More than $4 million in savings developed by staff was rewarded at Tomago Aluminium’s annual Innovation Awards.
Individuals and teams were recognised for their efforts to improve operations at the smelter.
The overall winner was a team of 21 people who developed a system for reusing waste. By reintroducing 7,000 tonnes of pacman waste back into cells over a six month period, the team will convert a $3M waste pile into $3M cash by converting the waste into saleable material.
The winner of the Cost & Waste award was Troy Martin, who also solved a waste problem. He used redundant cell materials, previously written off in the budget, to reduce the cost of rebuilding new ones. By following his idea through to fruition, he has saved the business $740k in 2018 alone.
CEO Matt Howell said Tomago encouraged staff to strive for continuous improvement, and to never be afraid to suggest a new or different way of doing their job.
“Our people are the experts in their fields, and they are best placed to identify ways of working more efficiently and effectively,” Matt said.
“The result of welcoming new ideas and innovation is that our own workforce develops and implements their own innovations, and they are rewarded with improvements to their workplace and savings that can be reinvested back into the business.”
Matt said more than 300 employees were nominated for awards, showing the commitment Tomago Aluminium employees have to innovation. The overall winning team will be treated to an exclusive team event in the Hunter Valley with their partners, and individual winners each received a travel voucher worth $2,500.
Winners included:
Excellence in Cost & Waste Reduction Category
Individual Winner – Troy Martin
Team Winners – The Boiler Maker Team
John Fraser, Johan Kruger, Simon Gayner, Mal Muddle, Alex Deacon and John Neil.
Innovation in Health, Safety and Environment
Individual Winner – Justin Hine
Team Winners – Mates Looking After Mates Team
Trish Rapley, Steve Blundell, Scott Fauchon, Neil Lindus, Craig Broadbent, Brad Mace, Nick Landrigan, Greg McLoughney, Nat Godwin, Dan Lines, Craig Rogers, Neil Morgan and Phil Carpenter.
Innovation in Process Stability and Quality
Individual Winner – Darryl Frew
Team Winners – Auto Anode Gauge Change Team
Shane McDonald, Trevor Beverley, Jerry Tawalo, Mick Jackson, Ben Henshaw and Keiran Twiss.
The Overall Winner – Pacman Waste Recovery Team
Wade Foster, Shane Filip, Darren Godwin, Dallas Isaac, Sam Ryan-Allen, John Thorne, Mat Dunning, Josh Albers, Chad Gallagher, Darryl Frew, Jason Giddins, Tony Camps, Peter Mexon, Aaron Mexon, Aiden Pont, Ken Stock, Katrina Whiteley, Mal Muddle, Ben Heil, Lauren Smyth and Danny Oakley.
IMAGE | Tomago’s Innovation award winners.
