Assignment (Corus)
Assignment (Corus)
Assignment (Corus)
Table of Contents_Toc267512852
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 3 1.1 Continuous Improvement............................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Who is involved ........................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 What would they be doing to enable improvements .................................................................... 4 1.3.1 New product development (NPD) ........................................................................................ 4 1.3.2 Total Quality Management ................................................................................................... 4 1.3.3 Training and Development ................................................................................................... 4 1.3.4 Scheduling............................................................................................................................. 4 1.3.5 Communication ..................................................................................................................... 4 1.3.6 Lean production and lean manufacturing ............................................................................. 4 1.4 Minimising of waste .................................................................................................................... 5 2. Corus Culture ..................................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Standardise, Improve and Innovate .............................................................................................. 6 3. Key Performance Indicators .............................................................................................................. 6 3.1 Customers satisfaction through KPI ............................................................................................ 7 4. Benefits of Continues improvement .................................................................................................. 8 4.1 Use CI to become more innovative and customer focused .......................................................... 8 5. Recommendations .............................................................................................................................. 9 6. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 9 7. References ........................................................................................................................................ 10
1. Introduction
Corus is an international metals company. It is a part of the Tata Steel Group, the worlds sixth largest steel producer. Within Europe, Corus is the second largest steel producer with average annual revenues of around 12 billion. (Corus, 2006)The company produces more than 20 million tonnes of steel each year, mainly in the UK and the Netherlands. (Corus, 2006) It has a global network of sales offices and service centres, employing around 42,000 people worldwide. (Corus, 2006) Corus is a leading supplier of steel to some of the most demanding markets around the world and it operates in more than 40 countries. (Corus, 2006) The key markets for Corus Construction & Industrial (CCI) include construction, engineering, mining, shipbuilding and rail etc. The aims of this report are identify Coruss technique of Continuous Improvement (CI), what would they be doing to enable improvements, type of culture Corus is developing, how will the vision plan help to develop this culture, customer satisfaction through key performance indicator (KPI) and benefits of CI in helping Corus to become a more innovative and customer focused organisation.
Who is Involved?
Senior Management
CI Coaches
Employees
(Corus case study, 2006) CI centres on both training and development and employees are encouraged to get involved with the CI programme. CI enables them to grow in a variety of ways, by taking on more responsibility and becoming involved with teamwork and team building. 1.3.4 Scheduling Scheduling for each element of the process ensures that bottlenecks are kept in minimum. 1.3.5 Communication Learning within the company is achieved through opening communication channels. It also occurs from encouraging everyone to become involved by suggesting and applying changes. 1.3.6 Lean production and manufacturing CI involves the related idea of lean manufacturing. This simply refers to the removal of waste. If wasteful activities are removed, employees are able to work smarter. Smart work involves spending time carrying out processes that create value for customers. One aspect of lean production that helps to save costs of stock is the just-in-time (JIT) principle. The business holds the minimum amount of raw materials and just enough finished product to meet demand. It requires well-organised systems to ensure supplies arrive and goods reach customers on time.
2. Corus Culture
Introducing CI means changing the culture of a company, which means that members of the organisation are challenged to change their behaviour and upgrade their work. Continuous Improvement needs teamwork and a culture of willingness to improve. CCI has devised techniques to use to encourage this proccesses. CI involves the related idea of 'lean manufacturing'. This simply refers to the removal of waste. If wasteful activities are removed, employees are able to work smarter. The Performance Improvement journey has resulted in some positive changes in the performance culture. Each team has identified its top three to seven Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which are being tracked and compared across sites each month. Such KPI comparisons have led to discussions on areas where there have been significant performance gaps within the Group and often, these have resulted in improvement project opportunities. Most projects are being identified with a view towards impacting bottom line improvement and most of the projects are conceptualised along with an expected financial benefit. Training to facilitate improvements helps everyone understand where and how they can improve their work. Also everyone can put forward ideas and have a say in how processes can change for the better. (Engagement)
(Corus Annual Report 2009) Coruss vision plan helps to develop this culture. The future belongs to organisations that can increase the pace of standardisation (to have a robust base), improve quickly on their current operations and continuously innovate to differentiate themselves from the rest. This can only be achieved by leadership, passion, process and knowledge. Corus ensures value creation for the system as a whole, starting from the customers to the suppliers. (Corus Annual Report, 2009) In order to achieve its set goals and to keep on improving step after step, first of all organisation need to have constantly updated information about its current situation, that is set out in Vision plan. Vision plan required involvement and active support of all stuff. First stage was to identify what current processes looks like, maps of processes were drawn by workers. Next stage was identification of future state to be and ways of reaching it. However, introducing CI means the change of whole working process and the problem could be resistance to changes among workers. In order to make it easier to accept changes, 5 year plan involved timeline program for introducing change. (Corus Annual Report, 2009)
Financial KPIs Basic earnings per share Net debt Gearing Working capital/turnover Return on net assets
Non Financial KPIs Safety Service Savings Physical performance Human resources Marketing and Sales Production Purchasing
(Corus Case study, 2006) This meant Corus had to develop a completely new product to meet this much higher specification if it was to win the contract. Its Research & Development expertise and knowledge came up with the new steel formula that had the required toughness and strength. Lean production principles helped to minimise waste and Just in time procedures helped to meet tight deadlines. Investment in new technologies and equipment, used alongside lean production techniques, enabled Corus to minimise levels of waste and reduce high manufacturing costs. It was able to meet customer deadlines, a vital element of making a business operations more competitive. Corus used CI to support its new product development (NPD), enabling it to meet the needs of its customers more closely. Corus adopts a practice of benchmarking as part of its continuous improvement. It shares its best practice across the industry. Quality assurance is a vital requirement of continuous improvement, 8
Corus can offer high quality products to its customers and this expands its customer base. Its investment in CI systems, research and development and the use of its employees knowledge have provided Corus with a distinct competitive advantage. CI supports Corus aim to achieve satisfied customers and secure repeat sales and longer term orders. It is part of a long term strategy based on service to develop the business. It aims to improve operational demands to fulfill customer expectations and out-perform competitors.
