Autor: Raphaël Tournaire

Jeanne Lions
Finance and IT Director at Tournaire for the past 20 years.
Head of the crisis unit.

What can we learn from this period? 

The assessment of this period is that, thanks to the involvement of all employees, we were able to put in place the conditions that allowed us to continue the activity. We must, therefore, collectively thank all of the employees present. Present not only physically but also morally by maintaining a serene atmosphere.

The bottom line is also that, fortunately or unfortunately, we can never predict the future and that, more than ever, it is important for a company to be agile and responsive, to know how to question all plans in order to adapt to the economic, environmental or social environment. This is our raison d’être.

It is now necessary to take into consideration this variable which today is COVID-19 but tomorrow may be another virus. At Tournaire, we must implement structures and resources in order to live with this health risk over the long term, both internally and in our daily exchanges with our customers and suppliers. We must arm ourselves to counter any future attack and be able to react as quickly as possible.

What is post-confinement for Tournaire? 

At Tournaire, we have not experienced any disruption in our activity. We have experienced a drop in activity and a high absenteeism rate. There is no post-confinement in the company but a post-confinement in society. It is when we reintegrate employees who are today absent that we will have to adopt all of the recommendations on social distancing and barrier measures. This also requires us to communicate constantly to enable all of our employees to act correctly in the face of this threat that, unfortunately, will probably last for many months.

What advice would you give to your fellow directors in the region? 

Do not hesitate to communicate and share and rely on the advice of our professional associations, which are precious collectors and transmitters of information.

 

 

 

Christelle Baudequin
Responsable QSE chez TOURNAIRE

What is the impact of this crisis on the health and safety activity? 

Always the same vigilance on the operating of systems and regulatory compliance (cooling tower monitoring, waste treatment plant, exchanges with the regional environment, development and housing department).

No difficulty on critical points such as the operation of the Waste Treatment Plant and sludge disposal, 

No difficulties on waste management (only replanning).

However, some suppliers have very substantially increased their costs!

Impossibility of carrying out face-to-face audits (customers, internal suppliers and certification) even though they are important tools for continuous improvement.

Postponement of certain health and safety actions/issues to more favourable periods. 

Delays in the animation of health and safety systems but no impact on certifications

What have you put in place to manage this crisis? 

Support for the defining of COVID risk prevention measures and their implementation in the company by analyzing work situations (evolution of the Single Document) consistent with the general principles of prevention (risk elimination, collective protection, individual protection and training).

Frequent contacts with critical service providers to verify business continuity and know the measures implemented, possible difficulties to anticipate… 

Many actions relate to the control over interventions of external personnel on our site:

• Communication of our continuity plan 
• Prevention plan adapted to health risk
• Change in the organization of the work sites 

 

Remote audits (for requesting customers and to monitor ISO certifications)

Work on the issues by telephone meetings and exchanges of documents. After a period of adaptation to the tools, it works well!

What have you noticed since the start of confinement?

Providers and suppliers have organized themselves at different rates but responded present to help us maintain our activity even if they had decided to stop.

The role of the manager in the field is fundamental in relaying messages and ensuring their application.

What lessons have you learned?

The existence of a solidly documented system is a strength, it enables quick reactions in the event of emergencies or deteriorated situations, fill absences and train quickly in versatility.

The good relationships with our partners (suppliers, service providers) have resulted in a dynamic of cooperation to find the best solutions together.

Each individual is different, in his or her perception and apprehension, when faced with risk, this being a very important psychological component and the company must be prepared to provide support to each individual.

 

Jeanne Lions
Finance and IT Director at Tournaire for the past 20 years.
Head of the crisis unit.

What has been the most impact difficult aspect during this period ? 

Difficulty in obtaining protective equipment

In order to maintain production in good sanitary conditions, it was extremely difficult to find the necessary protective equipment for employees. We were forced to multiply the sources of supply and spent a lot of time finding visors, masks and hydro-alcoholic gels. It took a lot of networking and ingenuity to find this equipment.

