Throughout Earth Month, we’re sharing impactful tips to practice at home or work so we can all do our part to promote a greener future. By taking small actions together, we can make a big difference for our planet!
This week we are sharing simple ways to save energy:
Leggett & Platt Automotive’s Pullmaflex branch in Ammanford, UK, is doing its part to create a greener future.
Nearly 3 billion plastic cups end up in UK landfills each year, as the majority of cups cannot be recycled. To reduce waste, the team recently discontinued using disposable cups in their hot drinks vending machine and each team member received an L&P-branded reusable cup to use at the vending machine.
Congrats to Pullmaflex for their commitment to sustainability and exhibiting our value of doing great work together!
Throughout Earth Month, we’re sharing impactful tips to practice at home or work so we can all do our part to promote a greener future. By taking small actions together, we can make a big difference for our planet!
This week we are sharing simple ways to conserve water:
Mark Hodges, Manufacturing Engineer at Super Sagless in Tupelo, Mississippi, shared some simple ways he conserves water at home.
“One of my favorite ways to save water at home is in the shower. I changed my shower heads from 2.5 gallons per minute (GPM) to 1.25 GPM. Not only do you save water, but you also save a lot of energy by not having to heat it. In addition to the shower heads, I installed an inline flow-control valve to turn the volume down even more. Another tip is to ensure your hot water source is nearby so you don’t have to wait long for the hot water to get to you.”
Thank you, Mark, for sharing ways we can practice sustainability at home!
At L&P, we are committed to fostering a culture that cares about our planet and providing sustainable solutions for our customers.
Our businesses are building sustainability into product development processes, and we’re designing products for improved durability, recovery, and end-of-life recycling. This year, we completed and plan to share our first Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) inventory covering 2019-2022. Companywide milestones like this one, plus numerous efforts at our branches, contribute to our strides in reducing our environmental footprint.
This month on L&P social, we look forward to sharing more around being responsible stewards of the environment and communities where we live and work!
April 1st was International Fun at Work Day – a reminder that work doesn’t have to be a fun-free zone!
Studies show that having fun at work enhances communication, collaboration, and productivity. We spend a lot of time with our coworkers, so why not have some fun? We asked a few of our colleagues around the world to share how they have fun at work and with their teams:
“In a world where connections are virtual and desks are miles apart, our team thrives on laughter that echoes through digital corridors. In our remote realm, every meme is a high-five, and every GIF is a nod of understanding. We’re not just a team – we’re a meme-dream machine that delivers on turning pixels into punchlines and delivering world class dad jokes one day at a time.”
– Ryan Fissinger, Manager of Service Desk, United States
“We sing some motivational local language songs together – it gives us a new team spirit to work efficiently and uplift our environment and mood. We often find hidden talents during these times! We also chit chat. If someone is feeling down at work, we have breakout conversations to combat tiredness.”
– Women at Branch 0669, India
“When we finish a call, we say, ‘Leg dich wieder hin‘ – ‘lay down again’ – as a joke to imply that our colleagues aren’t working hard. We also like to joke during our breaks and talk about what we did during the weekend or previous days. If the weather is good, we take walks together around our facility.”
– Andreas Wagner, Quality Manager, Germany
“During breaks, I have fun with colleagues through games, activities like walking, and sharing experiences. At least once a week, my team and I do something together to unwind, like having lunch, eating ice cream, going to the market, or holding a happy hour. We also hold special meetings on commemorative dates.”
– Jackson Souza, Junior Planning Analyst, Brazil
At L&P, we’re inspired by our colleagues who go above and beyond to enhance our businesses. This month, we’re sharing stories of women at L&P who have improved our products and processes with their creativity and leadership.
We’d like to recognize Susan Chapman, Creative Services Operations Manager! This spotlight of Susan, who has been instrumental in L&P’s adoption and maintenance of technologies during her 44-year career, was written by Paul M. Johnson. They’ve worked together since 2010.
For reasons obvious to her coworkers in Creative Services, one of Susan’s nicknames is “The Oracle.” If you need to connect to a network printer, locate an obscure sales sheet from 1995, or find the phone extension for someone to help with a medical claim, you ask Susan. And no matter how busy she might be, which is always, she’ll have the answer, sometimes before you finish your question.
