
The results of the five-year participation of the Chelyabinsk region in the national project “Labor Productivity” were discussed at the round table “Labor Productivity – Effective Economy. Successful cases” during the business program of the Chelyabinsk Industrial Forum. The results of implementing lean technologies at their sites were shared by its participants – heads of enterprises that have achieved impressive productivity growth indicators. The total economic effect of South Ural enterprises from working in the national project, according to experts from the Regional Competence Center (RCC, created under the Industrial Development Fund of the Chelyabinsk Region), is already more than 2 billion rubles.
Impact of the Labor Productivity National Project in the Chelyabinsk Region
“We really have something to be proud of. We remain constant leaders in many industry ratings. In 2022, our region became the Russian leader in labor productivity growth. Chelyabinsk RCC constantly occupies top positions in the ratings of regional centers of competence. For the second year in a row, we have been recognized as the best RCC in the country. And, just as important, according to a recent survey, almost 100% of enterprises are satisfied with both the results of our experts’ work and the cooperation process itself. The national project not only continues, but even expands. So, with the same zeal and responsibility, we will help our enterprises grow, develop and achieve results that we can be proud of and admire,” notes Natalya Zelinger, deputy head of the RCC of the Chelyabinsk region.
The Southern Urals joined the Labor Productivity national project in 2019. To date, 171 enterprises are participating in it, more than a hundred of which have already completed a three-year program for introducing lean technologies. 95% of projects reached the target level of production system development. More than 3,700 enterprise employees were trained in lean manufacturing methods and tools. Over 300 instructors and internal trainers have been trained, who will independently, without the participation of experts, be able to train colleagues and replicate the acquired skills throughout the entire production.
Average indicators of completed projects at enterprises in the Chelyabinsk region:
· Process time reduced by 34%;
· Work in progress reduced by 34%;
· Output increased by 42%;
· The share of enterprises that achieved a 5% increase in labor productivity is 70.7%.
Representatives of participating enterprises shared their successes in the national project. It is important that they all focus not so much on the indicators already achieved, but on further development.
PENTA: Early Success in the Labor Productivity National Projectn
The Chelyabinsk company PENTA, the largest manufacturer of paper products in the Ural Federal District, was one of the first in the region to join the national project in 2019.
“When we started, it was not clear what we would get as a result, how would all this happen? But the topic was interesting. As a result, due to seemingly small, but necessary changes, they earned money to pay for the projects that were conceived together with RCC experts. Their implementation made it possible to increase product sales by 31%. In addition, this year alone, about 50 million rubles were spent on further modernization from the funds saved due to improvements made in the national project. Now we are planning to take a preferential loan from the regional Federal Investment Fund in order to further increase production output. All this allows employees to increase their salaries: if in 2019 the operator received an average of 25 thousand rubles, now it is from 60 to 75 thousand,” says Sergei Shcherbo, director of PENTA LLC.
UralNIIstrom’s Transformation Under the Labor Productivity National Project
Another South Ural participant in the national project, the UralNIIstrom Pilot Plant, traces its history back to 1957. Now it is a Group of companies, one of the areas of which is the production of heat-resistant fire-resistant mixtures, design materials and various products.
“We have a young team, hungry for all sorts of changes. And there was something to work on: the owners formulated a global development goal – “10 for 10”, that is, in 10 years to reach a turnover of 10 billion rubles. This is a very ambitious goal, because the increase from year to year should be 32%. To achieve it, in 2022, we first began working with the Foundation’s experts on regional support – an analogue of the national project for SMEs, then, thanks to improvements, we grew to the national project itself, the requirements of which were not previously met. This fall the results were summed up. We entered, as they say, into the same river twice – and not in vain! During the projects, we tried to implement all possible tools. As a result, the process time was reduced by 68%, and production increased by as much as 200%. The company has currently launched 10 different projects, and all of them will be brought to the final stage. As for the financial indicators, even though the year is not over yet, the plan has already been fulfilled – the increase was the required 32%,” shares Ilya Tretyakov, technical director of UralNIIstrom Pilot Plant LLC.
Lean Manufacturing in Action: DST Ural and the Labor Productivity National Project
For the participants of the round table, among whom there were representatives of enterprises and RCCs from different regions of the country, an excursion to the Chelyabinsk tractor plant “DST Ural” was organized. This is one of the most effective participants in the national project in the Chelyabinsk region. The guests were introduced to the technological process, built in accordance with all the rules and standards of lean production, shown samples of experimental and finished products, and shared their experience and developments in the national project.
Future Expansion of the Labor Productivity National Project
Starting next year, the national project “Labor Productivity” will become an important part of the new federal project “Efficient and Competitive Economy”. The functionality of the RCC will be expanded, and enterprises from a larger number of industries will be able to join the national project. More about this – Here.
National project “Labor Productivity” approved by May decree of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in 2018 and is designed to create conditions for an annual increase in labor productivity in the country. To achieve the set objectives, the Government of the Russian Federation has developed a set of state support measures for business, which includes financial incentives and expert assistance in optimizing production processes. In the Chelyabinsk region, national project activities are implemented by the regional Ministry of Industry and the Industrial Development Fund. Currently, 171 enterprises in the region are participants in the national project.