From Pink Slips to Pay Raise!

Background

A century old refinery with multiple plants was stymied by its inability to make money after many generations of profitability. Several thousand people were at risk of loosing their jobs, and the community at large was in jeopardy. The refinery's holding company believed it was time to return the plants to profitability, or to close down all operations.

Objective

SGS partner was commissioned by the oil refinery to assess the situation and to determine the following:

1. Does the organization have the appropriate resources to make money?
2. How can the company conserve energy and reduce expenses while increasing production?
3. What other initiatives need to be put in place for the organization to succeed?

Short term, the refinery had to prove it had the capability to reduce overall costs to return to profitability.

Key Results

• Seven task forces were created to generate ideas for conserving energy and producing it cheaper.
• In excess of 500 ideas were documented, analyzed for validity and prioritized
• Ideas turned into mandates and the team went to work on implementation

Commentary

The refinery was promised a return on investment of $21 million over a 3 year period. $28 million in savings was actually delivered within 1 year of project conclusion! In addition, all jobs were retained and community growth continued.