“The manufacturing industry is at a pivotal juncture. In South Africa, artificial intelligence (AI) promises a revolution in productivity, with estimates suggesting it could add up to R940 billion to the economy by 2030 (Access Partnership, 2023). Local optimism is high, with 81% of manufacturing executives expecting significant profit increases from AI (PwC, 2025). Yet, this wave of investment faces a sobering reality: a staggering global failure rate, with up to 80% of corporate AI projects failing to deliver on their objectives (Gartner, Inc., 2024; Ryseff, et. al., 2024). For many South African leaders, it feels like a high-stakes gamble where the root cause of failure is rarely the technology itself, but a failure of strategy (Lisowski, E., 2024) – specifically, ignoring the foundational stability of the operation.

To navigate this landscape, we can adapt a powerful metaphor from the Nobel laureate economist Oliver E. Williamson, who wrote of ‘Building with Bedrock and Sand’ (1996). Traditionally, this might be seen as a choice between “bedrock” (a robust, foundational approach) and “sand” (a fast, experimental one). This article argues, however, that the answer is not an “either/or” choice but a nuanced “both/and” strategy. The future-proof factory will be built by leveraging the strengths of both, ensuring that transformative technology is built upon a foundation of operational excellence.

Deconstructing the Analogy: A New Foundation for AI Strategy

The most advanced organisations understand that rapid experimentation and foundational stability are not mutually exclusive paths but two essential components of an integrated approach.

The concept of “sand” advocates for creating controlled, experimental environments – “sandboxes” – where employees can innovate with AI tools without risk (Datasphere Initiative, 2025). This directly confronts a primary barrier to adoption: human resistance to change (Ryseff, et. al., 2024). By giving employees hands-on experience, companies can demystify AI, foster a culture of ground-up innovation, and generate more practical use cases (Datasphere Initiative, 2025).  

While sandboxes foster innovation, they require a “bedrock”: a solid, defensible, and future-proof foundation. Many AI projects are little more than “temporary wrappers built atop someone else’s infrastructure,” making them exceptionally fragile (Pyke, (2025). A true bedrock architecture must be model-agnostic to avoid vendor lock-in, resilient to withstand infrastructure shocks, and sovereign to ensure control over intellectual property – a key concern for South African manufacturers wary of data security on public clouds (Pyke, 2025, Ntuli, 2025). This fragility is not just theoretical. Pyke (2025) critiques how many startups operate as “wrappers” – applications layered atop third-party models, structurally dependent and inherently vulnerable to upstream changes. In contrast, Ntuli (2025) proposes a sovereign alternative: AI infrastructure built with African priorities in mind, emphasising local data control, scalable systems, and model-agnostic design. Their shared call to action is clear – strategic autonomy is not a luxury but a necessity for long-term viability in South African manufacturing.

An exclusive focus on “sand” leads to fragile, unscalable pilots, while a “bedrock-only” strategy results in rigid systems that lack user buy-in — a dual critique first articulated by MIT Sloan (2025) and later contextualised for emerging markets by Ryseff et al. (2024). The most effective strategy is a fusion: building a robust, secure “bedrock” that enables and supports agile, employee-driven “sandboxes.” Central IT and governance teams build the foundation, while operational teams on the factory floor experiment safely on top of it. This creates a virtuous cycle where lessons from the sandbox are hardened and integrated into the core bedrock, systematically mitigating the risks that cause most AI projects to fail.

The AI Value Matrix: Proven Applications in South Africa

When a well-formulated strategy is executed correctly, AI delivers quantifiable improvements. While adoption among South African manufacturing SMEs remains low, several pioneering companies and local AI providers are demonstrating tangible returns (Akoh, 2024).  

• Optimising the Core with Predictive Maintenance: Cape Town-based AI company DataProphet specialises in manufacturing optimisation. Its prescriptive machine learning tools helped a small South African foundry monitor its casting processes, reportedly reducing defects by 20% and downtime by 15%, leading to annual savings of R500,000 (Mthembu, 2025, as cited in Akoh, 2024). While the original presentation by TG Mthembu at the Smart Manufacturing & Technology Summit is not independently verifiable, the case study has been cited in subsequent literature to illustrate sector-specific gains from localised AI adoption.
• At a larger scale, DataProphet’s prescriptive AI solution reportedly helped a major South African auto assembly plant detect and reduce spot welding defects, saving the manufacturer R8.8 million (USD 475,000) per month on downtime alone (Castings SA, 2020). While the Castings SA article does not name the manufacturer or provide independent verification, it remains a widely cited example of AI-driven process optimisation in automotive manufacturing. Similarly,  
• Caterpillar’s transition to predictive maintenance through IoT-enabled sensor analytics has transformed fleet reliability, reducing unplanned downtime by up to 50% and cutting maintenance costs by 10 – 40% across mixed heavy equipment operations (Morey Corporation, 2025).
• Perfecting the Product and Process: Paper and pulp giant Sappi employs AI-driven process control systems in its South African mills to improve energy efficiency by 10% (Mthembu, 2025). The company is also exploring AI to optimise its woodyard processes, using robotics to cut logs to precise sizes, thereby enhancing worker safety and equipment maintenance (Sappi, 2024).
• Aerobotics: In the local agricultural sector, a Western Cape fruit processing SMME used AI and drone technology from Aerobotics to monitor orchard yields, improving its sourcing by 15% and saving R300,000 annually (Mthembu, 2025).  
• Connecting the Chain: In Gauteng, a Black-owned ICT SMME, part of Microsoft’s Emerging Partner Programme, provided an AI-driven inventory management solution to a packaging materials manufacturer. This led to a 25% reduction in stockouts and a 10% increase in revenue (Mthembu, 2025). These local examples confirm broader findings that AI adoption positively influences productivity, quality control, and supply chain management in the South African manufacturing industry (Tshuma et al., 2024).  

The Anatomy of Failure: South Africa’s AI Implementation Hurdles

Despite the clear potential, South African manufacturers face distinct local challenges that contribute to project failure.

• The Critical Skills Gap: A severe shortage of AI-related skills is arguably the biggest barrier holding South Africa back (Whitehead, 2025). The demand for these skills is skyrocketing, with 78% of South African organisations identifying a need for AI talent – the highest among African nations surveyed (Whitehead, 2025). This gap has tangible consequences, with nine out of ten companies citing negative impacts such as project delays and failed innovation initiatives (Whitehead, 2025). While executives believe 40% of their workforce will require new skills due to AI, investment in upskilling lags, creating a significant risk of falling behind competitors (Whitehead, 2025).  
• Infrastructure, Cost, and Data Quality: Foundational challenges such as unreliable power and internet hinder AI deployment, particularly outside of major hubs (Mthembu, 2025; McKinsey, 2024). For South African firms, the high cost of AI software is a primary hurdle – more so than data management, which is the top concern globally (PwC, 2025). Furthermore, inconsistent or incomplete data undermines the accuracy of AI models, a significant challenge for many local companies (Mthembu, 2025).  
• Low SME Adoption and Policy Hurdles: South Africa’s manufacturing SMEs have been slow to adopt AI, often due to a lack of resources, risk aversion, and the absence of a clear implementation framework (Mabaso et al., 2024). This is compounded by broader systemic issues, including poor coordination between research institutions and the private sector, complex funding application processes, and policy challenges that can hinder innovation and investment (AI Now Institute, 2025).  

The Practitioner’s Playbook: A Phased Framework for Success

Successful AI adoption is a business transformation program managed in distinct phases. Skipping a phase creates predictable points of failure.

Phase 1: Foundation Laying (Building the Bedrock) This critical first phase addresses the strategy and data traps. It begins with an honest assessment of the organisation’s digital maturity, infrastructure, and skills base (Polisetty et al., 2023,).

A cross-functional AI governance council – including leaders from IT, operations, finance, and HR – must be established to break down silos and align projects with business objectives (Ghani et al., 2022). Crucially, the process must start with a clearly defined business problem (e.g., “reduce scrap rates by 15%”) rather than a technology solution (RAND Corporation, 2024).  

Phase 2: Agile Experimentation (Playing in the Sandbox) Once a solid foundation is in place, the organisation can move to controlled experimentation. This involves launching focused pilot projects with clear KPIs, treating them as lean experiments to test a hypothesis quickly and cheaply (Faisal, 2025). End-users, the machine operators and line supervisors, must be involved throughout the process in a human-in-the-loop model. This builds trust, ensures the solution is practical, and turns potential resistance into active championship (DeRose, 2025).  

