Introducing Charlotte Dickerson: Ricoh

Ahead of The Manufacturing Institute’s Framework for Excellence conference, we’re

talking to some of the speakers and industry experts who are set to star at the event.

Charlotte Dickerson, Transformation & Engagement Manager for global technology organisation Ricoh, will be starring alongside her colleague Rob Bland (Continuous Improvement Specialist) on the second day of the conference. Here, she offers us an insight into her role at the multinational technology manufacturer, as well as what we can expect to hear from her in March.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your career

I took on responsibility for the Continuous Improvement Function at Ricoh in 2011, this was blended alongside responsibilities for learning and development excellence across our manufacturing sites and includes an external consultancy offering.  Our approach to continuous improvement is to engage all employees, so my background in HR was beneficial.

More recently, my focus includes the management of our transformation programme and how we can engage all employees in our digital manufacturing journey.

What does operational excellence mean to Ricoh?

We have an internally developed operational excellence system – we call it our ‘Robust Operations’ model.

It’s all about having solid foundations in place so that we can produce excellent results across safety, environmental, quality, cost and delivery metrics – no matter what the external circumstances are.

Within our model, we consider people, process and results, with a stretch towards being operationally excellent in the digital age.

Embedded throughout is the Ricoh Way Production System which sets key fundamental behaviours encouraging all employees to engage in continually improving towards operational excellence.

What have been your biggest challenges along the way?

Back in 2005, although we won a major UK award, a key stakeholder highlighted our inefficiencies. We had two factories in Europe – ourselves and one in France – and we were tasked with having to turn things around very quickly in order to keep the UK site globally competitive. 

This is where we began the journey to engage all employees in terms of continuous improvement – which has transformed us into not just an efficient plant, but a leading one within our global group.

Through a shared sense of purpose and measurable objectives that were embedded into the key business strategy, we started to achieve a state where continuous improvement was an everyday habit, with employees being empowered to make positive change.

We developed and integrated standardised systems, processes and engagement tools to support our transformation. But, most importantly, we ensured alignment to our strategy, established leadership champions, and created a culture where improvement was rewarded and recognised. All these factors were critical to ensuring the continuous improvement culture was sustainable and not just a ‘flavour of the month’.

There are many new challenges ahead too. We’re a business development centre as well as a manufacturing plant, which means we constantly need to be looking at shaping industrial solutions for the future and finding ways to embrace digital manufacturing principles.

What’s been your biggest highlight or achievement so far?

Our biggest recent achievement was being declared a winner at the Ricoh Way global awards and, within that awards programme, being recognised as the group’s global leader in toner manufacturing.  This makes us a very attractive factory and helps secure the future of our core business.

Over the last couple of years, we have successfully diversified into new business areas, including additive manufacturing, inkjet technology and setting up Ricoh’s first customer experience centre.  Our innovation led to our new Business Development Centre status, further securing our position in the Ricoh Group.

What is the key to furthering continuous improvement?

Employee engagement is key to furthering continuous improvement. Everyone needs to be working in the same direction, understand their part to play, and have the necessary skills and tools to make a difference. It’s also crucial to build the right culture in terms of leadership and behaviours.

We are now on a digital journey at Ricoh, with a new cause to be an industrial solutions leader. Our sustained culture of continuous improvement is paramount to our success.

What can people expect from your talk at the conference?

I’ll be performing my talk alongside Rob Bland – a continuous improvement specialist at Ricoh.

We’ll be planning the talk much closer to the time, but will focus on the importance of engaging employees in the operational excellence journey.

You can see Charlotte Dickerson and Rob Bland deliver their talk at The Manufacturing Institute’s Framework For Excellence Conference in March 2019, with tickets available here [LINK]. You can also read more about operational excellence by downloading our free whitepaper [LINK].

