Investing in People - Case Study Investing in people and plant has helped drive efficiencies in all areas of Pruce Newman Pipework. Projects director Tim Moorse talked to Bernie Sheehan.

Tim Moorse
Projects Director

When Pruce Newman launched its Efficiencies Programme in March this year, it was keen to involve all its people in identifying possible productivity improvements. By encouraging staff ownership it was felt that there would be better understanding and implementation of the initiatives.

We're not on what you might call the sharp edge of lean manufacturing technology, but we've started a programme to measure the consumables we use to see if savings can be made, explained projects director Tim Moorse. We've also made investments in plant to reduce labour and increase productivity.

It is initiatives like these which are helping the company consolidate its position within the engineering construction industry, where its core business is the fabrication and site installation of pipework. Pruce Newman employs around 120 people at its fabrication facility and its annual sales turnover is approximately £7 million.

When the company began operations 36 years ago it focused primarily on the process industry. Since then it has expanded into power generation, water utilities, building services and the food, manufacturing, gas and petrochemical sectors. We have a current project for Huntsman Advanced Materials installing plant, equipment and pipework for an expanded production facility, said Moorse. Our recent projects include cooling water installations for British Energy Generation and a new fire main for Bayer CropScience.

There are six divisions within the company, which specialise in the fabrication and installation of pipework in black, galvanised and coated mild steel, stainless and some alloy steels, ductile iron, copper, thermo and thermosetting plastics and plastic-lined mild steel materials. A structural steelwork and general fabrication division, trading under the name Ayton Fabrications, comprises an 8000 square foot workshop, where pipe spools, steel sections and other fabrications are available on a supply-only or supply-and-erect basis. This division also offers structural design, and undertakes fabrication and installation projects, and the manufacture of vessels, pots, skid mounted units, gantries, ladders and pipe bridges. Other associated services include providing project proposals and budget costing, project management, skilled labour-only facilities, and plant and equipment installations. All being part of the same group allows individuals to specialise for example, project staff take care of the contractual dealings in our major projects, while in fabrication we have people with steelwork design knowledge and experience, he said.

One of the divisions, Pruce Newman Infrastructure, specialises in the support of safe working and quality assurance policies and procedures. The company is currently working towards the health and safety award ISO 18001. We are proud of our reputation with regard to our safety systems and culture, which have been in place for many years,? said Moorse. The ISO accreditation is a means of showing that we operate to high standards.

The initial objective of Pruce Newman's recent efficiencies programme was to refine and streamline existing procedures. Staff were divided into three groups, each sponsored by a director. Each group was given a different subject title consumables and expendables savings; new equipment and processes; and procedural and management efficiencies.

The groups explored existing methods and costs and then compiled a list of proposals with calculated predictions on savings. Consumable and expendable costs were predicted to reduce by five per cent by the refinement of processes such as security of stock, accountability for stock rationalisation, and a review of suppliers.

The new equipment and processes group predicted a one per cent saving in labour costs if the company invested in new welding equipment, cutting tooling and pressure-testing equipment, refined its purging techniques for stainless steel welding, and purchased duplicate equipment to avoid the resetting of tooling.

Proposals for procedural and management efficiencies estimated that a 40 per cent increase in the existing operatives bonus scheme could be achieved as a direct result of improved efficiency. This would be levered by improving morale through increased consultation and dialogue, minimisation of downtime and enhanced responsibility and accountability.

Each group made a presentation explaining their initiatives. Appropriate investment has followed and the groups are currently measuring the effectiveness of the implementations using a variety of methods they devised themselves.

As part of the scheme to improve morale we had independent consultants in and the results were an eye-opener. We?ve adjusted our thinking as a result of their feedback, explained Moorse. A lack of communication between staff and operatives was identified as the root cause of the problem. As time goes on, we're introducing more initiatives to improve procedures. Engineering staff get more involved in complying with the procedures, which take them away from the operational side of the business and they can lose touch with the shopfloor and the field. We were losing our focus on the day-to-day operation.

Based on these findings, Pruce Newman has since improved communications across the company. No one person fully appreciates the role of another - they ask why don't they do it this way or that way? because they don't know everything that's involved in the job. We've found that if you give people a bit more explanation why they have to do something, they're happier to do it. Productivity may improve, just by increasing mutual understanding.?

Employee motivation has also been boosted by the relaunch of the operatives? bonus scheme this summer. We've always had an incentive scheme but we felt it wasn't working as effectively as it used to, said Moorse. Certain procedures had made some operations more time-consuming, so we looked to see if we could trim procedures.

With the continuing trend for industry to invest abroad there are still challenges ahead in some of Pruce Newman's market sectors. Moorse, however, remains optimistic about the future.