Responding to the Crisis

Corus Strip Products UK (CSPUK)

The Journey

‘The Journey’ was a programme that set about creating a consistent positive working culture to confront fundamental business issues, such as health and safety, environmental performance and profitability. In late 2005 CSPUK’s management, senior union representatives and principal contractors and service providers began work on defining the programme. In a series of workshops involving more than 5,000 people, employees were invited to sign a commitment to a raft of values and beliefs. This was followed by the development of a system of "goals translation," which was applied consistently throughout the organisation. A programme of health and safety initiatives successfully transformed performance in the area – and CSPUK became a leading performer in its class. The business also set about some technical projects. The Port Talbot heavy end achieved a consistent annualised production rate of 5 million tonnes and the plant’s Hot Rolling Mill met its target to roll more than 3.5 million tonnes of hot rolled coil. By early 2008 CSPUK was able to announce a string of performance records and had achieved much improved profitability.