Happy to be contacted on social/contacted about the magazine

Introducing Jan Berg: Volvo Production System Manager

Ahead of The Manufacturing Institute’s Framework for Excellence conference, we’re talking to some of the speakers and industry experts who are set to star at the event. Here, Jan Berg of Volvo explains in detail what operational excellence means to his business and what you can expect from his breakout session at the conference. 

Tell us a bit about yourself

I was born and raised in the small town of Köping in Sweden – an industrial centre where the best gearbox in the world was made. 

I now live in Göteborg with my fiancée and three children. I am looking forward to visiting England to discuss operational excellence in greater detail at The Manufacturing Institute’s conference. 

What’s your role at Volvo? 

I’ve been working primarily in operations and direct production, in both improvement and industrial footprint projects. 

Over the past fifteen years, I have been working with Volvo Production System as both a local co-ordinator and manager, conducting reviews all over the world. 

I have great experience of Swedish management in a global world, as well as implementing lean processes. I have overseen 1,600 people in a single plant and performed various management duties.  

What does operational excellence mean to Volvo?

We are working towards operational excellence every single day and we’ve seen good evolution in every area – but there is a lot of work still to be done. 

We must continue improving our mobile thinking. This is the next step for us. It is quite common for organisations to get stuck in a particular stage, and now we must work hard to take advantage of the multicultural element within our plants to do something new and move forwards. 

What have been your biggest challenges along the way?

Communication is one of the biggest challenges in the search for excellence. It is important to learn how to have open discussions as an organisation, as this can be the difference between a mediocre business and an excellent one. 

Volvo has always been known for its great products, but we need to improve our common knowledge and reduce complacency through regular benchmarking. 

What’s been your biggest highlight or achievement so far?

Our KPIs are really going in the right direction, and we’re seeing improvements in quality in both delivery and finance. 

We are certainly moving towards excellence, and whilst we’re proud of what we have achieved so far, there is a lot more work to do. That’s the challenge – to keep the spark growing here and enjoy more success in the future. 

What is the key to furthering continuous improvement?

I think we need to take more inspiration from the East when it comes to production. As westerners, we don’t pay close attention to details in quite the same way as those on the other side of the world. 

This is something we need to address. By prioritising value-added activities and observation, organisations can truly progress.  

What can people expect from your talk at the conference? 

I will be offering my own personal perspective on how Volvo is currently operating as a company, and how a product- and business-driven organisation like ours can achieve excellence in the long term. 

I will look to explain where we are on the journey and what we need to do to move further along. 

You can see Jan Berg deliver his seminar at The Manufacturing Institute’s Framework For Excellence Conference in March 2019, with tickets available here [LINK]. You can also read more about operational excellence by downloading our free whitepaper [LINK].

Introducing George Donaldson: Devro Enterprise Excellence Manager and The Manufacturing Institute Leadership and Enterprise Excellence Coach

Ahead of The Manufacturing Institute’s Framework for Excellence conference, we’re talking to some of the speakers and industry experts who are set to star at the event. Here, George Donaldson of Devro gives an insight into how operational excellence has played an important part in the business, and what you can look forward to from his session at the conference.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your role at Devro

The key focus of my career has been coaching businesses to improve themselves. Much of my background is in government and newspapers as an engineering manager, and I first got involved in operational excellence when working for Toronto Star in the 1990s.

Then in 2007 I moved onto the role of Group Continuous Improvement Manager at News International. In 2014, we won the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence. This was a huge achievement – we were the first business in the UK tand the first newspaper manufacturer in the world to be awarded it. I’ve been at Devro since 2016, helping them work towards their ambition of becoming the UK’s first food industry manufacturer to achieve Shingo Prize recognition.

What does  enterprise excellence mean to Devro?

It’s absolutely vital. By engaging everybody, you not only achieve recognised standards of excellence, but better the business too. Having it in place means we create a safer environment for all our employees and provide better quality to the customer, which in turn ensures we are profitable. Devro has broken all the records for health and safety, quality and production performance.

If you go down the Shingo route, you need to realise that it’s the employees that make the difference. Those who understand this have triumphed.

How have you gone about achieving operational excellence?

