Connor Sweeney is the Executive Vice President of Operations and Manufacturing at Amramp Accessibility. The company is “on a mission to help people with mobility limitations regain their independence and Find Their Forward™. They manufacture ramps, lifts, and safety products for residential and commercial applications at this manufacturing facility of approximately sixty employees.
Since July 2021, the company moved to Randolph, MA, purchased a CNC machine and a robotic arm for welding, went from using paint to powder coating their parts and launched a new ERP system. Significant steps for a reasonably small company to take in a few years.
During that period, Amramp, partnered with MassMEP for a comprehensive two-phased safety program for their employees taught by Safety Trainers, assisted them with a grant for the robotic welding system and delivered continuous improvement training like TIPS, Lean Office, and Rapid Improvement Kaizen events for the company.
“Tips Training (Team Involvement Problem Solving) was key,” shared Sweeney. Joe Simao a MassMEP project manager, conducted the training which “helped level up the team,” he said. “They were empowered and excited to identify problems on the shop floor and then take them on and make improvements!” Sweeney reports that seven additional projects stemmed from the training. “The team in the shop and the team on the floor owned the projects. You could really see people shine!” he adds.” Everybody stepped up, they were developing, and their confidence was building.”
The ERP system site launch was also successful. From the manufacturing side they worked like crazy to make it happen. “At first, the project seemed daunting and loomed above them like Mount Everest,” shared Sweeney. “But, after a while they picked up the pace and “got to the top.” “When you have confidence that you are doing the right thing it is very motivating. You just keep on doing it!” he said.
Amramp Accessibility is a franchise company. The franchises sell ramps and other mobility-related accessories to help people remain in their homes and access public venues.
Franchises must sell products, and sales drive manufacturing. This (2024-2025) has not been a great sales year for Amramp according to Connor. “Sales of new materials are down but we have realized a significant cost savings. “In other words, our continuous improvement projects are ongoing, and we have continued to become more efficient, so lost sales have been offset.”
As sales get back on track, Amramp is poised to manage manufacturing more efficiently with all their improvements in place. Along with making things better, Amramp employees are encouraged to “add color.” because they want the company to be a pleasant place to work! They have painted things bright yellow and safety orange with blue signage. The shipping department is all color coded, with nice, visible colors for identification.
A three-day kaizen in shipping ended up becoming two projects that included making changes to the layout of the area. The team was able to complete the “double project” in the regular time frame because Amramp has weekly Continuous Improvement meetings and addressed the groundwork for additional projects during that time. As a result, there have also been new projects in areas where materials are located, like powder coating.
The team looked at the process of powder coating materials used to make the ramps. Some components weigh over 100lbs. First the steel is cut on the CNC machine then it is transferred from CNC onto an H Cart to make up “kits” which consist of frames that comprise the ramp sections. The kits go to welding. Two people and a forklift were needed to lift the kit of parts off the cart and slide pieces under the materials for stability. This six-minute process was not very safe. The danger level increases whenever machinery is involved. 
The Welding Department looked at what was being done in powder coating and designed pieces to be added to or removed from the H Carts, depending on what is being loaded onto them. This modification eliminated the need for a forklift and two people, decreasing time to transfer frames from CNC to welding to one minute. This transfer is done at least 10 times per week or 500 times per year resulting in time savings of 50 minutes each week or 42 hours per year.
The welding team also had an idea for a lift and built a frame out of materials they had on hand. The lift slides up and down along the frame and is used to help move heavy parts to be powder coated, reducing danger from potential injury.
For the Kaizen in Shipping the team’s problem statement read: “A disorganized work area and the need to walk back and forth looking for accessories and components is causing excess transportation and motion resulting in wasted time and bad flow in the area where materials are picked for order shipment.”
Before any improvements were made, the team filled out a 6S workplace checklist to provide current ratings on the status of the area. The scores in each category were added for an overall score of 92 out of possible 112. Perfect score is “0”! Excess travel in the area trying to find things was about 1555 feet. There was clutter and improperly posted information on cabinets and fire safety equipment.
The team brainstormed ideas for improvements and then started working on the ones that would have the greatest impact. Before and after photos illustrate how the area improved once things were cleaned, organized, arranged, and labeled. Searching time, travel distance and other waste was minimized. They developed an action plan and team members were assigned to improvement tasks. Additionally, they have parking lot items to continue to work on.
After three days of Kaizen improvement work in the area, the 6s score was down to 62 from 92. 32% improvement. Work is ongoing. 
Cleaning, organizing and labeling in the area resulted in reduced travel distance while walking around searching for things in shipping to 695 ft from 1,555 ft. A 55% reduction.
Working off the momentum from the Shipping Area Kaizen activities, the team really took off and did seven other successful projects around the factory. “At this point, the (Amramp) team has had enough experience to know that if they believe and commit to something they will see good results,” says Connor.
He is thrilled to see his team grow in their desire to improve processes, improve their environment, and take what they learn and apply it to other areas of the business. The momentum has continued, progress is being made, and the employees are driving the change.