The Nuts and Bolts of Working With a Fastener Consultant
HOW, WHEN AND WHERE TO USE ONE

We recently spoke with seven fastener industry consultants about issues concerning hiring and working with a consultant. If you're a regular reader of American Fastener Journal or Fastening magazine, you'll certainly recognize the members of our panel as regular contributors to each. Combined, these men have centuries of experience in nearly every aspect of the industry. And as consultants, they've had the opportunity to extend their learning even further by working with many of you in the resolution of countless fastener industry related problems. Our panel included: Rich Barrett, Lon DeHaitre, Tom Doppke, Joe Greenslade, Bill Pierce, Dr. Lou Raymond, and Jim Speck. We tried to ask the questions that you might ask, and we think the answers we received shed some light on the consulting process and how to best work with experts once you've decided to bring them in. We trust you'll find their insights helpful.

When is the right time to call in a consultant?
The answer to this question was pretty much a consensus. All of our consultants agreed that the best time to bring in an expert is early on in the process‹long before the problem is out of control.

BARRETT: "Oftentimes, people don't call a consultant in until things have become chaotic. Then they may say, "OK, we've already got the parts made, we don't want to scrap the parts, so you figure out a way to make this work." A much better environment for everyone involved is to place a consultant in an advisory role early on in the process before the damage has been done. Consultants are often better utilized as advisors, rather that fix-it men after the fact."

SPECK: "By bringing somebody in early, you can go to school on that person's experiences. And, that's what any consultant does is bring in a range of experiences and allow whoever is bringing them in to gain access to that range of experiences. It's an information business."

DOPPKE: "My advice is to call in a consultant as soon as the problem has been defined. That is, when it is determined that the problem is loosening or failure of the attachment. This saves the time and money otherwise spent in shotgunning the problem and prolonging the solution."

RAYMOND: "It's very common to not call in a consultant until something breaks. But that's why I suggest having someone in at the conceptual stage, in the design, materials, or manufacturing areas to prevent problems. The big question isŠhow do you know you'll need someone? For some companies, keeping a consultant on retainer‹someone you can call on whenever you need him‹is the best strategy."

GREENSLADE: "I've always found that one of the keys to problem solving is attacking the problem early. So many of the problems that I have encountered could have been solved early on in the process-long before losing a customer."

What should somebody look for in a consultant?

DOPPKE: "Obviously, using an aerospace expert in ground vehicle for general industrial problems is not conductive to a rapid solution. Conversely using an automotive expert usually won't help with a bridge problem."

BARRETT: "Job experience in the specific field is crucial, so that the consultant requires little time to get up to speed on the problem."

PIERCE: "Take a look at whom the consultant has worked for in the past, what problems he has encountered and solved. Also, a good way to get a feel for someone is to look at the articles he has published."

SPECK: "Good, relevant, technical credentials are important, but it depends on the nature of the problem. If you're trying to get an assembly line running, you may want to bring in somebody with a lot of practical line experience, as opposed to someone with an extensive academic background. However, if you're doing a brand new computerized design, you may want somebody with very strong academic experience because you're going to need someone who is up to date on the latest theories. Credentials are important insomuch as how they match up with the problem being addressed. But I don't think there is any one single package to look for-it depends on the problem."

What should you make available to the consultant when you call him in?

BARRETT: "Have all the facts together, as far as the materials, the properties, the operating conditions and anything else that may be remotely relevant. This, of course, will save time and consequently money because you won't be paying the consultant to gather background information that could have already been prepared."

DOPPKE: "Failed and unfailed parts from the same lot, sketches, and drawings of the joint details of assembly and construction of the entire applications, forces and calculations of loads if possible. Everything. The more information you get, the faster and easier it is to offer a solution. And of course, faster means cheaper."

SPECK: "Have a clear definition of success. Define the problem, and define what you think will be a satisfactory conclusion. This avoids venturing out on what I call Œfishing expeditions"‹taking off on several different paths, meandering to a close, and not really reaching any significant success. Also, be completely open with the consultant. Give them full access to all the information they'll need to assist you in solving the problem. Having surprises come up halfway through the project is to no one's advantage."

GREENSLADE: "I usually insist on an itinerary and a one-sentence objective describing exactly why I'm going into a customer. That way there is no confusion on either end and we can get right to it."

PIERCE: "Have a very good idea of what you want the consultant to do‹will he have to go back and redesign, or will he be working with what's there. Also, it's important to have a clearly defined timeline‹what will be done and when?"

In what specific areas can consultants be of help?

DOPPKE: "Almost all areas of automotive are "hot" now. With tiering of sources, more and more sub-suppliers are being given the responsibility of the attachments, and many do not have trained fastener people. General industry has a growing problem as well, as federal and local regulations require some sort of responsibility for design and safety of fastened items. Lawsuits and such are requiring that experts be available to defend and justify what was built and its conformance to known loading and the like."

GREENSLADE: "One area where distributors can use consultants to their advantage is in applications engineering and customer/company reviews of products needs. Companies are discovering how difficult it can be to find good applications engineers. By assisting an OEM in solving fastening problems, a consultant with a diverse technical background can help expand a company's market reach. Selling proprietary items that solve particular types of problems makes companies much more valuable than others that just take orders. Another way that I've been able to assist distributors is as a third party in the review of problems. Most commonly, there is a fastener that is failing, and often, it is caused by misuse. In a case like that, the end user doesn't really want to hear from the manufacturer or distributor questions such as: Are you tightening them properly? Are you using the right torque values? It can feel to the end user that someone is just trying to avoid responsibility. So, as an impartial third party, I am able to offer an objective opinion and help the parties come to an agreement. I guarantee that fastener manufacturers could save a great deal of money, as well as customer relationships, by calling in a third party earlier to help resolve these issues."

RAYMOND: "When moving or expanding into a new area, it's important to get an experienced viewpoint from an expert in that field‹from someone who's been there."

DOPPKE: "Ongoing training is crucial when dealing with customers in as broad a market as fasteners. Everyone should be investing on a regular basis. Many of the very large organizations can afford to have full-time trainers on staff. Smaller companies need consultants."

Why are some companies reluctant to use consultants?

RAYMOND: "Consultants now provide information that companies considered to be able to get free from suppliers and manufacturers."

DOPPKE: "I think a big part of it is because everybody is afraid of the blank check. When a problem hasn't been clearly defined, there is the possibility that a project can drag on and on. And that certainly can get very expensive. But the upside to consultants is that companies don't have a full-time cost burden. They're just buying the time. If they don't like what they get, they can stop it at anytime."

Who needs a consultant?

SPECK: "Obviously, if you have a very small problem, you don't want to bring in a whole team of consultants. You may be able to make due with just a little bit of legwork on your own. For instance, American Fastener Journal and Fastening Magazine offer quite a bit of useful information. On the other end of the spectrum, if the cost of failure is very high, say for example, a new product launch, high volume with a high front-end investment, you won't want to wait till there's a problem. It's just good insurance to bring in one or maybe a couple of experts."

DEHAITRE: "Who needs a consultant: At some time or another, everyone supplying or using fasteners. The OEM benefits from the consultant's knowledge‹the most efficient choice can be made quickly. The fastener industry is also very competitive and they too have been forced to run lean and mean. Everyone's personnel are required to wear many hats and unfortunately, it's hard to do everything well.

Manufacturers have in-house technical talent but these individuals may not be sales types with people skills. Distributors will have personnel with marketing talent but they may be lacking in design, process or application expertise. A qualified consultant can train and execute without bureaucratic restraints‹he's being paid to get it done correctly for his client. That's where the need for consultants comes in."