We had a plan from the start. Our first step was to create a vision with leaders, managers and associates, and then to take everyone off-site for one day to discuss our intentions and anchor everyone in ‘The Devro Way’ – this isn’t easy when you have 500 employees! There were 25 one-day sessions in total.

We’ve now created 17 Process Flow and Value Stream integrated teams eo(circa 300 leaders, managers and associates). nup gThe main purpose for these teams is to identify opportunities to protect our people, product and planet, and reduce waste (non-value adding activities). It’s a new way of thinking for them, but now they have continuous improvement underpinning everything they do.

What have been your biggest challenges along the way?

The biggest challenge is most definitely people. Many have seen implemented changes and promised ideas come and go – when they’ve heard and seen it all before, it’s difficult to engage them.

That’s why we’ve kept our attention on our goal, and we have built trust by delivering on what we said we’d do. When those who were initially sceptical see this, they come on board. The winning team has a voice, so we’ve made sure to invest in everyone and listen to their ideas.

What’s been your biggest highlight or achievement so far?

Winning the Shingo Prize in 2014 was huge. We didn’t go in it to win it – in 2010, we started understanding the Shingo Model, and the team just really got on board.

Now I’m helping Devro, who have the same aspirations. We’ve been on the journey for two years now, and it’s humbling to see people become more engaged and really enjoy their jobs.

What plans do you have to further continuous improvement?

We are currently in the third phase – transition. This makes continuous improvement become systemic and a part of everyday life. We’ll be setting up and introducing it to five more teams. 

It’s now about others taking a step forward. 10% of our workforce volunteered to be on the steering team for this phase – it’s fantastic to see them determined to help the business reach its goals.

What can people expect from your talk at the conference?

It will discuss the steps required to engage employees – whilst most talk about it, they’re not certain how to achieve it. Much of my speech will be intertwined with The Manufacturing Institute’s Framework for Excellence whitepaper. 

I’ve called my talk ‘Seeing the Gap’ – there’s often an opening for engaging employees, but the scope is not realised. I’ll hope to get the audience thinking about this.

You can see George Donaldson deliver his seminar at The Manufacturing Institute’s Framework For Excellence Conference in March 2019, with tickets available here [LINK]. You can also read more about operational excellence by downloading our free whitepaper [LINK].

Introducing Aidan Murphy: Ipsen Executive Vice President, Technical Operations

Ahead of The Manufacturing Institute’s Framework for Excellence conference, we’re talking to some of the speakers and industry experts who are set to star at the event. Here, Aidan Murphy of Ipsen discusses how operational excellence has been a core part of improving the business, together with what to anticipate from his session at the conference.

Tell us a bit about your role at Ipsen

I’ve been with Ipsen for over two decades now, covering a lot of ground in many different manufacturing leadership roles. I am now their Executive Vice President, Technical Operations.

As it’s a global company with an international presence, I’ve also had exposure to different parts of the business over the years. Working in Ireland, China and France has given me the opportunity to see the distinct ways in which they operate.

What does operational excellence mean to Ipsen?

I think ‘operational excellence’ is too one-dimensional a term; it’s far more than this. ‘Enterprise excellence’ would be more fitting.

We’ve been striving for it for three years now, and it’s very similar to The Manufacturing Institute’s philosophy. If you don’t get the culture right, then there’s no point. It’s shown us how important building strong leadership is, as well as ensuring people believe in your vision. With this in place, you can produce fantastic results.

How have you gone about achieving operational excellence?

You can’t just expect your team to understand the business’ vision, so we’ve made every effort to help them see what the future could look like, and be excited about it as well. We’ve been working on process, place and increasing competencies.

Visual management has been key in getting engagement at a high level. Staff are now able to explain our vision to whoever they may meet, and they feel that they’re part of something special. It’s incredibly empowering to belong to such an organisation. 

We’ll maintain and build upon our enterprise excellence with ongoing dedication to upskilling employees and continuous improvement.

