Our Tampa plant had a busy month this April. They successfully completed a reclamation project of their slag field and unloaded nearly 40,500 metric tons of slag. Additionally, they only had 75% of their total workforce operating due to several different circumstances while they undertook these massive projects. All things considered, these two undertakings would put a strain on any facility. However, despite all these other challenges, our Tampa plant was also able to produce 32,223 metric tons of SuperCem product to the highest quality – ASTM grade 120 slag cement, beating their previous production record by more than 2,000 metric tons!
When asked how the plant was able to accomplish such an achievement despite all the other challenges it was facing, production coordinator Steven Anderson attributed their success to three primary reasons.
The first reason was the success of the plant’s cross-training program. Each employee was thoroughly trained to perform the job at a level above his or her own. Meaning that utility personnel were also trained to do the job of the process attendants, and the process attendants were trained to do the job of the control room supervisor. Steven explains that recently, there have been a higher than usual number of absences and transfers from the Tampa plant. However, because of this cross-training, there is always someone ready to take on any role at a moment’s need. This allowed our Tampa plant to run 24/7 all month long.
The second reason Steven gives is proper maintenance of all of our machinery. He explains that the Tampa plant gives its maintenance crew the appropriate amount of time needed to perform all the machinery’s proper maintenance. He highlights the lack of significant delays due to machinery malfunction, allowing the plant to produce at full capacity.
Finally, he highlights the sales team for their continued effort to increase sales. He explains that to be able to produce this much, you must have storage space in the plant. Having strong sales allows us to keep producing products.
More than anything, Steven wanted to highlight the role teamwork played in this achievement.
Well done Tampa team!
