An Eye on… Fujifilm Wide Format

Communication is possibly the most important element of achieving positive results through Continuous Improvement. “If employees don’t know what is happening, we can’t expect them to support or replicate it,” says Gary, adding, “For example, one of our most popular ideas is the operators’ issues board where any ideas, constraint, wishes or concerns can be highlighted. Employees will get feedback to anything raised the following morning at their 5-minute morning meeting. Instant feedback lets the team know that anything raised by them is important to the management team and will get dealt with, ensuring we have an engaged and empowered team.”

Fujifilm places a considerable emphasis on creating a positive culture within the business. Continuous Improvement requires everyone to be involved in shaping and delivering it. “We have introduced proven techniques for visual communications in the workplace, such as Kamishibai and Electronic Process Control (Takt) Boards.  “These are excellent tools for delivering great productivity and performance improvements. As a team, we have delivered them with consistency and determination. On top of that, we re-enforce our commitment to best practice so that we can achieve outstanding operational excellence.” adds Gary.

The Kamishibai boards are a lean manufacturing tool used to visualize data in manufacturing facilities and track the status of various activities happening across a production process. “This has been adopted with enthusiasm by our team leaders, operators and office staff because it provides a simple, visual task reminder. The boards are easy to set up and install and they ensure repetitive tasks are completed. This simple technique has made huge improvements to our efficiency and productivity,” Gary says.

To ensure the team is encouraged and supported to be part of the CI strategy, Gary highlights other important factors. “We ensured some quick wins to help the programme gain some early momentum. We also tried not to make too much of a big thing about it. People can be put off by big launches and meaningless jargon. We wanted everyone to see we were serious through actions, not words. We wanted to ensure we captured EVERY problem in the organization and saw each one as an opportunity to improve. This gives people more responsibility and is key to empowering them as part of the overall programme.”

Commitment to quality and improvement greatly extends to Fujifilm’s manufacturing and R&D work in the laboratories. Like in the factory and the offices, improvements have led to significant cost-savings and a more environmentally-friendly, sustainable workplace. The whole area is designed for efficiency and productivity, is spotlessly clean and organized and staffed by friendly, determined and clearly very hard-working people.

Don’t forget the printers

It is quite easy to get carried away by seeing all the great things happening in the laboratories and factory floors. But I was also interested to hear more about Fujifilm’s printer manufacturing. In 2019, the company returned to the drawing board to define what it called a ‘new blueprint for UV inkjet print performance’. The result was a brand-new range of Acuity printers that have already captured the market’s attention since their launch at FESPA earlier this year.

Seeing the testing and validation in action in Broadstairs, you can see the incredible attention to detail that goes into these machines. They are big, they are tough, they are fast, and they print some seriously good-looking output. They also manage to do this at a competitive price!

Kevin explains, “When it comes to printers, customers look at three key elements. Speed, quality and price. Raising or lowering the bar with any of these elements will always affect the others. Our challenge is to minimize any compromise to deliver printers with the highest possible speed and quality at the most competitive price. I believe Fujifilm has done that with the Acuity range, and many in the market agree.”

To close

My visit to Fujifilm was eye-opening. This is a huge organization that is demonstrably focused on looking after its staff, its customers and the wider planet. I will follow their progress with interest, particularly the commitments to zero landfill, increasing renewable energy and minimizing the use of new raw materials. Many thanks to Kevin and the team at Fujifilm for welcoming me to the site and showing me around.