Competitiveness Improvement Services
The programme focusses on creating an enabling environment conducive to entrepreneurship and sustainable enterprises that are capable of creating productive employment and decent work.
- ECOSYSTEM
- OFFERINGS
- KEY OUTCOMES
- WPC PROGRAMME
The overarching CIS approach is based on integrated enterprise development ecosystem:
• Driving enterprise competitiveness and sustainability, including enhancing the appropriate capacities of SMMEs and Co-operatives to adopt world-class productivity enhancement best practices, focusing on products, processes and people.
• Target SMMEs and Cooperatives – particularly in the productive sectors with strong growth and employment multipliers within the priority sectors.
• Prioritise the participation of historically disadvantaged people and regions in the economy and thereby support meaningful Broad-Based Black Empowerment (B-BBEE) using instruments such as Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Industrial Parks and Black Industrialists interventions.
Emerging Sector – Small and Micro Enterprises:
• Training programmes and solutions including:
o Business Performance Improvement;
o Early Warning Systems; and
o Productivity Champion Training.
• Promoting a productivity culture and mindset through Productivity Awareness.
• Other customised offerings for SMMEs and Cooperatives.
Stable Businesses – Small, Medium and Large:
• Workplace Challenge Programme (Workplace Transformation Toolkits and Kaizen Intervention):
o Focusses on creating a culture of continuous improvement within enterprises;
o Develops and improves workplace collaboration between management and workers;
o Implements strategies of best practice; and
o Facilitates networking/sharing through clustering.
• Competitiveness Enhancement Programme:
o Implementation of productivity and competitiveness enhancement initiatives focusing on operational efficiency within exporting or potential export businesses;
o Focus on productivity and innovation; and
o Value chain efficiency and market access through clustering.
• Consulting:
o Ad-hoc/customised and demand-driven interventions related to productivity and competitiveness improvement.
The Business Turnaround and Recovery Programme is proven and provides highly effective, specialised and technical assistance to struggling companies, through:
- Assessment of problem areas, crisis management and development of strategies to turn the company around.
- Enhancement of company performance through improvement marketing, operations, HR and financial strategies.
- Education of all employees on basic business principles and operations ‒ to understand how their actions impact the entire operational process.
- Capacity building and staff training to improve and sustain productivity ‒ even after the intervention.
• Improves productivity.
• Improves profitability by reducing cost and improving resource utilisation.
• Improves operational efficiency by improving resources utilisation, reducing cost, improving quality, decreasing waste.
• Capacitate Productivity/Kaizen Champions.
• Effective communication between employees and management.
• Sustain and creates jobs.
The Workplace Challenge Programme (WPC) is part of Productivity SA’s Competitive Improvement Services Business Unit. It is a dtic supply-side programme established to meet the competitive challenges presented by South Africa’s re-entry into the global market, a long-term solution to increasing competitiveness and sustainability in companies, implemented through a set of toolkits with the assistance and guidance of a productivity practitioner.
The Workplace Challenge Programme
- ABOUT
- PROCESS
YOUR LOCAL FACILITATOR TOWARDS BECOMING WORLD-CLASS.
WPC operates in the form of Clusters, facilitated by Productivity SA coaches called Productivity Practitioners.
CLUSTERS
Small clusters consisting of between 5 and 7 companies per cluster (group of companies from the same geographic area).
PARTICIPATING COMPANIES
Mainly small and medium companies in the manufacturing, agriculture, agro-processing, mining, and beneficiation sectors; larger enterprises are also welcome. The average number of employees per company ranges between 50 and 250 people. The Clusters provide a more economical self-help option, especially for smaller manufacturing companies.
FACILITATION APPROACH
Productivity SA provides experienced and qualified Productivity Practitioners to assist each cluster and individual member companies with the implementation of Workplace Transformation Toolkits and doing regular audits. The facilitation process focuses on developing the capacity in companies to understand problems and implement solutions by themselves.
THE PROGRAMME ENABLES COMPANIES TO BECOME WORLD-CLASS THROUGH THE FOLLOWING PROCESSES:
STEP 1: PLANNING
• Conduct mapping of regional economic activities; determine constraints and focus areas; revise theory of change for WPC; conclude funding agreement; produce annual business plan; and generate operational plans.
STEP 2: NURTURING
• Prioritise areas for starting clusters/recruiting model companies and applying market system analysis; market and communicate WPC service to area companies; conduct presentation to relevant government entities, potential clients, academia, labour movement; promote interest among potential clients and key stakeholders; conduct in-depth consultations and discuss implementation plans; conclude WPC contracts; organise way-forward workshops and launch the clusters for the areas.
STEP 3: ORIENTATION
• Conduct company-wide WPC sensitisation sessions, facilitate establishment of the Plant Level Committee and selection of members and chair; conduct capacity building workshops; facilitate management system training.
