Continuous improvement has always been favoured at Epec’s factory, both regarding products and operating methods. Unfortunately, these measures have often been left in the shadows of other things with higher priority.
In early 2017, we decided to make continuous improvements systematically, in order to support the realisation of overall business growth in accordance with the company’s strategy. For the two of us, 50% of our work time has been reserved for dealing with the factory’s development matters. A work area dedicated to continuous improvement was established in the factory. Every employee is entitled to submit suggestions for improvement, both regarding their own as well as other people’s daily work. People were divided into six groups according to their jobs. Every Monday morning, each group gathers in the dedicated area for max 15 minutes. Suggestions for improvement are visible to all Epec staff on the Intranet, as well as on the whiteboard located in the continuous improvement work area.
Development measures have been used systematically since February 2017, so we have one full year behind us now. During the first year, we completed work on 244 suggestions for improvement, with 47 suggestions currently still being worked on. Throughout the previous year, we received several new suggestions for improvement every week, always at least one. We have also received suggestions for improvement from some of our customers and suppliers, and we are grateful to everyone: together, we can improve things more efficiently.
We will also be putting even more emphasis on the factory’s automation assembly. Measures are also underway for updating the assembly section of the products currently in production. With this, we hope to ensure that products are manufactured in an efficient and high-quality way until the end of their life cycle.
A record number of products were manufactured at Epec’s factory in 2017. This has largely been thanks to the suggestions for improvement submitted by the staff, as well as all of our commitment to our common goal, to be nothing less than THE BEST.
