Eclipse Makes Significant Investment in Training & Development

with the “Vip Continuous Improvement Programme”

Vision in Print conducted a two day snapshot with Eclipse Colour in mid January 2009.

The findings were very encouraging (see previous news item on ViP).  With much good practice already established within the company, Eclipse achieved two world class scores and the rest were all well above the industry average. However, there remains a great opportunity to press on and implement a wider range of best practice in order to deliver sustainable continuous improvement.  Richard Gray and Graeme Faulkner of ViP met with Simon Moore (Eclipse Colour MD) and David Weiss (Eclipse Colour Head of Manufacturing) in early February 2009 to propose a sustained programme of continuous improvement.

A 38 day programme spread over 12 months was proposed, starting late summer 2009.  This, in the judgement of ViP, is the scale and timetable necessary for a successful transition to a self sustaining world class continuous improvement culture.
Eclipse is also considering “Value Stream Mapping”, which would assist in the identification and prioritisation of key improvement opportunities.

In five years of operation, ViP has delivered over £44 million worth of cost reduction and productivity improvements to the companies it has worked with.  Most companies cite improvements in morale, communication and employee engagement, as well as the obvious benefits of Best Practice and World Class Manufacturing.

The most successful programmes take place in companies whose management team takes a fully committed approach to supporting the projects undertaken and the changes that result. The management team plays a crucial role in supporting the team during the project and beyond, so that the implemented changes are maintained and, Simon Moore (Eclipse Colour MD) stated that he would be driving the programme from the top.