Improving Business Through Education: Training the workforce
IN the latest article on the importance of improving business through education, Hull University Business School assesses the importance of training the workforce.
BUSINESS efficiencies do not always filter from the top down, so it is important that front line staff are also equipped with necessary skills to become the best at their role.
It is often training the operatives, supervisors and middle management which can save businesses the most. For example, simplifying and streamlining the product supply chain through better logistics efficiency can save organisations both time and money.
At the Logistics Institute, Hull University Business School, experts regularly work with organisations of all sizes and across most sectors to maximise efficiencies. Education programmes run across all levels of logistics and leadership, and a new Lean Six Sigma programme will be starting in June.
There is also a wide range of professional training courses for drivers, such as those delivered by Logistics Institute incubator client Carmichael Training Ltd, which are aimed at increasing the understanding of drivers of the vital role they play in the management of a business’s costs.
From awareness that best practice fuel management can save 5 per cent of fuel per year, to mastering the art of consistent driving, training the ‘backbone’ of the supply chain can help businesses cut their fuel consumption – which can account for around 30% of operating costs in most transport companies.
Helping to cut costs, researchers at Hull University Business School are working with external training providers to evaluate methods used in driver training, concentrating on using simulation instead of driving on the road network.
The overall aim of the research is to evaluate the effectiveness of using a driving simulation to help truck drivers improve their fuel economy, reduce wear and tear on engines and to reduce accidents by improving awareness. Although in its early stages, evidence suggests that simulation training is just as beneficial as that done in ‘real life’, and, coupled with the benefits of reduced fuel costs, simulations could be seen as the training of choice in the future.
But it is not just those in the logistics function that feel the benefit of training. From leadership development programmes to the part-time Executive MBA, it is essential to ensure that businesses are prepared from the bottom up for the expected coming growth of UK plc.
Case study – Efficient supply chain for Odlings
Hull-based firm Odlings Limited, crafters of memorials, need to ensure that it has a good distribution strategy to complement the high quality and often emotive product offering.Working with Hull University Business School, the organisation conducted a review of its transport capabilities, looking at how the firm could make best use of its lorries, examining space limitations and the routes used.
Duncan Reynolds, MD of Odlings, said: ‘The majority of our goods are granite which, although heavy, is very fragile. We need to be able to transport products ourselves as no matter how careful a courier is, they do not take the same care and attention as we do.
‘As such, our lorries travel a lot of miles nationally, from where goods are landed in Hull to our southern distribution hub in Bristol and beyond, so we wanted to make sure that we were getting the best out of our strategy before making any future investment.’
‘By making routes more efficient, we could save up to £25,000 per year on costs such as fuel, as well as lowering its carbon emissions by up to 19 per cent – benefiting cash flow and the environment.
‘This level of savings will have a direct and positive impact on the business and potentially make life easier.’
