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WE SAVE LIVES

A Leader in Mobility Safety

August Update By: Mike James

I would like to touch on a few issues impacting our

business now and in the future.

First off, I would like to thank all of you from Maintenance,

Production Control and Manufacturing who managed the

annual shutdown of the finishing range for its inspection

and maintenance. Not only did the event go very smoothly

with no customer disruption, but the inspection of the

machine turned in a very favorable report.

Unlike in the past where there was heavy wear and many

parts needing replacement, it appeared the Christmas period

PM did a lot to keep things in good working order. We will

take what we learned from this event and go forward to

make adjustments for future improvement. Great job

everyone.

Secondly, waterjet weaving continues to make strides in

bringing the first machines on line. We have now

received customer approval to use the new material in

several applications and it is time to move forward to the

production phase. For the time being we are going to be

limited to current width fabric and will have to utilize our

current finishing range for the drying process. As you may

be aware, the investment for the wider drying range has

been pushed out to the future due to capital constraints and

the pending Takata merger. I will keep everyone updated as

more information becomes available, but for the time being

we need to focus on bringing this equipment online

demonstrating a world class weaving environment. Thank

you Marci and team for the workshop progress noted later

in the newsletter.

Earlier this month we were advised on very short notice

that Dura Fiber, maker of the polyester yarn for all hose

and strap, would be closing their US based operations in

September. As we had been working on an alternate source

for this material there were thankfully already plans to

make the switch in process. The short timing notice has,

however, still created a huge sense of urgency to get

material sampled, tested and customer approved. Thanks to

all of you who have assisted in this effort. We believe the

new materials in the long run will be a quality and cost

benefit to our plant.

Looking out the rest of the summer we see a slow down of

production on both the module and textiles side of the

business. This should not reflect in a layoff situation

however we should be able to limit production to

weekdays, a needed break for many and an opportunity to

get at equipment needing some extra maintenance work.

Summer is also vacation, and I hope you have planned in a

break to enjoy the great weather.

As always, thank you everyone for your individual

contributions to our team. Lots has been accomplished this

year and a lot lies ahead!

Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility By Shannon Harris

Ensuring a safe work environment is a task that workers

and management share. Your coworkers and you are the

first line of defense in preventing workplace incidents. The

choices that you make affect the people that are working

around you. Key Safety Systems prides itself on making

quality safety products that millions of people depend on

and utilize every day. We also should take pride in

cultivating a world class safety and healthful work

environment that other companies look at with admiration.

Take an active role in keeping your workplace a safe place.

Learn about the safety programs and proper techniques to

safely perform any job assigned to you. Help your

coworkers learn and use safe practices. Respect guards,

locks, tags and other safety devices that you come across.

Only use the tools and equipment you are trained and

authorized to use and only for their intended purposes.

Only use chemicals you are trained and properly equipped

to use. Report dangerous behaviors or hazardous conditions

immediately to your supervisor.

Knoxville, TN– August 2017

Editor: Mitzi McCammon

Mike James

EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER

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August 2017

GM Visit By Ron Baughn

On 7/13/2017-7/14/2017 Jolene Alward, a GM

Sr. Supplier Quality Engineer ,visited Knoxville to

review the GM 745 CAB (Hummer) service line for

approval of two supplier changes (Wire Harness and

Manifold). The preparation for this visit required

many months and several people. During the review,

Jolene was very pleased with the process

and completed the necessary steps required to sign off

on these changes. Many thanks to the follow people

who made this customer visit a success:

Lisa Pereyo

Julie Shaw

Paula Smith

Sam Almajidi

Bob Massey

Adam Nuchols

6S - Most Improved

Susie Quillen is being recognized for her

improvements made in the Deployment Lab on this

month’s 6S audit. Susie’s score went from a 74

to a 95. Thanks for all of your hard work, we

appreciate you! Keep up the good work!

