- ZI award 2011 for best idea management in the industry
- In 2010 approximately €100 million were saved with employee ideas
- Icheon, South Korea and Rubí, Spain provide the most profitable ideas worldwide
- The most successful German location is Limbach-Oberfrohna, Saxony
The Zentrum Ideenmanagement (ZI) (Center for Idea Management) awarded Continental AG the "Best Idea Management 2011" prize in the automotive supplier category. The international automotive supplier was able to win the jury over with the most productive and sustainable idea management for its category; the categories themselves were divided according to industry and company size. Continental employees from 125 loca-tions around the world helped boost company efficiency and cost effectiveness with approx-imately 307,000 ideas that were implemented. These ideas achieved savings calculated at nearly €100 million. Locations outside of Germany were responsible for a good 80% of this amount. "In comparison to the previous year, participation has risen by 6%, and net savings have increased by 14% globally," explained Heinz-Gerhard Wente, Continental Executive Board member for Human Resources and added: "Successfully implemented ideas are worthwhile for all concerned: In the form of bonuses, recognition and appreciation for our employees, and economically measurable contributions to improve business results for the company."
During the first annual conference in March, ZI presented Continental AG with the automotive supplier category award for the most productive and sustainable idea management. The jury consisting of five experts does not assess contenders according to quantitative factors such as number of suggestions and greatest benefits, but rather according to criteria such as strategy and acceptance, goals, marketing, process, organization and quality, recognition and appreciation, key performance indicators and reports.
"Receiving an idea management award from ZI shows that we are on the right path with CIM. The productiveness and sustainability of idea management are important factors, for which our idea management has been awarded a prize by the jury," said a delighted Gerhard Schadt, team spokesman for CIM coordination.
Internal awards are presented each year in the framework of CIM, which has been actively promoted since 1930. The winner is the location with the highest number of points, consisting of the number of participants, the number of ideas implemented, and the calculated net sav-ings. "CIM is a controlled process with which we actively promote our employees and their creativity," explains Schadt. "We do not focus only on saving money, but also contribute to the optimization of processes and quality as well the improvement of environmental protec-tion, occupational health and safety. Furthermore, we boost the motivation and development of our employees while at the same time enhancing their sense of identification with our company," says Schadt, describing the goals of the Ideas Management.
In the category locations worldwide, Icheon, South Korea is again at the top of the list. Some 620 employees there submitted 35,000 ideas, 95% of which were implemented successfully. This translates to 55 implemented ideas per employee at a participation rate of 100% and thus a net savings of €31,570 per employee. Once again at second place, the plant in Rubí, Spain, with a participation rate of 100%, submitted and implemented 39 ideas per employee, i.e. over 95% of which were implemented, achieving a net savings of €5,100 per employee in 2010.
In Germany, savings achieved were calculated at around €15 million in 2010. The Limbach-Oberfrohna, Saxony, plant is the frontrunner, with a participation rate of 100%, 5 implemented ideas per employees, and a net savings of €1,800 per employee. With a participation rate of 89%, 11 implemented ideas per employees, and a net savings of €312 per employee, the automotive plant in Karben, Hesse, holds second place in Germany.