Phase 3: Scaling and Augmentation (Constructing the Factory) This phase addresses the implementation cliff by strategically scaling proven solutions. The long-term vision should focus on augmenting human capabilities, not replacing them (Akhtar, 2025). This “superagency” approach, where AI handles repetitive tasks to free humans for higher-value work, is more ethical and effective (Mayer et. al., 2025). Scaling requires a robust architecture integrated with core systems (e.g., ERP) and, most importantly, a systematic and urgent investment in workforce upskilling and change management to close South Africa’s critical skills gap (Whitehead, 2025).  

Conclusion: From Hype to Reality

The path to successful AI adoption in South African manufacturing is not a choice between rapid experimentation (“sand”) and robust infrastructure (“bedrock”). It is a sophisticated synthesis of both. A solid bedrock of strategy and governance enables a workforce to innovate safely in value-driven sandboxes. While the technology is a powerful enabler, the true differentiator is the human factor. The companies that thrive will be those guided by a clear, human-centric vision and an unwavering commitment to empowering their workforce. By adopting this principled and phased approach, and by directly confronting local challenges like the skills gap, South African manufacturing leaders can move beyond the paradox of high investment and high failure. They can begin the essential work of building the truly intelligent, resilient, and future-proof factories of tomorrow.”

References

1. Access Partnership. (2023). AI in Africa: Unlocking Potential, Igniting Progress. Retrieved from Access Partnership’s official report

Annotation: Highlights AI’s potential to add up to $52.2 billion to South Africa’s economy by 2030. Recommends strategic policies for responsible, high-impact AI adoption

• Akhtar, R. (2025, March 27). AI won’t replace you. A human using AI will. Forbes. Retrieved from Forbes article on AI augmentation

Annotation: Argues AI should augment, not replace, human work. Emphasizes rising value of soft skills and showcases productivity boosts from AI-augmented teams.

• Akoh, E. (2024). Adoption of artificial intelligence for manufacturing SMEs’ growth and survival in South Africa: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science, 13(6), 23–37. Retrieved from International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science

Annotation: Finds low AI adoption among South African SMEs. Proposes a framework addressing infrastructure and strategy gaps to unlock productivity gains.

4. AI Now Institute. (2025). Reflections on South Africa’s AI Industrial Policy.

Annotation: Critiques fragmented AI policy and funding in South Africa. Recommends cross-sector collaboration and streamlined governance for innovation.

• Castings SA. (2020). DataProphet: Building smart factories with AI. Retrieved from Castings SA website

Annotation: Profiles DataProphet’s AI reducing defects and saving R8.8 million/month in auto manufacturing. Highlights smart factory benefits and expansion.

• Datasphere Initiative. (2025, February 11). Sandboxes for AI: Tools for a new frontier. Retrieved from Sandboxes for AI – The Datasphere Initiative

Annotation: Explains AI sandboxes as safe zones for testing innovation. Outlines a 5-phase model promoting responsible experimentation and governance.

• DeRose, M. (2025). Change champions: Building trust and practical alignment in AI adoption. FutureWorks Press.

Annotation: Trust and co-design drive AI adoption success. Stakeholder engagement, transparency, and feedback loops turn resistance into support.

• Faisal, S. (2025). Lean experimentation: Step-by-step guide for product teams. Userpilot. Retrieved from Userpilot’s official blog.

Annotation:Promotes lean experimentation in AI projects. Encourages small, testable pilots with measurable outcomes for rapid learning.

• Gartner, Inc. (2024, July 29). Gartner predicts 30% of generative AI projects will be abandoned after proof of concept by end of 2025. Gartner Newsroom. Retrieved from Gartner’s official press release

Annotation: Predicts 30% of GenAI projects will fail post-pilot by 2025 due to unclear ROI and poor data quality. Highlights sustainability concerns.

1. Ghani, A., Boateng, K., & Mensah, T. (2022). AI governance frameworks for inclusive digital transformation in Africa. Ghana Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation. Retrieved from Ghana National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: 2023–2033.

Annotation: Call for inclusive, cross-departmental AI governance in Africa. Emphasizes transparency, ethics, and aligning tech with broader goals.

1. Lisowski, E. (2024, June 24). Why AI Projects Fail – And What Successful Companies Do Differently. Addepto. Retrieved from Addepto’s official blog

Annotation: Attributes AI project failures to strategic misalignment. Suggests strong leadership and “bedrock” strategies over reactive pilots.

1. Mabaso, T., Akoh, E., & Nzama, M. (2024). Adoption of artificial intelligence for manufacturing SMEs’ growth and survival in South Africa: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science, 13(6), 23–37. Retrieved from the official study.

Annotation: Show SME AI adoption hindered by cost and capacity issues. Recommends national frameworks and targeted policy support.

1. Mayer, H., Yee, L., Chui, M., & Roberts, R. (2025). Superagency in the workplace: Empowering people to unlock AI’s full potential. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from McKinsey’s official report.

Annotation: Introduce “superagency”: AI augments human work for higher productivity. Calls for leadership alignment and employee-focused strategies.

1. McKinsey & Company. (2024). Gen AI in Africa: Unlocking potential. Retrieved from McKinsey’s official insight

Annotation: AI scaling in Africa is limited by poor infrastructure and data quality. South Africa’s agriculture and manufacturing sectors are most affected.

1. MIT Sloan Management Review. (2025). Summer 2025 Issue: Strategic Thinking and Long-Term Planning. Retrieved from https://sloanreview.mit.edu/issue/2025-spring/

Annotation: Uses “sand vs. bedrock” metaphor to critique unstable pilots and rigid systems. Advocates for balance in AI strategy.

1. Morey Corporation. (2024). Breaking ground: Transforming asset management – Caterpillar’s journey to predictive maintenance. Retrieved from Morey Corporation Case Study

Annotation:Caterpillar’s shift to predictive maintenance improved uptime and cut costs by up to 40%. Demonstrates AI’s industrial impact.

1. Mthembu, T. G. (2025, May). AI-driven process optimization in South African foundries: A case study. In Smart Manufacturing & Technology Summit, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Annotation: Case study: South African foundry reduced defects by 20% using AI. Demonstrates cost-saving potential in constrained environments.

1. Mthembu, N. (2025, May 16). AI and the future of manufacturing: A call to action for continuous improvement practitioners in Africa. ODI. Retrieved from ODI’s official article.

Annotated AI improves Sappi’s energy efficiency by 10%. Encourages integration with Lean, Six Sigma, and CI frameworks in manufacturing.

1. Mthembu, N. (2025, June 24). AI for SMMEs: Why now is Africa’s moment to build smarter factories. ODI. Retrieved from ODI’s official article

Annotation: Showcases AI use by Aerobotics to boost orchard yield forecasting accuracy and save R300,000 annually. Highlights SMME benefits.

• Mthembu, N. (2025, June 24). AI for SMMEs: Why now is Africa’s moment to build smarter factories. ODI. Retrieved from ODI’s official article.

Annotation: Discusses infrastructure gaps like power and internet as major AI barriers for SMMEs. Urges investment in digital readiness.

• Mthembu, N. (2025, May 16). AI and the Future of Manufacturing: A Call to Action for Continuous Improvement Practitioners in Africa. ODI. Retrieved from ODI’s official article

Annotation: Data fragmentation and manual processes hinder AI model accuracy. Advocates for structured data governance in South African firms.

• Ntuli, P. (2025, July 31). How Africa can start advancing AI on its own terms. Lifestyle & Tech. Lifestyle & Tech article.

Annotation: Calls for sovereign, model-agnostic AI infrastructure across Africa, stressing local data control and scalable systems as essential for long-term competitiveness and strategic independence.

• Polisetty, R., Naidoo, K., & Mokoena, L. (2023). AI readiness in South African manufacturing: Strategy, infrastructure, and skills. Johannesburg Institute for Digital Futures. Retrieved from Johannesburg Institute for Digital Futures.

Annotation:Outlines AI readiness stages—digital maturity, skills, and strategy. Warns against rushing implementation without foundational alignment.

• Pyke, C. (2025, March 18). The AI Wrapper Business: Opportunity, Competition, and the Race for Differentiation. Kingy.ai. Retrieved from Kingy.ai’s original article

Annotation: Warns that AI wrapper startups lack long-term sustainability. Emphasizes need for deeper integration and infrastructure control.