What have been your biggest challenges along the way?

Working to achieve enterprise excellence is not everyone’s cup of tea, so it’s been a challenge working out how to take the sceptics along. Different ideas and different statistics are brought in all the time, so you have to figure out how to combat the apathy in terms of value to people.

We’ve had to completely transform a culture, and that can take a number of years. We’ve certainly found that patience is key.

What’s been your biggest highlight or achievement so far?

It’s been fantastic to see team members take a great deal of pride in their work, and genuinely want to succeed. 

This isn’t something that’s been felt only internally either – visitors, to all of our sites, have said they’ve noticed a completely different spirit and level of energy and engagement. 

What plans do you have to further continuous improvement?

Continuous improvement will be an ongoing part of how we operate as a business. Our site in the UK was awarded the Shingo Bronze Medallion, which few companies have. 

There’s a Silver Medallion too, along with the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence. We will strive to have all our sites awarded.

What can people expect from your talk at the conference?

It will be a very visual presentation. There will be lots of short, engaging videos where our teams speak about the journey to enterprise excellence and achieving that sense of culture. The theme for my slot is ‘impact through people’.

You can see Aidan Murphy deliver his seminar at The Manufacturing Institute’s Framework For Excellence Conference in March 2019, with tickets available here [LINK]. You can also read more about operational excellence by downloading our free whitepaper [LINK].

Introducing Sarah Jardine: Optos Senior Director of Manufacturing 

Ahead of The Manufacturing Institute’s Framework for Excellence Conference, we’re

talking to some of the speakers and industry experts who are set to star at the event. 

Here, Sarah Jardine chronicles her rise to the top of Optos – a Dunfermline-based business specialising in the design, development and manufacturing of ultra-widefield retinal imaging devices. 

Tell us a bit about yourself

Growing up, I was always a proper Big Bang theory geek. I got my BSc (Hons) in Laser Physics and Optoelectronics from the University of Strathclyde (who gave me Alumna of the Year) and my MSc in Laser Engineering from Heriot-Watt University. I went on to work in a technical background designing laser rangefinders for tanks, Apache helicopters and ground-based special forces. 

I moved to Optos in January 2000 and I’ve played a role in making the company more manufacturing-focused, spending years developing skills and knowledge across multiple departments. 

In 2009, the Optos senior team was reorganised and I was offered the role of Plant Manager by the new COO. This was one of the best things I ever did. He (the new COO) allowed me to learn, make mistakes, take big steps, and understand the mechanics of running a manufacturing business and what was required to transform company culture. 

What does operational excellence mean to Optos?

At the start, Optos never had any ambition to make anything. When I first arrived, the business focused purely on design and development – they outsourced manufacturing to other companies. When we did start production, we didn’t really shout about it at all. Manufacturing was like our dirty little secret. 

It became clear that whilst people were connected with our products, they weren’t connected with the business and the manufacturing side of things. In the past ten years, though, we’ve changed that and pushed production to the forefront – becoming part of the manufacturing community in Scotland. 

I wanted to make Optos a place you could come to see excellent manufacturing – and I think we’ve achieved that. We make a very innovative and difficult product, and with no direct competitors, it’s up to us to set our own bar. For us, operational excellence is about being the best we can be. 

A lot of effort has gone into making this a great place to work. We need everyone to be engaged. Back in the day, we were totally focused on how many things we made. Now it’s more about how we make those things to begin with – prioritising behaviour as well as results. 

What have been your biggest challenges along the way?

Nobody trusted the management initially – which now included me! Building up that level of trust over those first few years was certainly one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever experienced. 

I was a technical expert, but I was still learning as far as manufacturing was concerned – and all of a sudden, I had lots of people looking to me for answers. I had to work hard to adjust my approach. It was no longer about just giving people the answers; I had to create an environment where we all found these answers together. 

What’s been your biggest highlight or achievement so far?

The best part of my job is getting to show off the great work everyone else does – and we’ve had some real success by focusing on high value rather than high volume.

