Client: A medium-sized trading company
Objective: To improve working conditions

1. Analysis
During an initial visit, Systain's consultants familiarized themselves with the factories in each location. They checked relevant documents, such as personnel records and documentation relating to working hours, and they held interviews with the staff and management. They then presented the factory's improvement potential in a final meeting with the company management. This was subsequently used as the basis for developing a structured and prioritized correction plan – the roadmap toward the qualification.

2. Implementation
The implementation was performed on the basis of the formulated correction plan. During the training sessions, the consultants provided important advice on how to improve the safety standards. In order to reduce overtime, they restructured the production schedule and helped to enhance the management's knowledge of a variety of issues, from the relevant laws through to the different possibilities with regard to process organization. Depending on the individual situation in each factory, the visits took place in a four-to-eight-week rhythm, over a period of between three months and one year. All the relevant areas were monitored again after the qualification. In addition, the consultants visited the factory unannounced once a year to verify whether the standards were being respected.

Result:
Systain's support resulted in significant improvements in all cases. Improvements were most notable in occupational health and safety in particular, as well as in working hours, remuneration and co-determination. Special challenges, such as the adherence to statutory working hours for a manufacturer of seasonal goods, could be overcome, not least because of the management's great willingness to cooperate in the medium term.