• PwC. (2025). AI in Operations: Revolutionising the Manufacturing Industry. Retrieved from PwC South Africa’s official publication

Annotation: 81% of South African execs expect profit gains from AI. Challenges include high software costs and limited AI talent.

• PwC South Africa. (2025, July 16). AI in Operations: Revolutionising the manufacturing industry. Retrieved from PwC South Africa’s official publication

Annotation: Software costs are top AI adoption barrier in South Africa, unlike global focus on data. Yet firms show strong intent to expand.

• RAND Corporation. (2024). AI implementation in manufacturing: Aligning technology with business outcomes. Retrieved from RAND Corporation’s official publication

Annotation: AI should solve specific business problems, not pursue tech for tech’s sake. Advocates goal-oriented, measurable implementation.

• Ryseff, J., De Bruhl, B. F., & Newberry, S. J. (2024). The root causes of failure for artificial intelligence projects and how they can succeed: Avoiding the anti-patterns of AI (RR-A2680-1). RAND Corporation. Retrieved from RAND’s research report

Annotation: Combines “sand” flexibility with “bedrock” structure for AI success. Balances agility with long-term system stability

29. Sappi. (2024). How artificial intelligence is impacting the print industry. Retrieved from Sappi’s official article.

Annotation: Trials AI in forestry operations to improve efficiency and safety. AI-enabled robotics enhance precision and reduce waste.

• Tshuma, N., Moyo, T., & Dlamini, S. (2024). The influence of artificial intelligence on the manufacturing industry in South Africa. South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 27(1). Retrieved from South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences

Annotation: Peer-reviewed study links AI use to improved productivity and quality. Emphasizes workforce transformation and strategic alignment.

• Whitehead, S. (2025, May 30). South Africa’s AI future: Bridging the critical skills gap. iAfrica. Retrieved from South Africa’s AI Future: Bridging the Critical Skills Gap

Annotation: South Africa faces a critical AI skills gap, risking project delays and foreign dependency. Urges workforce reskilling investment.

• Whitehead, S. (2025, June 24). South Africa’s GenAI moment: Closing skills gap could unlock billions in economic value. iAfrica. Retrieved from iAfrica’s expert opinion article.

Annotation: Says closing the AI skills gap could unlock $100 billion/year in economic value. Advocates collaboration across sectors for talent development.

• Williamson, O. E. (1996). The mechanisms of governance. Oxford University Press.

Annotation: Presents Transaction Cost Economics as a framework for designing efficient governance structures by analysing how institutions manage uncertainty, opportunism, and complex contracts.

___________________________________________________________________________

The post AI in Manufacturing: A South African Perspective on Building with Bedrock and Sand appeared first on ODI.

From an operations perspective, first-line management has the most important role in the business, as they can switch on and switch off productivity on the shop floor.  We often underestimate the impact of a strong first-line manager who can

• motivate team members,

• align team and individual goals with business objectives, and

• facilitate continuous improvement within their teams.

Generally, more than 80% of the workforce is on a first-line team level, therefore the realisation of strategic goals and objectives depends on the successful linking of individual efforts, skills, and commitment to the vision and key success factors of the organisation. Much of this responsibility rests on the shoulders of the first-line management. It is therefore critical that organisations are continuously focused on aligning and engaging first-line managers whilst evaluating and enhancing their skills and knowledge.

Recently, Wispeco Aluminium, embarked on a company-wide effort to re-align and re-energise the first-line management team. ODI’s Director: Johan Benadie, facilitated multiple sessions with first-line managers from all business divisions. These sessions commence with a simple, yet fundamental question posed to first-line managers… Why do people work?

The answer to this question may present itself in several different constructs but they all share the same golden thread… we all work to have a better life for our families. If we then continue to work for a successful organisation, we increase the probability of securing a better life for ourselves in the future. In this way, every individual should acknowledge and understand their obligation towards the future and current success of the business.

According to Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt, there are three necessary conditions for a successful organisation:

• Make money now as well as in the future.
• Provide a secure and satisfying environment to employees now as well as in the future.
• Provide satisfaction to the market now as well as in the future.

To secure the sustainable profitability of the business, the company should be committed to keeping customers happy while simultaneously driving employee engagement. Both aspects are equally important as they are mutually interdependent.  This reminds me of a quote by Zig Ziglar saying – “You don’t build a business, you build people, and then people build the business.”

From an operations point of view, customer satisfaction depends on

• the continued supply of consistent and reliable quality,

• delivered on time and at a reasonable price.

The operational teams rarely have control over pricing, but they play a significant role in increasing the margin by controlling costs and driving productivity. On the other hand, employee engagement is slightly more complex since it is influenced by multiple factors. These factors can be categorised under two overarching themes – Motivation and Safety.

For a sustainably successful business, all teams and functions should pursue better quality, lower costs, and faster delivery times. This brings us back to the critical role of the first-line management who leads their teams in this relentless pursuit. Our first-line managers should be sufficiently skilled and equipped to

• simultaneously monitor and improve Quality (Q),
• Cost Productivity (C),
• Delivery (D),
• Safety (S), and
• Motivation (M) in their teams and as we all know, this is no easy task.

So how do we ensure that our first-line management level is sufficiently skilled and equipped to realise the goals and objectives of the business?

The implementation of Mini-Business Areas, through Key 2, provides the necessary structure for first-line managers and their teams, to monitor QCDSM trends daily and follow the CAPDo cycle for the generation and implementation of improvement suggestions from team members. This quick feedback loop ensures that performance momentum is maintained, and team members are aligned at the start of the shift.

The first-line manager can use the Mini-Business meeting to encourage the early detection of problems. Early detection of problems has two distinct benefits; we can correct the problem quickly and the cost of correction is much less. In this way, we achieve a quality-focused workplace where every team member takes the responsibility of quality at the source and doing things “first time right”.

The implementation of Small Group Activities through Key 3 provides the necessary structure for first-line managers to solve problems effectively with their team members. By following the correct problem-solving methodology, the team can brainstorm ways to remove waste from the system and increase productivity or reduce costs. First-line managers must remain objective throughout the process and allow input from all team members. They also have to be well-versed in root-case analysis techniques and methods.

As previously mentioned, motivation of staff is one of the fundamental predictors of the future success of the business. It consists of many small parts that add up to the whole.

Of course, the expectation of being fairly remunerated is a non-negotiable but employee engagement is also influenced by questions like:

• Do I know what is expected of me?

• Do I have the necessary tools and skills to do what is expected of me?

• Do I have a leader that supports me?

• Do I understand the goals and objectives of the business?

• Do I understand the value that I bring to the team?

• Am I sufficiently trained for the tasks that I have to perform?

• Are there any growth opportunities?

• Are my ideas and suggestions encouraged and welcomed?

The first-line manager has a significant influence on the workplace “experience” of their team members which ultimately impacts motivation.  The first-line managers should be equipped and skilled to answer most of these questions and also facilitate participation from team members. A formal qualification creates a solid foundation and should be the starting point. ODI offers a supervisory qualification called Supervision for Energised WorkTeams (NQF level 3). The qualification together with workplace coaching, regular check-ins, and refresher sessions ensures that the momentum is maintained, gaps are identified, and the internal capability of first-line managers is continuously refined and enhanced.

If the CEO is the Head of Culture, then the first-line managers are the Hands and Feet of Culture in the workplace, and as we are frequently reminded by Peter Drucker – “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. We may have an intention of what we would like the culture of the organisation to be, but the first-line management will be the practical illustration of what the culture of the organisation truly is.

Author: Esbe du Toit: Senior Consultant

The post The Influence of First-line Managers on workplace culture and its impact on organisational success appeared first on ODI.

On Thursday 26 October 2023, ODI hosted a Conference – Operations Excellence: A Never-ending Journey, at the Premier Hotel OR Tambo in Johannesburg, South Africa.

A line-up of excellent speakers, long-time and new implementations, from manufacturing, production, HR, Retail and administrative industries, shared their best practices and learnings. 

Registration to this event happened promptly at 07:30 while delegates enjoyed refreshments before the event started.

ODI’s Director, Johan Benadie, welcomed the delegates and explained the agenda for the day.

1st Speaker: Yoshi Kobayashi, President, PDI Japan

Topic of discussion: 20 Keys in South Africa and Japan

Yoshi gave a brief history of PDI and ODI, of 20 Keys and of the international conferences.

He mentioned the importance of the fundamental principles of Operations Excellence and identified the need for the incorporation of current technologies.

He reminded the audience of the circular image of the 20 Keys system implying motion which leads to culture change.

