Increased Employee Engagement - Case Study
MB Air Systems (MBAS) was born following the buyout of the business and assets of Motherwell Bridge Air Systems in 2002 (part of Motherwell Bridge Group, est. 1973). MBAS, with over 38 years of expertise specialises in the fields of compressed air, industrial & offshore lifting, power tools, pneumatics and product finishing systems. Its business scope includes systems design, integration, sales, rental, maintenance & repair. It has been awarded a patent for its product FiltAir-Receiver. In addition, MBAS has developed its own Zone II (hazardous duty) air compressors.
As a design and manufacturing company based in multiple UK locations had little in the way of technology or system, other than traditional emails and calls, to allow employees based in differing departments and location to communicate and develop Idea's and Solutions together. This poor communication meant lengthy lead times for client orders as well as being a bottleneck for Innovative idea generation, and effective R&D in the company. Although MBAS has proven successful at moving into new sectors and designing new products these processes were lengthy and were not cost efficient thus becoming a drag on business success and growth.
MBAS implemented ExtremeFactories in all their company locations and used the system to create online communities to connect relevant departments and locations so that they could communicate more efficiently, not only to better meet customer demands but also to improve their Innovation and R&D processes.
These online communities meant that lead times on the design and production of specialist equipment for customer requirements were reduced as communication between multiple company locations was more efficient, flexible and practical. This has meant cost savings for MBAS and increased customer satisfaction. Additionally connecting more employees, departments and locations to the Innovation process and R&D team has lead to a measurable increase in employee understanding and engagement with Innovation, both in the quantity and quality of Idea's being submitted for review. Indeed having employees from other departments contributing Innovation Ideas has meant the R&D team are considering issues and Innovation challenges that they weren't previously aware of.
Our employees are our best resource. Connecting our locations and encouraging our employees to communicate and engage with the Innovation process has increased their confidence and led our RandD team to investiagte research Issues they wouldn't have considered otherwise.