www.brewerscience.com
Rolla
Rolla-based Brewer Science is an innovative technology firm that develops and manufactures advanced materials for the reliable fabrication of cutting-edge microdevices used in electronics. Company founder, Dr. Terry Brewer, invented specialized anti-reflective coatings (ARC®) that revolutionized the microelectronics industry by helping solve the problem of light reflection on microscopic circuit patterns on the surface of silicon wafers. The company has continued to flourish, and is constantly looking for new ways to move technology forward.
Brewer Science sought to minimize operator errors attributed to inconsistent training practices. They also needed to improve how they organized their workspaces to enhance efficiency. After trying in-house initiatives that proved only modestly successful, Brewer Science went to Missouri Enterprise for expert assistance in addressing these issues.
“Missouri Enterprise Project Managers know their trade and bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table,” says Wayne Farrar, Employee Development Services Manager for Brewer Science. “We needed help in our R&D area to tackle a longstanding problem with laboratory equipment and materials organization. We’d tried 5S implementations before, but our efforts always proved short-lived. With Missouri Enterprise’s help, we improved and refined our workspace organization and now we have a standardized system that’s stuck, everything is always in order now, and it’s continuously improving. In fact, our largest customer recently cited our 5S methodology as a highlight of our operational efficiency!”
The company also needed to improve their training methodology for manufacturing operators and quality control personnel, so they worked with Missouri Enterprise experts to introduce TWI Job Instruction. “The program contributed to a significant decline in non-conforming material events in our production processes,” says Farrar. “Missouri Enterprise’s Project Managers were so effective that the processes they helped us introduce are still being used today, and we learned so much we’re now successfully maintaining and growing the program with our internal resources.”
Even with their exceptional expertise and capabilities, like so many other manufacturers, Brewer Science found themselves challenged to implement important changes without the assistance of outside expertise. Missouri Enterprise proved to be an outstanding solution. As Farrar stated plainly and simply, “I recommend the professionals at Missouri Enterprise without reservation.”