Author: Erika Thorson

ESL Treasures Continuous Improvement – Join the Hunt!

Erika Thorson

ESL Continious Improvement Treasure Hunt

In an effort to expand our continuous improvement strategies, ESL initiated a new employee participation program appropriately named the “Treasure Hunt.” Employee volunteers work in teams of 3 with the goal of finding quick fixes for common problems throughout our organization. Basically, do a lot with a little!

This new program allows employees to venture throughout our company putting “fresh eyes” on different areas of the business. For 4 hours, the teams consisting of both office and shop floor personnel  walk around the production floor, office, and surrounding building speaking to fellow coworkers from various areas and brainstorming solutions. Some team members already have ideas for improvements going into the Treasure Hunt. Other teams discover improvement ideas while investigating various departments and workflows. The idea is to spend as little money as possible and fix discovered problems with materials on hand.

Once problems and solutions are identified, our Treasure Hunt volunteers present their recommendations to a small board of executives at ESL. Once solutions are approved, the groups are then given the green light to make the updates.  At this point, the teams are contending for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes (Treasure!) based on successful implementation. Below are some examples of problems solved:

Team Problem Solvers: Discovered a few loose safety pins in the inventory racks. This resulted in a simple solution to add bolts, washers and nylok nuts to ensure the racks are more secure.

Team Goon Squad: Discovered that we can use an out of use wire stripping machine for our standard cables. Our current method of hand stripping took 25 seconds per cable. With the wire stripping machine, we can strip the same cable in 10 seconds. Overall, employees will be stripping hundreds of wires more safely and efficiently!

Team Pirates of Palisades: With an increase in production, floor space has become limited. This team suggested implementing new racks with a loft design. The idea of the loft is that it will not impede the current work space and we can now use the rack space above it to hold additional inventory.

ESL Treasure Hunt Participants

Because of the overwhelming response and excitement generated by this event, ESL has put this program on quarterly rotation to help continuously improve our work place! What does your company do to get the team involved in continuous improvements? We’d love to hear new ideas!

ESL Announces “OSP” Special Seismic Certification

Erika Thorson

oshpd_seismic-certified

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ESL Announces OSHPD “OSP” Special Seismic Certification of StormSwitch™ and TripleSwitch™ Emergency Power Products

Date: March 25, 2019

Corona, CA — ESL Power Systems, Inc. now features Emergency Power connection equipment that is Special Seismic Certified from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD). This approval is intended to assist specifiers in meeting NEC and local code requirements for seismic certification of emergency and standby power equipment in critical facilities.

“We determined that obtaining approval by OSHPD would provide enormous value in knowing  our core products have been shaker-table tested and certified to endure major earthquakes without fail” states ESL’s President Michael Hellmers.  In addition to offering pre-approved seismic emergency back-up products to help end users meet the strict OSHPD-requirements for projects based on the current California Building Code (2015), ESL’s Emergency power product line includes UL/cUL  1008 Listing up to 3000 amps  for manual transfer switches  and 3-way manual transfer switches.

Where hospitals and critical care facilities need back-up power they must choose equipment that is OSHPD certified; critical equipment not pre-approved will require 3rd party testing and projects will be delayed which translates into added costs. The OSHPD Special Seismic Certification (OSP) was created to help streamline and simplify hospital construction.

In addition, ESL’s StormSwitch™ and TripleSwitch™ are designed and tested in compliance with IBC 2015. For specific information on ESL’s OSHPD seismic certified emergency power equipment and to download Specifications for Engineers, visit eslpwr.com/oshpd.

Established in 1995, ESL specializes in engineered power distribution solutions that are safe to use and easy to operate. ESL’s line of emergency power connection equipment for commercial and industrial applications are UL/cUL 1008 Listed for StormSwitch™ – Manual Transfer Switches up to 3000A, TripleSwitch™ – 3-Way Manual Transfer Switches up to 3000A and TempTap™ – Generator Docking Stations up to 3200A.

As a certified small business, ESL is proud to provide Made in the USA solutions with the lowest cost of ownership in the industry. ESL demonstrates its continuous commitment to customers by delivering sound workmanship on time and within budget. For more information, visit eslpwr.com/oshpd.

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ESL’s Donation Match Campaign!

