Continental : plant in Roding is proud of its staff (Outstanding idea management cause for success)

• In 2014, 100% of the plant employees took part in Continental Idea Management (CIM). All in all, nearly 3,000 ideas were submitted and €2.3 million euros saved at this location.
• High honors for Dr. Sami Krimi, former Plant Manager, in the competitions "2015 DeutscherIdeenPreis" and "Manager of the Year 2015"
• 2014 CIM Award: Roding has the best idea management system of all German locations of the Continental Automotive Group
• Continental plant in Roding is the world's first plant in the automobile industry to have received the "5S Best in Class" quality award in all areas (development, production and administration).

Roding, March 13, 2015. All companies have processes and procedures that have room for improvement. The best experts to identify this potential and develop the right suggestions for improvement are often the employees themselves; they know their areas of activity and the related requirements better than anyone else. International automobile supplier Continental has long counted on the knowledge of its employees to perfect processes and quality while further enhancing environmental and occupational health and safety. Continental Idea Management (CIM) systematically promotes the creation of suggestions for improvement. Continental has been especially successful with this concept in Roding. Located in the upper Palatinate region, the plant had the best idea management of any Continental Automotive Group location last year (as it did in 2012) and received the "2014 CIM Award" in recognition of this achievement. This success is due in large part to Dr. Sami Krimi, who greatly supported and advanced idea management as the plant manager in Roding in years gone by. The manager has earned two awards at once for his commitment in this area. The Deutsches Institut für Betriebswirtschaft (DIB) awarded Krimi the "DeutscherIdeenPreis 2015" (2015 German Ideas Award) in the category of idea promotion. The Zentrum Ideenmanagement (Ideas management center) also gave him second place in the "Manager of the Year 2015" competition; first place went to Heinrich Brüggemann from BD Region NRW, Düsseldorf.

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Meanwhile, Dr. Krimi has taken on a new role in the Continental corporation. However, Roding remains fully committed to idea management. "Dr. Krimi encouraged our employees to be proactive and gave them the required flexibility to develop new ideas. He also firmly anchored the topic of idea management at management level, and worked hard to ensure that the suggested improvements soon became a reality," said Franz Ziegler, Plant Manager in Roding since November 2014. "We will continue to pursue this strategy in the future. After all, we cannot fully exhaust the incredible potential of idea management unless it is on the daily agenda in all areas of our plant."

2.3 million euros saved - and the challenge cup for the most successful Team

Last year, 95% of the Roding staff took part in Continental's idea management. This figure was even 100% in Production - meaning that every employee in the plant made at least one suggestion for improvement in 2014. All in all, the staff on site submitted 2,918 ideas, of which 1,948 were implemented. For instance: In the manufacturing plants, the components were conveyed on belts with different lengths. In order to replace these belts for wear and tear, employees had to keep around 60 different lengths in stock. The suggestion was made to purchase a belt connector device, buy open-ended belting, and cut it to length on site. The result: more affordable belts, significantly reduced stockpiles, and swifter emergency repairs.

Thanks to the improvements under the CIM program, Roding saved about 2.3 million euros in 2014. To better illustrate that good results from idea management always depend on teamwork, the plant has created a "CIM trophy": a challenge cup that is given each month to the team with the best CIM results (measured in terms of participation, ideas implemented, and savings).

Global center of expertise and first automotive plant with the "5S" certificate

Continental employs about 650 people in Roding, making it one of the region's largest employers. The plant, founded in 2003, is currently the global center of expertise for developing and producing high pressure fuel pumps for the international automotive supplier. These pumps, which work at a pressure of up to 2500 bar, are a key component of modern fuel and diesel injection technologies for low-emission vehicles. Continental is one of the world's top manufacturers of high pressure fuel pumps and is among the drivers of innovation in this segment.

The Continental plant in Roding is the world's first plant in the automobile industry to have received the "5S Best in Class" quality award in all areas (development, production, and administration). This certificate from the international Kaizen Institute confirms that Roding has consistently implemented the 5S principles on which Kaizen's working methods are based. Employee dedication plays a key role here as well.

The Kaizen method from Japan, which is becoming more prominent in the automobile industry in particular, is based on a strategic, continuous improvement of quality and efficiency in small steps. Its approach closely involves the employees, who have been systematically trained in the 5S methods in Roding.