His definition of Operations Excellence: Operations Excellence is a never-ending journey of strengthening the organisation and improving QCDSM.

Yoshi shared with the audience the results of a successful 20 Keys implementation at a Food Company in Japan. While Sales volume was 25% lower, the GP margin increased with 6% over the same period. Yoshi described the steps of how the results were achieved and how the different Keys were leveraged to achieve specific outcomes. When referring to Productivity, he reminded the audience of People-hour productivity, not just machine work rates.

Yoshi concluded his presentation by saying that the Keys all work together to make a large impact on QCDSM and the profit of the company.

2ND SPEAKER: MARTIN PREECE, INTERIM CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, GOLD FIELDS LTD

TOPIC OF DISCUSSION: UNLEASHING THE POTENTIAL OF PEOPLE: THE KEY TO UNLOCKING A CULTURE OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Martin opened the presentation by explaining that continuous improvement is essential since the world is changing and workplace risks are increasing.

Adopting a mindset of continuous improvement is essential to navigate the complex challenges of the 21^st century.

The Gold Fields journey started 12 years ago when the South Deep Mine was showing negative nett cash flow for a few consecutive years.

Explaining the CAPDo cycle – It’s not finding a method that works and sticking with it. It’s looking at where you are today, setting a goal and doing what needs to be done to reach that goal.

Once that goal is met, you start again, finding ways to improve further. It doesn’t matter what kind of industry or business you’re in — a continuous improvement approach is necessary to keep ahead of the game.

Martin shared the implementation of their continuous improvement journey which they named “Siyaphambili”.

When you change mindsets, you influence behaviour, which shifts culture to drive continuous improvement.

The journey starts at the bottom with

• shaping the culture,
• building capacity (enabled and capable people),
• manage the work (doing things the right way – the first time),
• improve the work and
• sustain the improvement.

Martin described each of the 5 steps in depth. He made an interesting comment about leadership saying that they have a disproportionate outcome on results.

Develop a capable, accountable, and engaged workforce as a key enabler for the creation of sustainable improvement.

When it comes to Building Capacity, Gold Fields started with an integrated assessment of their front-line leaders on four dimensions which lead to a development plan and related skills/competence building.

Gold Fields partnered with ODI to facilitate the skill building and development of their front-line leaders by doing the following learnerships:

• National Certificate: Management ID83946 NQF3

• National Certificate: Generic Management ID59201 NQF5

Martin explained their Meeting Areas focusses on 3 things;

1 Effective team engagement,

2 Root Cause Analysis and

3 Continuous Improvement.

He emphasised the importance of accountability and ownership when it comes to updating the charts – ugly, but effective.

Martin concluded by showing the results of the last 5 years showing an increasingly positive net cash flow.

It’s critical to remember this is not the destination but merely the start of our journey.

3RD SPEAKER: Francois Sieberhagen, Executive Head Human Resources

VKB Group Human Capital: Our Journey to Excellence

Francois started off by explaining the significance of Human Capital to follow an operations excellence journey because of its many moving parts and the massive impact that the Human Capital department has on people which are directly responsible for operations. He used the analogy of an aeroplane saying that there is a left wing which is the S.M.A.R.T wing and then there is the People wing, both wings have to be functioning well in order for the plane to keep flying.

The WHY of the VKB Human Capital team: We need to create an environment and healthy culture where our VKB employees find 

• meaningful employment, 
• build lasting relationships,
• be emotionally committed to the company and through that all,
• reach their full potential​.

They embarked on a mission to become 100% paperless in the Human Capital environment. They started their journey in 2018 with Key 1 and removed almost 20 tons of paper. After attending the ODI conference in 2019, the team decided to take on more Keys and aim for Excellence.

The HC team implemented SLAs and started with daily measurements which was challenging to establish in an administrative environment.

In 2021 – Johan Benadie from ODI completed a Benchmarking assessment on all Keys in the HC department.

The team started with MB health checks and recording the number of suggestions implemented (Key 3) – 237 suggestions implemented in 2022.

The team used Key 18 to generate various HC dashboards.

In August 2022, the VKB Human Capital department achieved Excellence status

4 th Speaker: Climent Monyela CI & Quality Manager, Adient

Topic of Discussion: Developing World Class People for a World Class Company

Climent started with the vision and mission of Adient SA.

They have 5 guiding principles:

Climent discussed the success stories that have transpired from the ODI-Adient partnership since 2014:

• Internal Promotions to leadership positions
• Development and expansion of the leadership skills-set
• Upskilling all operators by equipping them with CI principles with the NQF 3 Supervision qualification                                                             
• The national qualifications from ODI “dovetailing” productivity as a focus

HPT (High Performance Teams) focusing on KPIs

Climent shared the Continuous Improvement and Quality strategy for 2024 which is depicted below:

5th Speaker: Landi van Der Merwe Continuous Improvement Manager, VKB Group

Topic of Discussion: Keeping momentum when the gears change – the Road after the 20 Keys Excellence Award

Landi delivered a most inspiring presentation with depth and substance, showcasing their entrenched culture of continuous improvement.

Landi kicked off with a few facts about GFC (Grain Field Chickens) Abattoir

• Slaughter ± 1,050,000 birds per week
• 23 Boiler Sites
• 174 Chicken Houses (Broilers only) (Ave 41 500 birds p/house)
• 24 hours / 5 days a week operation
• Plant employees ± 1650 people

The GFC team commenced with their first 20 Keys benchmark in 2016.

Landi shared photos and graphs on each of the requirements of the Excellence award and the results that they obtained.

Landi mentioned that Paper is the Enemy of Key 1. FSSC Findings have reduced by 73% since 2016. The number of production plan changes have reduced by 43% since 2016. The overall Productivity measure of Kg per Man/hour improved by 64% since 2016. Morale improvement of 23% measured through a questionnaire completed by employees. Engineering Stock Turn % showed a 39% improvement. Stock value in the Packaging Stores showed a 23% improvement. The measurement on Sweepings showed a 35% improvement. Packaging waste was reduced by 57%.

Landi shared their lessons learnt along the way:

• Data is imperative, “What you do not measure you do not know”
• Each Key has a dedicated Key Leader
• Key scores are part of the employees’ KPI and performance appraisal
• Monthly feedback from each Key Leader to support where progress is slow
• Constant training for floor personnel
• Follow the CAPDo cycle

Landi entered the next phase of her presentation which was about maintaining momentum after achieving the Excellence Award.

• Always keep the MD and Senior Management involved
• All Keys part of Employee Engagement (1, 2, 3 ,10) must be part of ALL Management KPIs
• Each department to have dedicated 3 colour chart
• Key Leader meetings and scoring system
• Internal assessment of the Radar Chart every 3 months
• Internal Annual Continuous Improvement Function
• Automate the repetitive processes and standardize feedback

Landi mentioned how much they appreciate the knowledge and the depth they receive from the ODI team.

Landi shared a few practical examples of improvement initiatives and explained how GFC has automated/digitalised their 20 Keys measurements.

Landi ended the presentation by leaving us with two very important statements:

• Continuous Improvement is not a silver bullet that will magically remove all problems. Instead, CI will highlight where the problems are and as a Team need to be solved.
• Continuous Improvement is not a race, it is a gradual process. That needs constant support and guidance.

6th Speaker: Brett Momberg Divisional Manager, BBF Safety Group

Topic of Discussion: BBF: Our Operations Excellence Journey

Brett made quite an entrance by walking to the podium barefoot and showing everyone that they are in the “shoe” business.

Brett started his presentation with an encouraging quote about the continuous improvement:

The more efficient you are at doing the wrong thing, the wronger you become. It is much better to do the right thing wronger, than the wrong thing righter. If you do the right thing wrong, and correct it, you get better. – Russel Ackoff

BBF uses the OPEX Modules which are based on the 20 Keys system.

National Certificate: Productivity (NQF Level 5)

Brett shared before and after photos of their operations excellence journey and ended off with lessons learnt along the way.

A few key messages being:

• LEARNING TO LEAD, LEADING TO LEARN.
• REPETITION ENFORCES A WAY OF LIFE.

7th Speakers: Tanuja Naidoo, Senior Africa Supply Chain Manager & Gift Masabane, Warehouse Manager Digistics Logistics

Topic of Discussion: LeaderSHIFT: Attitude over Altitude

Tanuja started the presentation by contextualizing the importance of ATTITUDE in an ever-evolving environment.

