As we approach the end of the year the Operational Excellence team asked some of our Directors and Department Heads to choose their favourite idea from some of the key initiative categories in Ideation.
Here are their thoughts on the very best initiatives from 2023:
HEALTH & SAFETY
Selected by UK Health & Safety Manager, Peter Luxmore
Peter writes: “I would like to choose a joint winner this year, which just so happen to be entered by the same person; North West Operations Manager, Paul Cheeseman. For Paul to have two entries for consideration shows a commitment to continual improvement – well done Paul!”
Reduction of Plant Mixer Confined Space Entry by Reducing Material Build Up
Entry to mixers remains one of our higher risk activities in Readymix, and anything that can reduce the need for entry has got to be beneficial. Ensuring effective coverage of mould oil is often overlooked as part of mixer maintenance, and this initiative provides a more reliable solution, helping with the cleaning by pressure washers.
Read all about the idea here: Reduction of Plant Mixer Confined Space Entry by Reducing Material Build Up – Ideation (idhall.com)
LOTOTO – Personal Key Retention. Lock off and Isolation is a key safety process that needs to be followed exactly to prevent risk. This is a simple solution to ensuring personal lock keys are retained by individuals and less likely to be lost. It enables a quick check to ensure everyone involved in a LOTOTO event has their key on them.
Read all about the idea here: LOTOTO – Personal Key Retention – Ideation (idhall.com)
EFFICIENCY
Selected by Operational Excellence and Business Development Director, Laurence Dagley
Laurence writes: “My choice in the efficiency category is the “fibre adding platform” from Yorkshire Readymix Operations Manager, Gordon Renshaw. One of the cornerstones of our lean strategy is to eliminate waste and I’ve long had the concern that we are losing significant quantities of fibres by not storing them properly. Gordon and the team have come up with a great solution as it keeps the fibres safe and dry, and also close to the point of use. They have also solved a safety challenge by reducing manual handling and providing a safe way to introduce the fibres into the concrete. The self-contained nature of the solution also means that this is something we can easily replicate across other sites in the UK.
Well done to the team and to everyone that submitted ideas into our Ideation system during 2023.”
Read all about the idea here: Fibre adding platform – Ideation (idhall.com)
ENVIRONMENTAL
Selected by UK Sustainability Manager, Miranda Clegg
Miranda writes: “There were some great ideas in this category, but the winning environmental idea has got to be converting redundant IBCs into wildflower planters, by North West Readymix Relief Plant Manager, Gary Wellsbury. This is beneficial not only to improving local biodiversity, particularly on urban sites where space may be limited, but also with regards to circular economy as the reuse of containers that would otherwise become waste contributes to our circular economy commitments. Additionally, it saves money on considerable IBC disposal costs as well as the purchase of new planters. Hopefully, we will see these IBC planters on many more of our sites.”
Read all about the idea here: Boosting Biodiversity – Converting redundant IBCs into wildflower planters – Ideation (idhall.com)
SECURITY
Selected by UK Security Manager, Colin Jones
Colin writes: “My preferred idea with a security impact for 2023 is Midlands Quarry Manager, Bill Newton’s ‘remote CCTV monitoring of the water pump and discharge point’ at Willington. The reason I’ve chosen Bill’s initiative is simple: Using off the shelf technology it touches so many important and topical issues for us; energy efficiency, lone working and risk reduction in health and safety, cost savings, work and home life balance improvements, reduction in carbon footprint, water management and of course security; mitigating against the risk of cold water swimming and misadventure. A simple an inexpensive solution with numerous benefits. Great idea!”
Read all about the idea here: Remote CCTV monitoring of water pump and discharge point. – Ideation (idhall.com)
So, there you have it, the ‘Ideation Oscar’ winners for 2023!
Congratulations again to the winning teams and thank you to everyone who has recorded an improvement initiative in the Ideation tool this year. As we enter the winter period our focus remains on site safety and security, and on energy awareness, particularly at evenings and weekends. If anyone has any new ideas on any of those topics, please do visit http://cemex.idhall.com to register them in the Ideation platform.