STEP 4: IMPLEMENTATION
• Conduct toolkit training; guide establishment of Mini-business Units(MBUs); facilitate team selection; formulate performance measures for MBU; facilitate audit and coaching review; conduct steering committee meetings; conduct quarterly milestone workshops or user group CoP sessions; write lessons learnt or case studies; produce regional/cluster monthly report; and conduct project close-out report.
STEP 5: ADMINISTRATION SUPPORT
• Requisition of WPC toolkit stocks and materials; invoicing WPC companies for their fees and processing service provider invoices.
STEP 6: AFTERCARE
• Establish aftercare cluster; determine the scope for aftercare support; facilitate WPC aftercare contracts; implement aftercare support; conduct project review; undertake M&E review; generate case studies; and project close-out report.
STEP 7: MONITORING, REPORTING AND EVALUATION
• Collect source documents in line with key performance indicators; collate source documents; verification of performance information; compile WPC monthly performance information report; generate WPC quarterly performance information; produce WPC Annual Report; conduct WPC Mid-Term Review (MTR); undertake WPC End-Term Review (ETR).
These benefits have resulted in a profound impact among WPC Companies as evident from the most recent Impact measurement.
Workplace Transformation Toolkits
Productivity SA provides training materials comprising the basics of World-Class competitiveness in five Toolkit modules:
1. The World-Class Competitiveness Management System
2. Goal Alignment
3. Cleaning and Organising
4. Teamwork
5. Leadership and Green Productivity (Improving carbon, water, chemical, paper and human energy footprint).
IMPLEMENTATION OF WORKPLACE TRANSFORMATION TOOLKITS
Implementation takes place over a period of 12 months.
- TOOLKIT 1
- TOOLKIT 2
- TOOLKIT 3
- TOOLKIT 4
- TOOLKIT 5
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The Management System of the Workplace Transformation Toolkit aims at helping organisations to make a successful transition to a culture of continuous improvement. The Management System teaches participants to plan, to implement according to plan, to review plans, to take corrective actions, to measure, and to celebrate achievements. It also teaches participants about consistent and regular communication and to start off on the right foot by having a purpose and a vision for the transformation of their workplace.
• Objectives of Management System.
Outline of the methodology for implementing continuous improvement.
• Set guidelines for this implementation.
• To explain what world-class competitiveness is and why it should be pursued.
• Provide tools that will assist in the journey to world-class.
GOAL ALIGNMENT
Goal achievement is only possible if common goals are owned and pursued by all teams.
Goal alignment can be seen as the starting point for continuous improvement. It is often implemented first.
Objectives: (sequencing)
• To communicate and align goals and targets throughout the organisation, down to first-line team level.
• To align top-down and bottom-up management.
• To create effective organisation structures so that everybody will know where they fit in and what they are responsible for.
• To manage people with a style of improvement, coaching and caring.
CLEANING AND ORGANISING
Cleaning and organising is not just about having a good-looking workplace, but also very much about making work easier and creating a functional, visually organised workplace of which people are proud. Cleaning and organising is one of the most important foundations or pillars for continuous improvement. A sustained, high level of implementation supports high levels of safety, quality and productivity, low cost and fast, on-time delivery. Cleaning and organising is also known as 5S – sort and discard; set in order; shine; standardise and self-discipline.
Objectives:
• Create an understanding of the importance of cleaning and organising, also in terms of the role it plays in providing a foundation for continuous improvement.
• Train people in the approaches and techniques for creating and sustaining high levels of cleaning and organising.
• Create a visually organised workplace.
• Establish an internal benchmarking and review system
TEAMWORK
Teamwork is one of four foundation elements of the Workplace Transformation Toolkit. The foundation elements form the basis for continuous improvement of quality, cost, delivery and morale.
Objectives:
• Create an understanding of the importance and role of teamwork, in workplace and business improvement.
• Create a culture of continuous improvement.
• Equip teams with the knowledge to implement small group activities and Kaizen projects.
• Equip teams with the knowledge to apply basic problem solving techniques.
• Establish an internal benchmarking and review system, based on the Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle and is used by first-line teams for continuous improvement of teamwork.
WORKPLACE TRANSFORMATION TOOLKIT 5.1:
LEADERSHIP
The aim of Leadership is to strengthen the skills of every first-line manager to:
• Develop, lead and inspire productive teams.
• Ensure that all team members are developed to their full potential.
• The managers of team leaders play an important role in the successful implementation of the Leadership Toolkit. They need to coach, on an ongoing basis, their team leaders on the skills introduced in the Toolkit, as well as provide support for implementation of other elements of the Workplace Transformation Toolkit.
WORKPLACE TRANSFORMATION TOOLKIT 5.2:
GREEN PRODUCTIVITY
The programme contains:
• Improving the carbon footprint.
• Improving water footprint.
• Improving chemical footprint.
• Improving paper footprint.
• Improving human energy footprint.