She spoke about the shift in Digistics to focus on People Development and having the attitude of seeing change, not as a threat, but as an opportunity to grow our people and organisation to achieve greater success.

Once employees witness the success of collaborating rather than competing, line managers will start igniting their teams – Focusing on the company goals and objectives to bring about the desired change.

The attitude of valuing every player in our logistics supply chain has transformed isolated efforts into a symphony of seamless operations.

Digistics core focus is people development and the partnership with ODI has assisted us in gaining more insight into growing people from within. ODI has impacted us in many ways by sparking a generation of “thinking people” in our organisation.

Gift Masabane, a Warehouse Manager, who started at Digistics as a Picker, presented with great pride about the impact of leaders on people development as well as QCDSM results.

Gift started by mentioning a few key elements of leadership which he linked with the presentation title LeaderSHIFT.

He explained that leadership comes in many forms and that mastering the skill of listening will not put a lid on the growth of an individual. He added that a leader that listens, learns and continues to grow.

Gift offered an inspiring definition of attitude driven – servant leadership:

With the right attitude a leader will be able to paint a persuasive vision of the company’s future that excites workers and encourages them to be an important part of it. This includes allowing employees to offer constructive criticism and suggestions for improvement.

Gift shared the impact of leadership on QCDSM results.

• Seek first to create a relationship with your team members.
• As a team leader, you share responsibility for the success of your team.
• Showing respect improves productivity, boosts employee morale, and creates an environment where everyone feels comfortable with their roles and responsibilities.
• Listening actively when your coworkers speak or share ideas
• Always remember the CAPDo cycle
• Create a culture where team members take ownership of their actions and feel comfortable admitting when things go wrong.

The presentation was based on the ODI learnership journey at Digistics and specifically the following qualifications:

NC: Management ID83946 NQF3

FETC: Generic Management  ID57712 NQF4 NC: Generic Management ID59201 NQF5

8TH SPEAKER: Nikki Moodley Operations Improvement Executive, Astral Operations Ltd

Topic of Discussion: The Astral Way…. Excellence is not an Act, but a Habit

Nikki presented on The Astral Way with a calm confidence, the presentation was a true North to all businesses in attendance.

Nikki provided context with a brief overview of the business and the Astral Excellence journey since 1998.

Nikki described The Astral Operations Excellence journey to target two aspects namely Strategic Fit and Structured Approach.

Nikki shared the image below which depicts their effective implementation of Key 2.

Nikki shared that the current focus of Astral is building a culture of connectivity and engagement which ultimately results in an energised workplace.

The Astral team looked at Patrick Lencioni’s “5 Dysfunctions of a Team”, integrated with Keys 2,3 and 10 and commenced with a workshop called Reset, Refocus and Restart (RRR).

Nikki highlighted the diverse nature of the 20 Keys system and shared how the principles can be applied to all day-to-day aspects of the business as well as managing risks and navigating the uncertainty resulting from business cycles. Astral has developed a 20 Keys architecture that provides the necessary structure for them to maintain Excellence status including utilising the competencies of ODI by adding value to the business with cost reduction or efficiency improvement projects.

Nikki shared a few success stories of 20 Keys implementations in the Support Functios – Logistics, Sales, IT and HR.

Astral hosted an internal 20 Keys conference with the title: “Strategy is a commodity; implementation is an Art”.

Nikki concluded the presentation with an expression of gratitude towards the ODI team and Johan Benadie especially, for the invaluable support on the never-ending Excellence journey.

9th Speaker: Dawrian Salies General Manager, CTP – SA Litho

Topic of Discussion: Effective Communication Structures: A Prerequisite for Sustainable Operations Excellence

Dawrian provided a brief overview of the CTP Footprint and where SA Litho fits in the picture. Dawrian started with a definition of Effective Communication:

Effective communication is the process of conveying information, thoughts, ideas, or feelings from one person or group to another in a way that is:

• Clear,
• Understandable,
• And achieves the intended purpose.
• It involves both the sender and receiver of the message working together to ensure that the message is accurately understood.

Dawrian reminded the audience once again of the vital link between Operations Excellence and People in their pursuit of being the label printer of choice. They achieve this by creating an environment where people are

• able,
• trusted,
• willing and
• accountable for driving continuous improvement.  

SA Litho follows a high impact approach that leverages the foundation elements of Continuous Improvement to generate and sustain performance momentum. These elements are the building blocks of establishing a sustainable continuous improvement culture:

• Visual Goal alignment
• Efficient Workplace organisation
• Small-Group Activities (Problem solving)

Dawrian described the three levels of management in operations, their functions and how the meeting structures work at SA Litho – this is how they achieve effective communication by quickly escalating issues and cascading feedback between levels. Dawrian described managers as capability builders who are responsible for teaching the team how to improve and solve problems

Dawrian shared a few pictures of the meeting structures

Dawrian concluded the presentation by reminding everyone about the importance of measurements, especially in effective communication, it removes the emotion from the conversation. He left the audience with the famous quote from Deming – “Without data you’re just another person with an opinion”.

10th Speaker: Lapologang Laps Letshwenyo, Business Improvement Coordinator, Morupule Coal Mine, Botswana

Topic of Discussion: The MCM Business (20 keys) in Support of Achieving Consistent Nameplate Capacity in Underground Coal Mining

Laps tarted the presentation by echoing many speakers about the importance of starting with the WHY? He explained that for MCM, the WHY is employee ownership.

Laps provided a brief company overview and sharing the MCM history for the past 50 years. ODI has developed a customised system for MCM which is the 20 Keys system condensed into 12 Pillars called the MCM Business System

MCM also uses their Business System to support their international certification – ISO14001, ISO55001, ISO45001 and ISO17025 Laboratory

Laps shared their radar chart results since 2012 and explained that there was a drop in Goal alignment due to the uncertainty created by a restructuring initiative. The morale is improving with management visibility and engagement.

Laps explained how Operations Excellence and the implementation of 20 Keys is integrated with the corporate strategy as part of MCM’s imperatives:

• Organisational capability: create capacity and capability to drive key outcomes and growth opportunities and provide focus on key enabling functions required for growth.
• Operational excellence and productivity: drive operational excellence of the operations ensuring that name plate capacity is achieved, and cost is limited.
• Digitalisation and integration: create an integrate operation through leveraging technology and enabling decision making.

Laps spoke about the shift in thinking with regards to data and digitalisation where they are moving to obtaining the data from source (the machines) rather than having data capturers. This shifts the focus to utilising brain power for problem solving instead of data capturing.

The MCM team used the technique of value stream mapping to identify opportunities for improvement across the site.

They have achieved improvement in various metrics such as underground air utilization, STRATA control, electricity consumption and belt extension delays.

Laps also shared headline financial indicators showing 36% increase in Revenue and 67.1% increase in Gross Profit.

After looking at the hard measures, Laps pointed us to the People aspects of Safety, Recognition and Motivation.

The incident and NearHit trends are on the decline since 2017, he shared a few pictures of rewards, recognition, and communication.

This is how they take care of their most valuable assets:

• Rewarding the best performing individuals and teams.
• Planned task observations / Coaching.
• Management visibility – walk about.
• Stand downs – let’s stop work and talk.
• Improve talent development.
• Improve internal technical capacity.
• Team and individual performance management.

11th Speaker: Nicky Titus Admin/Operations Manager, Sheerline Cape Town

Topic of Discussion: 20 Keys in Support of Quick & Efficient Stock Turnover

Nicky ended the day of knowledge sharing by industry experts, with a practical implementation story, reminding everyone about the importance of getting the basics right.

She started with a brief company overview and proceeded to the “WHY” of implementing the 20 Keys system.

Nicky explained that the key successes for Sheerline was setting up Mini-Business Areas, focussing on skills versatility and focusing on small group activities.

Nicky shared before and after pictures of Cleaning and Organising.

There were so many suggestions from the floor with regards to improvement initiatives.

Sheerline achieved peer-to-peer accountability by moving the action plan to the floor

Nicky shared how Sheerline offered Life Skills training to staff leading to increased employee engagement. During this training, the topic of budgets were covered since making financially poor decisions, affected the staff at work.

Nicky emphasised the importance and the power of employee recognition. Sheerline has also started a book club since they believe that an informed leader is a powerful leader.  

At the end of Nicky’s presentation, Huibie Jones (MD at ODI) pointed out that after listening to so many inspiring presentations it was only appropriate that recognition should be given to some people who have played outstanding roles in their companies to help these stories become a reality.

