Working Together Towards Inclusive Excellence
Flexpipe’s growing order backlog forced it to look for a reliable partner to assemble 70 flowracks. The natural choice was Groupe AFFI, an NPO dedicated to the employment and professional development of people with functional limitations.
In an ever-changing business world, where strategic collaborations can be the key to success, Flexpipe and Groupe AFFI recently joined forces for a promising collaboration. In addition to respecting the values of continuous improvement and social inclusion, this collaboration demonstrated the versatility of the Groupe AFFI and proved that performance knows no bounds!
Faced with growing demand and an expanding order book, Flexpipe sought a reliable partner to meet its production needs. Continuous improvement is an integral part of who we are and what we do. We focus on a safe and healthy work environment, skills development, and innovation. Our mission of social involvement is collaborative and inclusive, to establish a dynamic and growing collective network. We naturally chose the Groupe AFFI, a subcontractor who shares our values.
At Flexpipe, continuous improvement is not limited to product or service quality. It also extends to the company’s ethics, its social impact, and its ability to collaborate with other organizations sharing similar values. Flexpipe has always believed in a dynamic and inclusive economy, where collaboration is synonymous with ambition.
Groupe AFFI: An inclusive vision
Groupe AFFI stands out as a Non-Profit Organization (NPO) dedicated to the employment and professional development of people with functional limitations. Its mission is built around values such as human respect, excellence, flexibility, and self-improvement. Groupe AFFI offers subcontracting services by hiring staff with functional limitations, where diversified services are provided reliably and efficiently for small and large mandates. The promise of performance goes hand in hand with social commitment. With a dedicated team of 650 members, the majority of whom have functional limitations, Groupe AFFI is positioned as a key player in the food, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and consumer retail sectors.
Training and human development
One of Groupe AFFI’s strengths lies in its commitment to ongoing employee training. From French to mathematics, social skills to finance, a variety of training courses are offered, enabling employees to develop their skills and realize their full potential.
When excellence rhymes with innovation and adaptability
The mandate entrusted to Groupe AFFI was an ambitious one: to assemble over 70 flowracks in just 3 weeks. Thanks to a dedicated team and a methodical approach, Groupe AFFI not only met the challenge, but also exceeded expectations, completing the mandate in just 2 weeks.
Groupe AFFI demonstrated its expertise and commitment to excellence. They demonstrated remarkable adaptability, creating ingenious templates to ensure quality and conformity between the assembled flowracks. It took just 2 or 3 days to increase the production rate and assemble 18 racks a day instead of 10.
“Since many employees don’t have the skills to read a tape measure, these templates are used to ensure that the distance between connector joints is always the same from one rack to the next.”
Explains Kateryna, Supervisor at Groupe AFFI.
By considering the limitations of certain employees, tailor-made solutions were developed, illustrating the spirit of innovation and inclusion that characterizes Groupe AFFI.
Flexpipe provided detailed drawings, a model flowrack and all pre-cut and identified parts to facilitate the task, which was greatly appreciated by the supervisors at Groupe AFFI. They then analyzed and deconstructed each assembly step as a separate task on several assembly line stations. Each assembly station was then clearly color-coded, making it easier to assemble each part of the rack.
“Teamwork takes on its full meaning, it’s as if our products were theirs!”
Affirms Benjamin Ricard, General Manager at Flexpipe.
The supervisors were very attentive to the employees and their limitations, showing respect and flexibility. Unlike the projects they are used to doing, the one proposed by Flexpipe was quite diversified and included a physical task portion. All agreed that it was an enjoyable and different project to do!