AP Woodham Ltd

The client

AP Woodham is a privately owned, Auckland-based printing company specialising in flexographic printing and paper converting. Their clients are large and small companies within the food processing, food packaging, retail and corporate markets.

 

The challenge

Operating in the printing sector, the company is under continual threat from offshore competition. It is critical for the company to be cost effective and produce high quality goods. To do this, good communication is essential. The workforce is mostly Samoan and before the literacy programme:

• there was a lack of communication between employees and management, preventing employees understanding why change was necessary
• the charts and measuring devices introduced to improve efficiencies were not understood and generated suspicion from staff.
• machines would be left idle during tea and lunch breaks or between jobs.

 

Practical, sustainable solutions

The key priorities were to improve communication and to improve production efficiencies.

• The training programme was tailored to the skills individual employees required and to the company's objectives.
• What employees learned was applied directly to their work - so they could see their personal improvement.
• Where possible training was linked to unit standards and in one case the participant completed a First Line Management Certificate.

Fourteen employees attended an hour of training a week for 12 months.  Training took place during work hours, to encourage full attendance and demonstrate the company's commitment to employee development.

 

Great results

After the programme, managers noticed a range of improvements, including:

• better planning and communication - a production plan relating job status, is now circulated
• combined input into developing machine time sheets so machines run continuously
• good understanding of efficiency measurements and pride taken in individual efficiencies
• increased contributions made to team meetings and suggestions for improvements
• greater ability to multi-task, resulting in greater efficiencies in output
• employees sharing what they have learned with their family, outside the workplace