Makino Asia is a global machine tools manufacturer with fully integrated operations in Singapore, encompassing Research and Development, Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management and Business Development activities under one roof. So, it was of concern when Simon Yim and his team discovered discrepancies between the company’s assembly elapsed hours and the standard hours. He also noticed that at the middle management level, there was a need to improve the knowledge and skills needed to understand, analyse and implement initiatives to improve productivity and quality.
The team turned to a WSQ Certified Productivity & Innovation Manager (CPI Manager) programme to help them adopt implementation strategies and business innovation tools to raise productivity levels in their manufacturing processes. A jointly-developed training programme by the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) under the Productivity Initiatives in Services & Manufacturing (PRISM), participants are trained as Productivity Champions or Change Agents within their companies.
Through the programme and with close guidance from SMF consultants, Simon and his team learnt to identify wastes through video capture, time/work study and analysis. They also adopted and applied 5S techniques of workplace organisation, re-engineering of processes, implemented visual control as well as re-design products.
Focusing on the production area, the programme identified wastages impeding workflow and ways to improve labour efficiency for the entire assembly process. Each department was then able to better understand its role in creating an efficient assembly process and the key factors in improving productivity across the organisation. At the end of the programme, the organisation showed a marked improvement in work performance, with a higher output per worker.
In Simon’s review of the programme, he said, “The WSQ CPI Manager programme has helped us to look at the actions to eliminate wastes and review operations within the company. Through value stream mapping and other productivity tools, we have improved our quality and efficiency which translated into a 30% increase in output and an 8% reduction in total costs.”
As part of the future plan to sustain these improvements, Makino Asia implemented a company-wide initiative where all employees are able to contribute suggestions on areas for improvement.
Makino Asia received a silver award for its significant productivity achievement at the WDA-SMF Productivity & Innovation Awards 2012. A total of 11 companies were recognised at the second edition of the awards.
For more information on PRISM and the WSQ CPI Manager programme, click here.
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