Difficult employees top hazard on road to manufacturing excellence, BFA Conference told

Basic people management was a vital component in becoming a Best Factory over 100 conference attendees at Chesford Grange hotel, Kenilworth heard. Martin Lee, MD of Entek International- 2012 Best Process Plant and People Management category winner- urged delegates to "seize the factory back" from awkward individuals. He said: "As leaders you're going to need some courage to face up to legacy issues. We had lots of failed 5S initiatives. A lot of the supervisors were afraid of some of their own shift team- actually afraid of them. It really was a difficult place to start from." Setting and policing a behavioural code of practice was key to restoring order, Lee advised. "I don't mean nice, fluffy, everybody is a hero what I really mean is creating some fair and consistent management." Rules should include zero tolerance towards dissenters, added Lee. The Entek chief recounted the story of a rebellious supervisor who had refused to attend a management training course. "Eventually we fired him. He couldn't believe it and employees couldn't believe it. He claimed unfair dismissal and he lost and then bang! The game's changed." The firm but fair approach was backed by fellow Best Factory winners.. Siemens Magnet Technology chief Ralph Seidler called for the same scrutiny to be applied to management teams. He said: "When you go through those changes you've got to make sure you've got the right people. See if you can stress test some of the people on the team. There might be smaller changes they can do. How do they react to the changes? Are they prepared to go the extra mile?" Carrot was just as important as stick in CI initiatives, speakers stressed. Entek had launched a bonus scheme where star employees net a £2,000 award plus pocket the leftover cash from individuals with lower ranking performance and behavior. Lee said: "Think about how that works in the mind of the person whose left money on the table? He doesn't want to leave money for his mates. That really has worked very well in getting people focused on continuous improvement and behaviours."