Huibie announced the Top Achievers during the Special Awards Ceremony. To view the Special Awards Ceremony, click here.

Our Chairman, Gerald McKinnon, thanked our speakers and everybody who attended the conference. He also reminded people of the cocktail party after the event.

Pieter Bosman : Operations Manager
 
“What a journey this is. The saying you are never too old to learn is so true. My eyes opened with this Operations Excellence Conference. I enjoyed the following speaker who made an impact on me as a person: Martin Preece from Gold Fields Limited spoke about Unleashing the Potential of People and the key to unblocking a Culture of Continues Improvement. I would also like to congratulate the ODI team for a Job well done.”

Gift Semeti Masabane : Warehouse Manager at Digistics Waterfall (Pty) Ltd
 
“I had a very wonderful day… Learned a lot from the speakers and I can’t wait to attend the next ODI conference. ODI played a very important role in my career and personal development. Many thanks to Johan, Maryke, Mbali and ODI team for transforming our lives and careers in Digistics. A very memorable and insightful ODI conference. Great minds from learned and influential leaders. Thank you very much to ODI for giving me an opportunity to be a part of this life changing experience.”

Annatjie Prinsloo: Human Resources Manager at ADIENT SA

“Thank you ODI, it was a great experience.”

Tumelo Ledwaba

“Thank you for the invite, it was very nice to meet you today and I must say I enjoyed myself. It was really a great experience being in that conference and meeting all those great leaders.”

Tane Coetzer

“I had the privilege of attending the ODI conference. The theme was ‘Operations Excellence: A Never-Ending Journey.’ It was fantastic to learn from incredible managers and personnel of all levels in various organisations. In addition, we had the immense privilege to meet Dr. Yoshiyuki Kobayashi, the son of the infamous Iwao Kobayashi who founded ’20 Keys: A Practical Program of Revolution in Factories.’ Thank you ODI for the enlightening opportunity.”

Done Joubert: Industrial engineering student at the University of Pretoria

“Last week, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the ODI conference. It was such a pleasure to learn more about operational excellence, continuous improvement, 20 Keys, and its impact in various fields – we even had the privilege to meet Dr Yoshi Kobayashi, son of the 20 Keys founder! I also enjoyed fascinating conversations with some of the other companies’ representatives, including Landi van der Merwe from the VKB Group and Jessica Vosloo from Wispeco Aluminium. I’m looking forward to the next fantastic learning opportunity!”

Nicky Titus

“What a wonderful event to attend. It was my first. The event itself was so well organised. Cannot fault a single thing. The speakers’ content highlighted that we all share common goals and challenges. ODI and the 20 Keys programme and the NQF learnerships in partnership with their clients have had great positive effects on the organisations staff. Thank you ODI, Johan & Huibie for your dedication & commitment to get the continuous improvement wheel turning at Sheerline Aluminium Systems.”

Landi van der Merwe:

“What a great honor and privilege to have been part of and present at the ODI Conference 2023 held at the Premier Hotel OR Tambo. Having Dr Yoshi in the audience as a special guest made it even more special. The VKB Group was well presented (Agri Processors, GWK, Grain Field Chickens, VKB Milling, Human Capital, and Internal Audit) and focused on changing gears, the journey back to excellence, and a very strong focus on PEOPLE. I also want to thank ODI for my award for Contribution towards Operational Excellence.”

CTP Packaging

“We had a great time at the ODI Conference yesterday! It was good to meet up with our Joburg colleagues too! We are so proud of all the Caxton and CTP award winners! Special shout out to Mikhial Carolissen for winning the Top Achiever Award for the Production Technology NQF 3 Learnership, and to Clinton Cyster for winning the ‘Best Workplace Mentor and Support’ award. Congratulations!!!”

Francois Sieberhagen, Human Capital Executive: VKB Group

“Ek wil graag van die geleentheid gebruik maak om vir die ODI span, hartlik geluk te wens met ‘n baie suksesvolle konferensie. Baie dankie vir die voorreg dat ek genooi was as ‘n spreker, ek het dit regtig geniet. Dit is altyd vir my ‘n groot voorreg om te gesels oor menslike kapitaal en ook om mede-“people professionals” by te staan met idees oor hoe hulle hul werksplekke kan verbeter. Mense is my passie, en om te strewe na die skep van merkwaardige werksplekke waar werknemers hulle volle potensiaal bereik deur die uitleef van hul talente. Ek sien uit na ‘n volgende geleentheid om saam met ODI te werk.”

The post ODI’s Conference – Operations Excellence: A never-ending journey (26 Oct 2023) appeared first on ODI.

This is the second series of Prof. Kumar’s lecture on engineering maintenance which deals with the How’s, Who’s and Where’s of maintenance activities. It follows after the first series that dealt with the Why, What, and When aspects.

You will recall that when discussing the “when” maintenance, the primary question here was, when is maintenance required? The answer proffered 5 phases of the product, which are

1 design,

2 procurement,

3 installation,

4 commissioning, and

5 operation.

In the design phase, we discussed two aspects;

1 design out of maintenance (DOM) and

2 design for maintenance (DfM),

which machine and equipment designers need to be aware of, and use intelligently to achieve the least cost and maximum fit-for-use and comfort in maintaining and operating their machinery.

1. The How phase

As stated above and underscored in the previous series, the when maintenance is primarily applied during the design phase. However, in the ‘how’ phase, both DOM and DfM are equally important, which means that the when and the how phases overlap through these maintenance activities. The benefits of both design out maintenance (DOM) and design for maintenance (DFM) have been discussed and hence, need no introduction or mention here. The importance is to highlight that both are concerned and applied during the equipment and machine design phases.

The Who and Where phases

The two phases fall in the province of machine operation, which presupposes that the equipment and machine design phases (including the ancillary procurement and installation phases) are not error-free. Even if they were so at the design and commissioning phases, once the equipment is put into operation, a new phenomenon emerges: wear and tear, that requires practitioners to ensure that the health of the machine/equipment remains close to its pristine phase akin to its original design specifications. A tall order indeed!

2. Who will perform maintenance?

There are operators who perform maintenance using various strategies

• operator or owner 
• original equipment manufacturer/contractor for full-service contracts
  • full-service contract
  • partial service contract / outsourcing
• design phase by “design out maintenance” or “design for maintenance”
• at the operation phase, in-house/outsourced or in the workshop

In-house vs outsourcing maintenance presents what Bill Lydon of Automation calls “The Big Maintenance Dilemma: In-House vs Outsourcing”  for many companies, especially the big and specialised ones. There is also a middle road in the mix, with partial outsourcing on the bedrock of in-house maintenance.

Traditionally, it is inherent in operations and management of equipment, machines, and businesses across the board, especially family businesses to keep everything in-house. However, another side of the coin to consider is “outsourcing.”

Outsourcing

The importance of workshop maintenance is emphasized by Antti Kirmanen, Chief Sales Officer of Trail Systems and Founder at Van Merryn Oy.  Kirmanen provides ‘the Ben Sapper’s perspective’ on workshop maintenance.

• Regular maintenance improves equipment’s productivity due to fewer malfunctions.
• Increased equipment life cycle – more bang for your buck!
• Shorter downtimes.
• Improved work safety – well-maintained equipment is safer to utilize.
• Improved work satisfaction – using working equipment is more pleasant than fighting with glitchy tools.
• Some equipment also involves legal obligations concerning regular maintenance or inspections. If you neglect these, you eventually get in trouble with the law.

Antii recommends a modern fixed asset management system (another story for another day) to ensure that your equipment is maintained and stays in working condition. While the workshop is regarded as a locus of maintenance activities, perhaps it must be mentioned that most maintenance of machine happens on the shop floor. It enjoins the maintenance team to be agile, flexible, and be able to move to the floor with “requisite” tools to maintain the machines in distress. However, moveable or detachable machine components such as gearboxes, pumps and other ancillaries can be moved to the factory workshop for repairs. Moving the whole machine requires different planning, and decommissioning from production to perform preventive maintenance.

