Change
Transcription
Change
The NMC magazine for employees and business partners N o . 7 6 – 0 6 / 2 0 1 3 Short Escapes in White p. 8 - 9 Getting beyond our limits digitally p. 10 - 11 Success is not a coincidence p. 21 - 23 Change Everything changes Charles Darwin was the first to see it: life is change. His theory of evolution revolutionised the thinking and is highly topical even nowadays. Those who can no longer change have reached the end of their evolution and die. Examples for that are dinosaurs or dried branches, which cannot bend in the wind anymore and so they break. Each of us changes. Every day. Sometimes more, sometimes less. This becomes obvious when looking at old photos: we can hardly believe how much we have changed – physically, in our preferences and opinions. But we do not accept taking the change for granted in all circumstances of our life. We regard new things with scepticism - and this is not necessarily bad. A healthy scepticism and the openness to changes are the best ways for us to further develop in the right direction. In fact not every change is a progress. Like in a river, EDITORIAL Dear reader, Our entire life is marked by change. This is particularly clear to me when I watch my children grow. I, myself, change and I perceive ageing as a permanent mission: thus, sports and proper eating are today much more important to me than they were a few years ago. Exactly like a body, that needs to be actively trained in order to be fit, only a flexible company, open to change, can survive in a world that never stops. Therefore, we dedicate this issue of nmc-LIVE entirely to evolution, reinvention, progress – in short, to change in its multiple variants. Employees of NMC from all over Europe talk about events that, from their perspective, triggered the greatest changes in their companies or for them personally. For a colleague in Sweden, this is the digital revolution; for an employee in Spain, his upcoming wedding, whereby he proves that an economic crisis does not just determine one’s entire life. But it is precisely in the profession that you need to cause change. Because immobility is regress. Without curiosity, without the will to learn from others and to question routine processes, you may not get better. Here, at NMC, we want to continue convincing our clients by top performances and be measured against them. This shall only be possible if our employees are able to contribute to creating change, if they are able to appropriate new techniques and apply other ways of thinking. The implementation of the SAP software system and our DRIVE³ optimisation programme creates this freedom of action. In economy things are, basically, like in the private life: everything changes. How well we do with this natural dynamics largely depends on ourselves. I love change as daily challenge and I appreciate the chances we thus receive over and over again – both in our private and in our professional life. Hence, I hope you will find a lot of interesting food for thought when reading this issue. Hubert Bosten CEO the stream carries us on. Here changing means surviving, but this is not necessarily a strategy for success. We can benefit of it only if we consciously choose a new direction and control it actively. In other words, the one who takes the lead of a change will take the steering wheel in his hands and make the best of it for himself. In an emotional as well as a professional sense, because nowadays an embraced willingness to change is a central skill for competitiveness. People who do not indulge in nostalgic illusions will equally make their private life fulfilling and their everyday professional life successful. ”Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future”. John F. Kennedy gave this law of change to his posterity to take along. Victor Timofeev, 4-5 NMC Russia, shares this view. The dissolution of the USSR and the democratisation of his homeland represented for him the greatest change in his country, still far from being completed. In his private life the change was the birth of his daughters. In this respect he is on the same wavelength as Bengt Egeman, NMC Sweden. Besides the modification of the economic powers, with the rapid rise of China, the latter sees his children’s birth as the most radical change of his life. Bengt Egeman expects an analogue break when they will start their own life outside the parents’ home. But in addition to these real changes, for Sweden the tremendous development of the digital world, with the internet and the social media, is a milestone of development as well. Trevor Stone, NMCUK, and Olivier Bonnet, NMC France, have a similar view. The permanent accessibility to any site means a long term change as to cooperation and project tempo – but also as regards the substantial depth of relationships. “Change begins in your mind”, says Bengt Egeman, while Bernd Loreth, NMC Germany wants to have the possibility of an active role in shaping changes. Peter Hammarberg, Finland, calls for less indifference and egocentrism. Empathy, a readiness to be there for others – even unpaid and with personal involvement, is at risk of failing. The same wish is shared by Daniel del Rio, NMC Spain, and Sergio Vergani, NMC Italy, in the light of the economic difficulties of their homelands. But arguing will not help. That is why Daniel del Rio is actively heading for a forward-looking change: he is going to get married in June. And thus he lives according to the maxim of his Swede colleague, who does not want to miss the curiosity for new things. 