To satisfy increasing demand for targeted training on bottling lines, Sidel recently extended its offers for clients with a new service that is geared towards assessing and improving operators’ performance. Sidel’s new “competence audit” assesses individual skills, sets a base-line and recommends specific training units as needed.
Companies increasingly recognize operating teams as the most valuable assets in the bottling process. They regard training as a key factor in boosting employee motivation, reducing machine downtime, minimizing maintenance costs and improving product quality. Sidel answered this need by setting up several training centers around the world. These training centers are well received by customers: 5,200 people have been trained across the globe with a satisfaction rate of 96 per cent. Sidel’s new competence audits provide clients with a clear and timely picture of their staff’s know-how and identify the areas in which targeted training can have the most positive impact.
Competence audit: Assess skills and set a baseline
The competence audit will assess operators and maintenance staff from a theoretical and practical point of view. These assessments are not generic but tailored to both clients and individual employee’s specifications. Clients provide Sidel with a job profile for each audited employee. Sidel then customizes its audit frame accordingly to define the specific points the audit must address. The job description together with Sidel’s benchmark forms the basis for each employee’s evaluation. Employees fill in a questionnaire on line operations topics and are evaluated hands-on while they operate the machinary. Sidel will provide the client with a comprehensive report on each employee’s detailed results and a recommended custom-designed training plan.
A training path tailor-made for each employee will then be given either at the client’s site or in one of Sidel’s worldwide 11 training centers. Several weeks after the tailor-made training, Sidel will provide a follow-up assessment to ensure that the trainee has reached the predefined objectives and propose an additional training program or recommend a specific career path if necessary.
Two audits, two success stories
Nestle Waters in Nigeria was among the first to benefit from the new service. In the first quarter of 2010, Nestle Waters worked closely with Sidel to establish a baseline for the competence of its machine operators and maintenance engineers, and to set up precise goals for each of them.
After carefully assessing the team members, Sidel recommended improvements regarding process and safety. Eniwake Umukoro, Project Manager at Nestle Waters, was more than happy with the results: “We are satisfied because it is a continuous exercise, based on advice and recommendations… It was well-taught.”
A competence audit was also performed in March 2010 at Natural Waters of Viti Ltd, Fiji Islands. The company wanted to set a benchmark for the competence of its operators and technicians while gaining a better understanding regarding some issues concerning his line. The six-day audit was performed under normal production conditions on a Sidel Combi line, with the hands-on evaluation of the 24 team members requiring less than one day of machine immobilization. The outcome of the competence audit was a tailor-made training path for each employee, focusing mainly on electrical repairs and mechanical maintenance for technicians and on process and machine operation for operators. These custom-designed trainings will be provided in 2011 to optimize investment and motivate staff.
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