MAN executives step into factory workers’ shoes!

February 14, 2024

A recent team-building initiative at MAN Automotive South Africa saw a number of senior executives don safety boots and put their backs into building trucks! NICOLA JENVEY reports that it was an exceptional initiative, quite unlike anything she has ever experienced in her 30-plus years as a journalist.

Companies around the world often argue that managers and workers cannot operate on the same wavelength to achieve a mutually beneficial result, namely: a profitable business that sustains employment. However, this certainly isn’t the case at MAN Automotive.

At the end of January 2024, MAN’s senior management and directors spent the day working on the floor of the company’s Pinetown factory, where they gained invaluable insights into the business from a different perspective.

MAN Automotive South Africa managing director Jan Aichinger explains that, while this was a team-building exercise, the experience also provided him with the chance to see how demanding the conditions are on factory floors all over the world. “Very importantly, productivity in our plant is measured daily, leading to continuous process improvements. In the indirect functions, in many areas, we can still learn from ‘elimination of waste’, as we call it. This is one of our corporate values,” he says.

Aichinger partnered with Fani Makhanya. Together, they rolled tyres from their stacking point before hoisting them (with the aid of a crane and hoist), manoeuvring the wheels and tyres, and then tightening the bolts that keep the wheel in place.

“Look at Fani’s muscles and look at mine,” Aichinger quips with a chuckle, commenting that his colleague really gets a proper workout at the factory, which easily outdoes expensive gym contracts.

Finance director Carsten Mondrup says the experience gave management the chance for an insider’s view of factory floor employment. “Importantly, it signalled to workers that management took an interest in their contributions – that they were not ‘unseen’,” he stresses.

Human resources and transformation director Xoli Sarah Luthuli adds that the company aims to retain its Top Employer status. “We have a culture that ensures every employee is valued and appreciated at work. MAN will also actively attract and maintain its female talent to broaden its diversity and inclusiveness,” she elaborates.

Aichinger describes 2023 as “a good journey” where sales grew 44% and MAN secured a 10.5% market share in trucks over 16 tonnes. While the current year’s target was fluid, the focus this year will be on profitable growth, meaning there will be no “selling at any price”.

“The South African study into customer satisfaction pegged MAN as the country’s second-best in its market. While that is impressive, it also means there is room for improvement. A happy customer is a repeat customer; an unhappy one is lost forever,” he says.

While change will happen when it comes to customer satisfaction, the Pinetown plant is also evolving in line with changing technologies. New skills will be required as the company forges ahead in the embryonic stages of delivering its first serial electric motor vehicle. This will require new training for different kinds of emergencies. As safety, health, environment, and quality (SHEQ) practitioner Gugulethu Mafuleka points out, SHEQ has to be top of mind at commercial vehicle plants around the world. “At our plant, for instance, there are more than 170 risks and hazards. These include noise, manual lifting, chemicals, tools and machinery use, ladders, and driven machinery like forklifts,” he emphasises.

Thankfully, though, the team-building exercise ended safely, with no one harmed during the event. For the entire process, MAN’s senior management and directors were on an equal footing with their plant colleagues. There were no formal addresses using surnames and the executives were subject to the same strict timekeeping and card-clocking as their plant colleagues.

“It was a tough day; we worked extremely hard today,” Aichinger concludes. “But it was a great day. We came together as a team and left the Pinetown plant with far greater insight into the vital roles played by our colleagues at the plant. ‘Strong Team’ is one of our core values, and we certainly saw that strong team in action today!”