Mannok launch ‘Leading Excellence’ programme

Company aiming to achieve best-in-class operational standards across the entire business

MANNOK have launched a new ‘Leading Excellence’ programme which will be implemented in every area across the business, to achieve and sustain the highest operational standards through the core principles of teamwork, problem-solving, innovation, and leadership.

The programme will provide a transferable framework based on four core pillars – Lean, Sustainability, Skills and Development, and Continuous Improvement – and will help the company achieve best-in-class standards across its entire operations.

By engaging all employees at every level in the business, Mannok say the programme will ensure each individual gains the necessary skills and knowledge to continually improve every process, making operations more efficient and sustainable, and building a culture of continuous improvement.

Explaining how the programme will benefit the company and its people, operations director, Kevin Lunney, said: ‘Continuous improvement and getting the best out of all our resources is key to the business success. Our industry is going through unprecedented change. We have a focus on lifetime sustainability of our products and a continuous need to innovate. We know our people have the ability to meet these challenges and we want to put in place the framework to support that.

‘We will equip all our people with the skills required and provide the most appropriate training and support to achieve operational excellence and achieve their career goals. We will look at every task, every role, every process, and rethink it, challenging ourselves to improve it, to make it more efficient, more sustainable, and safer, wherever possible.

‘As we strive to achieve operational excellence, the net result will be a highly efficient business with greater productivity and a multi-skilled, motivated workforce, and significant benefits for our customers as well.’

Mannok are focused on creating a work environment which maximizes productivity while minimizing waste and have already seen how the adoption of Lean principles can result in performance improvements and waste reduction in their Packaging, Roof Tiles, PIR Insulation, and bagged Cement operations.

Through the rollout of the new programme, the company says it will build on these successes by honing and progressing Lean activities in these areas and go on to establish Lean principles in every area of the business.

By removing inefficiencies and streamlining services right across the company, aided by cutting-edge technology and data analysis, Mannok will reduce costs and environmental impact, and ensure they consistently deliver the highest-quality products and services to their customers. They will also create a positive, more engaging work environment for all employees.

Lean is designed to reduce waste, much of which will help improve how Mannok operate from an environmental perspective, such as reducing material waste, energy consumption, and water usage.

As the company integrates Lean and Continuous Improvement throughout the organization, it is also committed to embedding sustainability considerations at every point. Every time a task, process, or role is assessed for improvement, sustainability considerations will form an important part of the review to ensure improvements will also reduce the environmental impact where possible.

Mannok also aim to provide a clear developmental pathway for each employee under the programme, to allow them to become confident and competent within their role and achieve their career goals.

The company already has a strong foundation in place, having established its award-winning Skills Development Programme in four of its core manufacturing facilities, and introduced a structured Lean training programme. The Leading Excellence programme will interlink and extend the existing training initiatives to allow all employees to become multi-skilled and provide structured development pathways with all the necessary support to help achieve career progression.

But to achieve true operational excellence, Mannok say it is not enough to make improvements once; it must be an ongoing process, where the business continually strives to improve how it operates and seeks to do everything better.

Through the new programme, Mannok will build a culture of continuous improvement whereby all employees at all levels are engaged in actively ensuring the improvements are sustained and constant review is an integral part of daily working life to find ways to further improve processes through incremental change.

Conor Baxter, operational excellence manager at Mannok, who has developed and is leading the new programme, commented: ‘We have built a comprehensive framework which will challenge us to rethink everything we do and will be transformative to the way we operate. There is no area of the business which will remain unchanged, and all employees will benefit from the programme, which will bring with it a wide range of new opportunities.

‘We want to get to a point where continuous improvement is everyone’s responsibility and we have an engaged workforce which is fully equipped to achieve and maintain best-in-class operational standards in every area of the company. Our goal is to ensure maximum value for our customers by eliminating all non-value adding activities, whilst ensuring the long-term sustainability of our business for the benefit of our people and our local region.’