Process Over Product: Unlocking True Abrasive Value

By David Jescovitch, Abrasives Specialist Manager, Weiler Abrasives

Helping customers solve their grinding, cutting and surface conditioning challenges and reach their goals isn’t just about finding a product that saves them money. Real problem-solving happens when abrasives experts can work side by side with fabricators, shop floor managers, purchasing managers and the C-suite to troubleshoot bottlenecks, improve productivity, and make these physical jobs safer and more efficient.

In my 41 years working in various technical, sales and marketing roles with Weiler Abrasives, I’ve built deep expertise that I apply to help customers solve even their toughest challenges. Here are some common questions I get from our customers that may help your operation.

What is the most important first step for an operation to take if they want to make improvements in their process?

The most important thing for any operation looking to find improvements is the need to understand what their goals are and communicate those clearly. I may talk to the purchasing manager and they want to reduce consumable costs. Then I talk to the operator and they want an abrasive that provides a smooth cut every time and makes their job easier. The vice president of operations may want to reduce overtime spend or get more product out the door.

Once the operation aligns on what their goals truly are, I can understand their business and be a true partner to help them get there. Do they want to reduce overtime, or are they struggling to get new jobs and running at only 50% capacity? If their goal is to reduce overtime and speed up processes, that helps me determine the best way to help them with their abrasives.  

My job is to help them meet their goal, not just to sell a product. To help uncover this, it’s important for an operation to consider several key questions, including: what is our biggest issue or challenge, what do we want to accomplish this year, and what is our budget? 

To truly achieve success, it’s critical that upper management be involved in this process. They should meet with the abrasive experts, be able to define the organization’s goals, and help ensure that their entire team shares and supports the vision and goals.

In most cases, it is just a matter of switching their abrasive product to save money and time?

One of the most common issues I encounter is a customer using the wrong product for the application. I might go into a facility and see that a plant operator is using a grinding wheel that's hardly used before it's thrown away. The operator might complain that they are being given cheap junk, but the buyer sees that a lot of the product is wasted so they continue to buy the lowest-cost option. It's a cycle, and everyone is trying to do the best job they can. My first step is to get them to stop focusing on the product itself. The real gains come from overall process improvement. Instead of just switching from grinding wheel “A” to grinding wheel “B,” they might need a different type of abrasive altogether. Perhaps a flap disc would be a better choice, or a zirconia or ceramic wheel would get the job done faster and more efficiently.

That type of change may speed up the process, reduce labor costs or even remove part of the process entirely. And that is determined by analyzing the data. Take an example of a shipyard. If the fabricator is going deep into the ship and it takes 20 minutes to get to the point of work and they can only carry a small number of supplies, do you want them to use a faster cutting wheel that doesn’t last as long? In this case a longer lasting wheel that cuts slower may be the better option because the operator won’t have to make that trip to get another wheel. Or in an assembly line process, using a wheel that makes the grinding process 20% faster may just be creating a bottleneck somewhere else along the line, so it’s not actually saving time or money. You need to evaluate the entire process.

The Weiler Consumable Productivity (WCP) program helps operations find cost and time savings by looking at all factors involved. We conduct an on-site visit and use a process that measures real-world data to bring measurable results to the shop floor.

Can you give an example of a specific instance where a customer was facing a tough challenge that you helped solve?

I was working with a general fabricator who wanted to speed up their process. When I met with the welding foreman and an operator, the operator showed me the grinding wheel he was using and said he needed something that would last longer. But after I spoke with his supervisor, I learned the real issue was that they were running overtime and falling behind. The operator’s goal was a longer-lasting wheel, but the company's goal was increased throughput and speed. 

I determined that the best solution was to use a different product. I ran a flap disc for their specific tool and material instead of their usual grinding wheel. This reduced the total grinding time for that part from 1 hour to 45 minutes. With several operators doing this all day, that 25% reduction in grind time made a huge difference, reducing their overtime and helping them catch up.

What is the collaboration process like with most customers, and why is it so key to cooperate and work together?

The most important part is finding the right people to work with. I find that almost everybody has the authority to say “no,” but very few have the authority to say “yes.” But it's not just about that person. You have to take everyone's perspective into account. I listen to the operator who doesn't want something that vibrates or is hard to use. I want to give them a tool that makes their job easier, that runs smoother and cuts faster, so they can produce more without having to push as hard. But we also want to balance that with the operation’s goals, whether those are increasing throughput or reducing labor costs.

It's always critical for operations to look at time versus cost. If it’s an assembly line process and your new wheel cuts 10 times faster, this may cause a bottleneck somewhere else. Your cutting wheel may be cutting faster but it’s not getting anything out the door faster, so is it truly helping you? My job is to listen and gather that information and then find the most valuable solution.

Using our WCP program, we test and document the data, and we show the savings in dollars and cents as well as in man-hours. This kind of information gives an executive what they need to see how the solution helps them. At the end of the day, my job is to earn trust and become a true partner to help a company meet their goals.