Cardinal Glass Industries was established in 1977, and today, the company has 49 locations with more than 10,000 employees nationwide. One of these locations includes a large manufacturing plant in Jessup, Pennsylvania. Cardinal Glass is a laminated glass (LG) manufacturer that produces windows, which contain specialized coated glass that helps lessen the sun's glare and prevents heat capture. This highly durable, energy-efficient, warm-edge insulating glass has the industry’s lowest failure rate and comes with a 20-year, 150% credit warranty. No other LG manufacturer will offer such a guarantee.
Cardinal Glass desired to achieve overall improvement in efficiency, product quality, satisfaction of employees and mitigation of safety risks. The manufacturer knew to achieve these goals, it needed to embrace continuous improvement and begin implementing lean throughout the facility. Cardinal Glass has worked with NEPIRC, part of the Pennsylvania MEP and the MEP National Network, on several training initiatives in the past, and once again turned to the trusted advisors there for help.
NEPIRC is a great resource for manufacturing in Northeastern PA and offers great training programs!
Cardinal Glass knew it could count on NEPIRC’s Lean 6S training to provide the results it was looking to achieve. Lean 6S is often thought of as the foundation of continuous improvement, so NEPIRC felt this would be a good fit for Cardinal Glass. NEPIRC’s onsite trainer taught participants how to apply the six activities that are at the core of the 6S system (sorting, setting in order, shine, standardization, sustainment and safety). Additionally, participants learned how to perform a workplace scan, create and use a red tag system, effectively use visual management to control behavior, “right-size” work in progress and effectively use triggers to replenish material.