6-7 In the Lion’s Workshop Everything about the American film production company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is great: the name, the box-office successes, the artists and, of course, the worldwide trademark, Leo the Lion. There is indeed none of us who would not associate the powerful roar of the lion in the celluloid circle with a MGM classic movie. From Casablanca to Ben Hur and Doctor Zhivago up to the latest adventures of James Bond in Skyfall, the opening credits with the mascot of the MGM Studios stand for grand emotions on screen. However, the MGM Group has extended its field of activity for a long time now. In parallel to the increasing predatory competition in the film industry, it has transferred its entertainment know-how to the world of casinos and hotels. The start was given by the legendary MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas with a gigantic golden lion next to the entrance. Big shows, magnificent gastronomy, a luxury hotel and virtually unlimited gambling possibilities consolidate its reputation as an ultimate address in the gamblers’ citadel. MAL With a large-scale project the group wants to implement this proven concept in Vietnam, too. The oblong-shaped costal state in SouthEast Asia has been changing since the nineties of the last century: nowadays the country is characterised by tourism boom and strong economic growth. Besides the traditional agriculture and coffee production, it has developed to a sought-after address for the textile and shoe industry. Ho Chi Minh City, as the former capital of South Vietnam also known under the name of Saigon, is considered to be one of the fastest growing metropolises of the world and is the trading centre of Vietnam. Many international companies have established subsidiaries here. Global hotel chains followed them quickly – as MGM did too – and transformed former fishing villages into elegant resorts. 120 km far from Ho Chi Minh City the group with the lion in the company sign planned the first of a total of five resorts in Vietnam, the MGM Grand Ho Tram Beach. Its first phase of construction has been now completed: a hotel with 541 five-star rooms and suites, nine restaurants, three bars and numerous luxury boutiques are attracting the wealthy and spoiled people of this world. The centrepiece of the entertainment offer is the13,600 square metre casino with 90 gambling tables and 500 electronic gambling machines. Further 500 electronic games and an 18-hole golf course are to be built in the second phase of construction. In Vietnam, too, true greatness knows no bounds. Through the Malaysian partner company PU Profile Sdn. Bhd., NMC has now indirectly become the Lord of the Lion, as PU Profile has manufactured the three meter high emblem of MGM that adorns the entrance to Grand Ho Tram Casino. A prototype of only 50 centimetres served as model. It was measured in detail and scaled to the required size with the aid of the computer. Based on these data the sculpture builder cut carefully a lion master of polystyrene in original size. After they had polished all cut edges and irregularities, they coated the massive body with epoxy paint. Then this master was cut on the basis of an elaborate plan into a total of 42 separate parts and a distinct mould was made out of each element. All moulds were cast in specially reinforced plastic and so the original parts were manufactured true to scale. After curing, the NMC partner PU Profile assembled these separate parts into four large elements, which were transported in containers to Vietnam. There these four components were stuck together to the final sculpture. Then the huge lion got its unique golden glamour again in the USA, in accordance with the detailed specifications of MGM. After a total manufacturing time of nine month it was supposed to adorn, in all its glory, the entrance to the gambling casino in Ho Tram. But MGM suddenly withdrew from the project. Today the resort is being successfully managed by the Canadian investor group ACDL, true to the motto “The show must go on.” Only Leo the Lion is still waiting for its final location somewhere in the wide world of MGM. 8-9 Short Escapes in White When winter grey doesn’t seem to end or the holiday is still too far away, your boss has yet another urgent project and the neighbours get on your nerves – then it is time for a change. Short escapes from everyday life work miracles. Simply disconnect, soak up the sun and get into a good mood. For this, most people choose a short trip south – where the sun always shines and problems are far, far away. A trip to the Algarve, for example, for it is the place with the most sunny days of all Europe. What a shame that most of the times your account balance is a barrier to short breaks in the sunny south. But it shouldn’t be like this: if well planned, south can come to your doorstep. Honestly, what can beat stepping out on the balcony or the patio with a latte in your hands, the sun shining and a relaxed breakfast to begin your day with? Only a glass