Record savings for productivity scheme
Leading metal fabrication and CNC machining firm, KMF Group has celebrated its ninth successful Productivity Share Scheme, recognising savings of more than £600,000 during the last 12 months thanks to innovative ideas from staff.
The productivity share scheme, which KMF first introduced over nine years ago, challenges employees to think up cost-saving solutions or process improvements that will enhance the productivity and efficiency of KMF's manufacturing operations.
Employees understand the business better than anybody and are therefore the perfect candidates for helping maintain the group's commitment to continuous improvement. The savings don't have to be huge; a minimum annual saving of £1,500 is all that is needed to go toward the company's bottom line.
If employees can find a way to eliminate two hours a week from a production process, that's 104 labour hours saved every year!
194 employees contributed to a saving of £536,420.37 at KMF's Sheet Metal Fabrication facility, and 49 employees at KMF Precision Engineering implemented a further £97,488.93 of Savings.
Participating employees share a portion of the savings, and therefore both KMF and employees benefit from ideas and actions that lead to cost reductions.
Cost savings concentrate on the seven key areas of waste, including overproduction, inventory, transport, process, idle time, operator motion and poor quality.
One example of a cost-saving from 2019 came from Apprentice Trainer, Matt Page, who designed and manufactured replacement scrap bins to eliminate the build-up of scrap material while skips are taken away for disposal. Over the last five years, the scheme has saved KMF Group over £2.6 million.
Dianne Hibell, KMF's Productivity Scheme Administrator responsible for organising the initiative, commented: "PPS9 has seen a record result of savings and some impressive actions that have already delivered enhancements to our manufacturing facilities."
"Our employees are our greatest asset and have the best understanding of our processes and how they could be improved. I continue to be impressed by the attitude and enthusiasm of our staff and am already looking forward to PSS10! It will be our 10th anniversary, and I am confident it will be another record year!".
Every employee who participated in this year's PSS received a certificate from Managing Director Gareth Higgins at a short presentation event.
#About KMF Group
KMF Group is a market leader in the supply of precision sheet metal fabrication and CNC machining services. With 240,000 sq ft of manufacturing space in the UK and Slovakia, over 500 employees and generated sales of £38 Million, KMF has the versatility and agility to bring products to market very quickly and handle small batches or large-scale product transfers.