Erika Thorson

Don_Match_Campaign_Header_blog

ESL strongly believes in giving back to our community and supporting those in need. Additionally, we recognize encouraging employees to contribute to charities they feel are important helps build a better work environment and positive company moral; especially when your company provides support in the form of financial matching! With these values in mind, ESL decided to launch its first ever Donation Match Campaign encouraging its team to give back to the causes they believe in.Goal_Chart_Donation_Match

… especially when your company provides support in the form of financial matching!

ESL started the new venture by gathering suggestions on charities from our employees. The suggestions were then carefully evaluated and 15 nonprofits were selected for this year’s matching.  All employees were encouraged to give anywhere from $25 to $1000 with the ESL promise to match each donation dollar-for-dollar.  This year’s Charities included:

  • ALSAC – St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
  • Americares
  • American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
  • American Red Cross
  • Augies Quest to Cure ALS Inc.
  • Cure Alzheimer’s Fund
  • Direct Relief
  • Dr. Susan love Foundation
  • Feeding America
  • Hope for the Warriors
  • JDRF
  • Khan Academy
  • Make a wish America
  • Our Companions Animal Rescue
  • Ronald Mc Donald House

The campaign ran for two months and raised $8,180.00 in all! To engage the team and keep the giving going, weekly emails were sent out highlighting charities available for giving. To help keep the company informed on progress, employee contributions were tracked on a donation chart visible in the company lunch room. The participation was outstanding for our first attempt and feedback on the program was excellent.

We would love to hear how your company contributes! Send us a comment with the great things your work place does for its community.

Check out our other blogs on volunteering to see how our company and its awesome employees continue to contribute to worthy causes.

ESL’s Mission to Paradise

Erika Thorson

ESL Motorhome dedicated to camp fire victim

On Monday, December 10th, ESL owners Michael and David Hellmers drove the company motorhome 565 miles north to the devastated town of Paradise, CA.

What was the mission? To drive the motorhome north and donate it to a family who had lost their home in the fire. In addition, ESL reached out to family and friends to help fill the motorhome up with new toys, clothes, unwrapped gifts, and any other helpful items that could be donated.

The one day mission took two days due to a minor rear suspension issue with the Winnebago (possibly caused by all the donations that filled up the motorhome).

Fifteen miles before arriving in Paradise, Michael and David dropped off donations in the form of gifts, supplies, gift cards and checks to the Salvation Army in Chico. Together, with the Red Cross online donation campaign for the Camp Fire Victims, the ESL fundraising program’s total exceeded $15,000.00.

ESL donations to salvation army

Upon arrival in Paradise, the local Cal Fire Battalion Chief, Jason Morris led Michael and David through the burned out city. During their trek to the motorhome’s new residence at Cal-Fire’s Butte Camp, they learned that all of Paradise is completely closed off to the public and most people will not be allowed back in until February or March.

By the end of the second day, Michael and David had given the motorhome to a Cal Fire Captain’s family that was displaced due to the devastation caused by the Camp Fire. Chief Morris, his Captains and staff were extremely appreciative as were the fine folks at the Salvation Army in Chico.

ESL motor home gifted

It will be a while before any of the families displaced by the Paradise fire can return to their homes and even then, the rebuilding of what was lost will be an exhaustive task. ESL was humbled by the efforts made by family and friends to help with this humanitarian mission and realize that there are many ways to give. If you are interested in helping the victims affected by the fire below are a few options.

Donate New/ Unused Gifts:  Specific items that the local Salvation Army’s distribution center in Chico, CA is asking for are unwrapped new underwear/socks, blankets/pillows, hygiene items, diapers/baby wipes, and new toys (no electronics). Salvation Army’s address is: 1100 Marauder St., Chico, CA 95973

Gift Cards: Gift Card donations have been shown to be extremely effective at providing the best benefit to those in need. This allows 100% of the donated funds to quickly help the wide-ranging short-term needs of those who have lost everything.  ESL has been advised that Gift Cards for clothing, food and especially gas are best.

Donate Directly to the Red Cross:  The American Red Cross has over 500 volunteers on the ground locally providing shelter, food, support, clothing, etc and they can definitely use your donation. You can simply visit redcross.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS to contribute!