of wine in the evening, when the sun goes down unveiling the sky of myriads of stars. You just need a stylish, easy-to-build patio and this picture will turn into reality. Telling stories, playing, barbecuing or simply relaxing and forgetting about everyday problems: oleander, lavender or thyme will bring a breeze from the Mediterranean. A discrete water fountain would almost make you hear the sound of the clear turquoise water from the Algarve. The ideal outfit of this favourite place is a NOMAWOOD® patio. Its colours create harmony between the dream holiday locations and all year’s seasons. For example, terracotta for Tuscany in autumn and olive for spring in Provence; bring now the Algarve with its bright summer white in our dreary everyday life. The major advantage is that these wooden-like patios do not offer only divine pleasure but also every earthly advantage such as no splinters, weather resistance, stability and unbelievable ease of maintenance. Antislip, simple to clean, they dry in a jiffy and are also treated for small mishaps such as red wine spilled accidentally or torrential rain. Whether barefoot or on high heels, the Algarve always lays at your feet through these elegant patios. Now, we can handle the rest of the problems: sun blinds or gas heaters when weather tries to ruin our mood, bad connection when boss is calling and good music in the earphones to forget about those annoying neighbours. Life can be so beautiful – we only have to change what bothers us. 10 - 11 Getting beyond our limits digitally No other measure causes such complex changes within a company as the implementation of a new SAP-based integrated software system. The employees are concerned with the new tasks arising from this change of system. For the company’s management, this step involves the reorganisation of all business processes in NMC’s subsidiaries and their directing to the new IT system. In other words: digitally, not one stone will be left standing upon another. Nevertheless, NMC decided in 2008 to take this step. Due to the continuous expansion of the group over the last years, the software used at the company level had run up against its limits. The obsolete data structures, the high repair and maintenance costs, the impossibility to implement updates, the lack of continuity in data transparency in various systems of each country and department in turn, as well as the need for general process improvement triggered the switch to a new and homogenous system. The demands imposed on the 40-member SAP project team, having Alain Thielemans as IT manager at NMC group level and Werner Bongen as SAP-business process manager were very high. All the group’s important processes and workflows should be input in the new software. The switch to a new global IT organisation entailed the replacement of the existing local structures. The project drivers were innovation, harmonisation, integration and optimisation. team paid much attention to system flexibility, so as to include all the particularities and scaling specific to the company, without deviating much from the standard. Other criteria were the long term maintainability and the upgradability. In December 2009, they decided to implement SAP and at the beginning of 2010 the works related to process definition, system setup and data cleansing began. One of the greatest challenges was the time. 170 employees needed to be trained within this large project in order to be able to correctly use the new system. The current activities had to remain unaffected by the introduction of the new system. The decision to change made at the end of 2008 was followed by the selection process related to the future ERP software, until March 2009. The SAP international software was chosen due to the global use of this software. When making their choice, the project At NMC France the data migration was started in May 2011; in October of the same year NMC UK was successfully implementing the new “Go live” system; thus, the deployment of the new system at the Belgian parent company and at two German subsidiaries occurred before the end of April of the same year. It was a really huge project considering that it included the transfer of data concerning 5,200 customers, 2,350 suppliers and 7,950 products into the new system. Concurrently, a warehouse management system was implemented with the same enthusiasm. “Besides the complexity of actions, one of the greatest challenges of this reorganisation was to persuade our employees that this was the best way”, says Alain Thielemans. This process affected the entire personnel from all the departments: from the department in charge of contract conclusion, planning and production, supply, finance and controlling, warehouse management and administration, to the department of transportation, reporting and IT. The passing from the old system to the new one occurred without any impediments, due to a new intensive training concept divided in several stages. There is still a lot to do. With the aim to reach important improvements in the day-to-day business, the NMC-team continues to work on process simplification. This will also lead to advantages for NMC’s customers who will take profit from improved electronic data interchange and last but not least from faster and more efficient services. 