Walking round the company with Renate Pilz it is obvious: her staff respect her and hold her in high regard, and vice versa: even when time is short she is prepared to listen, even to her employees’ personal problems.
That she is not only a respected but also a successful businesswoman is something that’s repeated time and time again within the industry; and it’s a fact that is supported by the company’s figures.
After her husband lost his life in a plane crash in 1975 and managers were appointed to run the company in the interim, Renate Pilz took over the management of the company in 1994. The company grew, but she recognized the potential that was not being used.
She developed Pilz from a national supplier into a company operating internationally, with 23 overseas subsidiaries in countries including USA, China and Brazil.
Pilz has been implementing the Takeda process optimization strategy. Although the company’s operations were already based on a CIP strategy (continuous improvement process), existing procedures had to be made more efficient to make the company fit for global competition. “The Takeda concept was brought to our attention by one of our very good customers, who had achieved significant improvements with it”, explains Renate Pilz.
The strategy, which Hiroshi Takeda calls “The synchronous production system” and which Pilz calls PPS, is relatively unknown. PPS stands for Pilz Production System; its aim is to involve all employees in the identification of potential improvements within the group and their subsequent implementation, and to promote customer-oriented thinking. Renate Pilz established a separate team for its implementation; the team reports directly to management and its members have in part been released from other work.
The Takeda philosophy is based on the CIP approach (continuous improvement process), but employees are much more closely involved – one reason why Renate Pilz immediately approved of the approach: “We are always searching for appropriate instruments. The concept seemed to be very good because it is a very in-depth system, which integrates people.”
Continuous process optimization is achieved through regular workshops. “The workshops stimulate the creativity of our staff”, the managing director has recognized, “and also strongly encourage interdepartmental working.”
The key difference from CIP lies in the immediate implementation of the results. “Immediate and consistent implementation”, summarizes Renate Pilz. “There are many optimization strategies where a great deal of effort goes into working something out – and then it is postponed until a suitable date can be found for its implementation”.
With PPS there is an understanding of the issue within the team, the working group is composed accordingly and deals with the issue, implementing the conclusions during the actual workshop. The groups are designed to be interdepartmental. “It is often the interfaces that are problematic, and this way they open up – purely through this type of co-operation”, says Renate Pilz. “The result is genuine co-operation, all staff members can have a say in these groups.”
The selection of workshop members depends on who is affected by the issue and whether they can contribute towards solving the problem. One example is the standardization of procedures. “With standardized procedures you can achieve better quality and greater flexibility” explains Renate Pilz. “So you can react more flexibly with the existing team, housekeeping is more readily understood – why the process must run in this way and no other.” Increased efficiency and easier work processes for staff are the result. “For example, if the workplace is made more ergonomic at the suggestion of a female staff member, thus making access to parts considerably easier, that lady’s work becomes more agreeable and she has been part of the process”, says the managing director, quoting a real example. “But first of all you need to become aware of the matter. For years she had fetched the parts from a box on the floor: nobody had the idea to simply place the box higher up – it had always been done like that.” The fact that it is her own design helps the measure to become accepted and increases efficiency and motivation, as well as improving quality.“When problems that have been recognized are resolved very quickly, then it is worth supporting such process improvements”, is the experience of Renate Pilz. “And when implementation is consistent and fast, the concept also establishes itself quickly. This doesn’t just encourage interdepartmental working, it makes it an absolute condition.”
One visible sign of this: the foreman’s office has gone. It has been turned into a team room for production, production technology, development, purchasing and the various fields. The group meets in the team room and deals with the issues there. There were no problems when the foreman’s office was removed. “The staff sees that it’s just part of the job. If there is any resistance, it is generally down to anxiety. And as executives, it is our job to ease such anxiety”, says Renate Pilz, demonstrating her approach to leadership.
The PPS strategy runs through all areas of the business. “Our aims are to substantially increase efficiency and delivery reliability, to optimize and standardize work processes and work equipment, to reduce pressure in the workplace and thereby improve quality”, says Renate Pilz. “Ultimately we are doing this to safeguard the site of course”.
She does not wish to comment on other companies abandoning their sites, but her opinion is reflected in her description of the Pilz strategy: “We don’t complain about the things we can’t do, but we do whatever is within the realms of possibility. And we do that by communicating openly with each other, internally and externally.”
That’s why customers and supplies are also included in the strategy: the former in particular set the tempo for production. “The better the information from the customer, the better we can be too”, says Renate Pilz.
Son Thomas Pilz manages the subsidiary in the USA and daughter Sabine Kunschert works as a manager in Ostfildern. “And so the foundations have been laid for a seamless transfer to the next generation”, says Renate Pilz, “and I am grateful that it all worked out so well.”
Not that she’s thinking of ending her business career just yet. She enjoys the job too much for that, despite the 60-hour week: “I get so much pleasure out of working with our staff and I have a lot of respect for what they do.”
Author:
Hajo Stotz
The Manufacturer
