Creating a clean image for diesel

When Bob Breunig, chief executive officer of Diesel Injection Services, set out to build a new facility, one of his most important goals was to clean up the image of diesel.

Success is obvious at DIS's facility, located on a high-profile site right off Interstate 39-90-94 near Highway 19 in the town of Burke. The 52,000-square-foot facility allows employees to work together and communicate well.

It houses:

• The parts distribution center and inventory warehouse
• The diesel fuel injection rebuild center
• The 10 drive-in service bays that provide on-vehicle diagnostic and repair capabilities
• Administration offices
• Training and support spaces

Image for customers

Breunig often gives tours of the facility to prospective customers, new hires and suppliers. He says, "(The tour) flows so well, it takes very little time, but it really shows how clean, organized and efficient we are."

Image for staff

The clean, stainless steel counters, the natural light streaming through windows and clerestories into the repair spaces and offices, and the open sight lines all emphasize the progressive nature of DIS and diesel. The interior color palette of green and gold and the sculptural artwork lend a pleasant, whimsical feel to the work and break spaces.

Breunig says the building has improved employee morale and recruitment, "it's been much easier to attract new employees and they're a higher quality employee."

Company's third building

This is the third building DIS has had. A critical goal of this project was to improve workflow not only within each department, but among them as well.

The Systematic Plant Layout method - a widely-used industrial engineering discipline for optimizing factory and warehouse workflows - was used for the layout of the warehouse, testing and service areas. Careful space use programming and adjacency analysis made sure the offices were efficient and flexible and allowed the right flow for customers coming on site for training.

A key to getting all these parts to work well together was to make the lines of sight and foot travel distances as direct and simple as possible. This improves efficiency and it builds team spirit and cooperation as well - something every small business needs to accomplish.

During the project, DIS grew at a 20 percent rate, became ISO certified, and implemented a new business software system.

When asked if the new building has made DIS more productive, Breunig replied, "my gut tells me we work more efficiently - and our revenue is up."

Recognition

The building project was completed on time and within budget. It was designed by Potter Lawson, built by Newcomb Construction, and was awarded the 2007 AIA Wisconsin Merit Award.

Derrick Van Mell is principal of Van Mell Associates, management consultants specializing in strategic facility decisions. Steve Steinhoff is executive director of the Neighborhood Design Center, helping communities become great places.