12 - 13 Who is Who? Wolfgang Rau Change is part of the everyday life of Wolfgang Rau (62): profession, private life or sport – no day, no meeting resembles another. A sole exception: he has been working for NMC Germania for 40 years, of which 38 as independent representative. Being in charge with large regions from the south of the Federal Republic of Germany, he loves challenges and novelties in his relationship with the customers. As sales trainer, he has been sharing his knowledge and experience in the field for more than 15 years. He devotes his personal life to his wife, four children and many grandchildren. As a fervent tennis player from the second division of Germany, he permanently faces new challenges in the duel with the tennis ball. >Is there a book on your nightstand at the moment? I am currently reading the book of the former stock exchange journalist Frank Lehmann „Über Geld redet man nicht. Was Ihnen die Finanzprofis verschweigen“. He was very marked and moved by the birth of his first grandson, which made him redefine his priorities. Professionally, he is satisfied with the positive evolution of his collaboration with NMC and of his successful activity as a trainer. He was successful on both plans, despite the scepticism shown by certain members of his family, the customers and colleagues. >If you had three wishes what would you wish for? The harmony in my family, a long and healthy life and more peace on earth. D >What is your life motto? There is sunshine after every rainfall. >What kind of music do you like? My range of musical preferences goes from the soul legend Joe Cocker, to the German pop singer Udo Jürgens to folk music. >What did you last see at the movies? I was very impressed by the movie “Miracle of Bern” because it contained many analogies with my own childhood. >What makes you laugh? I cannot take the snob and the lazy seriously. >What would you like to be doing in ten years time? I love my profession and I want to serve NMC and the industry as long as possible. >Who would you like to have met in person? I had the chance to meet Gert Noël. He encouraged me and believed in me during a difficult period of my life. This impressed me much and I reserve him a very special place in my heart. Quality sets marks Small mark with a big impact: what we have long known in relation to phones, teddy bears or freezers has also changed the world of technical insulation materials since August 2012. Without the CE mark, nothing can be done with these materials in the 28 EU Member States. As a mandatory administrative symbol of the EU, this mark certifies the manufacturer’s declaration that the product complies with EU standards. The CE mark is mandatory, but it is neither a test seal, nor a quality mark or certificate of origin. It is nothing but a passport for pipe insulation. It allows the sale in all EU Member States, as well as in Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. For NMC, it is a welcomed door opener for international tenders and unlimited trade in the EU. Architects are also required to use the products with the CE marking, just like those working in trade or crafts. It gives them not only the necessary legal certainty, but also a concrete aid in the decision-making process. The mandatory specification of the product characteristics allows, for the first time, a concrete comparison of the products, while the premium quality of the NMC-insulating materials is noticeable at first glance. Concurrently with the introduction of the CE mark for technical insulation materials, there was a significant change in the fire protection area. The previously valid national fire protection classes such as B1 and B2 in Germany or M1 in France were replaced by seven single European fire classes. This new regulation gives designers and manufacturers the much needed security regarding the compliance with fire safety regulations. This commitment to more transparency is a clear progress for NMC: the Climaflex® brand has the best fire protection class in the field of flexible technical insulation materials made of polyethylene and it is thus particularly recommended for use in public buildings. In the Netherlands, this proved effective: the local legal requirements have already established this product as benchmark of its field. However, NMC does not rest on its laurels: for even more significant product certification, the company joined the community of interests of leading manufacturers of foamed plastic insulation materials (CEFEP). It introduced the FEF/PEF RAL quality mark, which ensures stricter control of product quality and thus significantly exceeds the CE marking requirements. This step highlights the special class of NMC products in the mass of products bearing the CE mark: these are true beacons of quality. 