Congratulations to Michael Hankins for 14 years of service at O’Neal Manufacturing Services (OMS)!

We interviewed Michael and asked how about life at OMS, below is what he had to say:

How did you first learn about OMS?

Employee Referral – Barb Stevens.

What is your favorite part about working for OMS?

There is a lot of good, the schedule, benefits are great and good staff.

How long have you been with OMS?

14 years.

Do you have a favorite quote?

When all is equal, the stronger man will win.

How do you define success?

Being happy.

If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?

How to fly a plane.

What are 3 words you would use to describe OMS?

Skillful, competitive, and enjoyable.

What do you do in your spare time?

Ride horses in the summer and redo furniture.

What is your role at OMS?

Plasma Operator and Lead Man.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Always busy and every day is different.

Thank you for the value that you bring to OMS and for all of your hard work, Michael! #LetsBuildThings

O’Neal Manufacturing Services (OMS) would like to thank Joshua for the work ethic and value he brings to our Houston facility!

Scroll down to learn what a day in the life at OMS is like for Joshua.

How did you first learn about OMS?

I discovered OMS through an online job board posting about a year ago.

What have you gained by working at OMS?

Working for OMS has offered some great insights into the fundamental workings of a manufacturing company. Among the many things I have learned during my time with OMS, gained a broader view of the ins and outs when it comes to properly maintaining the wide variety of machines our company uses on a daily basis. I have also had the opportunity to develop strong interpersonal relationships with my fellow coworkers, all the while growing what hopes to be a long and successful career with a great company.

What is your favorite thing about working for OMS?

I would have to say my favorite thing about working at OMS is the varying work that has been put to me, which has allowed me to continue to expand my abilities and satiate my ever present curiosity and desire for knowledge

What is your role at OMS? How long have you been working at OMS?

My current position at OMS is a maintenance tech, I have held this role for the last seven months. I began my employment with OMS in the middle of December 2018.

Tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am the oldest male in a family of ten kids. I am a health and fitness enthusiast. I have spent a large portion of my time trying out adventurous activities including deep sea diving, rock climbing, snowboarding and sky diving. I have also made fair attempts at more moderately paced hobbies such as cooking, fly tying, decorative knotting and am a decent hand with a needle and thread. I enjoy reading a broad range of subjects, listening to podcasts and spending time with my wife and dog when I can.

Where would you like to travel to?

I can’t really pick a particular place I would like to travel to more than any other. There are so many amazing places to see it would take a lifetime of travel to get to them all.

Favorite vacation spot?

Currently my favorite vacation spot is Park City Utah, which has become an annual destination for some of my family in the last few years.

If you had to eat one meal, every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?

If I had to choose one meal to eat for the rest of my life I would have to say my wife’s turkey empanadas, they are absolutely fantastic.

What advice do you have for prospective OMS candidates?

Advice I can give to prospective candidates for this, or any company, is work hard, be available, and take pride in what you do. You put your name on your work and build your own reputation through your actions.

We look forward to seeing everything you accomplish in 2020. Thank you Joshua! #LetsBuildThings

Congratulations to Tom Ryan for almost 15 years of service at O’Neal Manufacturing Services (OMS)! We asked Tom a few questions about himself and OMS. Here is what he had to say:

How long have you been working at OMS?

14 years 9 months.

What does a typical day look like?

Will run anywhere between 2 and 12 jobs per shift. Will set up the press brake and all tooling according to the specifications on the work order. Also helps train new employees.

Favorite vacation spot?

Cayman Islands.

Food you cannot resist?

Ribeye Steak, fresh off of the grill, rare.

Favorite song?

Men at Work, “Down By The Sea.”

Who inspires you?

Mom and son who deals with a health issue.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received?

When you jump out of the plane, keep one hand on the reserve rip cord! – Drill Sergeant

What is you “go to” productivity tip?

When problem solving/troubleshooting…just start setting stuff up and the solution comes to you.

What are three words to describe OMS?

Friendly, reliable, potential.

Favorite thing about working at OMS?

Climate controlled, safe environment.

Thank you Tom for the value that you add to OMS, your work ethic, and almost 15 years of service! #LetsBuildThings

O’Neal Manufacturing Services’ (OMS) Monterrey facility hosted a meeting to assist employees 50 years and older in learning their next steps for retirement.

