Bendix Recognizes Elyria Employees

From Bendix: Bendix’s all-encompassing drive to improve commercial vehicle and highway safety includes a multitude of efforts on and off the road. Recently, Bendix employees from across North America gathered in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to recognize teams and individuals who are helping improve workplace safety, production quality, and manufacturing efficiency.

Mark Wasem, Bendix director of business excellence, and Maria Gutierrez, Bendix director of corporate responsibility and sustainability, were among theselect teams and individuals honored for consistently demonstrating a commitment to the Knorr Production System (KPS).

Representing Bendix facilities in Acuña, Mexico; Bowling Green; Elyria; Huntington, Indiana; and North Aurora, Illinois, 10 individuals and one group earned Knorr Production System awards for achievements in 2018. This marked the sixth anniversary of the event, which has expanded in scope each year to recognize more employees and their dedication to continuously improving Bendix’s work environment at all levels.

Wasem earned the Lifetime Achievement Award, which celebrates the contribution of an individual whose leadership and tireless commitment to excellence has had a transformative effect on the organization. This significant Bendix honor recognizes dedication to quality and safety, lean and production systems, continuous improvement, and shop floor employees. Wasem earned the prestigious Linda Fehlman Award, now known as the Bendix Excellence in Leadership Award – the highest individual honor bestowed upon an employee – in 2007 for his leadership and exemplifying the company’s corporate values.

“Mark is the embodiment of the ideal mentor. He is the guru of production systems – possessing infinite knowledge on processes and tools – and never hesitates to share his knowledge,” said Bendix chief operating officer Carlos Hungria, as part of his remarks introducing Wasem. “No matter how little you know or how much, he can complement your knowledge and take you to the next level. He is kind and loved by all shop floor employees. He is not afraid to get himself dirty and knows the floor like no other. Mark lives and breathes KPS and has been the enabler for all of us to work like a team. He brings out the best in people.”

Wasem, who has been a Bendix team member since 1981, has worked with lean manufacturing for 28 years, and has led KPS at Bendix for 12 years.

“It’s a job where I can work with people and processes in plants across Bendix. All of our plants have good people who want to work on continuous improvement – it makes it fun to work with them,” Wasem said. “My job is very rewarding: Bendix has a passion for KPS and challenging us all to come to work every day to work on problem solving and continuous improvement.”

Also at the award event, Maria Gutierrez was honored as a KPS Outstanding Contributor. A Bendix employee for 22 years and director of corporate responsibility and sustainability for five years, Gutierrez earned the award for consistently demonstrating commitment to KPS by modeling the philosophy, tools, methodologies, behaviors, and attitudes that the system requires.

All Bendix manufacturing operations are committed to the KPS quality, productivity, and continuous improvement culture, practiced worldwide throughout the Munich, Germany-based Knorr-Bremse Group, of which Bendix is a member. A key aspect of the KPS philosophy –implemented at Bendix beginning in 2012 – is encouraging and empowering employees to recognize potential problems, then develop and help implement their own suggestions for quality improvements. These employee-driven changes are what help define a Quick Kaizen environment where people and teams proactively seek to improve manufacturing.