MRM pg 1-5.pdf - Mabati Rolling Mills

Japheth Ojango has been the shop steward
for the Mabati Workers union
Q Mr. Japheth, how long have you served as the Shop
steward for the workers Union?
A I have served the workers union as the shop steward
for eight years.
Q Eight years! That seems quite a long time. That
means you must have grown along with the
company!
A I was among the members who did the
trial run of the CCL plant, and I have seen the unit
expand from a single go-down to the present
three and along side this, the many profiles and
products the company now offers to the market.
Q You have retained this position for
quite a long time, taking into account the
internal politics that is synonymous with workers unions
nationally.
A Well, I believe I've been in this position for a long all this
time due to the trust the members have had in me and the
teamwork displayed by the Works Committee.
Q During this time you must had some ups and
downs or successes or failure. Kindly tell me about the
road down the eight years!
A Well, I believe under my watch, we have had more
successes than failures or disputes if I may say so. I will start
with the success & growth that we have had.
As you know when the company shifted base from
the Main Industrial Area in 1989, then known as Galsheet
Resincot, it meant a fresh start. In these eight years, I initiated
the following:
- The Funeral Committee of which I am the chairman,
- With advice from the then Chief Engineer Mr.
Chaturvedi, I mobilized the workers and with KSh500
shares per head we took over the running of the
Canteen.
- And also with the help from all members and nonunionisable
staff we set up the Resincot SACCO which
has been well managed to date.
I am proud of all these achievements.
Q That looks quite an impressive record! But there
must be the other side of the story!
A Disputes? Yes, but not much, whatever may have arisen
we got into a discussion with the management and all issues I
can say were amicably...
Q As the Shop Steward how has your team contributed
towards the development of MRM?
A My team has been quite supportive to the company
initiatives that improve the company’s performance.
Q Like?
A One such example is the Gemba Kaizen principles of
work, which is all about ‘Continuous Improvement’ at the
workplace.
We have participated alongside the management to
improve the company and this is clearly
visible.
A lot of positive changes have
taken place since the introduction of
Kaizen about five years ago.
Q What changes are these and how
do you maintain the gains?
A One major change has been the
cleanliness. This has been improved by
the use of Kaizen tool 5K or 5S. This tool
stipulates that the workplace has to be
clean and well organized.
To maintain the gains we have do under constant training
and we ensure self-discipline and all this is made possible be
good teamwork.
Q What other initiatives are there?
A Along side Gemba Kaizen, the company has made all
aware of its direction. This is well spelt out in the company’s
Mission, Vision and Core Value statements.
Q What do these statements say?
A Our mission is to ‘Deliver Value for metal roofing
solution’ with a vision of being the ‘Toyota in Metal roofing
solution’ while ‘Taking no short-cut and being caring’ being
our core values.
Q That’s great! But what does it mean being the
‘Toyota...’
A I believe Toyota cars are very affordable, reliable, easy
to maintain. They keep ahead with customer trends and
needs, there are variety of them to choose from and you get
them in all corners of the country. I believe our products
match this description already.
Q Lastly, Japheth, your parting shot?
A We have to maintain teamwork that has brought about
these successes.
We would like to be the best steel company at personal
and company level; this can only be achieved if we continue
working hand-in-hand with the management as we share the
successes.
Thank You
We wish you and your team well in keeping the
company’s Mission & Vision alive.
Interview by Austin Okoda
INTERVIEW
M A B A T I N E W S 7