In Monterrey, Mexico, Afore Banorte’s team and their HR Manager, Juan Rodriguez, met with 70 employees to talk about their retirement plans. These meetings took place over multiple days, ensuring that both day and night shift employees could attend. The team provided detailed focus for the employees so that they would know what they can do to prepare for retirement.

The team met with the employees with one goal in mind — to walk them through their current living situations and create awareness for the next step in their lives. Each job title that OMS Monterrey has includes subdivisions or categories that relate to different levels of job skill. The more skills that an employee gains, the higher category that an employee will be in. Each person is encouraged to improve in their working category so that they can win every benefit and bonus that OMS provides for them. If they are brought up to a higher category of excellence, they receive salary increases that reflect the pensions they will receive upon retirement.

Thank you to OMS Monterrey for hosting this retirement awareness meeting and thank you to all of the employees for your hard work at OMS. We look forward to seeing what you accomplish before your well deserved retirement! #LetsBuildPeople #LetsBuildThings

Recently, O’Neal Manufacturing Services’ (OMS) Louisville facility participated in their annual Saint Jude Hunt for a Cure Chili Cook-Off Contest!

The Chili Cook-Off is only one of the luncheons that OMS Louisville has participated in every month since 2012. Every monthly event has a different pot-luck style food theme that has included: the Chili Cook-Off, BBQ favorites, Bacon lovers, and many more. These luncheons allowed Louisville to raise a total of $2,235.00 for St. Jude’s in 2018!

Last month, Louisville employees gathered to throw down the gauntlet and see who cooks the best chili. OMS provided 2 lbs of hamburger meat to each contestant and free reign as to what other ingredients the contestants could use. All employees were invited to participate and prizes were handed out for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The 1st place winner also received his own OMS Chili Cook-Off trophy. Thanks to the generous people who attended and participated, they were able to collect $249.00 in the month of October. The proceeds were added to the overall raised money for a grand total of $2,070.00 with 2 more months left to go in the year!

Congratulations to 1st Place Wes Walden with 10 votes, 2nd Place Larry Walden with 7 votes, and 3rd place Terrena Kayondo with 6 votes! Thank you to everyone who participated in and attended this event! #LetsBuildThings 

Please help us to congratulate Aaron Thomas, at our Louisville facility, on his recent promotion to Account Manager! We asked Aaron some questions about life and OMS. Below is what he had to say:

What is your favorite part about working for OMS?

I would have to say that the people I work with.  We have a great team and a lot of experience in Louisville.

How long have you been working at OMS?

I’m coming up on 11 years in December.

What is something that most people don’t know about you?

Not sure what to say on this one.  I guess that I’m semi-ambidextrous—I do some things left handed and some things right handed.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I like that we run into different challenges every day.  I would get bored doing the same thing every day, and my job keeps me learning all the time.

What does a typical day for you look like?

I’m usually locked into the quoting process for most of the day.  I do attend enough meetings and customer/vendor visits to mix it up a little.  Sometimes I get pulled into larger projects and I enjoy the change.

What is your favorite vacation spot?

A good dove field or the woods during deer season are my favorite quick vacation spots.  If I’m going to travel, anywhere with an all-inclusive resort is the best for total relaxation.

When are you the happiest?

At work, I love when we get a big award of new business.  It can be stressful getting large projects started after quoting them, but I enjoy the rush of the win.  Away from work, I’m happiest when I get to relax with my family.

What have you gained from working at OMS?

I was fortunate to get the job as a manufacturing analyst.  I have been able to learn so much about both the sales side and the production side in this role.  I’ve gotten to see what it takes to run a successful plant, and how to properly market the services that plant can provide.

What is your advice for prospective OMS candidates?

I would tell them to come ready to work and learn.  There are many different career paths, so always be ready to try new things and step out of your comfort zone when you get the chance.  You may surprise yourself with what you are good at and what you enjoy doing.

How do you define success?

I would define success simply as getting good at something and getting paid well to do it.

Thank you Aaron for your hard work, dedication to your craft, and 11 years of service! #LetsBuildThings

Since 2012, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) has hosted Manufacturing Day (MFG DAY). The events held on this day, and now throughout the month, are meant to help manufacturers confront the problem they face of a skilled labor shortage. O’Neal Manufacturing Services (OMS) participated this year throughout the U.S. at our facilities to support manufacturing growth and opportunity.

