Read this article about Webasto, one of our finalists, in the category Best Achievement in Operational Excellence to deliver an outstanding Value Creation or Innovation Execution Project, selected by the independent judging panel, for the 2019 Business Transformation & Operational Excellence Industry Awards program. Click here to read articles on other finalists.

Webasto Roof Systems Americas (WRS-AM) is a subsidiary of Webasto Group, a global innovative systems partner to almost all automobile manufacturers and among the top 100 suppliers in this industry sector. Webasto Group global sales topped 3.5 billion euro in 2017 with the largest share generated by WRS-AM. With locations in Michigan, Kentucky and Guanajuato (MX), WRS-AM employs approximately 1,861 individuals and is a global market leader offering the world’s broadest product range of sliding and panorama roofs.

In 2017, WRS-AM executed a special project, Revamping the REAP. REAP (Recognizing Excellence and Accomplishments in People) was a program that allowed colleagues to submit continuous improvement ideas. Through listening sessions, a culture workshop, and a change communication Summit we discovered 359 open REAPs in Michigan and 114 open REAPs in Kentucky. Of those 473 unaddressed REAP submissions, approximately 16% were over five years old, 24% were over two years old, and 21% were over a year old. Consequently, revamping the REAP was to be represented at a continuous improvement workshop in Germany. Our IDEA (Improvements Driven by Empowered Actions) program is a result of this project.

The IDEA program is our colleague improvement proposal system used to reward colleagues for continuous improvement ideas. The new and improved program encourages colleagues to become innovative participants in Webasto’s future and to think about work in new, creative ways. The program reduces WRS-AM’s operational costs, risks, and subsequently increases revenue. Through continuous improvement processes the IDEA program promotes problem solving, and improves quality and satisfaction with our customers. We now offer the program to all colleagues, and have made submitting suggestions a well understood process to eliminate confusion. We have included rewards that show colleagues they are appreciated for their ideas.

With the IDEA program, we have accumulated just under $100,000 in documented savings and have potentially saved over half a million dollars because of submitted ideas. Many IDEA submissions provide us ways to prevent and avoid unpredictable future costs. Because of the unpredictable nature of cost avoidance, the exact amount of money saved through our quality related IDEAs cannot be precisely calculated.

An example of an idea with a clear cost savings amount is a submission we received involving a change in label usage. We had label roll that could only fit a specific sized label. The implementation team for the IDEA changed our label roll so that we could purchase less expensive labels. This simple change saved us $12,384 a year, and earned the team 10% of the savings.

The IDEA program is our way of encouraging innovation and rewarding colleagues for their contributions. Taking an innovative approach to continuous improvement means having every colleague be a part of the process. With the IDEA program, colleagues have a real impact on WRS-AM. Together, we make financial gains and support our customers through operational excellence practices and value generating projects like the IDEA program.