AKO Diehl Control
 
With sales in excess of €1.6bn, a workforce of nearly 10,000 and a presence in 15 countries, the German-owned Ako-Diehl group is synonymous with ensuring the best quality products at the lowest possible price. Family-owned since 1902, the company has four operating divisions – Metals, Controls, VA Systems and Operating Affiliated Companies.

Ako-Diehl Controls in Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire – part of the Ako-Diehl Controls division - was established as an autonomous arm of the parent company in April 2000.

Operating as a full service supplier of Merloni UK – well known for its Indesit and Hotpoint brands - the company designs, manufactures, tests and supplies the Vogue II console. By setting up a factory within a factory the company can monitor, deliver and respond quickly to demand for products with a capacity of 18,000 units per week.

When introducing flexible working hours as part of its drive to ensure a healthy work-life balance, the company which employs 20 highly-skilled staff at its North Wales facility, wanted to show the same level of commitment and excellence that has ensured its reputation and success. With three assembly lines, three shifts and a service philosophy of 24-hour delivery, this required some careful planning and the total buy-in and support from its management team.

Quality Manager, Neil Davies said: “We wanted to ensure an environment that is conducive to good health, increased productivity and ongoing development. Although managers within the business had an abundance of engineering, quality and technical skills and experience, few had received formal training in people management skills, or the development of appropriate related systems and processes.”

After identifying various issues within the company, a communications team was appointed and tasked with the creation of an action plan which would carry the company’s ideas forward and ensure its delivery throughout the business.

“To improve our performance continually we needed to invest in our people. We looked at various options to increase the overall wellbeing of staff, including advice on healthy eating habits and access to information on a number of health topics, with assistance from the North Wales Health Authority.

“After careful analysis we realised we needed to go a few steps further. We looked at the causes and effects of stress and decided to introduce a smoking cessation course over eight weeks for our staff who wanted to stop smoking. This involved quite a bit of flexibility from our side as staff required time off to attend the course, their progress had to be benchmarked and coping strategies developed.

“We also looked at others issues such as personal time off for family matters, flexible working hours to accommodate working or single parents – all within the scope of the business needs. As a result we introduced three shift patterns, which meant that we could still produce and supply Hotpoint controls to Merloni on a 24 hour basis, but with a more flexible approach.

“The results have been phenomenal, not only do we have a much happier and productive team who are keen to continue learning and developing, we also benefit from a much more flexible operating system throughout the business.”