Constantly reassuring employees at our various sites

What was also difficult was to maintain a very high level of communication with each of our employees so that everyone felt reassured, as this period has been extremely anxiety-inducing.

We also had to manage our subsidiaries, in particular Tournaire Plastic at the Fragne site, in relation to both the supply of protective equipment and communications with employees.

Be more vigilant on managing cash and stress with our partners

Among the difficulties generated by the current crisis, we have noted the need to be extremely vigilant with regard to late payments, which have doubled during this period. We have also noted that we must manage the stress not only of our employees but also of our customers and suppliers in order to create the most serene relationship possible.

I would like to very much thank the members of our crisis management unit, particularly Christelle Baudequin and her theoretical and methodological contribution in relation to quality, safety and the environment. Cathy Lecurieux is extremely dynamic and quick to relay our communications on a daily and permanent basis and I thank Human Resources for their role with our employees. I would also like to thank the IT department for its rapidity and the staff representative bodies with whom we have had an ongoing, constructive, dialogue to help us implement all of the means of prevention. Lastly, I would also like to thank the Metallurgy Industry and Trades Union (UIMM), which is a source of information and valuable advice that has relayed to us information from the government that can be assimilated in our region.

Eric Lefebvre –
Production Manager at Tournaire for the past 28 years.

What is the impact of this crisis on Tournaire’s production? 

At Tournaire, the primary impact was the 30% employee absenteeism, so we had to adapt. The impact was also noticeable at our suppliers and subcontractors, as some had reduced or even stopped their activity. We also noted logistical breakdowns on planes and boats, as chartering was sometimes very complex to implement.

We have, therefore, reorganized all of our production opertions.

During this period of containment, we had 25 to 30% of employees absent, but, thanks to the mobilization of employees from offices who came to help with production, we had a production level of 85% compared to the usual production.

 

What steps have you taken to manage this crisis?

The first measure was health-related: we deployed all of the means of health prevention for our employees thanks to our crisis unit and our quality, safety and environment manager. Then we reorganized production to give priority to priority lines where we had huge demand, for example for the pharmaceutical industry. After the initial sudden and intense phase, we were able, on the one hand, thanks to the versatility of our teams (set up years ago) to assign staff to priority lines. On the other hand (having decided not to recruit staff from outside the company), we called on all the dynamic forces present in the company, whether in support services, industrial methods, design office or even the sales department, who came to lend us a hand in production on operator or packaging posts.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the production staff, team leaders, management, operators, drivers and setters who have really stepped up to the plate throughout this crisis.

I would also like to thank all of the support services that have helped us.

This mobilization of each department has created a dynamic, a surge of solidarity and I felt a very strong spirit of mutual aid between all of the employees present at the site.

 

What ave you concluded as a result of this period of crisis? 

We found that the employees present were very implicated and truly wanted to satisfy customers. I would like to stress this point: this created a real dynamic, an impetus of solidarity between the departments. The various departments were thus able to exchange ideas, they communicated in a better manner and understood each other’s difficulties. I would like to capitalize on this period of solidarity and communication, which was very enriching for everyone. We are thinking about how to maintain this permanent exchange and cohesion throughout the year, in a more serene period.

 

Some advice to your fellow directors in the region?

The advice I would give is not to be blocked by fear but to implement all of the necessary measures to maintain activity. Thanks to these measures, by communicating a lot in the field and making sure that the health measures are respected, we are able to ensure production under good conditions, including for three-shift operations.

 

Testimony of Romain Leclef, GM Asia-Pacific. 

 

Can you introduce yourself and your activity for Tournaire in Asia-pacific?

Tournaire is an office and distribution platform, which serves our customers and partners in the area. It is a rather large area, one can imagine a triangle that extends from India to Japan and Australia. 

 

What are the specificities of the Asia Pacific market for packaging? 

 

It is a rapidly changing market, where regulations are becoming more and more stringent and where our customers need a local service.

