Manufacturing: textiles
BekaertDeslee
BekaertDeslee, a specialist in jacquard and dobby fabrics, called on Vocum to improve productivity. Labour costs went from 15% above budget to as much as 10% below budget.
Result
Labour costs from 15% above to 10% below budget
BekaertDeslee is a leading specialist in the production of jacquard and dobby fabrics.
Our annual turnover exceeds €150 million and we employ 1,700 people worldwide.
To improve productivity, we called on Vocum. I am pleased to note that the project was a success and that the results are fully in line with our initial expectations.
Before our collaboration with Vocum, activities were spread across several sites. You would expect that bringing together the workload of different factories would increase productivity. Against all expectations, however, productivity fell to 15% below budget. One of the main reasons for this unexpected development was that the former management had never dealt with operations on such a large scale before. Another influential factor was the increased demand for flexibility from our customers.
Vocum's approach of working directly at the operational level, rather than solely at management level, and its savings orientation convinced us to work with Vocum.
The analysis carried out revealed a significant opportunity to improve productivity by 20%. Vocum also identified the main obstacles in our production that were preventing our factory from operating optimally. Based on these findings, we decided to start a project.
Today, the expected savings have been exceeded. Before this project, as mentioned earlier, our labour costs for production staff were 15% above budget. We have achieved a productivity increase that has brought labour costs to as much as 10% below budget.
These financial results were the positive consequence of a behavioural change ‘at the point of execution’ — as Vocum calls it. A combination of coaching and a management system ensured that the missing management behaviour stayed in place.
Based on agreed standards, we now have a planning tool with which we can adapt our workforce to the upcoming workload, and not the other way around. This means we can now work productively even when the workload is low.
Vocum taught us how important it is for supervisors to personally outline clear expectations to their people at the start of the shift and to follow up the work during the shift. Obstacles not addressed during the follow-up are reflected in measurable deviations in transparent reports. Short operational meetings with the right people at the right frequency lead to corrective actions, which are followed up by means of action plans. Interdepartmental communication has improved substantially and people take more initiative when it comes to improving operations at all levels.
We would like to thank Vocum for their commitment and considerable investment of time in our project to ensure its lasting success. I can recommend their approach to all future prospects and clients who strive to improve productivity and want to achieve results.
I can recommend their approach to all future prospects and clients who strive to improve productivity and want to achieve results.
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