As one of the first companies to become a member of TASA Gauteng, Creative Factory is just one of the member companies that has benefitted significantly from TASA Gauteng's implementation strategies geared towards improving systems from within.
Creative Factory's motivation for applying for TASA Gauteng membership was driven by a need to benchmark its performance against international practice and thereby develop and refine its core offering as a one-stop-shop to the local plastic and manufacturing industry, with services ranging from product design and development, tool manufacturing and mould making, as well as production.
As a result of a benchmarking exercise which was conducted by Aachen University on behalf of TASA Gauteng in 2011, Creative Factory was able to identify their strengths in performance as well as the issues that were restricting their competitiveness within the market. Concerns included skills shortages, pricing of local raw material supplies and South African tool buyers' perceived image of local tool making.
To address these issues, TASA Gauteng was brought in to Creative Factory as well as their partner company, Miller Methods, to implement tailored Visual Management Systems (VMS) which allowed both entities to achieve tangible improvements.
The initial impact observed in Miller Methods' injection moulding facility in which the VMS was implemented was substantial. The system improved communication within the factory and focused on empowering employees to take charge of shop floor management at operator level by taking ownership of the process.
As a result, they have realised enhanced timekeeping and decreased absenteeism as well as improved morale, better on-time delivery performance and production rates, employees who are more flexible and committed to working as part of a team, a reduced casual labour complement, reduced scrap rates, and increased profitability. In addition, a full-time Quality Assurance Manager was employed to oversee production.
Creative Factory itself also experience considerable advantages in terms of attendance and timekeeping, communication, routine housekeeping, and improved morale which has ultimately enabled them to achieve the competitive edge that they had been seeking, and has provided them with a long-term solution for bettering their operations into the future.