The Oracle. When there is one person who has this catalog of information – one Susan, in this case – it is often referred to as “tacit knowledge.” It’s the know-how born of experience, which includes knowledge of myriad things not documented in job manuals. It’s critical for the success of companies large and small.
But forget about that. Yes, Susan is a fount of workplace knowledge, absolutely. But that only touches lightly on the benefits she brings to Leggett and everyone she works with.
TECH TRAILBLAZER
Susan hasn’t stopped learning and adding skills during her long career. It just wouldn’t be her. She was atop the tech wave before most Leggett coworkers even saw the swell, and she’s stayed up there for more than a quarter century. But, change came slowly.
“When I started, I had a correcting typewriter and a Dictaphone,” Susan says, almost apologetically. “When I did mail merge, it was typing each letter on letterhead with carbon and onionskin paper.”
We’ll pause while you Google that. Soon, the typewriter turned into a desktop computer and the Dictaphone got the memo it was time to go.
L&P’s MAC MAESTRO AND MORE
In the mid-80s, Susan received the first Apple computer Leggett ever owned, working with graphic designers to create professional-grade design that didn’t require tedious hand sketches. (Macs have always been eons ahead of PCs in term of design capability.)
“I learned how to service and update each Apple computer we’ve had since that initial Mac,” she says, adding that she’d often pull the machines apart and reassemble them for upgrades, downloading those upgrades on her home “dial-up” since Leggett didn’t have internet access. “And still today, I continue to keep our Macs updated so we can better service our business units and their needs.”
Susan’s latest tech-related accomplishment is the creation of a digital content library to house Creative Services’ many assets, and it has led to a seamless sharing of content with Leggett business units.
“I have always been excited by any challenge and fueled by the experience it takes to solve anything put before me,” she says. “I have never grown out of the ‘why’ stage from an early age and no one ever told me I couldn’t find the answers.”
HOMEGROWN TALENT
Raised on a farm – not, perhaps, the natural starting point for a technophile – Susan developed her unswerving work ethic as well as important lessons from her father.
“My dad stressed that he wanted me to be an independent woman. I was exposed to mechanical work and by the time I graduated from high school I was more knowledgeable in mechanics than my male classmates – maybe that is why I gravitated to computer mechanics. My dad instilled in me I could do anything I wanted to do, and that is how I have always viewed the world.”
At L&P, we’re inspired by our colleagues who go above and beyond to enhance our businesses. This month, we’re sharing stories of women at L&P who have improved our products and processes with their creativity and leadership.
Meet Claire Jarvis! Claire has been with us for seven months and is a Quality Manager at our Aerospace branch in the United Kingdom. We asked her some questions about work and how she approaches problem solving.
What is a day at work like for you?
A typical day in my role consists of managing my branch’s workload and supporting business processes to achieve customer satisfaction.
How have you improved L&P processes and products?
I’ve updated some of our core operating procedures, led our business through a BSI AS9100 audit, and supported special process owners through a NADCAP (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) audit. We also recently changed our approach to non-conforming products, introducing a triage process to effectively determine the root cause.
AS9100 – for the Quality Management System – enables us to continue shipping products with a AS9100-certified certificate of conformance. We hold NADCAP approval for welding and NDT (nondestructive testing). Both of these audits are beneficial because they ensure we’re working within stringent requirements, and these standards are recognized by our customers and industry as being at the height of best practice.
How do you approach problem solving?
I ensure the problem is clearly identified. It can be easy to assume what the problem is, which could lead to ineffective solutions. Also, I work as part of a team! We all have different strengths, and by working collaboratively, we can pull on each other’s strengths and find robust solutions.
Our Automotive team in India celebrated International Women’s Day with a cake cutting, talent show, gifts, and by sharing words of appreciation:
Check out some of the photos from their celebration below!
At L&P, we’re inspired by our colleagues who go above and beyond to enhance our businesses. This month, we’re sharing stories of women at L&P who have improved our products and processes with their creativity and leadership.
Meet Alexandra Drewniak! Alexandra has been with us for 21 years and is currently a Continuous Improvement Manager for our Automotive branch in Austria.