Site (typical of manufacturing equipment and machines)

Most of the maintenance and repairs required in manufacturing plants are done on the shop floor, while production activities are going on. Most of us are familiar with the phenomenon. Professor Kumar makes an interesting example involving a train, passenger pr goods. If the train is broken, or any component is not in a good working order, maintenance engineers do not haul the whole train back into the workshop. Instead, they send experts to repair and fix whatever is wrong with it. The site maintenance is typical of construction sites where heavy machinery needs regular check-ups and repairs where necessary but in situ. A good example of the how to maintain heavy equipment off-site is given by “the Constructor” a mouthpiece of Construction Engineering and Management. It offers seven (7) strategies for conducting equipment maintenance in construction sites:

1 Make an inventory of assets that require maintenance

2 Involve both equipment operators and the maintenance team

3 Create proper equipment maintenance checklists

4 Create, schedule, and assign preventive maintenance tasks

5 Leave room for modifications

6 Use manufacturers’ manuals, guidelines, and recommendations

7 Educate both equipment operators and maintenance technicians

The lessons from the construction sites are universally applicable whenever and wherever one deals with equipment and machines, no matter the size. Equipment and machines provide the vital spark for our transformational operations to function, and must be treated the same way we treat ourselves, the living organisms. They are also the ‘living inanimate’ created by human beings, using the blueprint of living organisms.

The key concepts of Key 9 of the 20 Keys System for Operations Improvement are:

• Effective maintenance is a joint venture between operators and the maintenance/engineering function
• Improving overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)
• Keeping equipment logs, and performance history for equipment
• Preventive maintenance of machines/equipment (roll-out process by starting with important machines/equipment)

Keep an eye out for Part 3 of this series.

To read part 1 of The Kumar’s Why, What, When, How, Who and Where Concepts of Engineering Maintenance, click here.

The post Part 2: The Kumar’s How, Who, and Where concepts of engineering maintenance. appeared first on ODI.

Investing in their staff by creating training and development opportunities allow staff members to acquire new skills, sharpen existing ones, perform better, and increase productivity.

Wispeco Stockists: Conways, Sheerline, Almex & RF Metals, believe in an informed, equipped and skilled workforce.

Respective staff members from the above-mentioned companies completed ODI’s national qualifications:

• NQF 2 National Certificate in Production Technology

• NQF 3 in General Management

• NQF4 Process Manufacturing

• NQF5 Productivity

It was a proud moment for management [Jacques van der Westhuyzen (Chief Operations Director), Ralph Ryan (Director General Manager), Jillian Adams (General Manager), Christina Ogle (General Manager) & Nicky Titus (Operations Manager)], and staff alike at the recent awards ceremony that took place in Cape Town. Hard work and commitment paid off.

To view the ODI/Wispeco Aluminium Cape Town 2019 Awards Ceremony, click here.

The post ODI/Wispeco Stockists Cape Town 2023 Awards Ceremony appeared first on ODI.

• produce outstanding results,
• consistently delivering high-quality work and
• making a significant impact on the organisation.

One of the key components of a high-performance team is trust. Members of the team must trust each other to communicate openly, share ideas, and provide constructive feedback. This trust fosters an environment of collaboration and mutual respect, allowing team members to work together effectively.

Another important factor is clear goals and objectives. Teams must have a shared understanding of what they are trying to achieve, and how their individual contributions fit into the larger picture. This clarity of purpose motivates team members to work together towards a common goal and helps to avoid confusion and misunderstandings.

Effective communication is also crucial to the success of a high-performance team. Team members must be able to communicate their ideas, concerns, and feedback in an open and respectful manner. This not only helps to build trust but also ensures that everyone is working towards a common goal.

High-performance teams require leadership that is both visionary and supportive. Leaders must have a clear understanding of their team’s strengths and weaknesses, and must be able to coach and motivate team members to achieve their full potential. They must also provide the resources and support necessary to help the team.

In addition a supportive team dynamic is also crucial in fostering high-performance teams. Team dynamics refer to the patterns of behavior, communication, and relationships among team members. A positive team dynamic can greatly enhance team performance by promoting a sense of unity and shared purpose.

One aspect of supportive team dynamics is active participation by all team members. Teams perform best when everyone is engaged and contributing to the team’s goals. This can be achieved through regular team meetings and open forums where all team members can voice their opinions and provide feedback.

Another key aspect is a sense of belonging and inclusiveness. Teams work best when everyone feels valued and included, regardless of their role or background. A team culture that emphasizes

• collaboration,
• respect, and
• diversity

can help foster a positive dynamic and enhance team performance.

Moreover, high-performance teams also benefit from regular opportunities for team-building and relationship-building activities. These activities can range from team-bonding events to joint problem-solving exercises. By strengthening relationships among team members, teams can build a strong foundation of

• trust,

• respect, and

• collaboration

that will help them work together more effectively.

In summary, supportive team dynamics play a critical role in high-performance teams. By promoting active participation, a sense of belonging and inclusiveness, and regular opportunities for team-building, organisations can create teams that are not only effective but also enjoyable to be a part of.

ODI’s NQF3 National Certificate in Management (Supervision for Energised WorkTeams) aims at equipping every first-line manager with the essential knowledge and skills necessary to:

• Develop, lead and inspire productive workplace teams.
• Ensure that all team members are developed to their full potential.

The manager of the first-line manager needs to coach his/her first-line managers, and is, as such, involved in the programme. A simple-to-use benchmarking system forms the basis for ongoing coaching and development. To read more about this learnership, click here.

Author: Maryke Bergh: Senior Manager: Learning & Development

The post High-performance teams are the cornerstone of any successful company appeared first on ODI.

A world-class leader is characterised by several attributes, including

• vision,

• integrity,

• confidence, and

• passion.

They have a clear and compelling vision of where they want to take their organisation and inspire their team to work towards realising that vision. They possess integrity and honesty, and their actions align with their values and beliefs. This earns them the trust and respect of their team and other stakeholders.

Confidence is another important attribute of a world-class leader. They believe in themselves and their abilities, and this confidence is contagious, inspiring their team to have confidence in themselves and their abilities as well. Passion is also a critical attribute, as a leader who is passionate about their work and their team is more likely to be successful in achieving their goals.

The impact of a world-class leader on an organisation is significant. Such leaders provide direction and guidance, leading their team towards success. They also create a positive work environment, where employees feel valued and motivated to perform at their best. World-class leaders also foster a culture of continuous improvement and growth, encouraging their team to learn, grow and improve.

A world-class leader plays a critical role in the success and growth of an organisation. Their vision, integrity, confidence, and passion are critical attributes that set them apart and enable them to lead their team towards success. If you are looking to become a world-class leader, focus on developing these attributes and you will be on your way to making a profound impact in your organisation.

Author: Maryke Bergh: Senior Manager: Learning & Development

Today’s markets and organisations are more complex than ever, and project management has emerged as a discipline with the potential to ensure that new ideas, products and services are successfully realised. This Occupational Certificate is aligned to two of the key global project management standards – the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and PRINCE2 – and provides project management best practices, tools and techniques.

To read more about ODI’s NQF5 Occupational Certificate – Project Manager, click here.

The post The qualities of a world-class leader appeared first on ODI.

Here’s why productivity is so important in such organisations:

• Increases profitability

By increasing productivity, an organisation can produce more output with the same resources, leading to higher profits.

• Enhances competitiveness

A productive organisation can respond quickly to changes in the market, and provide customers with a better experience, thus boosting its competitive advantage.

• Improves work-life balance

When employees are productive, they are able to complete tasks quickly and efficiently, freeing up time for other priorities, such as family and personal interests.

• Attracts and retains top talent

Productive organisations are attractive to top talent because they offer challenging work, growth opportunities, and a positive work environment.

• Increases innovation

By streamlining processes, an organisation can free up resources to invest in research and development, leading to new and innovative products and services.

To be productive, organisations need to focus on several key areas, including

• technology,

• training, and

• process improvement.

By investing in these areas, organisations can ensure that employees have the tools and skills they need to be productive, and that processes are streamlined and efficient.

Productivity is a crucial component of success for a world-class organisation. By maximizing efficiency and results, organisations can increase profitability, enhance competitiveness, improve work-life balance, attract and retain top talent, and drive innovation and growth.

Wanting to improve productivity in your organisation? ODI’s NQF5: Productivity comprises of 9 modules. It consists of one Management System Module, to create a common vision, and eight practical Modules, to make operations more competitive.

• Creates a common language for improvement.

• Utilises detailed checksheets, to depict the levels of improvement towards world class.

• Based on a proven methodology for sustainable business improvement.

To read more about this learnership, click here.

Author: Maryke Bergh: Senior Manager: Learning & Development

The post Why is productivity a critical factor for success? appeared first on ODI.

Currently, Dr. Ntokozo Mthembu (Advisor to the ODI Board) is doing an online course in Introduction to Maintenance Engineering offered by Lulea University of Technology, Sweden, through the FutureLearn educational online channel. The course leader is Professor Uday Kumar.

