Smart story
Power up: A smarter journey for a transformer manufacturer
A conversation with Deloitte’s Rick Burke and Jon Tidd
Transformers convert electricity from one voltage to another—a change that goes unnoticed by many. But not all transformations are so subtle, especially when it comes to smart manufacturing transformations. Deloitte Smart Manufacturing leaders Rick Burke and Jon Tidd are helping a transformer manufacturer take on a massive transformation of its own, fueled by a powerful cloud-enabled, integrated industrial development platform. Paired with a comprehensive workflow and workforce plan that was brought to life at The Smart Factory by Deloitte @ Wichita experiential center, the manufacturer is poised to power tomorrow’s possibilities with today’s leading solutions.
"Changing currents"
The transformer manufacturer came to Deloitte with a lofty goal to reach by the end of 2024: 700,000 transformers, a 40% uptick in units produced at its factories. Its initial focus was on operational capacity in order to reach that goal, but a deep evaluation revealed hidden problems and big opportunities for growth.
At first, this sparked conversations around supply chain optimization. Burke and Tidd explored ways to enhance the company’s supply chain efficiency through tech implementation, supply assurance, and other avenues to strengthen overall capacity. However, a closer look revealed another more urgent problem: workforce retention.
The post-COVID surge in attrition at the manufacturer was alarmingly high: 50% of new hires quit within the first 90 days, and the company was losing 30% of its workforce annually. How do you increase production if you’re constantly training new workers? This discovery required a complete shift in the entire solution strategy—one that takes a “big picture” approach.
Collaboration: The power source of value
To help remedy the workforce woes, Deloitte’s Smart Manufacturing team partnered with the Human Capital practice. The Human Capital team conducted a survey that uncovered root causes of the manufacturer’s talent issues, such as poor onboarding and lack of sufficient air conditioning in the facilities.
According to Burke, there were many talent questions that needed answers. “How are workers promoted or trained to be managers and supervisors? How can they invest in employees long-term and improve the worker experience? It’s important to keep people for a career and not just a job.”
To find these answers, they helped bridge the gap between the client’s human resources and operations teams and developed a workforce plan aligned to both teams’ needs. Additionally, Deloitte’s Smart Manufacturing and Human Capital teams engaged the workforce by having the manufacturer’s team members work directly with them to advance their operations. One of the plant managers is co-leading the smart manufacturing workstream Tidd. The goal is to empower their own teams to become catalysts for lasting impact.
At The Smart Factory @ Wichita, we furthered the value of collaboration. The Smart Factory is where the manufacturer’s leadership across engineering, management, and operations were able to see possibilities come to life. We highlighted real-world use cases from companies that faced similar problems—but found different solutions designed for their specific smart manufacturing needs. By showcasing the art of the possible, the manufacturer’s path forward was centered on working together to create collective value across the entire business.
From transformers to transformation
To spearhead their smart manufacturing transformation, Burke and Tidd are helping implement a scalable platform that will help the organization see, control, and analyze its manufacturing data to allow engineers, operators, and site managers to make better decisions and become more productive. They are working with the transformer producer’s information technology and operational technology teams to integrate the solution into its legacy systems to enable greater visibility throughout its operations.
As Tidd says, this new oversight is an opportunity for everyone. “It’s been an exciting journey to work collaboratively across the ecosystem’s stakeholders to rapidly create and deploy the right platform for the right users with the right insights at the right time.”
Along with this, Burke and Tidd invited members of the manufacturer’s workforce to become drivers of the value delivered by the platform. A plant manager is overseeing the deployment and positioning his team to manage their own success. “It’s about empowering them to move from understanding what these new technologies are and what’s being asked of them to believing in it and owning it,” says Tidd.
As the manufacturer continues to shape its smart manufacturing capabilities, Deloitte’s Smart Manufacturing team is helping it explore growth opportunities as well. For instance, the company’s three-phase transformers generate 33% of its revenue but represent only 15% of the units produced. How can the manufacturer increase production on those transformers to drive revenue and deliver on demand?
Like transformers, Deloitte’s Smart Manufacturing team is spearheading change, guiding the currents to meet the client’s needs. By beginning with one of the manufacturer’s campuses, they are understanding the inner workings of its operations. What the team learns there will enable the scaling of bespoke solutions across the client’s many campuses. By leveraging The Smart Factory by Deloitte @ Wichita experiential center and Deloitte’s Smart Manufacturing offering, the transformer manufacturer is supercharging its operations to convert the possible into competitive advantage.
