Manufacturers Productivity Conference – May 2008

Manufacturers Productivity Conference – May 2008

Productivity Conference in NZ

“Manufacturers productivity conference held in Auckland, New Zealand in May attracted many attendees from a wide variety of industries including: kitchens, cabinets, shop fitters, furniture, joinery, sheet metal and engineering.  Speakers included

1  Jon Martin Managing Director Phoenix Aluminium advised “Within 36 months factory staff levels were reduced from the 24 to 11 – saving $470,000 each year in wage costs [production levels were maintained]. One recent example of how time tracking works is one factory staff member went from 60% productive one month, to 100% the next month, to 120% the next month. Within three months the same staff member, doing the same job, doubled his output…

2   David Lawrence, production manager of Modulink Kitchens and Joinery in Christchurch advised “time tracking software brings total control to the factory floors and increases to weekly productivity has been substantial in all three joinery manufacturers he has worked for. At Asset Kitchens factory staff were reduced from 13 to 8 – whilst maintaining weekly output – saving $175,000 per year…

3   Paul Entwisle, owner of Forest Furniture.  Paul invested in PCs on the factory floor and ‘Empower’ time tracking software in 2003. Within two years Paul achieved a 20% increase in staff output and factory productivity.  When Paul won Waikato Business of the Year in 2005 the judges Deloittes, one of the big six worldwide accounting firms, were impressed with the PCs on the factory floor his ‘Empower’ time tracking software…”