1 With the current push by the Labour Movement for Singapore to become a CBF (Cheaper, Better and Faster) economy, there is a need for both employers and employees to embrace the productivity drive of maximising valuable outputs and minimising wasteful inputs. This is best done by identifying productivity bottlenecks and breaking them, as exemplified by one of the Chemical Industries Employees’ Union (CIEU)’s unionised companies - CIBA VISION Asian Manufacturing And Logistics Pte Ltd (CIBA VISION).
2 CIBA VISION is a global leader in the research, development and manufacturing of contact lenses and lens care products. It is committed to innovation - exploring new materials and technologies that continue to yield eye care breakthroughs. Its Singapore-based manufacturing and logistics plant has become more competitive and efficient by being “cheaper" through higher productivity, "better" with new capabilities, and "faster" with a multi-skilled workforce.
3 For the past five years, the CIBA VISION plant has seen a 400% increase in production volume. This increase in output was achieved mainly through a 42% increase in machine productivity, 82% increase in labour productivity[1] and investments to boost production lines from four to 10 lines.
4 Since 2006, the CIBA VISION plant has embarked on productivity improvement initiatives. Through lean initiatives such as “Waste Walking”, the CIBA VISION team filters through the production lines to eliminate “wasteful” steps such as long waiting time within processes and reworks caused by high defect rates. Processes which do not value-add to customers will also be removed. Such initiatives also led to the breaking of three key bottlenecks over the past five years. They were: 1) High dependency on overseas technical support, 2) Low machine productivity, and 3) Low labour productivity.
Bottleneck 1: High dependency on overseas technical support
5 Dependency on overseas technical assistance resulted in longer lead time and higher operating cost in solving real-time problems. Partnering with the Singapore Economic Development Board, the team consisting of CIBA VISION engineers and local experts created a new “Made in Singapore” line in 2009 – the first in CIBA VISION worldwide. Compared to its other machines running on German technology, the “Made in Singapore” line not only produced 15% more output, it was also 20% more cost effective. Some tweaks that were made to the Singapore line to reduce cycle time were:
i. Splitting up bottleneck stations - Through creative software re-programming by local engineers, one of the stations was re-engineered to accommodate two lens molding machines instead of one. This enabled waiting time to be greatly reduced.
ii. Improvements to automation - A faster conveyor system with lesser friction and higher speed was introduced to the line to reduce transportation time of contact lenses by about 20%. Another example was to programme the lens inspection station to take on a different set of camera so that the number of inspection steps could be reduced from five to the current two steps.
Bottleneck 2: Low machine productivity
6 In 2005, low machine productivity resulted in lesser output as the production line operated on an Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)[2] of slightly below 50%. This is below the industrial norm of 85% or more.
7 To address this, local engineers managed to reduce machine cycle time by speeding up the process time of slower stations through a method called Design of Experiments (DOE), where tests are carried out to determine non-influencing factors which are eliminated to achieve the optimal cycle time. For example, the drying time of lenses and the lens removal time from the mold were both successfully reduced through DOE. In total, through such continuous improvements to enhance machine utilisation, the average cycle time per line was reduced from 5.7 seconds in 2005 to five seconds in 2010.
Bottleneck 3: Low labour productivity
8 Through cross-training and job enlargement, CIBA VISION associates are multi-skilled to ensure deployment flexibility at all times. For example, production operators who perform lens inspection are also trained to do tool setup. Also, job re-designs were made to allow operators to perform simple tasks of technicians, so that technicians can be freed up to perform simple tasks of engineers. This not only creates a better development path for both operators and technicians, it also allows the engineers more time to “break” bottlenecks.
9 More importantly, the plant shares its productivity gains with its employees. It has an incentive scheme tied to bonus payouts to reward associates when site targets such Productivity, Quality, Safety and Cost are met. If these performance targets are on track, its associates would receive an incentive payout for the year.
10 Separately, there is also an “R&R” (Reward & Recognition) scheme for associates who contribute ideas to innovate and improve existing processes. Through vouchers and monetary payouts, this scheme was started during the recession last year to motivate associates to continue being productive even during a downturn.
11 Executive Secretary of the Chemical Industries Employees’ Union Ms Cham Hui Fong said, “CIBA VISION is a good example of a company dedicated to using local talent to find and break bottlenecks in a sustainable manner. From the examples we have seen today, the company has managed to create a highly productive and skilled workforce. This achievement is possible because they have a strong productivity-linked system in place to fairly reward their workers in an inclusive way.” Ms Cham is also the Director of NTUC Industrial Relations Department.
12 Mr Mark Chua, General Manager of CIBA VISION Asian Manufacturing And Logistics Pte Ltd said, “In CIBA VISION, continuous improvement will always be part of the organisation strategy. With that in mind, the company has invested heavily in training and developing our associates to enhance their competencies so that they are empowered to carry out troubleshooting tasks more effectively and productively. The increase of productivity in these areas has helped the company become more competitive and in return attract more investments to our Singapore plant.”
13 At the plant, CIBA VISION makes significant investments in training and development and will continue to train its associates to enhance their skill-set in coming years. In addition, it intends to bring in new technology and new products to fuel the growth of the Singapore plant within the next two years.
14 Looking forward, NTUC and its affiliated unions will also work towards encouraging all unionised companies to adopt the “cheaper, better, faster” strategy powered by an all C.A.N. workforce - all Collars, all Ages, and all Nationalities. By building a nation of “bottleneck breakers”, it will help Singapore achieve a 2-3% productivity growth every year (for the next 10 years) and stay ahead of the global competition.
[1] CIBA VISION calculates labour productivity by headcount / per million lenses
[2] OEE is the measurement of how effective a manufacturing operation is being utilised (Availability X Performance X Quality)
