WORKSHOP WALK-AROUND

HOW A WALK-AROUND IN THE WORKSHOP IS
PROVING A VERY EFFECTIVE TOOL

It isn’t every day that office staff get to see a piece of the workshop action, but at Mitchells, CEO Mic Mittasch decided that he wanted all his employees to get a view of how the company works and to get involved with engineering matters.

Mic says “About one month ago we kicked off a new initiative where every day small groups of people in the office will go out into the workshop, multiple times, for a walk-around. The purpose of this is to get fresh eyes looking at aspects of quality and safety and to get a better idea of how the equipment is actually manufactured.”

Mic felt that too many of his staff were focused solely on their own tasks and that they would benefit from a wider understanding of the business. In his opinion, getting involved in the workshop allowed staff to share knowledge as well as integrate them better as a company.

“More eyes can identify issues earlier and more quickly” said Mic “and the workshop employees appreciate others taking an interest in their work. Everyone is responsible for what we do and how we do it.”

The small groups consist of people from various departments and they don’t always visit the workshop with the same colleagues, which allows for different viewpoints and opinions at every walkaround. This process also increases interaction between internal office departments themselves, who previously may not have had the chance to discuss issues face to face.

Mitchells are using this as an opportunity for staff to look at how they currently do things and potentially find ways to improve in all areas of the workplace, not just their own.

So far, the feedback is very positive; and they are seeing some really good results from this initiative. The new collaboration between office and workshop will certainly boost the continued success of Mitchells.