There was a period where we made 50 brand new devices, and within five months we had to have capacity for 200 brand new products on top. Somehow, we did it. It all came down to thinking differently and trying new approaches. 

The achievements of the team have been incredible. They’re always working towards constant improvement. 

What is the key to furthering continuous improvement?

There are three elements to continuous improvement in my opinion: build a support structure, make it easy for people to do the right things, and focus on behaviour. 

I spent two years in this role trying to figure out why things weren’t working, and I realised I needed to put a support structure in place that makes it easy for the team to do the right things, and gave them a ‘voice’ and an input into how we get things done.

That’s why I stopped creating metrics that focused on the results instead of how people behaved – including me. 

What can people expect from your talk at the conference? 

I think that the most difficult aspects of an operational excellence journey are just as interesting and important as the successes. 

I’ll be talking about the journey we’ve been on as a business and including all the pros and cons of that experience, making sure to highlight what we’ve learned and offer information that people can take away and use. 

My talk will also offer practical examples of how we went about making these changes –as well as focusing on why.  

You can see Sarah deliver her lecture at The Manufacturing Institute’sFramework For Excellence Conference in March 2019, with tickets available here [LINK]. You can also read more about operational excellence by downloading our free whitepaper [LINK].

Introducing Mark Davies: Nufarm

Ahead of The Manufacturing Institute’s Framework for Excellence conference, we’re

talking to some of the speakers and industry experts who are set to star at the event.

Here, Mark Davies reflects on a HR career within manufacturing spanning two decades, discussing his current role at agrochemical company Nufarm and the topics he’ll be addressing at our upcoming conference. 

Tell us a bit about yourself

First and foremost, I am a people person and I have a simple view that we spend most of our time at work. Therefore, we should try to be the best that we can be and find enjoyment in what we do. 

I’ve worked in the manufacturing industry for twenty years, starting out on the shop floor and making my way into Personnel (as it was called back then). Since learning my HR trade at Burtons Foods, I’ve progressed into senior HR roles at some fantastic companies – privately owned, FTSE 250 and global blue chip organisations. 

After spending seven challenging, yet very enjoyable, years at Shingo Prize Winner Ultraframe UK Ltd (where I worked alongside former Managing Director of The Manufacturing Institute, Mike Price), I wanted to broaden my HR and commercial experience within global organisations. This led to me heading up HR for the UK & Ireland Supply Chain at SCA Hygiene Products, a global consumer goods and paper company, followed by a Regional HR Business Partner role at Unilever where I partnered three sites across the UK & Ireland. 

 In 2014, I moved to Nufarm UK Ltd to head up the HR team in the UK & Ireland. This has been such a rewarding role; which has seen us raise the bar significantly when it comes to the people agenda. Our investment in people development at all levels of the organisation has seen us receive external recognition from the Chemical Industries Association. More importantly, performance has improved across the KPI’s of safety, output, quality and cost, and our people are actively engaged in our continued success.  

What does operational excellence mean to Nufarm?

For Nufarm, operational excellence is about delivering in five key areas: Safety (which is always our number one priority and we have a target of zero harm), Quality, Cost, Delivery and Morale.  

Achieving excellence in these areas is our continuous aim. 

What have been your biggest challenges along the way?

There have been many challenges in each organisation that I have worked in, but all are pretty common. 

Remaining cost competitive and providing a fantastic customer experience is what keeps us in business, and is critical to continued growth in the UK manufacturing industry.  

In addition, winning the hearts and minds of people and engaging them to continuously improve is a big test. If this can be achieved with the majority, the momentum that follows will be significant. 

What’s been your biggest highlight or achievement so far?

In 2017, Nufarm were awarded the Chemical Industry Association’s Company of the Year Award; which was a huge achievement for the whole UK team.  This was the culmination of a three-year journey to operational excellence; which saw us achieve best in class against our competitors and peers. Of course, our journey to operational excellence hasn’t ended and we are all working hard to continuously improve. 

