Jose Montalvo · Systems & production records

Capturing the data at the machine

Paper where paper belongs — at the point the work actually happens.

10

Weekly counts — with an owner and a named back-up

Wieland Metal Services · Operations Manager · 2025–2026

What it is
One sheet per area listing every consumable with its re-order limit, and a summary block assigning each list an owner, a frequency and a back-up.
Why it existed
We were running out of the cheap things that stop an expensive line — strapping, interleave paper, slings, burn-off scrapers.
What changed
A standing count with a name on it. The back-up column is the part that matters: when the owner is out, the count still happens.
Weekly supply inventory count across six areasWeekly tinning metals and accessories count sheet
Six areas on one page — packaging, coil slings, tinning, accessories, cores, pallets — each item with its limit and a re-order flag. The summary at the bottom gives every list an owner, an item count, a frequency, a named back-up and an initials box. The tinning sheet is the same idea at department level, down to the waste pick-up levels for dross and slag. Names blacked out.Tap a page to open it full size
11

Receiving control at the dock

Wieland Metal Services · Operations Manager · 2025–2026

What it is
A log at the dock door for what arrived, and a controlled inspection report that records the load skid by skid.
Why it existed
Damage found a week later is an argument. Damage found at the truck is a claim.
What changed
Condition recorded at the door with the receiver's initials on it, and the inspection report under document control — index, revision, effective date — so it holds up in an audit.
Receiving log sheet kept at the dockReceiving inspection report, Form 38
The dock log: date, item, coil count and total weight, condition, who received it — and "do not remove from receiving log" across the top, because it walked. The inspection report is Form 38, Revision 0, effective 25AUG2025; this load came in seven skids, 17,020 lbs, six good and one damaged edge. Customer names and the order number blacked out.Tap a page to open it full size
12

Sending the problem back to the customer

Wieland Metal Services · Operations Manager · 2025–2026

What it is
A written notice to a customer shipping us coil, naming three recurring problems with their loads — incomplete paperwork, coil cores narrower than the metal, and weights that didn't match the coils — and stating exactly what had to change.
Why it existed
We were absorbing their errors. Unwinding and rewinding coil to our standard sizes, re-weighing loads to get a traceable number, chasing documents before we could even receive the truck. None of it was billed, and all of it was quietly becoming normal.
What changed
The evidence came off the receiving inspection reports on the card above, so the problems were named with dates behind them rather than as a complaint. The courtesy was put on the record as a courtesy — "it cannot be relied upon going forward" — and the letter closed by offering help implementing the change. Firm enough to stop the cost, written to keep the account.

What we were absorbing

  • Shipments arriving without a packing slip, bill of lading, or the other documents needed to accept the goods
  • Coil cores narrower than the metal wound on them, forcing us to unwind and rewind to our standard sizes — avoidable handling and a quality risk
  • Weights on the paperwork that didn't match the coils, forcing a re-weigh to keep documentation and traceability accurate

What we asked them to do

  • Send complete documentation with every shipment
  • Make the core width match the stated coil width — on the coil and on the production and packaging documents
  • Make the recorded weight match the actual weight shown on the coil

The letter as it went out. The customer is not named here.

13

Standard work at the point of use

Wieland Metal Services · Operations Manager · 2025–2026

What it is
The Oracle MES scanner procedure cut down to twenty numbered steps and printed four-up, so a card sits at every scanner.
Why it existed
The transfer was being done wrong at 2 a.m. by whoever was there, and inventory was wrong by morning.
What changed
Power on to "Transfer Success" in twenty steps, in order, at the machine — not in a binder in the office.
MES scanner instruction card, printed four up
Four to a page because they get cut apart and laminated. The last step is the confirmation to look for, which is the step people skip.Tap the page to open it full size