 

What specific needs do you meet?

 

Our customers need to protect and transport sensitive and/or high value-added materials. 

 

Who are your most representative custumers?

 

Pharmaceutical assets, mainly in India, China and Korea. Perfumery in Singapore. 

There are new emerging markets such as liquid crystal technologies for new LED TVs and also with the explosion of electric cars in China, the electrolyte market. 

 

What are the specificities of Tournaire in this market? 

 

Stay one step ahead of the regulations and guarantee impeccable quality and reliability on our packaging. 

 

How do you see the future of the market in this area?

 

We can highlight 3 points: world growth is taking place in this area, it is a market that is more and more demanding in terms of quality and where the regulations are more and more restrictive.

 

What do you enjoy most about living in this part of the world? 

 

The welcome of the people, the dynamism of the area, the challenge for Tournaire because it is a challenge that is difficult to meet given the size of the area and the difference in culture between each of the countries. It is a source of enrichment on a daily basis. 

 

Romain Leclef, GM Asia-Pacific

 

Stéphane Woloszyn travaille au sein de la maintenance chez Tournaire depuis 24 ans.  Il est responsable des TMRS ( technicien de maintenance responsable de secteur) et également coordinateur de maintenance. 

 

Combien y a t’il de machine à superviser ?  

Aujourd’hui le parc machine s’étend en plusieurs secteurs : le parc emballage aluminium et le parc emballage plastique. Nous sommes responsables de toutes les machines et de toutes les infrastructures qui peuvent toucher de près ou de loin ces machines. Nous avons un parc qui va s’étendre sur environ 300 machines qui sont plus ou moins grosses donc c’est difficile à quantifier en machine mais plutôt en quantité d’équipement. 

 

Combien de bidons sont produits chaque jour ? 

Le nombre de bidon par jour est difficile à donner comme ça. Aujourd’hui ces machines ont plusieurs types de bidons à produire et les cadences machines sont différentes les unes des autres. Nous en avons certaines qui peuvent produire 60 pièces par minute et d’autres qui ont des cycles beaucoup plus longs et qui fabriquent une pièce par minute. Nous avons des parcs machines réellement différents entre eux.

 

Comment s’organisent vos journées ? 

Nos journées s’organisent de plusieurs façons avec deux axes. D’abord les pannes qui sont à gérer en priorité et ensuite un rôle de TMRS qui est plus en retrait et qui est là pour gérer la problématique sur l’analytique, la maintenance préventive pour servir au mieux nos clients.

 

Qu’est ce qui vous plaît le plus dans votre métier  ?

La complexité de mon métier chez Tournaire : aujourd’hui on touche tous les domaines aussi bien en électrique, automatisme, hydraulique… nos machines sont très complexes. Aujourd’hui on a des machines assez vieilles et des machines tout à fait récentes. Tournaire s’investit complètement sur la nouvelle vague avec les nouvelles technologies donc au jour le jour on vit avec des machines neuves. 

 

Quels sont les challenges que vous avez eus à surmonter ? 

Nos challenges sont plus ou moins quotidien avec toutes les pannes à résoudre donc la panne d’aujourd’hui est un challenge. Les challenges sont aussi en rapport à un gain de productivité pour nos machines et nos moyens de production. Essayer de gagner un point de productivité est important pour notre entreprise.  

 

Pourquoi rejoindre Tournaire ?

C’est une entreprise vive, pleine d’expérience. Aujourd’hui on peut pleinement s’épanouir dans l’entreprise, c’est une entreprise qui est vraiment active et dynamique et donc c’est une entreprise qui est professionnellement riche. 

 

Pourquoi être resté chez Tournaire après toutes ces années ? 

Depuis 24 ans je ne suis jamais parti car j’ai vraiment touché à tout le cœur de métier de l’entreprise par rapport à la maintenance. Aujourd’hui j’apprends encore et j’apprends toujours. L’entreprise est très facile à vivre et reconnaissante. Je me sens bien chez Tournaire.