From a personal perspective, my biggest achievement has been to see stakeholders recognise that HR is key to successful business performance, when previously they have questioned the tangible value that HR can add. There is nothing more satisfying than a leadership team that embraces the people agenda as the enabler for success, and I am proud to work for a company and leadership team that shares the same values as me. 

What is the key to furthering continuous improvement?

Accepting that we must continuously improve in order to stay ahead of the competition. If we don’t, the competition will catch up and “eat our dinner”. 

It is also important that people don’t think that continuous improvement is purely a production and engineering initiative. All our business functions at Nufarm are encouraged and empowered to improve their interactions, processes and behaviours in order to reduce unnecessary waste and cost. 

What can people expect from your talk at the conference? 

My talk will be very open and honest – a warts and all tale about how to engage people on the journey to operational excellence. 

It will cover what we’ve got wrong and how we have learned from that, and what we have got right and the tangible results that have followed.  

You can catch Mark speaking at The Manufacturing Institute’sFramework For Excellence Conference in March 2019, with tickets available here [LINK]. You can also read more about operational excellence by downloading our free whitepaper [LINK].

Introducing Denis Paris: Head Of GSK Production System

Ahead of The Manufacturing Institute’s Framework for Excellence conference, we’re

talking to some of the speakers and industry experts who are set to star at the event.

Here, Denis Paris of GSK discusses how their evolutionary production system is helping to drive important change at a global pharmaceutical company. 

Tell us a bit about yourself

I’ve been Head of the GSK Production System since the start of 2017, but I’ve been with the company for more than four years now. 

Most of my career has been spent in the automotive space. I started on the process side of things with Citroën on a big site in France, before moving to smart technology producer Valeo where I took on various roles around the world. 

I have been an Engineering Manager in France; Supply Chain and Production System Director in Japan; Plant Manager in Czech Republic; and Site Director in Thailand; before returning to Europe as a General Manager. 

Japan was a particularly interesting time for me. It was here that Valeo introduced a production system and I was part of the team that helped to unveil this change. This was a great experience. 

What does operational excellence mean to GSK?

We don’t actually use “operational excellence” as a label here at GSK. We use “production system” instead. 

This involves the support of accredited specialists and lean techniques, enabling us to become more connected to the customer and continue to remain in an enterprise position. 

What have been your biggest challenges along the way?

The biggest challenge for me personally was learning about the pharmaceutical industry as well as GSK itself. 

It was very different to my previous roles, so it required some adapting. This was especially difficult when you consider that we are in a highly innovative industry where everything moves quickly. 

For the company, the number one challenge remains maintaining and improving quality and compliance. There always needs to be processes in place to deliver these high standards. 

What’s been your biggest highlight or achievement so far?

Seeing the growing success of the production system. Five years ago, we didn’t have this in place so this has been a real achievement. 

The continuous implementation of this system means that definitive movement has now become possible. Safety and quality have both increased. We are really starting to see some more focus and better results. 

Are we the best business in the pharmaceutical industry? Not yet. But our production system is of a very high quality and we have the opportunity to keep improving. 

What is the key to furthering continuous improvement?

One of the things we are doing more of now is looking outside. We are following processes like benchmarking and other similar activities to note how far we’ve come. 

We keep an eye on developments elsewhere, take part in conferences, and make sure we are always learning from our journey. It’s all about constant evolution and taking the action to make sure this is possible – synchronising the company to absorb change whenever it is necessary. 

Every quarter there is something new in the industry, and the production system has to keep progressing with it.  

What can people expect from your talk at the conference? 

I am still working on the title, but the story I’d like to share is the evolution of our production system, explaining how it is possible to shift from a fundamental, young model that people are familiar with to the more holistic system we have now at GSK. 

You can see Denis deliver his lecture at The Manufacturing Institute’s Framework For Excellence Conference in March 2019, with tickets available here [LINK]. You can also read more about operational excellence by downloading our free whitepaper [LINK].