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Guinness

Background

• Satellite brewing & packaging plant
• Brewing Harp & Carlsberg
• Faced with possible closure in radical reorganisation of global supply
• 150 employees
• 8 hour shift pattern

Problem

• Poor productivity
• High overtime
• Overall costs too high compared with other possible internal supply chains
• People inflexible
• Skills mix limited with little incentive for training

 
Outcome

• Implemented annual time contracts
• Numbers of staff reduced initially to 127 in 2000, then to 66 in 2002
• Redefined roles and competences
• Process moved to 3 team + craft, 12 hour shift patterns with team leaders
• Great improvement in self management
• End of complex pay rules
• Eliminated overtime culture and manpower budget back in control
• Volume flexibility and plant efficiency greatly improved
• Future secured

Bulmers

Background

• Single Site Operation
• 3 x 8 hr shift pattern Mon - Fri
• 450 employees
• Unionised environment - TGWU
• Now part of Scottish Courage Group

Problem

• Functional based teams with different structures, shift patterns and rates of pay
• Overmanned
• Overtime culture leading to take home pay excessively above benchmark
• Complex agreements and inflexible practices
• Poor capability and commitment from some line management
• Workforce had lack of trust and confidence in management

Outcome

• Production responsive to demand
• Teams restructured
• Fixed Salaries, zero overtime
• Work patterns defined seasonally through planned work time
• Certainty in attaining high customer service levels
• Significant improvement in cost & increase in productivity
• Improvement in packaging efficiency and reliability
• Time allocated for training and continuous improvement
• Maintained partnership with union and staff throughout the process

Dairy Crest

Background

• UK’s premier chilled food group
• Multi site dairies, cheese production sites etc., with sites from Devon to Scotland

Problem

• Highly seasonal business
• Seasonality as best as possible matched through overtime and temporaries
• Little commitment and high costs
• Intensive competitive pressure
• Reducing volumes

Outcome

• Flexible working with seasonal patterns to match real demand
• No overtime
• Increased leisure time
• Improved flexibility
• Guaranteed staff levels

Frozen Food Factory

Background

• Based in North East
• Producing processed food
• Workforce mainly men but “topped up” by large number of part-timers, mainly women.

Problem

• Poor productivity
• Largely inflexible workforce
• Overtime running at 25%
• Seasonal business but fixed employee numbers

Outcome

• Shift patterns to match seasonality
• Up to 11 weeks off work structured into working patterns
• Major productivity gains
• Zero overtime
• Part-timers flexible through 4 out 5 day working with flexible 5th day

St Ivel

Background

• Part of major blue chip organisation
• Client produced chilled orange juice
• High peaks in Summer months

Problem

• Business changing and becoming more competitive
• Customers expect more than 99.75% service levels all year
• High voluntary overtime to match seasonal demand

Outcome

• Improved productivity with greater responsiveness
• Matched attendance hours to seasonal variations – e.g. weekend working in Summer
• Elimination of working time that did not optimise production and services
• Better machine combination planning
• Fewer hours worked by individuals in the peaks
• Improved training
• Higher guaranteed salaried pay

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