16 - 17 Africa – the change lives Africa is in our fantasy the land of wild animals, endless savannahs and beguiling sunsets. The Dark Continent is actually torn between poverty and wealth, natural disasters and economic growth, authenticity and globalisation. However, according to Boston Consulting Group, the omens are nowadays as favourable for Africa as for China 20 years ago and for India 10 years ago. Over the last 30 years the African middle class has tripled to 300 million people. The people of this class use their money for consumption and leisure in their own land. This can be deduced for instance from the rapidly increasing number of mobile phones, motorcycles and cars. Kenya has doubled its economic growth since 2009. In the East African country this positive development is fostered by international tourism. It creates almost 500,000 jobs and more than one billion USD turnover. In search for the Africa of his dreams a tourist leaves up to USD 700 per day in the country. This is how islands of prospe rity with a booming economy arise in close vicinity to immense slums. One of them is Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city and a central place for tourists, economy and administration. The pulsating metropolis with three million inhabitants is the place of domicile for many offices of the United Nations, banks and industrial companies. International hotel chains, shops and classy restaurants identified the potential of the city and responded to the demand for comfort and consumption with new subsidiaries. Only a few kilometres away from the centre of the city, the 120 square kilometre Nairobi National Park offers the opportunity of a jeep safari, where one can experience at close range the breath-taking natural spectacle of the giraffes, gazelles, rhinoceros, zebras, antelopes and lions. In October 2012 Casino Flamingo in Nairobi was opened as the largest gambling casino of the country. With its 1,500 square metres the exclusive building accounts for the development of the city. The owners have invested more than USD 10 million in the trend-setting entertainment temple. 160 gambling machines of the latest generation and 15 gambling tables leave none of the visitors’ wishes unfulfilled. Here up to 300 guests can simultaneously relax from daily routine, enjoy their spare time and test their luck. The high quality ambience has also a great visual impact, distinguishing Casino Flamingo from the other 20 casinos in Nairobi. The subtle luxury in warm savannah colours invites you to stay. Marble, glass, wood, leather and fluffy carpets give the spacious rooms a unique radiance. Elegant accents are set by the NMC decorative synthetic mouldings for ceilings and walls, which discreetly outline the spaces and create cut-outs of light. In a combined effect with the leather armchairs arranged in long rows in front of the gambling machines, the halls are becoming a bench mark of the contemporary design for demanding guests from all over the world. 18 - 19 Get warehouses running B Change is a principle in warehouse management. The more fluid the circulation of materials, the better. At NMC, too, the warehouse is the key element for a successful distribution of goods. During the company-wide migration to SAP the warehouse management software introduced in 1997 was also tested. It was not only rather old, but it also did not meet important contemporary market requirements such as the mention of the minimum durability or the batch management. Since SAP could not achieve the standards for future-proof logistics at an acceptable cost, the starting signal for a new warehouse management system was given as early as 2009. It was supposed to be connected via an interface to the future goods management system. In July 2011 the project team led by René Thönnissen opted for the latest software generation of the former pro- vider proLogistik. During the following months the necessary changes and measures were laid down in detailed functional specifications. Despite numerous new components in the system, there was little change for NMC employees. Of course, it was necessary to adapt some monitors and processes. Thanks to the support of the NMCteam a trouble-free transition was assured. “Our top priority during the migration was, as always, the customer satisfaction”, remembers Bernd Vorhagen, General Manager Benelux. He adds: „As far as possible customers were supposed not to notice anything during the migration, but to benefit from the new potentialities afterwards.” Behind the scene there are numerous changes everywhere. Until the migration the changes in inventory had been registered separately in the goods management system and in the warehouse management system. That was not only inconvenient, but also led almost inevitably to slowed processing, differences and non-transparency. Now the new warehouse management system digitally takes the lead – it keeps, in the trade jargon, the inventory. It controls the warehouse entries, exits and relocations consistently via barcodes. This information standardised according to EAN 128 makes it possible to trace back the history of the goods from the raw material to the batch of finished products. This also simplifies the communication between trade partners. Secondarily, the barcodes save a lot of paper for the accompanying documents and thus support the strict environmental policy of NMC. The former double recording of data, so time-consuming and prone to errors, belongs to the past now, the shipping orders are compacted and the cycle times are shortened. The gapless inventory control and the always updated key figures allow a considerably more precise and a need-based control. The processes optimised this way enhance flexibility. A pleasant side effect: the costly and time-consuming