With the InnoWiz programme, every employee within AGC can convey his or her idea for changes or improvements which would benefit the company. Employees can be sure that they will be looked at and dealt with, no matter whether they are a blue or a white collar worker or a member of the Management Committee. In practical terms, everyone can come up with an idea and publish it via the InnoWiz platform. By the end of 2012, this easy-to-use computing tool will be available on all computers and workstations providing access to the platform will be installed in all factories.
Once an InnoWiz has been entered into the system, it goes through several stages (acceptance, possible improvement, presentation to the site manager, etc.) before being either implemented on the innovator’s workplace, or rolled out across multiple establishments or indeed the Group as a whole. Throughout the process, the innovator can follow his or her idea and is involved as far as possible in implementing it.
To encourage and support innovators, each site has at least one 'InnoLink'. Selected for his or her in-depth knowledge of the people working at his or her particular site, the InnoLink is responsible for encouraging colleagues to think about ways in which the company could be made more efficient. He or she is the link between innovators and management.
The InnoWiz programme is a unique new way for all staff to contribute actively to AGC's development by tapping into their own personal creativity!
*Derived from "innovation" and "wizard".
AGC Group Improvement Activities (AGIA) programme
In the firm belief that its blue collar workers are better placed than anyone to pinpoint solutions to any given problem which may emerge within their site, AGC has set up working groups under the umbrella of the AGC Group Improvement Activities (AGIA). This strategy falls squarely within the company's policy of ongoing improvement.
AGIA working groups are designed to address a recurring problem in any practical operations in which blue collar workers are involved. Each site's management is responsible for setting up a project team to work on a given issue. Each group is then assigned a leader specially trained in how to analyse the problem. Comprising between five and seven operators, these working groups meet for a limited time to try to devise a practical solution to the problem at hand on the shopfloor. The solution will contribute directly to improving the company's results, be that in terms of safety, yield or even environmental protection.