Knowledge is power for energy meter maker

Bright sparks at a company that makes advanced energy meters are ensuring that the company powers up its productivity and remains globally competitive to keep manufacturing jobs in the UK.

Stockport-based Landis + Gyr is achieving productivity improvements of 15% year-on-year and believes continuous staff training is key to peak performance.

The company is taking advantage of government Train to Gain funding to tutor a quarter of its workforce in  lean manufacturing techniques. It is working with lean experts from Manchester’s Manufacturing Institute to pursue the Business Improvement Techniques (BIT) National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) programme.

Paul Snowden, Operations Manager for Landis + Gyr, said: “We see BIT as the next step in developing our shop floor team so that they are multi-skilled and have the necessary skills to maintain our momentum of continuous improvement.

“We are working with lean experts from the Manufacturing Institute to put 25% of our staff through this practical learning programme and expect to repeat the course for other staff. All training is voluntary, but staff realise that higher skill equals better productivity and they can earn up to 15% more each year by hitting performance targets.”