“My role requires a deep understanding of our products and processes, being open minded, and serving as a contact person for all departments,” says Alexandra. “It also involves a lot of reporting, giving friendly reminders, performing project management, and asking questions like, ‘Why not? When? and Why, why, why?'”
Alexandra knows how to encourage a group to work towards a common goal, and a couple of those goals have been to increase branch profitability and keep a green mindset. Looking for ways to minimize waste and reduce energy consumption, Alexandra helped her branch cut its gas consumption in half. She’s also found opportunities to save money by organizing continuous improvement workshops and brainstorming sessions. During her time as a Branch Controller, she improved our financial processes by implementing Sarbanes–Oxley Act procedures, streamlining internal processes, and focusing on a lean approach in administrative processes.
“I am surrounded by brilliant coworkers who all strive to make our products and processes better every day,” says Alexandra. “Innovation is not a one-person task – we all need to pull in the same direction to make things happen.”
When asked what challenges she’s faced, Alexandra shared that she overcomes budget and personnel resource constraints by making things work with less, going for the smaller options, and looking for workarounds.
“I am an optimist, and there’s always a way. I believe in maintaining a positive mindset,” she says. “When solving issues, I take a structured approach, looking at the pros and cons. I’m never afraid to ask questions, and I keep all relevant people and departments involved in the process.”
We are very proud of and grateful for Alexandra’s leadership!
At L&P, we’re inspired by our colleagues who go above and beyond to enhance our businesses. This month, we’re sharing stories of women at L&P who have improved our products and processes with their creativity and leadership.
Meet Claudia Ortega. Claudia has been with L&P for 17 years. She started as the Quality System Manager at Mary Ann Industries in Villa Rica, GA. She is now part of the Leggett Business Systems Office (LBSO) Quality Management Systems (QMS) team as a Senior Quality System Continuous Improvement (QS/CI) Coordinator.
The LBSO department provides Quality Management System audits and training for several of our Leggett branches. As a result of the pandemic, the LBSO team had to develop ways to perform audits and training remotely.
“Claudia was instrumental in helping develop the remote training materials and process for delivering this training,” says Jeff Howery, Director of Quality Management Systems. “She has continued to expand the program with new offerings and materials to meet our branch’s quality system needs.”
We talked to Claudia about this project, the challenges the LBSO team faced, and how the new training has improved our business.
Can you tell us about the audits and your goals for making these trainings remote?
The main objective of audits is to verify that our branches conform to a series of requirements to guide processes and that they implement them in a way that helps improve operations. A management system audit consists of three main activities: Process observations, interviews with plant personnel, and review of evidence and documentation. These three activities needed to be conducted using remote methods of communication because it was important to perform a complete evaluation of those systems. The goal was to ensure the audits provided valuable and useful information to the branch concerning their process’s effectiveness and management system.
How did you work through the obstacles of doing remote audits?
First, we revisited how we planned the audits. It was necessary to be flexible and have more work done before the audit date to confirm logistics and infrastructure needs with the facility. For example, we inquired whether the branch could do video or voice calls.
We developed a document explaining how the remote audit process would work and a pre-audit checklist for the branches to complete and submit to plan the audit agenda. This document helped us understand the capabilities and constraints the branches may have and plan the audit accordingly. The branches have been very receptive, and although it has been challenging, the process has been effective and helpful in assessing conformity and effectiveness as well as identifying opportunities for improvement.
What were your challenges with taking training remotely, and how did you work through it?
The challenge related to training was adapting a program developed to be performed on-site to a remote format that was both manageable and helpful for the branches and the participants. The duration and content of the training were two of the main things that needed to be adjusted.
We restructured the content to flow better in the time allocated to complete the training. We also developed activities to assess the participants’ understanding and provide opportunities for participation and interaction. Although it has its limitations, it has provided the opportunity to bring branches from different locations together. It has also become more accessible because participants can enroll and attend training without leaving their branch.
We also developed tools such as templates, tables, and flowcharts to provide branches with examples and guides. We distribute a quarterly training calendar, and the branches enroll participants in their selected topics. The response has been great! They have been very receptive and interested in improving their systems, which is the focus of these webinars – to create content that would help the branches enhance their management system and, as a result, the effectiveness of their operations.
Thank you, Claudia, for exhibiting our value of taking ownership and raising the bar!