Sydney print packaging company Globus Group has graduated from the Printing Industries’ Lean and Green competitive manufacturing programme.
Some 30 graduates marked the completion of their traineeships during a presentation ceremony where each was awarded a certificate in Competitive Manufacturing. Ten received the Certificate IV qualification and 20 the Certificate III qualification.
The Bankstown based company completed a two year journey that has changed its work practices and provided staff with a nationally recognised qualification.
Rodney Wong-Pan, manufacturing manager, Globus Group says, “The company you walk into today is completely different from the company we had two years ago. We lost a few people and grained some new ones during the process and created a completely new working and cultural environment.
Wong-Pan says, “For most of us the process was a culture shock but we could see the benefits start to flow early on. We now have highly trained staff and production standards impacting on every component of our business, making every manufacturing aspect as efficient, safe and productive as humanly possible.”
A key component to the successful implementation of competitive manufacturing was the committed participation of staff at all levels and adaptation of the knowledge and guidance from the SkilledForce trainers.
Chris Burt, CEO, Globus Group says, “No one, including myself, was exempt from the process. It’s a business program requiring full participation of everyone from the CEO downwards for it to be successful.”
Burt says the results have affected every part of the business including productivity improvements, better throughput and reduced scrapping, all of which have important cost savings attached to them.
He says, “While we have been able to reduce our costs, we have also been able to provide additional capacity to meet new business. Our streamlined processes provide a new level of confidence for our customers, particularly in packaging areas where a high level of process transparency is critical.”
Lean and Green expands the traditional definition of lean (eliminating non-value-adding time, labour and capital) to one that includes the Sustainable Green Print (SGP) components of environmental waste such as eliminating energy waste and toxic emissions. Targeting the root causes of energy wasteful practices and provides a framework for achieving specific, measurable business and environmental goals.
Andrew Tribute
