Show them the money
September 1st 2009 I visited a lift truck manufacturing plant in Northern Ireland recently. The firm, like all forklift manufacturers, has seen production drop off dramatically during the last year, but is insulated from the worst effects thanks to a decision to restructure back in August 2007, before many understood the full implications of the credit crunch.
Now it has a stabilised workforce operating a four day week. On the fifth day, operators are trained. The result is a highly flexible operation, with every worker skilled in at least five jobs, and some as many as ten. Along with refined processes, it means, should demand suddenly spike for any given type of truck, the company can react rapidly, gaining an advantage over manufacturers less able to do so.
But what really impressed me was its ‘Eureka’ scheme – whereby workers whose money saving ideas are implemented receive two per cent of the resultant annual savings: last year one bright spark earned himself an extra six grand. There are undoubtedly many other firms getting the most out of employees who best understand their piece of the puzzle. But there must be many more that aren’t.Which means companies must still have a lot of money to chuck around... Oh.
Brendan Coyne, Editor More articles from Handling & Storage Solutions: | 
