JULY/AUGUST 2020 BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT
A focus on data
analysis is part
of Glossop's new
way of working
Mykola / stock.adobe.com
Jackie Sidebottom-Every founded
the company with her husband
an example. Boden uses the
common example of a Formula
One pit stop going from taking
minutes to seconds in just a
couple of decades. “We want
each shift working in the
same way to ensure common
efficiencies,” he explains.
“The teams have also learnt
about basic maintenance and
ensuring all the machinery runs
efficiently – and the impact this
has on downtime.
“We’ve also implemented
things like TPM and Plan,
Do, Check, Act – they're basic
management techniques, but
very, very effective.”
Slowly slowly, catchy
monkey
It would have been easy for
Boden to come in and bombard
a bewildered workforce with
terms like ‘kaizen' or ‘lean
manufacturing’. He therefore
had to be careful to implement
the changes gradually.
“Glossop Cartons is very
good at what it does,” he says.
“However, if it wants to grow,
it has to work a lot smarter
than how it has been in the
past. Are we at the stage where
we have a full 5S programme?
No. But we have streamlined
our processes to such an extent
that if we receive an order on a
Monday, we can often fulfil it by
the Wednesday. We’ve looked at
streamlining the whole process
– from the order coming in,
through to the product leaving
the door. All too often, individual departments
were working in silos, so I wanted to get the
whole company working together.”
Again, Boden says the progress made is
testament to the staff, who have taken on his
advice “like a sponge”. “It’s fantastic to see
people so willing to learn,” he enthuses.
For Jackie, the changes have meant she and
the senior management have had to adapt the
way they operate, as well. “Often in a family run
business, there’s a tendency to play your cards
close to your chest,” she says. “However, as the
company has become more efficient, we have
tried instil a culture of openness across it.”
This involves a regular update to staff on
how the company as a whole is performing, and
any new investments on the horizon. “We want
people to know that we care about them,” she
continues. “What motivates people is knowing
that they are part of a team and without them
that team will fall apart.”
Aiming for stability
Boden is quick to point out that his work isn’t
done yet. “There’s a long way to go,” he says.
“We want to get stability. These projects that
we’ve all worked so hard to implement must not
be a flash in the pan. We have to make sure that
the processes and the operating procedures are
lived and breathed by everyone before we can
move on. Only then can we start looking and
5S or lean or any of those things. This relies on
educating not just departmental managers, but
also the shopfloor staff themselves. Everyone can
bring ideas and experience to a new project.”
The changes made at Glossop Cartons already
have meant that the shopfloor is able to keep
pace with an ever-growing order book. Boden’s
improvements have been adopted by the staff
at all levels and have stood the company in
good stead to continue on its path of growth.
The secret to its success, says Boden, is simple.
“Communication. Get the shopfloor to challenge
the status quo. Too often, if you walk into any
factory and ask someone ‘why do you do it that
way?’, you’ll get the same answer: ‘well, we’ve
always done it like that.’ I always tell people
not to accept that as an answer – ask how the
process can be improved and empower people
to change it. Senior management also needs to
pay visits to the shopfloor to find out what is
happening at the coalface. Are people
struggling, or are some processes not as efficient
as they can be? You’ll never know unless you
speak to people.”
some getting used to for many
members of staff. “When
you’ve grown the company
from nothing to where it is
now, you don’t know anything
different,” says Jackie. “You’ve
only got your way of doing
things. However, I like to think
we’re old and wise enough by
now to recognise that things
needed to change. We’d always
been a family company, but we
were starting to outgrow that.
We’d reached the point where
we were holding ourselves
back. That’s why we turned to
people like Simon to come in
and have a fresh look at the way
we do things. This company
is my baby – it’s older than
my children – but sometimes
you have to grit your teeth
and accept that there are
improvements to be made.”
It’s not just Jackie who’s
seen ‘her baby’ change beyond
all recognition. The shopfloor
staff have also had to adapt –
something that Boden says is a
credit to their flexibility. “This
is a family run business, and
with this sort of company you
can really see the passion and
enthusiasm amongst all the
staff. I’ve come in and started
talking about make-ready times
and SMED techniques that
could easily have alienated the
staff. However, the buy-in that
we’ve had has been excellent,
because the results are
tangible.”
Take make-ready times as
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