Cast Products going faster, better, leaner, meaner

A lean, mean, outperforming machine is what Scaw South Africa’s Cast Products division will grow into with the adoption of Project LEAN, a people-focused business model for continuous improvement from production to product.

By engaging the entire workforce, Project LEAN is able to identify areas for improvement and apply best practices to optimise plant and equipment performance on an ongoing basis. The aim is to continuously provide enhanced products and services more cost-effectively and faster.

Project LEAN is intent on doing more and more with less and less; while coming closer and closer to providing customers with exactly what they want.

Three pillars of implementation

“Cast Products has established three pillars of implementation: People, Plant & Equipment, and Sales & Marketing. The People Pillar is vital to the continuity of Project LEAN,” says Martin Volkwyn, operational and technical manager, Cast Products, Scaw South Africa.

He adds, “The People Pillar will be rolled out in two phases; through the Team Leader Learnership and the Sustainable Continuous Business Improvement Plan, known as the 20 Keys because the plan incorporates 20 keys of learning.”

“In addition to developing the leadership qualities of first-line supervisors, a Talent Management strategy will be implemented to support the development of  foundry management skills.

“For the Plant & Equipment Pillar, an expert foundry equipment consultancy has been engaged to assist in the development of a master plan for the modernisation and rationalisation of Cast Products’ six foundry operations. The team for the Sales & Marketing Pillar is working closely with Scaw’s Value Based Management team to develop a long-term sales strategy to identify attractive market opportunities for Scaw’s foundry business.”

Benefits for the whole

LEAN proposes: “First-line supervisors are the most important single force in an economy . . .  they hold the power to turn on or turn off the productivity of most organisations. These are the men and women who maintain the crucial interface between the management hierarchy and the vast body of employees who put their hands on, or apply their minds to, the real work of the enterprise.”
First line supervisors will attend an 18-month NQF3 (National Certificate in Management) learnership programme, consisting of eight modules, to enhance their managerial skills and align them to the roll out of the 20 Keys.

Benefits to the learners

• Increased self-esteem and confidence.
• Training that is relevant to their work.
• Nationally-recognised qualification.
• Transferable, portable qualification.
• Flexible structure.
• Constructive feedback and   assessment.
• Support of the concept of  life-long learning.

Benefits to the organisation

• Competent management at all levels.
• Integrated approach to learning.
• In-house application.
• Increased teamwork.
• More productive workplace (improvement of quality, cost and delivery performance).