer satisfaction.