Cultural change key to Competitive Manufacturing success

When Competenz Account Manager William Bratton invited him to participate in the pilot project, Airpro was embarking on its own continuous improvement process so it was an opportunity Malcolm couldn't resist.

"The timing couldn't have been better - we felt the Competenz pilot would complement what we were about to do," explained Malcolm. "With fast growth over the past two years we recognised our processes needed a critical eye and performance efficiencies across all areas of the business could be improved.

Discovering the principles of competitive manufacturing is a process Malcolm is enjoying, and particularly learning that a sustainable culture is critical to the success of competitive manufacturing and can only be achieved by engaging all workers, starting from the top.

As founder and Managing Director of Airpro 25 years ago, Malcolm is the first to admit he has not paid as much attention to developing behavioral processes as he should have as his attention was more on building the company.

"After completing a ‘Value Stream Mapping' process and identifying areas where interventions could be introduced we commenced the CM process about three months ago. Even after one month, the results are encouraging but we have a way to go," admitted Malcolm.

He says it will be a ‘work in progress' but one that is he enjoying, adding while he has seen it done he has never done it himself.

"It is easy to get involved and Competenz has shown us meaningful benefits of change. It is good to have William pushing us along, checking our progress and always following up. The time commitment is negligible compared to benefits."

While Malcolm is the driving force behind the need for change the general consensus within Airpro was ‘change was needed' and he has the support from his ‘very experienced' human resources manager, Bernadette McEvoy.

"I am making it happen, I can visualise where we can get to and am confident of realising significant productivity improvements before the end of the year," said Malcolm.

If October's results are an indication, where Airpro's factory achieved a 15% increase in productivity and stores turned over twice the normal volume of stock, Malcolm sees no reason why the trend can not be sustained.

The introduction of project management training is another intervention which is giving significant results. Previously, staff were promoted without core competency recognition by the project management team and as a result consistency in work and project accountability was missing. To remedy this, Malcolm and Bernadette implemented a skills competency assessment which highlighted some of Airpro's weaker areas. Now, armed with background knowledge and tools and assistance from Competenz, significant progress in project management has been achieved.

"This tangible evidence is exciting and encouraging," says Malcolm.

"The seeds are sown now - the challenge is to bring staff along with us. We're not at critical mass - but we are well on the way."

Competenz can guide you on your journey to a CM-enhanced business. For more call William Bratton on (09) 539 9879 or Andrew Brownlee on (09) 539 9871 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it