Mainebiz

V O L . X X I X N O. X X V I I I D E C E M B E R 1 1 , 2 0 2 3 8 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E to boost digital inclusion in Maine. In partnership with give IT. get IT, Maine's only nonprofit computer ac- cess and digital literacy program, the chamber will use the award to provide low-income households with refurbished computers and free train- ing to pursue academic and career goals necessary to join the regional workforce. The Maine Connectivity Authority in Portland awarded its first Partnerships for Enabling Middle Mile grant to FirstLight. The $5.65 million grant will leverage an ad- ditional $5.65 million of local and private investment arranged by the Mahoosuc Broadband Committee and will provide access to high-speed internet for 12,000 locations in 14 communities. Members of the Maine Bankers Association donated $78,100 to the Lewiston Auburn Chamber Foundation for victims of the Oct. 25 mass shooting. In addition, members on their own contributed another $738,500 to various funds set up for the same purpose. The association also announced that it awarded a total of $12,000 to 10 2021 2022 2023 22 LOCATIONS ACROSS MAINE & NEW HAMPSHIRE 1 - 8 0 0 - H A M M O N D W W W . H A M M O N D L U M B E R . C O M R E A D Y T O P I V O T W H E N E V E R Y O U R J O B D O E S . AUBURN • BANGOR • BAR HARBOR • BELFAST • BELGRADE • BLUE HILL • BOOTHBAY HARBOR • BRUNSWICK • BUCKSPORT • CALAIS • CAMDEN • CHERRYFIELD DAMARISCOTTA • ELLSWORTH • FAIRFIELD • FARMINGTON • GREENVILLE • MACHIAS • PORTLAND • ROCHESTER (NH) • ROCKLAND • SKOWHEGAN ROCHESTER ROCHESTER A S K AC E A n s w e r e d b y G a r y H a z a r d , G M H C o n s u l t i n g E n g i n e e r i n g L L C The Association for Consulting Expertise (ACE) is a non-profit association of independent consultants who value "Success through Collaboration." The public is welcome to attend its regular meetings to share best practices and engage with industry experts. For more information go to www.consultexpertise.com. Q: I have little control over rising costs of goods sold. How do I stay profitable? ACE advises: Costs always rise; your challenge is to remain competitive when they do. Shake up the status quo. Cut activities that do not contribute directly to revenue. Address these common causes of waste to fine-tune the rest: 1. Defects and errors: While quality is important, you also need to consider the cost of perfection. Your customer has already told you what it wants, and what it is willing to pay. Think twice before implementing redundant approvals to deliver unwanted perfection. Instead, challenge your employees. Manufacturing workers are well- positioned to recommend process changes to reduce product defects. Managers have insights into pro- cess inefficiencies that higher-ups may miss. In the business office, repetitive work can be streamlined, standardized, or automated. 2. Waiting: Manufacturing bottle- necks have many causes, from old machines, to inefficient processes, to slow employees. In the business office inefficient inter-departmental com- munications may delay response time. 3. Inventory: Serve your customers, but do not manufacture product before it is required. If you do, you increase that period's cost of goods sold — and reduce net profit. Likewise, you do not want to pay storage costs for product that you wait too long to sell. 4. Motion: If a manufacturing employee repeatedly crosses the plant floor to complete a task, change the layout. Move product in as linear a path as possible across the floor and out the door. Seat office employees near the resources they need. After identifying the suspects, step back to consider how they affect your whole process. Much as alcohol and prescription narcotic interactions lead to disastrous results, negative interactions between key process variables result in costly inefficiencies. Address these interactions by identify- ing and quantifying the variables and assessing their impact on the full process. Then design and implement controls to optimize results, and financial performance. Gary Hazard of GMH Consulting Engineering LLC has extensive experience in lean manufacturing, quantitative process analy- sis and process design. He can be reached at gary@gmhconsultingeng.com

• Cover