Doing it the Doncasters way

Precision engineering firm Doncasters has developed what it describes as a new charter to help the business gear up for expected growth over the coming years – ‘The Doncasters Way’. All about continuous improvement, the company says it will provide focus and direction for all businesses within the group to meet ambitious targets, create added value for customers and strengthen the company’s position in the market place. The charter includes a series of commitments that will apply to everyone at Doncasters’ sites. “These commitments outline a way of life intrinsic to the day-to-day running of the businesses that will identify improvements and share best practice on an ongoing basis, continuously improving the group’s competitive performance,” it says. Doncasters CEO Eric Lewis (pictured) said it was crucial that the company continued to seek out improvements across every part of the business if it was to create the right environment for sustainable growth, to reduce costs and to truly position it as a world leader. “The Doncasters Way is not a project or initiative but will become a way of life, forming part of everything we do, everyday,” said Lewis. “We want to be recognised as a company that creates value for shareholders, customers, suppliers and employees, so this charter will define how we communicate and work together to solve issues, find improvements and share best practice.” The Doncasters Way will be implemented via a series of ten guidebooks outlining the processes involved and how they should be applied. These books cover topics such as lean thinking, strategy development and value stream mapping. The guidebooks will be distributed to managers, coaches and leaders across the group, to help them secure the involvement and engagement of employees. The guidebooks outline the processes involved and how they can be applied to strategy development and review, annual planning and budgets, communications and training programmes on a daily basis.