Our Clients
Alpha Dot
Sector: Electronic Industry
Alpha Dot, UK
At the turn of the millennium Alpha-Dot was a privately owned manufacturing organisation, supplying outer case coding equipment to a manageable customer base predominantly in the UK and North American markets. The company operated from its modest premises on the Wiltshire-Hampshire border, employing 50 staff covering all facets of the modern day business.
A take-over in 2001 provided new challenges as the customer base hit global proportions and the order book doubled overnight.
Alpha-Dot had to become more performance focused to meet the demands of the new business, as well as adapt to the new culture. This was not going to just happen. Alpha-Dot needed support and turned to CDI-London in 2003 for help. Everyone in the business from the shop floor to senior management knew we needed a vehicle to help us to meet the new challenge. MDW was to become Alpha-Dot's new way of working. The response from the staff was astonishing. Individuals very quickly started to adopt the MDW language. 5S became competitive between departments, with coveted awards presented quarterly. Mini-businesses sprang up on the shop floor, in service and development. Work colleagues were referred to by their collective mini-business name. Shop floor staff were able to engage with the FD when he visited from HQ. Above all, people took an interest in their team's performance and wanted to understand why we occasionally failed to meet our targets.
The spin-offs from MDW were also remarkable. Staff wanted to learn new skills to create a work environment that provided visual management. Staff wanted to go to college and individuals became comfortable with standing in front of their peers and sharing their successes and failures. Within 2 years the performance of the manufacturing business, when measured against group Key Performance Indicators, had progressed from a position at the bottom of the league table, to a situation where we were constantly challenging for top spot. A notable achievement within a group focused on quality and production efficiency.
Mike Turner - Operations Manager (Oct 2006).
