Weir Valves & Controls USA Inc. (WVC USA) always had a safety-centric culture. However, a year ago the management implemented a system, which was designed to capitalize on their employee’s passion for safety and empower them to implement change.
WVC USA took elements of the famed Japanese system; Kaizen and applied it to areas of their business’ operations. Kaizen; translates as ‘continual improvement’ and is a system which is often used within Lean Manufacturing. Weir Valves and Controls USA, taking the key elements of Kaizen, now encourage cross functional teams to review existing processes, products and services – looking for new, safer methods and solutions.
The system has been successful throughout its first year, with teams of employees from different fields feeling empowered to find solutions through innovation and out of the box thinking.
