New Job Descriptions Create the Foundation for Organizational Development

BACKGROUND:

Atlantic Casting and Engineering (ACE), a privately held company, was established in 1937 by a group of engineers from Curtis-Wright Aeronautical Corp. Their plaster mold casting process supplied customers with non-ferrous castings of close tolerances, high integrity, intricate detail and smooth surfaces.

As WWII unfolded, ACE became a preferred supplier of castings used in aircraft (gyro housing, bomb latches, tail gun brackets, bearings and impellers and other critical items.) After the war, the company returned to manufacturing bearings for a more varied customer base.

Since its founding, the company introduced a patented planar mold investment casting process to produce economical and small complex parts, added a new foundry to produce traditional ceramic shell investment castings and dedicated a new facility for CNC machining and light assembly.

The award winning Clifton New Jersey Company has annual sales of $17,000,000 and employs 154 individuals. ACE holds ISO 9001 & AS 9100 Quality System Certifications as well as several NADCAP certifications for the manufacturing and quality control processes they perform in house. Its Gage and Lab Control are in accordance with MIL STD-45662, ISO 10012 and AMSI Z540.1. Its management plan conforms to Advanced Quality System (AQS) and they ensure Continuous Total Quality Management through Statistical Process Control (SPC).

On the sustainability frontier, ACE is an environmentally compliant company, striving to minimize carbon footprint by maximizing usage of recyclable materials and by also using sophisticated filtering systems to minimize environmental impact. They proudly work with local residents to have a positive impact for our community. The company is working toward ISO 14001. The company also guarantees that all its aluminum alloy suppliers conform to the United States Conflict Minerals Law.

CHALLENGE:

ACE has been working with New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, Inc. (NJMEP) since 2010 on operational improvement programs. As part of ACE’s organizational development plan, the company enlisted NJMEP to create job descriptions for the organization. These descriptions would be valuable to the Human Resources Department as they are a good organizational tool, are beneficial when recruiting, and can be used as a reference for measuring job performance during evaluations.

SOLUTION:

NJMEP created job descriptions based upon an outline of the tasks and responsibilities for each job function in the company. This was accomplished by:

• Meeting with Principals to discuss organizational structure, reporting line, job titles, physical requirements, work environment, interview managers/supervisors or employees to determine job duties
• Drafting job descriptions that would meet ADA requirements and submitting them to management for review
• Reviewing job descriptions with management and making any required revisions

At the conclusion of the process, NJMEP provided Principals with hard copies and electronic copies of job descriptions.

RESULTS:

ACE now has Job Descriptions that provide an outline of the tasks and responsibilities for each job function in the company. As a result of having these descriptions:

• Management is now able to improve work flow processes as a result of the new descriptions
• Recruitment of new employees has been made easier as they are being used to develop classified advertising targeted to the right employment pool and used during the interview process to discuss an applicant’s interest in and suitability for the position
• Orientation of new employees has been simplified as the descriptions serve to introduce the new hires to their department and job duties
• Employee performance evaluations utilize the descriptions to measure the employee’s accomplishments

When applying fora Quality Certification, ACE is able to the meet the required Human Resources practices and policies (i.e., job descriptions, performance reviews, training program, etc.) in place.

When completing the NIST Survey on the direct benefits of the project to develop job descriptions ACE reported:

• Increased sales of $1,200,000
• 10 new hires
• $1,000,000 in cost savings
• Invested $250,000 in new processes and $125,000 in workforce practices

When Brian McGrady was asked to speak about the project he said, “Atlantic Casting worked with NJMEP on a “Job Descriptions” project to assist our Human Resources department in creating a more formal account of job titles and related tasks. These descriptions benefitted new employees as well as existing employees, so they have a better understanding of what is expected of them. The descriptions have allowed us to cross train individuals more easily, as well. We have worked with NJMEP in the past and find them to be a valuable resource for our organization. NJMEP’s mission is important for manufacturers in the state of New Jersey –we look forward to working with them going forward.”

NJMEP’s Main Service Areas:  

• Business Development Services
• Contingency and Emergency Planning
• Destination Innovation
• Energy Alliance Program
• ExporTech™
• Human Resources Solutions
• Lean Business Solutions
• Quality Management Systems & ISO
• R&D Tax Credits
• Six Sigma
• Supply Chain, Transportation and Logistics Services