Meet the Sustainability Leader: G&P Group Holdings – Waste Management and Reduction 2018

G&P’s Quality Excellence Model is a gamechanger for the automotive and aerospace manufacturing sectors. With 21.4 million parts prevented from becoming waste in a single year, this approach to waste management is highly innovative and inspirational.

“Winning an edie Sustainability Award has had a very positive impact for G&P because it is a highly prestigious accolade that is recognised by industry peers throughout the UK,” G&P’s head of group marketing, Laura Page, said.

“It also couldn’t have been better timed as G&P continues to highlight the importance of waste reduction and sustainability in both the automotive and aerospace sectors.”

G&P has adopted a highly innovative approach to waste prevention through its award-winning ‘quality excellence model’ which it uses to manage its processes. The model enables manufacturers to manage complex supply chains, control costs and consistently deliver the right product. In 2016, the model made a massive impact by helping G&P’s automotive and aerospace manufacturing customers slash their levels of waste by 21.4 million parts, which equated to savings of more than £2.5bn.

The model gives companies on-demand access to the resources and expertise they need for the proactive management of supplier quality quickly and cost-effectively. By bringing transparency to supplier quality performance, it cuts the cost of ensuring suppliers meet appropriate specifications. When quality issues arise, it ensures the issue is completely contained, minimising disruption to production and preventing sub-standard products reaching end customers.

At the heart of G&P’s model is its proprietary QTrak system which has to date seen an internal investment of more than £4m. This is a sophisticated software tool which allows real-time analysis and identification of quality issues. As the system provides instantaneous results, it allows problematic supply sources to be investigated without delay, parts contained and corrective action to be deployed to prevent further waste being produced.

The model was initially trialled and refined with selected pilot customers and subsequently rolled out to encompass all of G&P’s customers globally. Fundamentally, all of G&P’s systems and tools are developed in-house, meaning total control and flexibility. These capabilities have traditionally been very difficult and costly for companies to provide in-house, due to the unpredictable nature of such problems and the specialist knowledge and resource required to fix them.

The model is built upon more than a decade of experience providing outsourced quality management services covering some 80,000 projects. While much of this earlier experience was in the delivery of “point” solutions, such as inspection and rework, doing this allowed G&P to build capabilities, Title knowledge and infrastructure upon which the model depends.

Strategically, the model has enabled a fundamental shift in G&P’s relationship with its customers. Where G&P might once have been chosen among or alongside a number of competing service providers for the provision of point solutions in response to specific customer issues, the firm is increasingly seen as a strategic partner, often with sole responsibility for the management of inbound component quality and the response to quality issues.

Customer satisfaction surveys are conducted electronically to review and monitor satisfaction levels on each project. This approach provides a consistent and efficient system which is designed to promote best practice and long-term customer relationships.

G&P’s quality excellence model has been successfully implemented within OEM manufacturing facilities since 2011 and consequently has very little risk attached to it. Processes have been developed and refined over a number of years and projects, meaning that new customers benefit from extensive testing, modification and enhancements. Meanwhile, G&P has in-sourced IT in an attempt to further develop its systems and take as much excess waste out of the ongoing and proposed processes.

An extension to G&P’s innovative software has been the introduction and development of real-time scanner devices. These have enabled a totally digital solution whereby results are recorded and are available online immediately, helping the company move towards its aim of being completely paperless and therefore reducing waste even further.

Meanwhile, the importance and success of G&P’s waste reduction efforts have been widely recognised by its automotive and aerospace customers, where high-value manufacturing activities mean that it is essential to maintain product quality and avoid the costly interruption of production lines. As a result of the success of G&Ps work, the company has experienced a significant growth and an upturn in fortunes.

Today, the group works with many of the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers and their key suppliers at more than 100 facilities across the globe. G&P recently opened a new global headquarters in Birmingham.

It also added significant numbers to its workforce and opened offices in other overseas territories to improve its proximity to its customers. G&P’s quality excellence model was recognised for its potential when it was awarded the UK’s highest business accolade, a Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2016. In 2017, for a fourth consecutive year, G&P was identified as one of London Stock Exchange’s Group’s 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain.

What the judges said: “G&P’s Quality Excellence Model is a gamechanger for the automotive and aerospace manufacturing sectors. With 21.4 million parts prevented from becoming waste in a single
year, this approach to waste management is highly innovative and inspirational.”

edie’s 2019 Sustainability Leaders Award

Now in their 12^th year, the RSA-accredited Sustainability Leaders Awards have undergone a major revamp, with a host of new categories and judges, a new Awards venue, and a new Mission Possible theme – making 6 February 2019 the biggest night of the sustainable business calendar.

The entry deadline for the 2019 Sustainability Leaders Awards is Friday, 14 September 2018. The Awards will then take place on the night of 6 February 2019 at the Park Plaza London, Westminster. 

— ENTER THE 2019 SUSTAINABILITY LEADERS AWARDS HERE —

Matt Mace