News and Events Carrier Brings "CAP" To TradeWinds April 9, 2009, Exeter, NH -- "CAP" stands for "Customers Achieving Profitability." Carrier, one of United Technology Corporation's group of companies, came to Exeter, NH, on Wednesday and Thursday, April 1 & 2, to work through a lean, 6-Sigma process with TradeWinds Mechanical Services. "TradeWinds is the first customer to whom we've offered to teach this process after having gone through it for ourselves," explains John Stiene, Northeast regional operations manager for Carrier who attended the training. "Having Carrier partner with us is a great opportunity," notes Carol Dodge, TradeWinds' purchasing manager whose charge is to bring lean, 6-Sigma ideas into practice at TradeWinds. CAP involves mapping a work process - identifying the work flow step-by-step. Technician Frankie Ingrassia and Field Service Manager Kevin Whiting and a number of TradeWinds' headquarter staff participated in defining the work flow from receipt of a service order to the completed repair of the HVAC unit. The CAP process involves writing each step on a sticky note and applying it to the board. Once the steps are all identified, then inefficiencies can be found and improvements jointly made. That's the beginning. Then it needs to be communicated in a way that brings buy-in from all involved in the work process. "It's about processes and communications," explains John Stiene, "It's not about spending more money to make improvements. It is about discerning what your customers want and therefore are willing to pay for, as well as the processes you, as a business, require." The end goal for this training process with TradeWinds is to shorten the time it takes to quote a job from 2-3 days down to 24 hours, which is what TradeWinds' customers want. Back in the mid-90s, Carrier began looking at its own processes, seeing how its business flows and what improvements were needed, "then choosing the proper tool for the job, whether the tool is lean, 6-sigma, or continuous improvement," explains John Stiene. The end result is a supply-chain effect: decisions are made that allow others to make better decisions and more efficient partnerships are established. Once Carrier worked through the process for itself, it decided to reach out to its customers and continue the supply-chain principle. TradeWinds is reaping the benefits of Carrier's expertise. "It's not just about how TradeWinds works with Carrier, but how TradeWinds works with all its customers and vendors." To continue the supply-chain principle, one day TradeWinds will reach out to its customers to teach the process - because it's good business all the way around. TradeWinds Mechanical Services of Exeter, NH, is celebrating its 14th anniversary. It services HVAC/R systems in commercial properties from Maine to Virginia. Because of a unique decentralized dispatch process, TradeWinds is able to use its own technicians to provide consistent high quality service to its customers. 149 Epping Road, Exeter, NH 03833 • Office 603.778.4807 • Fax 603.778.4803 • Toll Free 800.809.0627 • E-mail TradeWinds © 2002-2007 TradeWinds Mechanical Services, LLC. All rights reserved.