As the Singapore government sets the target of a 3% productivity growth over the next 10 years, the Labour Movement also calls upon companies and workers of all sectors to adopt the “Cheaper, Better, Faster” (CBF) strategy to pave the way for sustainable growth in a new and restructured economy after the recession in 2009.
Businesses now need to build new and better capabilities to meet the challenges brought on by a new economic order. Energizer Singapore Pte Ltd, a unionised company under the United Workers of Electronic and Electrical Industries (UWEEI), is a producer of batteries and flashlights and is also the second global site to manufacture Energizer™ lithium batteries. Energizer Singapore is a global manufacturer in Singapore enjoying business success by becoming “cheaper" through higher productivity, "better" with new capabilities and "faster" by being more flexible.
On 1 March 2010, a learning journey was organised by UWEEI for Secretary General of NTUC, Mr Lim Swee Say, and the union leaders. The visit allowed the union leaders to gain insights into the initiatives that Energizer and UWEEI worked on to increase the productivity level to meet the new challenges in the restructured economy.
Energizer has been producing batteries in Singapore since 1946 and has produced alkaline batteries here since the early 1980’s. In 2009 the company initiated production of Energizer™ primary lithium batteries, which are the world’s longest lasting batteries in high-tech devices. In fact, Energizer Singapore was selected over other global Energizer plants, including the Tianjin China plant, to be the second site for manufacturing of lithium batteries.
Energizer Singapore’s productive workforce, the availability of strong in-house and local technical talent and demonstrated adaptability and flexibility of the Energizer Singapore workforce all factored heavily in the selection of the Singapore Plant for lithium battery manufacturing. Though the production of lithium batteries currently makes up less than 10% of Energizer Singapore overall production, the company plans to increase the production of lithium batteries up to 20% to 30% of the overall production while also expanding alkaline battery manufacturing capacity. This is made possible with the adoption of new technologies and more effective work processes via the company’s Lean Transformation commitment.
The company has recently started a pilot Lean Transformation initiative. In the past, five employees - four who were skilled and one who was semi-skilled – were involved in running four machines in a cluttered work environment. With the Lean method now in place, two skilled employees and a ‘water spider’ (trained to handle materials and provide other operational support for the processes) work in a safer and more orderly environment. Productivity has increased and the company is able to do more with less.
In the late 1990s, an employee was able to produce 1 million pieces of batteries per year. Today, this same employee is able to produce 2 million pieces of batteries per year. Moving forward, the company hopes to see a growth of 3% to 5% in volume per employee per year.
Lean has also been extended to the commercial side of the business and support functions such as finance, Human Resources (HR) and Information Technology. For example, leveraging Lean as a business enabler, the company was able to improve payroll preparation and processing, thereby reducing work steps by over 40%, waiting time by 90%. Payroll accuracy also increased by 50%.
Energizer Singapore has conducted extensive training to invest in its staff over the past 4 years, adopting a “no colleague is left behind” approach to achieve 100% organizational engagement in continuous productivity improvement. This approach ensures that all staff has the opportunity to grow and develop in their area of work. For example, with basic mechanical certification and in-house training, operators can be promoted to technical operators and to process technicians. These skilled positions in turn are feeder pools for future technicians and specialists. It has thus become “faster” by building up an adaptable workforce through up-skilling and multi-skilling.
This is most evident in Energizer’s world-class lithium battery operation, where a versatile multi-skilled workforce operates the process with “ownership attitude”. 6. Energizer Singapore recently sent 33 employees to attend technical training at their sister lithium battery plant in the United States to learn the lithium battery process and become a Lean self-sufficient manufacturing team. This training ranged from a few weeks to twelve months, and employees received local “Trainer Training” prior to departure to set them up as future trainers upon their return to Singapore.
When battery sales dipped during the global economic downturn, Energizer seized the opportunity to send employees for SPUR training during idle plant shifts. The company also successfully applied for funding to conduct in-house training and deployed the $21,120 subsidy it received to enhance employee skills. The company also found invaluable benefit in examining internal processes to eliminate waste. Current and desired future state process maps were defined to identify opportunities to enhance productivity and “lean” the process in preparation for the rebound of manufacturing volume.
UWEEI and Energizer work closely together and embrace a spirit of open communication. Regular meetings were set for the union and management to discuss challenges and share forward plans. The union and management are aligned in increasing company productivity for the betterment of the employees and company as a whole. For example, employees were required to carry heavy materials in the past, which resulted in frequent complaints of backache and missed work days. UWEEI and plant management worked together to resolve the issue. Automation was implemented; automated material conveyance eliminated the need for employees to lift heavy materials. This change made the job friendlier to older workers and reduced medical leave associated with repetitive heavy lifting. As a result, productivity also increased.
Madam Halimah Yacob, Executive Secretary of UWEEI and Deputy Secretary-General of NTUC said, “Energizer has been successful in achieving sustained improvements in productivity through re-skilling their workforce, instilling a strong company culture of lean management and maintaining effective communication with their workers. As a result, they have been able to increasetheir output from 1 million batteries per worker per year to 2 million batteries per worker per year. The strong partnership between union and management has made this possible and the higher productivity has not only benefited the company but also the workers”.
At the heart of all productivity initiatives is Energizer’s values-based, people-focused culture. The benefits to the business are many and include low staff turnover, a stable and cooperative workforce and high levels of engagement. Energizer has many colleagues, at all levels in the business, with unbroken service in excess of twenty, even thirty years - who remain actively engaged in what they do and are passionate about the company. This is unique and it counters the recent trend of frequent job changes. The enhanced productivity also ensure business continuity and a better return on investment in employees.
Mr Winston Pratt, Regional Human Resources Director, Energizer Singapore Private Limited said, “The National Productivity Fund is a great example of partnership between the Government and companies. Singapore has always been supportive of businesses, technology and people investments. Competition is becoming intense, particularly in the Asian region, from other countries which have now started to get their act together and begun to compete firstly on cost and I believe, will soon shift focus to compete on productivity. And Singapore is well ahead of this competition. This is where the National Productivity Fund plays an important role.”
Looking to the future, Energizer is charging forward in their Lean Transformation. The company has underscored its commitment to raising productivity by three to five per cent within the next five to ten years. Other than Energizer, the Labour Movement will also be working closely with 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 as we strive to help Singapore achieves the next phase of economic growth.
