Suggestions 

Stu Pendous (Factory Manager) knew that his staff were full of good ideas - on innovation, cost savings, improved efficiencies etc. However, these ideas only came to his attention on an ad hoc basis, or when people were specifically asked for suggestions.

He needed a process that promoted outside the box thinking in a way that was motivating for staff and whereby all the ideas were not ‘lost’ but shared and, if relevant, implemented to the benefit of all concerned.

Business innovation can help drive a company’s success, and in order for a company to be innovative, it has to have a mindset and processes in place that allow it to be truly open to new ideas.

With this in mind, Stu adopted the Suggestions feature in epic and it soon became apparent that a culture of innovative thinking was spreading across the factory and it wasn’t long before this process was adopted company wide.

The number & quality of suggestions submitted (either by individuals themselves, or captured on behalf of workers who have submitted ideas into the suggestion box on the factory floor) is increasing month on month.

Each month a committee analyzes the submissions for the month and provides feedback to the relevant individual. The best suggestions are put forward for further investigation / implementation. Recipients are acknowledged & recognized at a quarterly awards ceremony.

The net result has been a dramatic paradigm shift from ‘accepting the status- quo’ to a mindset of ‘There is always a better way’!