NWR places great emphasis on its employees’ own initiatives, ideas and creativity. That is why in 2010 it announced for employees of mines and the companies supplying them the Continuous Improvement motivation programme, the aim of which is to encourage the submission of innovative ideas and suggestions. “With clearly set rules and an evaluation and remuneration system, this programme has resulted in a higher quality of ideas and the wider involvement of employees,” said Leo Bayer, Chief Operating Officer of OKD, a subsidiary of NWR.
fficiency and safety
Each group and individual who in 2010 came up with a valuable idea of how to improve work and increase the efficiency of coal extraction, improve the working environment, make work easier and safer was rewarded by the Company.
Motivation to participate in the project was strengthened by a special prize draw for a Škoda Fabia car. Every employee who provided a valuable suggestion had the chance to win the car. At individual mines, the successful innovators had other opportunities to be rewarded: prize draws for holidays, TV sets or notebook computers.
“The programme has clearly been a success. In addition to enhancing the employees’ coresponsibility and sense of belonging to the Company, it has resulted in employees receiving special rewards, increased work safety, an improved working environment and lower costs for coal extraction. That is why the company has prepared for 2011 another, similarly oriented, programme,” said Leo Bayer.
2011: Continuous Improvement goes on
The programme exemplifies co-operation between the Company and its employees: employees’ engage with the Company and there are benefits for all parties. A significant new element is the possibility to submit innovation suggestions in four languages – Slovak, Polish and English as well as Czech.
The level of the reward for the innovator is directly linked to the level of the saving the proposal has brought to the Company. This year too, all those submitting suggestions will have the chance to win a special prize: a Škoda Fabia.
“The parameters have changed slightly, yet the basis remains the same: Our objective is to support employee initiative. The project has shown that we are serious about the emphasis on work safety and our employees’ involvement in improving production and the working environment,” Bayer points out.
First-aid cards – a suggestion leading to improved safety
Ondřej Škorík, an operation locksmith of the Paskov Mine, came up with four innovative suggestions within the Continuous Improvement programme. One of them has received general implementation. “I was inspired by the first-aid kits for cars, which according to a new regulation must include a “first-aid card”. So I suggested furnishing our mine first-aid kits with such cards too,” said Škorík.
“Supplementing the first-aid kits with the first-aid card is extremely useful when the injured person is provided first aid. In educational and promotional terms, it is advisable to place these cards on safety notice boards,” Zdeněk Potenský, the head of the Paskov rescue team, said.