COMPANY PROFILE
Basin Precision Machining is a growth-driven manufacturer with over 40 years of expertise producing high-quality precision parts for the Oil & Gas, Defense, Motorcycle, and Heavy Equipment industries. From its state-of-the-art Jefferson, Wisconsin facility, Basin’s 100+ employees embrace continuous improvement and ISO 9001 quality standards to deliver consistent results.
SITUATION
With orders projected to rise 60% in a core market, Basin faced the challenge of meeting demand amid a tight local labor market. Leadership recognized that increasing productivity—not adding headcount—would be key. They engaged WMEP to review current processes, assess investment priorities, and identify opportunities to free operators from repetitive tasks so they could focus on higher-value work.
SOLUTIONS
WMEP partnered with Basin’s leadership to conduct a facility-wide Automation Assessment, reviewing every process for automation potential. Each process was ranked across more than a dozen criteria, including automation risk, ROI potential, and tasks employees found most repetitive or burdensome. Basin’s team provided key operational data while leadership engaged employees in open discussions about the company’s growth-through-automation strategy. Using the ranked results, WMEP and Basin developed a targeted investment plan focused on high-impact automation
projects that would boost productivity, redeploy talent to higher-value work, and reinforce a culture of innovation.
RESULTS
- Productivity Gains: Robotic tending projects boosted throughput and reduced production bottlenecks
- Labor Efficiency: Automated machine-tending freed two full-time employees for higher-value work without adding headcount
- Strategic Growth: Three-year automation investment plan positioned Basin to meet a 60% order increase in a core market
- Employee Engagement and Retention: Companywide bonus pool shared the financial benefits of higher production
If you’re wondering where to start with automation in your factory, the WMEP Automation Assessments are a great place to start. When you complete the process with WMEP you understand what’s possible to automate, what projects would have a good return on investment including a prioritized list of projects that you can start going after. It’s cost effective and helps remove a layer of risk associated with getting started with automation.
– David Verhoff, President, Basin Precision Machining