Three Questions for Graham Smith, Graham Smith, Site Manager Widnes, Business Unit F&F:

“Success Through Qualification”

Mr. Smith, the Widnes site that you manage has been through challenging times: a slump in demand, high cost pressure and restructuring as part of “FORWARD”. How did you manage to overcome these challenges?
Graham Smith: Quite clearly, thanks to the expertise and flexibility of our employees. It is thanks to them that we were able to implement the measures within a very short space of time without jeopardizing the quality of our products or safety at the site. However, we have certainly also benefited from the fact that we have been placing a strong focus on personnel development for several years now. Our internal Competence Management System (CMS) has already successfully passed several audits and only recently won the prestigious Skills Award*.

Congratulations on this! Can you tell us a little more about the project?
We started in production in 2019 as we knew a lot of experienced colleagues in this area would be retiring in the following five years. So we were looking for a way to pass on knowledge in a systematic and structured way. The needs of our customers have also changed, which in turn brings with it new requirements for our work. In order to adapt to this, we have developed a fixed training and education program that is precisely tailored to the needs of our location. Our Competence Management System now covers all departments at the site. This enables us not only to implement efficient training and succession planning, but also to support our employees in their individual career planning.

How have your colleagues responded to the program?
As a way out of the crisis and an opportunity for their own personal development. We have clearly defined which tasks, knowledge and responsibilities a particular role entails and which qualification and further training measures must be demonstrated. This transparency enables us to support new colleagues during their induction, for example. In Widnes, we have established a learning culture that involves each and every individual at the site. We are proud of this and we can certainly continue to build on this in the future.

 

*About the awards 

The UK Chemical Industry Association (CIA) Skills Award recognizes companies that are committed to the development of their workforce. LANXESS was up against strong competitors such as Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil, GSK, Eastman and Veolia