5. Recommendations
Corus can adopt other techniques such as 1. Six Sigma Replace fixed ideas with fresh ones. Start by questioning current practices and standards. Seek the advice of associates Implement a solution right away, even if it covers only 50 percent of the target. Correct something right away if a mistake is made 2. Flexible Manufacturing Develop and execute the right trade-offs across various key factors. Adopt and internalize proven manufacturing excellence principles that are focused on the bottom line. Integrate manufacturing with product design, planning and scheduling, sales and operations planning, and service. 3. Kanban Not send defective products to the subsequent process The subsequent process comes to withdraw only what is needed Produce only the exact quantity withdrawn by the subsequent process Equalize production Stabilize and rationalize the process Overall Corus can achieve higher customer confidence and loyalty, increased brand value and market share, decreased time to market and greater returns
6. Conclusion
Corus is using CI to improve steel production in Scunthorpe. All employees are encouraged to be team members and seek improvement. CI supports the aim of satisfied customers and repeat sales and helps to secure the business. Working in teams enables employees to share their ideas and expertise. Using the expertise of staff helps the business to develop. It also empowers individuals to take on responsibility and provides them with increased job satisfaction. New product development may involve risk, such as investing time, resources and money in new technologies. However, it also creates business opportunities. 9
7. References
1. corusgroup.com , Welcome to Corus, [WWW]. Available from: http://www.corusgroup.com/en/, [Accessed 10th July 2010] 2. Reh F. John, Key Performance Indicators (KPI) How an organization defines and measures progress toward its goals, [WWW]. Available from: http://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/a/keyperfindic.htm, [Accessed 10th July 2010] 3. humanresources.hrvinet.com, KPI examples, [WWW]. Available from: http://www.humanresources.hrvinet.com/sample-kpi/, [Accessed 12th July 2010] 4. corusgroup.com, [WWW]. Available from: http://www.corusgroup.com/file_source/StaticFiles/Corporate/Financial/Investor_visit_Sc unthorpe_June05.pdf, [Accessed 12th July 2010] 5. thisisscunthorpe.co.uk, Corus laps up order, [WWW]. Available from: http://www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk/news/Corus-laps-order/article-2396349detail/article.html, [Accessed 14th July 2010] 6. thetimes100.co.uk, Product development through continuous improvement, [WWW]. Available from: http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/case-study--product-developmentthrough-continuous-improvement--56-338-6.php, [Accessed 14th July 2010] 7. thetimes100.co.uk, Continuous Improvement The Corus Way, [WWW]. Available from: http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/case-study--continuous-improvement---corus-way--56220-6.php, [Accessed 10th July 2010] 8. Corus Annual Report 2006, [WWW]. Available from: http://www.corusgroup.com/en/responsibility/cspr/news/prn_annual_brochures/ 9. Corus Annual Report 2009, [WWW]. Available from: http://www.corusgroup.com/file_source/StaticFiles/Functions/Financial/annual-report2008-09.pdf, [Accessed 15th July 2010] 10. media.wiley.com , Continuous Improvement Tools, [WWW]. Available from: http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/62/04717548/0471754862.pdf [Accessed 12th July 2010] 11. eHow Contributing Writer, How to Implement Continuous Process Improvement, [WWW]. Available from: http://www.ehow.com/how_2072968_implement-continuousprocess-improvement.html, [Accessed 12th July 2010] 12. managing-innovation.com , Continuous Improvement: Specific Techniques, [WWW]. Available from: http://www.managinginnovation.com/tools/Continuous%20Improvement.pdf, [Accessed 14th July 2010]
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