Ntokozo writes:

“I am honoured and pleased to share the insights on engineering maintenance with the ODI community of 20 Keys implementers. My wish is that these insights shared herein will equip, empower and enable the ODI 20 Keys implementers to draw their application on the canvas of their understanding.

I am planning to present a couple of series, starting with 3 concepts out of 6 maintenance engineering concepts of Professor Kumar.“

Series 1: Why, What and When

During my initial studies in World Class Manufacturing in the early 1990s, I came across problem-solving techniques such 5WHYs and the 5W1H. I didn’t know that 3 decades later, I would encounter another form of 5W1H again, but not just for problem-solving maintenance problems, but for giving contextual understanding of what I did 30 years ago! There is a South African saying in most of our 11 languages that translates into “umuntu ufunda aze afe” meaning in Georgian language (after Kings ‘George Xs’ of England) “one never ceases to learn until swallowed by the grave.”

Professor Kumar describes the first 3 W’s of maintenance: Why, What and When?

WHY MAINTENANCE?

Maintenance failures bring about inconvenience to customers, accidents and significant losses.  Failure is the termination of the ability to perform a required function. Fundamentally, it increases to the process, and it is integral process of business.

WHY SHOULD WE LEARN ABOUT MAINTENANCE?

There are 3 reasons namely to

• increase safety,

• reduce costs and

• improve the sustainability.

The main values for engaging ion maintenance are to:

• improve economic performance of the system,

• improve the quality,

• increase safety/health and

• increase overall lifespan of the systems.

The overall purpose is to reduce business risk.

Kumar lists the following as the influencing factors:

• unreliability,

• human errors,

• loss of quality,

• loss of production and

• upset customers

WHAT IS MAINTENANCE?

There are 3 elements of maintenance:

1 engineering,

2 technology, and

3 management

WHEN?

Maintenance is required in all phases of the product, which are design, procurement, installation, commissioning and operation.

3.1          Design state:

Design state comprises two phases namely design-out maintenance, and design for maintenance. Both phases are the competence of designers, who should be open minded to work with a multi-disciplinary team comprising of engineers, operators and managers of various operations along the product value chain. Certainly, not designing in isolation, based on reading design specifications devoid of human context and interaction with users.

Design-out maintenance (DOM) objective is to try and reduce the need for maintenance. Examples for this type of maintenance regime include spacecrafts/ships and satellites orbiting the earth. According to Reliability Management Consultant (Pty) Ltd (RMCPL), the aim for DOM is to improve:

• equipment availability by extending the mean free operating life (MFOL)
• production capacity by minimising unplanned downtime
• safety by eliminating the consequences of failures and reducing failure rates.
• extend the total life of an equipment by using the equipment for maximum possible years
• life cycle costs (LCC) by minimising maintenance costs
• sustainability through optimised use of resources to run the system at the best operating condition.

Design for maintenance incorporates standardisation, modularisation, redundancy, provision for condition monitoring, and design of maintenance facilities and tools. NASA dedicates a full chapter under Man-Systems Integration Standards, and we shall touch on design considerations, looking at factors of design for maintainability (DfM). The factors include:

• non-interference of preventive maintenance, where the preventive maintenance is minimised and requires as little crew as possible

• flexible preventive maintenance schedule, where preventive maintenance schedule should be flexible to accommodate schedule of other mission activities. In the production environment parlance, accommodate customer demands

• redundancy, whereby if maintenance is necessary and the system operations will be interrupted, redundant installations should be considered in order to permit maintenance without system operation. In the manufacturing and production environment, equipment such as pumps, valves and even critical gearboxes should be considered for redundancy.

• design for maintainability, that include the following goals

• reducing training requirements of crew (artisans / operators)

• reducing certain skill requirements of crew

• reduce time spent on preventive and corrective maintenance

• corrective maintenance, which include the following factors : (1)The benefit gained from repair should be worth the time and effort expended on repair. (2) The time and effort involved in corrective maintenance should be weighed against the cost and feasibility of carrying replacement units. (3) Required calibration, alignment, or adjustment should be easily and accurately accomplished, and (4) Automate fault detection and isolation tasks whenever possible.

3.2 Procurement state

Procurement deals with selecting the good quality and reliability of components through contract and maintenance management, dimensioning of existing facilities and organisation, and purchase of specific parts needed.

3.3          Operation state

In manufacturing and production plants, procurement is often tied up with its three sisters (certainly not the Three Sisters of Victoria West, Northern Cape, South Africa), namely maintenance, repair and operations (MRO). Ganeriwalla and Valluru (2016) list five advantages for capturing the MRO in manufacturing: –

1 Better planning, to improve spare part planning

2 More suppliers, to reduce proprietary spending

3 Fewer long-tail vendors, to consolidate spending with aggregators

4 Cheaper sources, to source from LCC (Low-cost country) suppliers

5 More efficient stocking, to optimise inventory management and storage

Operation is concerned about design of technical activities incorporating design of maintenance intervals, specific resources and managerial activities such as budget allocation and personnel.

3.4          Installation and Commissioning states

Both states require a paradigm shift in which to strive to install the product or system in a place where minimal maintenance is performed, considering logistics, monitoring systems and personnel training.

In installation, Blueprint Automation recommends about 10 steps to consider when installing an equipment:

• Determine the floor thickness
• Find out about environmental conditions
• Gather the necessary supplies (requisite tools)
• Drop site of the equipment (not entrance but at the place where it is supposed to be installed)
• Check piping and surrounding items
• Ensure the floor is aligned
• Consider storage options (to mitigate Murphy’s law)
• Schedule safety courses (OEM or supplier must provide safety training – not accept training manuals without OEM/supplier guidance)
• Schedule a follow-up visits after installation (insist on such a visit if you are an equipment buyer)

In commissioning, Paul Turner of the Commissioning Academy, list seven (7) steps for commissioning a factory equipment, namely

1 Planning

2 Factory Acceptance Testing

3 Mechanical completion

4 On-site commissioning

5 Process / System set up

6 Performance verification, and

7 Operational readiness

Keep an eye out for the upcoming articles by Dr Dr. Ntokozo Mthembu (Advisor to the ODI Board) regarding The Kumar’s Why, What, When, How, Who and Where Concepts of Engineering Maintenance.

Johan Benadie (Director at ODI asked the question: “How far do we keep machines and equipment in service?”. To read this article by Johan, click here.

ODI has been in business since 1989.  It has successfully implemented the 20 Keys, and supporting programmes in a large number of companies, in a wide variety of industries, and across the world. To contact us, click here.

To be continued

The post Part 1: <a>The Kumar’s Why, What, When, How, Who and Where Concepts of Engineering Maintenance</a> appeared first on ODI.

• increased teamwork,

• improved communication, and

• a more positive workplace culture.

In high-pressure work environments, emotional intelligence helps individuals manage their own emotions and stay calm in the face of stress and adversity. This results in better decision making, increased productivity, and reduced turnover, as employees feel valued and supported.

Moreover, emotionally intelligent individuals are able to understand the emotional needs of their customers, and are able to respond in a way that enhances customer satisfaction and loyalty. This has a direct impact on the bottom line, as satisfied customers are more likely to return, refer others, and provide positive reviews.

Leaders with high emotional intelligence are also able to inspire and motivate their teams, and are better equipped to handle workplace conflicts and negotiations. This creates a workplace culture where everyone is working towards a common goal, and helps to improve morale and reduce turnover.

Emotional intelligence plays a critical role in relationships in the workplace, and has a direct impact on the success and profitability of a company. Companies that invest in developing the emotional intelligence of their employees are more likely to achieve their business objectives and have a more positive and productive workplace culture.

Recently Maryke Snyman facilitated a group of learners from KSB Pumps and Valves (Pty) Ltd, completing ODI’s NQF5 Emotional Intelligence 2-Day Skills Programme in Gauteng.

The purpose of this Emotional Intelligence Skills Programme, is to

• learn what emotional intelligence is all about, as well as the impact thereof. 
• discover tools to help you develop new habits.
• increase your ability to recognise your feelings, to control them, and to express them appropriately.
• learn to empathise with people, and to recognise their emotions, as well as your own.
• apply the principles and concepts of emotional intelligence to the management of self and others.

To read more about the content to be covered in this Skills Programme, click here.

Author: Maryke Bergh

The post The importance of EQ in the workplace appeared first on ODI.