MFG DAY represents the idea of spreading the awareness of challenges that the manufacturing industry faces when it comes to common problems and labor shortages. The intent of MFG day is to provide insight into the industry to future generations who may or may not have considered manufacturing as a possible job career. According to the MFG DAY website, “MFG DAY is designed to amplify the voice of individual manufacturers” allowing for them to “coordinate” with a “chorus of manufacturers” who share widespread concerns.

MFG DAY at Pittsburgh

At OMS Pittsburgh, our facility management met with students from a local career and technical school to talk about the history of OMS and what kind of work that we do in Pittsburgh. The students were taken on a tour of the plant and received OMS goody bags along with a little project. Each student received a part sheet containing the pieces to put together a metal frog.

MFG DAY at Cedar Falls

At OMS Iowa Laser, local students were led on a tour of the facility by 4 guides. Each student was taught about the importance of safety in a manufacturing environment. The facility tour led them from blueprint quoting and programming of parts to ordering the steel used in manufacturing. They were then told about how a part would be cut with the laser and where a part would go once it had been cut. Before they learned how to send off a final product, the students were also shown if a part would need to be welded once cut. After they had an understanding of the complete manufacturing process, students were guided to the logistics department and shown how to package and get a product to a customer. Students were then led to the lunchroom to ask any remaining questions they had before heading home!

Thank you to our facilities for participating in MFG DAY and showing our support for the manufacturing industry! #LetsBuildPeople #LetsBuildThings #MFGDay19

Quality Assurance (QA) is a means of preventing mistakes and reducing or averting defects. At O’Neal Manufacturing Services (OMS), Quality Assurance means much more.

QA is a way of conducting a sound quality management system located in all aspects of OMS’ infrastructure, not just the manufacturing floor. OMS uses a quality management system to better our organization and become the recognized industry leader in the markets we serve. QA is used as a tool for internal auditing, policies and procedures, identifying risks, process improvements, error proof and much more. A sound quality management system drives a OMS to continue to improve at all levels of the business!

The Day to Day Life of a QA Employee

The QA team balances the interests of all involved parties: customers, employees, and shareholders. OMS’ QA teams are so well rounded at every facility that they will be pulled into all areas of business throughout any given day. One moment they may be completing a process audit, the next they may be called for an inspection at a machine or become involved in new product launches. This is what makes OMS’ team so capable when it comes to problem solving. The biggest challenge that a QA team may face is simply where to focus their time at any given moment. All facilities operate independently of each other, but all policies between each facility and team are similar.

In December of 2018, OMS’ QA team started holding monthly calls to gain experience working on projects together. Before September 2019, most of the QA team had not met in person. OMS’ Senior QA Manager Chris Thomas, who works out of the Pittsburgh facility and has been working with OMS for 12 years, found it critical to get everyone together for a meeting. For Chris, it was important for the team to finally put names to faces.

Face to Face at the Ponderosa

Chris, with the help of the central office team, arranged for a meeting to take place at the Ponderosa allowing all managers of the QA team to finally meet face to face. The team worked on multiple projects together, got to know each other better, presented engaging ideas, and overall had a great time.

Thank you to all of our attendees!

Presenters:

• Russ Bagby – Presenting the current state and the future of OMS
• Amy Gartman – Presenting what HR means to OMS and how to get engagement from employees
• Danny Owens – Presenting the importance of Steel School, market trends, and 2020 outlook
• Melissa Paruskiewicz – Presenting an on-boarding training video for new hires to demonstrate QA
• Walt Brittain – Presenting the improvements in safety metrics this year and the plans for 2020
• Chris Thomas – Presenting the importance of Quality Assurance within OMS
• Jeff Beckner – Presenting his 30 years of experience of internal auditing skills
• Warren White – Presenting what Process Standard means to the Greensboro facility and how to incorporate it nationwide

QA Managers:

• Chris Thomas– Pittsburgh, PA
• Warren White– Greensboro, NC
• Jeff Beckner– Indianapolis, IN
• Don Riley – Louisville, KY
• Larry Merchant – Houston, TX
• Armando del Tejo – Monterrey, MX
• Nate Kluiter – Cedar Falls, IA

Thank you to our QA managers and management teams for all of the hard work they put into making OMS such a great company! #LetsBuildThings

The manufacturing industry has come a long way when it comes to producing parts efficiently. O’Neal Manufacturing Services (OMS) is a perfect example of that. OMS implements Dynamic Nesting to meet expedited turnaround times needed by clients while maintaining standard workflow…but what is Dynamic Nesting and how does OMS utilize it?

