This is Ken Blaschke. My manufacturing experience started while I was in High School just after turning 16 years old. As I didn't have a car to drive yet at the time, I rode my bike to a nearby manufacturing company and submitted a job application. I started a few weeks later as a "Shop Helper", basically just doing anything they asked, my first job was cleaning all the windows inside and out (you couldn't see out of them initially). Working there part time after school for 3 years exposed me to many opportunities to learn. Ultimately I learned how to run various machines and be mentored by a very patient toolmaker, I loved it. That toolmaker saw how my love for manufacturing was growing and recommended I go to a larger company to enroll in an apprentice program which I did.

That started my 39 year career at Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies. I progressed from Toolmakers Helper to Apprentice, Gage Maker, Final & Repair Inspection, Gage Calibration, Mfg. Engineer and Supplier Development (Continuous Improvement). Throughout all those positions my passion for manufacturing continued to grow at a fevered pace. Learning everything I could at each stop and feeding my unquenchable desire to learn more about manufacturing. In Supplier Development I learned about my passion to not only help other companies succeed, but also their employees. Wherever I could I mentored shop personal, supervision and company leaders and owners on various aspects of improving the business. I championed a "Part Family" concept at Pratt to not just help them succeed, but their suppliers as well. Packaging parts into families to allow for the implementation of Cellular Manufacturing where data suggested so as the create a more effective, profitable and stronger Supply Base.

My next stop after an early retirement from Pratt was as a contract job as a Continuous Improvement & Quality Advisor to Blades Technologies Ltd. in Israel. A year and a half of traveling to Israel & Georgia every month, we worked together on many process improvement projects including the Quality Clinic process, learned at Pratt. Maintenance was a big concern there leading to monthly TPM projects, which increased my passion for Machine Maintenance and what it could do for a company. That has continued to fuel TPM in my heart. As quickly as the journey started though, it ended when Pratt bought Blades told them that they had to eliminate all contractors.

My next stop was Paradigm Precision in Manchester Ct.. I started as the Corporate Continuous Improvement & Quality Manager to their North American operations. My main focus was to get all 7 sites in 11 countries on the same page for Quality & Continuous Improvement while also tracking the Cost of Poor Quality. I worked with the various teams on quality related improvements including Customer Escapes and process improvement. I then transitioned into the role of OpEx lead for the Manchester Ct. site to drive Lean for them specifically. While facilitating many kaizens in Manchester, maintenances head popped up again. Low and behold, maintenance was a major concern for them. That started a home grown maintenance improvement project that was too slow to implement...that needed to change.

Next I transitioned into the Director of OpEx for all Paradigm. I basically was the companies internal consultant to the North American sites facilitating lean kaizens and other projects. As I worked in the sites I noticed that very few had well run maintenance programs, let alone full blown TPM processes. I now would be in a better situation to improve maintenance not just for Manchester but the entire company. I created a team of all the maintenance managers from the sites to attack the concern. Over a period of a few months we evaluated six programs and picked a CMMS process, trained the entire maintenance staff and started to implement the program. Well over a thousand assets are now in the program. My last project prior to retirement was to re-layout half of one of the Manchester sites building for lean flow. Based on shop configuration, tow linear cells supported by a shared resource cell.

Thanks for taking the time to understand my passion for Manufacturing. Ken