18th July 2023
Manufacturing life-saving products is rewarding, but it is no easy feat. Responsible for keeping production on track, Production Team Managers Wayne Boel and Paul Hutchinson are the beating heart of ARC. We sat down with them to talk us through a typical workday.
The day kicks off with a morning briefing. This is where we discuss any immediate concerns, gathering the whole team in one place to set the day’s actions and priorities and assess performance.
When the morning briefing is done and our targets for the day are clear, the team head to their workstations and, after a thorough pre-start check, begin the first shift.
Our workload is dictated by an integrated planning system called Orchestrate. It processes individual orders and prescribes which products are in line for production that day. On any given day, a range of products will pass through production, going through a rigorous process that ensures quality and consistency. From precision cutting cavity barriers to specification right through packaging, every step of the process is crucial to the consistency of the end product. In any single day, between 12 and 14 thousand products are manufactured at our factory. That they are all of the same standard and quality is paramount.
At 2:00pm, the morning shift ends, and the afternoon rotation begins. A strict shift handover is essential to maximising efficiency, ensuring the incoming staff have all the relevant information they need to stay on course. We firmly believe in promoting a culture where both shifts feel part of one team, all working toward the same goal. The handover is just one way in which this is embodied.
Each shift comprises around 30 production staff, who are supported by their team of logistics operators. Supervising all our deliveries in and out, logistics ensure production runs smoothly and orders reach our customers on time.
With efficiency in mind, we ensure all our people are as multi-functional as possible. There are a range of machines across the floor. From glueing and socking machines to band saws, our personnel must know how to operate each machine safely. This ensures the factory remains in production even with absences and allows all our people the opportunity to upskill and rotate where necessary.
The afternoon shift concludes at 10pm, although work for the morning has already begun. Each evening, around 15 minutes before close, each station is thoroughly cleaned, leaving everything ready for the shift to start at 6am. Ensuring every station is clean and tidy is no less essential than ensuring machines work. A clean station means work can commence immediately, and no time is wasted between shifts. This goes to the heart of our one-team, one-goal mantra.
