Please note this article was published before OEE Consulting and gobeyond joined forces to become Gobeyond Partners.

Thomas Cook embeds continuous improvement into their team

On the 23rd June OEE Consulting hosted its latest Service Excellence Network event in Manchester, where Thomas Cook team managers and engineers put time aside to explain to the forum members how continuous improvement has changed the way their teams work together.

Thomas Cook aircraft hangar tour

Over 40 members and guests spent the morning on a tour of the Thomas Cook plane maintenance hangar and engine bays. Thomas Cook has been going through a range of operational improvement programmes in the past two years.  Despite some initial reticence we heard how “coffee moanings” provided an opportunity for everyone to get out in the open what they perceived as being wrong.  This led to the start of their improvement journey that now means teams work much better together as well as being more efficient, effective and saving money. For a business where safety is the most crucial focus and spare parts can cost as much as a semi-detached house, continuous improvement has allowed them to challenge of established ways of working.

Thank you to Gareth Sutton and Richard Guest of Thomas Cook for presenting to us and for organising the tour and to all the team that supported the visit.

The impact of our carbon footprint

After the tour, Professor Peter Wells, Centre for Automotive Industry Research, Cardiff University presented on the impact of our carbon footprint and our relationship with automobiles. As technology changes so many aspects of our lives, perhaps it is time that we stop thinking of cars as something that we buy but rather we could think of the car as a service.

To illustrate how this concept might work as the future for the automobile industry why not watch this film. What other aspects of our lives could be completely changed by a fresh look?

Find out more about the Service Excellence Network or contact us to find out about our accredited training programmes for continuous improvement.