Thousands of Small Steps Taken Daily Keep Bryce Security Fastener Successful
Dec 09, 2021
My wife’s (Donna Campbell) oncologist tells her she needs to get used to the “new normal” while living with terminal cancer. Isn’t this statement true for everyone as we navigate the “new normal” of COVID, constant political upheaval, rising inflation, high unemployment, and supply chain challenges?
As we head into 2022 and reflect on 2021, I'm trying to stay focused on issues I can control while praying over the issues I can't. Since I have no control over my wife’s cancer or the current global challenges, I’ve been reflecting on the little steps taken in keeping Bryce Security Fastener successful as well as the systems in place that were the cause of some of our failures.
It’s true in any industry, organization, home, and even our own health, the key to creating a healthy and successful system are the thousands of small steps taken daily in the right direction. When one of these systems fail, our tendency is to blame quality control, customer service, disgruntled customers, employees, or a toxic person. I know some of my biggest mis-steps were the result of what I've personally created or tolerated.
Some of Bryce Fastener’s biggest failures in 2021 were a result of miscommunication and unspoken expectations. These inconsistencies upstream lead to problems downstream.
There are hundreds of steps involved in cold forming specialty alloys. Adding the complexity of Bryce’s high security head styles compounds these steps. A successfully headed and threaded security fastener largely depends on the performance of the header tooling. Carefully engineered tool design with highly accurate machine set-up takes time. It’s more of an art than an assembly process. Bryce Fastener is lucky to employ expert tool makers. While we love the challenge of making fasteners with odd lengths and undersized/oversized heads, we waste time trying to follow an unyielding engineer’s fastener spec.
One healthy step we will begin taking in 2022 is turning away unique fastener orders where the engineer won't work together with us. We had two instances this past year where we tried to follow an engineer’s odd spec, but it ended up halting production causing a big mess. One engineer worked with us and allowed us to make a slight change on the size of the center pin in their M10x150 undersized button head Key-Rex® screws. Because the engineer worked with us, we had their order done in a few hours. The other engineer was insistent and wouldn’t budge on their spec. Our expert toolmaker worked relentlessly on their punches, but the customer grew impatient and cancelled their order. Better outcomes begin by a creating a better system then taking small healthy steps in a smarter direction. To keep production running and lead times around 2-6 weeks, we’ll start communicating better what’s realistic and make sure expectations can be met.
This is one example of a healthy change we’re going to make. What about you? What systems and steps can you change to gain positive results in 2022? Healthy systems are never created by accident but on purpose.
One system that keeps Bryce Security Fastener successful is the team of men who show up to work consistently day after day to ensure our customers receive higher quality, higher security fasteners. I’m grateful to lead a team of true American craftsmen and watch their expertise play out every day.
Big John double checking his punch holder after pressing an M6 x10 BH Key-Rex® into it.
Paul showing Ryan how to grind a notch in some M4 die.
1/2-13x1 BH Key-Rex® bolts coming off of the threader and into a citrus bath to clean off the oil.
No security fastener can leave our warehouse until Dean or Big John performs a quality control test.
Garrett is packaging up some M8x40 BH & 3/8-16x4 BH Penta-Plus™ fasteners.
Wishing you much needed rest this Holiday Season to focus on what you can control and reflect on the healthy steps needed for a successful 2022.
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Cheers to a New Year!
Bryce Campbell, President & CEO
