Productivity is the measure of how well an organisation is able to optimise their resources to produce products or services that offer value to their customers. At Productivity SA’s recent Regional Awards in Cape Town, K-Way won the Corporate Sector category for the Western Cape. They go through to the National Awards next month.
Productivity SA’s Productivity Awards, which have been granted annually since the mid-1970s, recognise the efforts of organisations in corporate and public sectors to increase productivity through better management and improved allocation of resources.
“The main lesson that we have learned on our journey over the past ten years is that South African workers are just as capable and productive as any other work force in the world,” says Bobby Fairlamb, K-Way’s Manufacturing Team Leader.
“If workers have all the right training and tools to do the job and are supplied with the correct instructions and raw materials, they will more than likely achieve the targets they are set.”
Fairlamb observes that managers are in control of all the key factors that contribute to productivity – from deciding what is going to be made and when, supplying designs, machines, methods and materials to make the products and deciding who is trained to do which tasks.
“When the workers are found to be underperforming or waiting for work or a machine to be set up, it is not because the worker is lazy but more likely that a manager has failed to do their work properly,” says Fairlamb.
K-Way ensures that their managers and, by association, workers at all levels have the tools to do their jobs effectively and efficiently.
“Our focus has been on improving our culture by caring for and training our people with continuous improvement of all areas of the business using ‘LEAN’ principles,” Fairlamb adds.
This Corporate Sector Productivity Award for the Western Cape region recognises effort and commitment by K-Way’s team.
“This Award is tangible evidence for all of us that the journey we have travelled has been worth the effort,” says Fairlamb.
“More importantly, winning this Award confirms that we are on the right path. It also gives our customers confidence to continue working with us and assures our future and sense of security. The Award gives our brand recognition and raises the awareness that we are a local South African product of which we can all be proud.”
The Productivity SA National Awards takes place in Johannesburg on 1 October 2015. K-Way will be up against finalists from other regions.
