Companies introducing cellular manufacturing have concentrated on such technical issues as classification methods, the design of the workflow sequence and the physical arrangement of machinery for reducing set‐up times. The experience of one Australian manufacturer indicates, however, that the...

A UK construction‐services company is giving its director‐level managers a broader understanding of the business through a development program that helps them to make the transition from project management to strategic management.

Organizational energy at first can appear to be an obvious business concept. Any organization you care to pick only has a finite amount of human energy that it can muster to deliver its business goals. Energy, rather than time, is the commodity leaders are realizing they need to value. You could...

Purpose – Highlights the improvement in the safety record of Birse Civils (NW) that resulted, at least in part, from a training program that won a regional training award in the most recent UK National Training Awards. Design/methodology/approach – Gives the inside story of what gave rise to...

Purpose – The paper examines how multinational building‐materials manufacturer Lafarge, with more than 77,000 employees operating in four divisions in more than 75 countries, provides its employees with a shared vision of group‐wide ambitions, challenges and opportunities, while still...

Purpose – This article demonstrates how UK construction company Frank Haslam Milan (FHm) has hit its target of zero reportable accidents through its award‐winning training and awareness program, which involves its employees and around 2,000 people living in the homes it builds and...

Purpose – Describes how Saint‐Gobain Glass UK Ltd trained 30 recruits – mainly people with no experience of the glass industry – to work at a green‐field site being developed at Eggborough, Yorkshire, to manufacture a new range of environmentally‐friendly glass....

Purpose – This paper aims to examine how training programs are helping to combat skill shortages and promote a healthy corporate culture at two UK building companies. Design/methodology/approach – The paper aims to focus on mentoring and apprenticeship programs at Broadgate Homes Limited, of...

Purpose – This paper aims to argue that procurement practices in the construction industry, and building‐services in particular, have lagged behind other industries. It also aims to highlight the efforts of two UK construction companies, Rok and NG Bailey, to make procurement more unified...

Purpose – Evaluates the advanced‐entry adult‐apprenticeship scheme that Thiess Kentz construction company in Australia introduced in partnership with group‐training organization East Coast Apprenticeships and public training provider Skills Tech Australia. Design/methodology/approach –...