In 2017, the company joined Nidec – a Japan-based motor manufacturing company that holds the largest global market share in the motors used to power hard-disk drives. Control Techniques has since expanded their network massively to encompass operations across 40 countries and connections to 300 companies which amass to employing over 110,000 people.
When COVID-19 impacted the world, Control Techniques took lessons learnt from one of their China facilities in Shenzen, one of the first places to go into lockdown. What they learnt and how they applied it in the context of their Newtown-based factory meant that they were able to welcome their 350 staff back to a safe and productive workplace from April 14th.
Central to the new way of working at Control Technique was the one-way system that was implemented. European Operations Director Huw Mills said, “A very intelligent approach we considered was a complex adaptive system which is a very academic way of just talking about the Milton Keynes Magic Roundabout where you can have one big roundabout and within that roundabout there are multiple roundabouts – everyone going in the same flow of direction. There are multiple ways of getting around the factory quickly but ultimately we’re all going in the same flow.”
“We’ve made sure that we’ve placed hand sanitizer stations around so every entry and exit into the main facilities and then around every single one of those loops that are in the magic roundabout.”
In a factory environment, it’s not always possible to maintain 2m distance between people but Control Techniques have been using mobile ‘booths’ that allow closeness in a safe way as people are shielded from each other by screens.
“We can do lots of technical things on physical distancing. Lots of big things, lots of small things, but ultimately I think it’s the relationship with the people that is going to really count with giving them that reassurance of their safety and their safety is of at least equal value to the economic requirements of why you’re coming back to work. I think if people get that balance right, people will come back to work.”
“We’re really proud of what we’ve achieved here and it’s good to see people are comfortable coming back to the workplace and I think the whole team feels good about that.”
