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Australia, Jamaica - 2007
Suggestion Systems Reduce Costs, Improve EHS, Engage Employees
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Half a world apart, two suggestion systems implemented independently in the same year and with a similar structure are engaging employees and delivering improved safety and significant cost savings at Alcoa operations in Jamaica and Western Australia.
The Jamalco operations had always used a suggestion system but struggled to make the various iterations successful. In January 2005, the location rolled out a new system divided into three suggestion categories—ABS; environment, health, and safety (EHS); and cost savings. If a suggestion is implemented, a monetary reward is paid to the individual or group that submitted it, with a fatality prevention suggestion paying a higher amount. Far more significant than the monetary reward, however, is the potential to save the life of a Jamalco employee or contractor.
Jamalco's previous suggestion systems were very bureaucratic, with numerous levels of approval. The approval process now is very streamlined, and each department gets involved in monitoring, reviewing, and approving the suggestions. Another change was switching the rewards from vouchers (gift certificates) to cash, which is preferred by the employees.
The results have been dramatic. Prior to the new system, Jamalco barely got a handful of suggestions each year. That jumped to 183 suggestions in 2005 (72 implemented) and 121 in 2006 (42 implemented). One implemented change was from a team in the clarification department, which developed a new caustic washing system. The results include improved safety, longer filter life, increased filtration rate, more effective caustic washing, less scale accumulation in the filters, and an annual cost savings of US$262,000.
The Western Australian (WA) suggestion system was introduced in late 2005. During 2006, Alcoa's four WA locations received 5,374 suggestions and accepted 2,956 for implementation. Of these, 996 were implemented by the end of January 2007. The objective is to triple the number of suggestions in 2007 and increase the implementation rate to around 4,000.
It's a challenge the employees are embracing. For example, Shift 5 in Kwinana's powerhouse achieved significant environmental and cost benefits when they tackled a noise issue caused by increased steam output from the powerhouse. Their solution routed the steam through the condensate heat exchanger instead of directly to the atmosphere. This significantly reduced noise levels and the size of the steam plume and delivered energy savings of around A$200,000 a year by reusing the heat in the steam to heat the condensate.
The Wagerup and Pinjarra refineries are looking at similar opportunities.
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