Dynamic Nesting is a process used to cut multiple parts of varying shapes and sizes out of a sheet of material. Parts can vary in size, shape, and due dates. When deciding how to create a part efficiently, it is important to consider dynamic nesting as a means of achieving production at a solid quality standard as well as a method of creating needed parts at a quicker pace. The Fabricator defines Dynamic Nesting as “the nesting of parts that individually meet defined criteria at a given point in time…because new orders are introduced continually, the mix of parts available for nesting changes constantly.” This process allows OMS to meet client’s needs by furthering the ability of the facility to meet tight deadlines.  The programmer can run many parts at once and even run sheets again (if possible) to virtually eliminate material waste. Any “hot parts,” or pieces needed as soon as possible, can be added as a previous nest is completed. This allows for the operator to maintain the production schedule while adapting to new client needs. OMS utilizes an advanced nesting software to meet standard and expedited production deadlines as efficiently as possible.

The workflow of an OMS programmer.

When beginning the nesting process, an OMS programmer will create drawing exchange format (.DXF) files that will be imported into computer-aided manufacturing, or CAM, which will automatically generate layouts for the user. The layouts are then reviewed by the user and saved. After the files are saved, laser toolpathing is assigned for each part. The sheets will then be scheduled up to 2 days ahead of production, allowing time for any needed changes or additions.

The Fabricator states that in 1990, the programmer was involved in every aspect of programming and nesting. There was not a single part that they wouldn’t be involved in fabricating. Now, the programmer is only involved in making sure that production flow is maintained. This allows our facilities to maintain a solid production schedule, making sure that parts are completed on schedule and delivered on time.

We will increase production efficiencies.

Thanks to modern nesting software, adding a part to an existing nest in production is no problem at all. Components that are on a less than efficient nest can be added in between existing nest cycles to minimize material waste. OMS makes sure to use the most efficient nesting possible to avoid creating any scrap metal that cannot be used for other components.

Every step of the way.

Through every step of the nesting process, our team will work to meet your company’s needs using modern dynamic nesting practices to ensure we meet all requirements. OMS’ core drive is to make sure that our clients get what they need…when they need it. OMS has strategically-located facilities that are ready to assist using dynamic nesting and other means to create quality fabricated products. Take a look at our locations page to see what facility can meet your needs today! https://www.onealmfgservices.com/locations

Modern dynamic nesting allows for OMS to manufacture parts at a higher turn around and higher quality rate than ever before. Reach out to our team today and see what OMS can do for you! #LetsBuildThings

O’Neal Manufacturing Services (OMS) congratulates Monterrey facility’s Dionisio Coronado Esparza on 20 years of service as a welder at OMS! Here’s what Dionisio had to say about working at OMS:

How did you first learn about OMS?

I found out about O’Neal through a friend of mine that was working there. My friend told me they were looking for welders so I went to the interview and got the job.

How do you balance family and your career at OMS?

Well, I know I spend most of the time at the facility, but every day when I go home I talk to my wife about how my day was and how her day was. She is the one that motivates me to keep working hard to get the quarterly trophy for being a great employee. And on the weekends, I try to spend as much time with my family as I can. I enjoy having my grandchildren around so much.

What are 3 words to describe OMS?

I don’t have 3 words specifically, but O’Neal is like my second home. The enterprise has been good with their employees and has helped me to give my family a good life.

What have you gained from working at OMS?

I have gained a lot of experience. Through 20 years, I have worked on many different projects that have helped me to develop my welding skills. These projects have also helped me to develop how I work by myself and how I work with a team.

What is your favorite part about working for OMS?

My favorite part about O’Neal is the working environment. I have made a lot of friends through the years and we still hang out outside of work. Also, I like the feeling of having a place to go to every day.

What was your proudest moment at OMS?

My proudest moment would be that I had the opportunity to give my family a good life. I can pay for my kids’ education. I was able to buy my truck and make an extension on my house. Also, I feel good when the new employees come to me and ask me about work and how to do things the right way. I think that there is no use holding on to your knowledge. We should always help each other.

Thank you Dionisio for your excellent work, positive attitude, and leadership skills! We look forward to hearing of your successes in the upcoming year! #LetsBuildThings