INDUSTRY NEWS
One of the main objectives at North Division is also to keep a close eye on stock ; with a potential of 38,500 different components on the shelves , they have real-time stock level monitoring and live allocation levels , which means they never need time off tools to conduct an audit . They always know what they have , what they need , and when they need it , according to orders coming in and ongoing jobs . Products and orders are tracked with barcodes and the shopfloor is meticulously organised ( as we ’ d now come to expect ). This means they can confidently plan for growth but maintain a flexible approach . Since moving to the site in January and beginning operations in April , the current production rate is around 50 frames a day , with long term plans to gradually increase this figure and capacity to comfortably produce 1,000 frames a week . But as Rob says , they ’ re not in a hurry . Again the ethos of getting it right is the most important foundations to build on .
This attitude drives the internal culture that feeds into the business ’ s values and vision . In Rob ’ s own words ; when a frame leaves the factory he never wants to see it again !
The sentiment behind the ‘ joke ’ though is much more serious and significant . One word that really rings true at Glazerite North Division is quality . Of course , there ’ s the quality of the product , which is paramount , but also the calibre with employees – of all levels – conduct and present themselves . While we had an appointment to see Rob , it ’ s clear that the shopfloor hadn ’ t been ‘ staged ’ for our visit , and very obvious that the workplace and the workforce would be exactly the same whether you arrived on a Monday morning , Wednesday lunchtime or Friday afternoon .
Rob showed us the whiteboard at which every day begins , with actions , health and safety points and anything else you ’ d need to get on with the day . And that is core to the culture too ; as Rob explained his employees just get on with it ! It ’ s easy to jump to the conclusion that in order to maintain maximum efficiency , the employees will be micromanaged . At Glazerite , it ’ s clear this isn ’ t the case . The atmosphere is calm ; everyone is getting on with what they need to do and there really is a pleasant feel to the factory floor . Rob says this is intentional . He wants his employees to self manage . Many of them have years of industry experience , from other brands and businesses in the area . Rob also praised the ‘ Barnsley work ethic ’, the hardworking mentality that is intrinsic to a history and heritage of mining families .
Maybe it was the sunshine as we left the ( spotless ) car park at Darton that Friday lunchtime , but we came away from Glazerite with a genuine spring in our step . Rob has achieved a clean sweep getting the right people in the team , a strong structure to build on , and the phrase of ‘ location location location ’ is spot on too , as it couldn ’ t be in a better place – or opened at a more appropriate time , both for the local talent that were looking for new posts and the business itself to benefit from a skilled pool , that was ready and waiting for new jobs .
Rob may never want to see a frame again once it leaves the factory ( and from what we saw that day , they ’ re definitely on the right track in that respect ) but we certainly hopes he ’ ll let us back to catch up with the team and see what happens next at Glazerite North Division . And , we already have plans to profile some of the employees that work there , drawing on their experience and expertise , so make sure you come back here for that too .
www . glazerite . co . uk
CLEARVIEW-UK . COM SEPTEMBER 2024
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