New Face at KSS! By Mitzi McCammon

Please join me in giving a welcome to Shannon

Rasnick, Facility Manager, to the Key Safety Systems,

Knoxville facility. Shannon reports directly to Mike

James and is responsible for all facility maintenance,

equipment uptime and MRO parts storage. The

Maintenance Techs and MRS Specialist report directly

to him.

Shannon has a Bachelor of Science in Organizational

Management and a Master of Business Administration

from Tusculum University. He began his career in the

Navy as an Electrician. Following his release from

the Navy, he worked for Crossville Ceramics as a

Maintenance Electrician before moving to a similar

position at Denso Manufacturing. Shannon worked

for Denso for over eighteen years with increasing

levels of responsibility, including a supervisory role

over the Maintenance Techs on all three shifts. His

most recent employment was at Schott Gemtron as a

Maintenance/Facility Manager.

We anticipate Shannon will make a significant

contribution to our technical leadership. Please

welcome Shannon to his new role and provide him

with your utmost cooperation as he joins the

Knoxville team.

Welcome to KSS, Shannon!

Shannon Rasnick

Facility Manager

Susie Quillen

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Get to Know the Team—

1. What is your title?

Loom Tech

2. Where are you from?

Long Beach, California

3. Where did you attend High School / College?

Louisville, KY

4. When did you start working at KSS?

I started working in December of 2016 as a temp and moved to full time in April of 2017.

5. What is your favorite hobby?

I love movies, sports, traveling the world, and learning anything new. Knowledge is power!

6. What are some accomplishments you have done since being hired at KSS?

Becoming a Fixer. I love machinery so this is right up my alley!

7. What is your favorite part about your job?

Taking something that is broken down and putting shiny new parts on it to make it run again!

8. What is your favorite food?

I love Mexican food, Asian food, and Italian food!

9 Anything else you would like to include about yourself!

I like to work hard; it makes the day go by faster. Anyone who wants to know more about

me, feel free to ask. I am an open book! I have been married for two years on August

16th. We are going to Cancun for that week!

10. If you had a pet unicorn what would you name it?

Fluffy!

Paul Andrus

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August 2017

2017 Kaizen Event By Caroline Wright

Marci Lubs hosted a two day Kaizen event July 24-25.

During this event, employees were separated into two

teams and given a process to evaluate and discuss

potential solutions and improvements that could be

made. The event focused on Textiles processes and

specifically the new Waterjet area in progress.

Team 1:

Caroline Wright, Mira Kim, Tina Hulbert, Rusty

Holloway, Jason McBrayer, Carla Staley

Team 2:

Jeff Decker, Betty Spedowski, Keyah Barksdale,

Mary Jones, Matthew Buckner

Team 1 Objectives: Safety

- Bring up/address any safety concerns or

issues

Process Flow

- Warper-Slasher-Water Jet-Finishing Range

- Warper-Re-beamer-WaterJet-Finishing Range

- Warper-Re-beamer-Water Jet-Dryer

Visuals

- Kanbans

- Storage Locations

- 6S

- Visual Boards (6S, Production Metrics)

Team 2 Objectives: Safety

- Bring up/address any safety concerns or

issues

JWI/Standard Work

- Water Jet Looms

- Warp Out

- Tie In

Visuals

- Storage Locations

- 6S

- Visual Boards (6S, Production Metrics)

LEAN = Eliminating the waste

Marci Lubs

KBS Manager

Do you have

questions or want

to be part of our

next Kaizen

Event? If so,

contact your

supervisor or

Marci Lubs!

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August 2017

100 Days Accident Free Pizza Luncheon100 Days Accident Free Pizza Luncheon

KSS Knoxville celebrated 100 days without an OSHA recordable with a

pizza luncheon on July 27th! Keep up the good work and stay safe!

