Training firm delivers productivity boost for Filon

In 2013 Filon appointed Skills Training UK to deliver a bespoke programme of training to staff with the aim of boosting the firm's productivity, which had plateaued.

Skills Training UK has recently completed the delivery of a tailored Business Improvement Techniques programme of training, with 23 of the 25 employees who began the programme completing is successfully. The business employs a total of 73 staff.

The BIT programme involved training employees in the Japanese management discipline of Kaizen which focuses on how to introduce continuous improvement in the workplace.

Staff learnt how to identify ways to improve efficiency and eliminate wastage in their day-to-day jobs. They undertook projects in three areas of work – quality, cost and delivery – and the time, money and materials saved is already tangible.

One of the improvement projects identified by staff in eliminating wastage at one stage of the manufacturing process saved the company well over £1,000 on one order alone. When repeated throughout the year, the potential savings are expected to be high.

Paul Carney, supervisor storeman, who has been at Filon for 25 years, was one of the employees involved. He said: "We were just doing things day-in day-out how we'd been told to do it. Now we've learnt Kaizen and completed the training, it's making things a lot easier."

Another outcome from the training has been the establishment of a continuous improvement team to ensure the business productivity gains continue.

Production manager Craig Bainbridge said: "If staff can come up with the ideas, it will be easier to sustain them. The training has empowered the staff to know that they can contribute, whereas before the culture here was 'well, you're the manager, you come up with all the ideas – that's what you're paid for'."