annual inventory is also a thing of the past in the Eynatten warehouse. At the same time, customers benefit directly from the improved transparency: for example, for mixed pallets they can receive a detailed record of the quantities and the products contained therein. This simplifies their disposition and is an important tool for NMC to further develop its competitive advantages. The new warehouse management system has been successfully operating since the end of February: a small change for the employees, an important progress for NMC and its customers. Success is not a coincidence “As for the future, your task is not to foresee it, but to enable it.” The underlying optimism and creativity of this quote from the French poet Antoine de Saint-Exupéry are representative of the entire NMC philosophy. Translated into the daily activity of NMC this principle describes the core concept of the DRIVE3 programme. A ship must keep on course in any weather and cope with all challenges in the high seas; this is also true for a successful company that should face all changes prepared accordingly. Customers, markets, technologies, framework conditions and requirements are changing more and more rapidly and profoundly. In order to successfully thwart this demanding environment, efficient production processes and innovative products are essential. This is only possible with a motivated team that is heading with genuine enthusiasm towards the common goal. The course, equipment and crew must be permanently reoriented according to the wind B direction and vagaries of weather, exactly like on a ship. This continuous improvement from practice for the practice increases ship’s and skipper’s agility and force, just like in the case of NMC. Coordinated processes, understanding the task and their own significance for the overall success are just as important as they derive from changes in thinking and action. “This jointly conceived way of thinking characterises NMC culture”, says Pascal Dehesselle, lean project management leader for Insulation and Nomafoam business activities. “We get closer, step by step, to our common goal and we rejoice at having achieved each intermediate goal. Every day, we get closer to the goal and thus become better”. The starting point was an 80/20 analysis in the PEX sector. The goal of this sector was to reduce volume of items in order to improve profitability and production processes. Nowadays it is a 22 - 23 “As for the future, your task is not to foresee it but to enable it.” Antoine de saint-Exupéry standard for all teams to identify in advance the unsalable items from the product line. “We simplify and standardise processes, thus optimising them continuously”, explains Herbert Stadler, lean management responsible for the decoration business activity. “By these skilful processes, we increase satisfaction of customers and employees, and thereby generate new ideas”. Focusing on the essential helps us identifying in advance the weaknesses and deviations from the planned result. This offers the possibility to timely implement countermeasures. An important factor of this process is the integrated communication within NMC. New ideas, solutions and processes are developed and implemented immediately, together with the colleagues, but also in interdepartmental working groups. What is useful applies until a better suggestion comes. This continuous improvement on a small scale leads to a noticeable change on a large scale. The positive experience of the employees concerned motivates the others to get involved. This is also supported by the following statements: “It is much more fun to work in a clean and well-structured place!” or “Better order and structure improve the results!” The improvements achieved speak for themselves: for example, by reducing the stock in the warehouse within the polyurethane sector, a faster response to production errors was possible, and thus waste quota diminished. Large warehouse stocks and idle running belong to the past. Changing the settings of machines and processes, we work more efficiently and safer. The new form of supply with raw materials based on the Kanban principle is dependent on stock and the optimised use of materials improves production processes in these sectors. Success achieved in a short period of time based on the changes made and on its own contribution makes everyone have a better understanding of the sense and scope of the DRIVE3 programme. Identification with this goal is what Saint-Exupéry speaks about, making future possible for NMC - the motor of a sustainable business excellence according to the motto “we will succeed together“. Central theme of the next nmc-LIVE: Contacts Do you have any suggestions, criticisms or praise for nmc-LIVE? Please write to the editors at [email protected]. We are pleased to receive all contributions. Imprint nmc-LIVE: Editor: NMC sa, Gert-Noël-Straße, 4731 Eynatten, Belgium, Tel: +32 87 85 85-00, Fax: +32 87 85 85-11 Responsible editor: Hubert Bosten (Responsible in the sense of the press law) Editorial team: NMC sa, [email protected] Text and concept: impetus.PR, Agentur für Corporate Communications GmbH, Aachen, Tel: +49 241-189 25-0, [email protected] Print: leën, Hasselt Circulation: 3,100
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