Win as ONE Team

#WeSaveLives

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KSS Knoxville– Plant Visitors By: Marci Lubs

KSS Teamwork

A Day in the Life of a Material Planner By Betty Spedowski

A Material Planner’s job is never boring, and we are

always on the move with a mission. It is our

responsibility to maintain the right amount of Finished

Goods and Raw Material, while keeping the lines with

the correct Kanban Cards (Kanban is a visual signal

that's used to trigger an action. The word Kanban is

Japanese and roughly translated means “card you can

see”). We try to get the most out of productivity by

juggling too much inventory and too little, making sure

the lines have exactly what they need to maintain

Customer Delivery of 100%. It is our job to forecast

raw material for a minimum of 12 weeks to the

suppliers. We work on a daily basis with Suppliers,

Production, Quality and Purchasing departments to

make things run smoothly as possible. Our goals are to

maintain the correct amount of inventory, no premium

transportation and 100% Customer Delivery, while

following the KSS Standards.

Brian Adkins

Corporate KPS

Brian Adkins the Global KPS Manager visited

our plant on July 11-12. The main purpose of

his visit was to use the Knoxville management

team as a test group for rolling out a new

Corporate Operational Metrics file. He spent

two days working with the team on the

concepts, what data to include and the format

of the file. Brian has utilized input from the

Knoxville team on rollout of the metrics

package globally.

CAUGHT

BEING A

TEAM

PLAYER!

Pat Shelley has been an employee at

KSS since 2005. She began her

career at KSS as a Weaver in the

webbing area and has worked as a

Weaver in the fabric area, a Loom

Technician in the webbing area, and

is currently training on the water jet

looms. She was recognized for

detecting a loom that was running

product using the wrong style yarn.

Thanks Pat for your attention to

detail! #WeSaveLives

From Left to Right:

Jane Scalf, Mira Kim, Betty Spedowski, Dave York,

Shinae Wampler, Kenny Steinmetz

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Bill Hout Sylvia Cowden

Thank you for your many years of service

and dedication to KSS!

CONTEST!

Circle a minimum of 15

things wrong with this

photo and turn it in to your

supervisor or the HR box

for a chance to WIN a

giftcard!

Name

____________________

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August 2017

KSS August Anniversaries

Scott Myers

Assembly General

28 Years

Lawrence Easterly

Utility

5 Years

Elizabeth Gallimore

Assembly General

3 Years

Kurtis Knoernschold

Metrology Tech

7 Years

Janie Millsaps

Assembly General

26 Years

Anthony Garner

Loom Tech

6 Years

Ekrem Muqiqi

Loom Tech

3 Years

Vickie Hartsell

Assembly General

2 Years

Joe Davis

Maintenance Tech

24 Years

Scott Blair

Set Up Operator

24 Years

Mary Humphrey

Assembly General

28 Years

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Happy Birthday!

Mike James

Charles

Grubaugh Joyce Horsley

Jenna Barr Doug McNamara

Jana Valentine Ingrid Elmore

Elizabeth

Gallimore

Carolyn Horowitz

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August 2017

Job / Shift Bid Awards

Josh Arnold

1st Shopper

Shift Bid

Ricky Bullock

2nd Shift Utility

Job Bid

Charles Tyler Rasnick

Module Assembly

2nd Shift

Jenna Barr

1st Shift Assembly General

Shift Bid

Paul Garrett

1st Shopper

Shift Bid

Walter Henry

3rd Shift Loom Tech

Job Bid

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Key Safety Systems Knoxville

Core Values

Work with FactsWork with Facts

Focus on ResultsFocus on Results

Deliver on CommitmentsDeliver on Commitments

Think Big, Take Risks, Learn Think Big, Take Risks, Learn

from Mistakesfrom Mistakes

Win as One TeamWin as One Team

Embrace ChangeEmbrace Change

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LeadershipLeadership CultureCulture

TeamworkTeamwork

“Where there is no standard, there can

be no improvement”

QualityQuality

ChangeChange

SuccessSuccess L

earnL

earn G

oal

sG

oal

s ChallengeChallenge

Focu

sF

ocu

s

AdaptAdapt

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SuccessSuccess

Learn

Learn

AdaptAdapt