• Magnox
    PiT-Stop at Wylfa Site, Magnox North, Wales
    (sponsored as an i4 Innovation Initiative)

    Background
    The Magnox North Business Improvement Plan outlines major aims: simpler solutions, business efficiency, maximizing value, stakeholder engagement and making the most of our people.
    Magnox North has also worked hard to develop, encourage and recognise innovation within the business. In 2009, the i4 campaign was sponsored by EnergySolutions and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and was recognised as a major contributor to realising added value to the NDA.

    As a result of this success, the i4 campaign has been selected as the method of helping Magnox North develop a culture where everyone has an „ Eye for Opportunity „ and actively pusues opportunities to deliver more for less.

    i4 represents 4 areas, which need to be embraced in order to excel at innovation:

    Inspire – identifying what inspires the workforce and make the most of that inspiration
    Imagine – encourage the workforce to imagine and support the progress of ideas
    Innovate – develop ideas to deliver the benefits of those ideas
    Implement – drive the innovation until the benefits are realised
    Supporting the business challenge and the i4 spirit, a PiT-Stop Innovation Initiative under the guidance of Bernie Sander, Jane Grant and Chris Skarratt was conducted during calendar week 25, June 15-19, 2009.

    Summary Findings
    Interview teams, consisting of 14 Magnox North employees trained in questioning techniques, interviewed a total of 92 employees over a 2-day period. 204 ideas cards were generated and allocated to 30 clusters or thematic areas under People, Environment and Process Themes. This represented an average of 2.2 ideas generated per employee interviewed within a timeframe of 20 minutes.

    Following the interview rounds, management further consolidated, bundled and allocated these 30 themed clusters as part of the action items on Day 3. All ideas were clearly visualized and also summarized in an excel-based spreadsheet.

    A selection of 18 were immediately tackled as part of 1-hour facilitated team-based problem solving sessions on Days 4 and 5 in the same week. These sessions included as often as possible the employee who generated the ideas. The remaining team-based problem solving sessions will be addressed through the existing cadre of trained facilitators.

    Goal: Continued consolidation, determination „Who does what by when“ and implementation follow-up within the next 90 days.

    Acceptance / Reaction
    Employees showed themselves overwhelmingly open and all topics were constructively addressed. The clustering technique ensured the many idea cards were aggregated by cluster or theme, resulting in improved overview and assessment methods. The priority-setting and allocation exercise and results presentation reflected the expectations of the employees involved. They were able to identify with the resultant clusters and results.

    It was possible to identify and differentiate many areas for improvement in an ongoing cordial working atmosphere.The interview methodology was positively received by the interviewees.

    In Conclusion
    The PiT-Stop method, to quickly and efficiently discover and document previously unknown savings potential, proved successful. The „ on-site interview“ method was positively received by all employees. The implementation of individual solution packages as part of normal daily business needs to be addressed to ensure the sustainability of the effort.

    Herein lie varying degrees of effort and expense, dependent on the cluster in question. It requires vigilance and ongoing controlling efforts to ensure the necessary cost savings are truly realized.

    Underlying positive employee sentiment with real measures and solutions that need to be responsibly implemented as far as possible. Back