Author: Rap Industries

West vs East – Why British Manufacturing Can Be Optimistic for the Future

China has long been considered the world’s factory, producing a quarter of all global manufactured goods. With such tight control over the market, China has been edging out global competition with the prospect of a cheap yet skilled labour force. Their dominance in manufacturing has led to exponential economic growth over at least the past two decades, however things have begun to change. In what is being dubbed China’s ‘economic slowdown’, the economy continues to grow, however it is no longer at the considerable pace which it had been and that is cause for optimism for other corners of the world.

The prospect of a cheap yet skilled workforce has seen many British manufacturers make the move east to a country where there are more jobs than workers and staff are prepared to move thousands of miles for the right job.  Whereas in Britain, the workforce is shrinking with greater focus on automated technology as well as an aging workforce and very little incentive for younger generations to follow a career path in manufacturing. The result has left British manufacturers struggling to compete on a global stage, all while in China alone, competition continues to be incredibly fierce as companies fight to make the most of China’s economic boom.

However, China’s recent economic policies have leaned towards invigorating its services sector while manufacturing has been somewhat neglected. At the same time, as education levels in China rise, workers are literally able to pick and choose their employer as they realise the value of their skills. Some go as far as to ask for significant wage rises as they know they can achieve the same working at another manufacturer. This attitude has led to the average wage rising from twenty pence an hour to one pound in recent years. Considering that moving manufacturing to China can save around fifty pence per unit, the financial benefit of moving to China is beginning to wane.

This is where Britain now has an opportunity to regain a stake in the global manufacturing market. While Asia and the east has dominated low cost products, British manufacturing still retains a significant reputation amongst the global audience for high quality, reliable products. With a highly skilled workforce combined with innovative technology, British manufacturing still has a lot to offer at the high end of the market. While manufacturing in the east can offer speed and quantity, the west instead creates products which undergo rigorous quality assurance and are very often hand finished.

As Britain moves to make its manufacturing industry great again, it is already ahead of the east as it aims for sustainability. While Chinese policies benefit a snowball-esque approach to meeting demand, Britain has the infrastructure to foster and develop smaller, more innovative companies which are at the heart of technological progress. For fans of products ‘Made in Britain’, there is cause for quiet optimism if British manufacturers continue to use their skills and innovation to compete with the competition.

#MadeInBritain #BritishManufacturers

In 2011, George Osbourne, Chancellor of the Exchequer declared: “we want the words ‘Made in Britain’ to drive our nation forward” in an address aimed at rejuvenating Britain’s manufacturing industry. Businesses in this sector stagnated and declined during the recession having previously been a driving factor in Britain’s economic growth. Between 2010 and 2012, British manufacturing was on the up again as a weak pound and growing consumer habits began to kick-start the industry, however that growth has not been sustainable and recent statistics have revealed that manufacturing in Britain is beginning to stagnate once again.

To provide some context, the manufacturing industry accounts for 10% of the United Kingdom’s economy, with the vast remainder being made up by the services sector. In 2015, for the first time in years, British manufacturing failed to contribute to the country’s economic recovery as its growth leant on the fragile services industry. Essentially, a sector which has been a staple of the UK’s economy for centuries is continuing to wane amidst global economic uncertainty and burgeoning Asian markets.

With 2016 well under way, a variety of factors threaten to afflict a stagnating sector. Government policies including the impact of the living wage, interest rate hikes as well as the EU referendum have hardly signalled that now is the time to expand for British manufacturers and instead have only served to increase uncertainty around the industry. Evidently, rather than the words ‘Made in Britain’ driving it forward, the economy is increasingly propped upon the services sector which is currently very unstable.

Such uncertainty has claimed some British Industries such as steel amid fierce competition with burgeoning Asian markets. However, this is not the case for all British manufacturers with some bucking the trend and posting growth in the past 12 months. Aerospace, motoring as well as many other industries continue to thrive with British manufacturers leading the market.

As companies continue to innovate with marketing strategies, greater value is placed on the value of networking and being able to interact with clients face-to-face. As such, the displays industry is one which continues to grow and British manufacturers are at the forefront to provide for leading organisations travelling to events across the world. For businesses both big and small seeking to expand their audience, trade shows and exhibitions have become crucibles for organisations looking to foster new relationships and meet prospective customers.

While there is clearly a growing disproportion between Britain’s manufacturing and services industry, it is not all doom and gloom for advocates of ‘Made in Britain’. As staple British industries decline, smaller businesses are stepping up as leaders in their respective markets in the face of growing global competition.

How You Can Inspire Creativity and Innovation in Your Business

A core component for businesses to develop and grow is being able to consistently innovate and push the boundaries of the market. This is not the responsibility of those at the top though, as great ideas can be fostered from anyone in the company which is why it is important to create an environment which provides the nutrients for great ideas to grow.

Creativity and innovation are what drives economic growth and it can often take a hundred ideas to find 10 successful ones which is why inspiring it can be a long but rewarding process. The biggest challenge facing anyone trying to foster creativity in the workplace, is that it takes time and patience with staff to really achieve, but once the ideas are flowing there is immense room to expand and improve.

First you need to establish the foundations to allow creativity and innovation to flourish. The best way to achieve this it to create a work space which encourages collaboration and ultimately is an enjoyable space for staff to work in. Rather than installing a series of private offices, instead break down the walls and open the office to all of your staff which will encourage them to collaborate more.

Increased conversations inevitably lead to increased noise but this can be easily solved. Delta Acoustic Screens make the perfect addition to any creative environment as the absorbent acoustic foam is great for soaking up sound in open offices while the vibrant design is ideal for providing stimulation.

An environment which staff will enjoy working in is the first step to fostering creativity and to really get the ideas flowing requires opening your mind to how people work and not expecting them to have their heads down at their desks all day as it is highly unlikely that you will get the best out of them.

You can’t expect creativity and innovation to flow over night, instead staff need to be given time and space to think in order to develop their ideas. By introducing Delta Acoustic Screens, staff are given more privacy with their work which allows them to complete it at their own pace while also thinking outside of your business in general.

Here they are given room to nurture and grow without stressful expectations and as they begin to develop, so do fresh ideas and perspectives. It is important to embrace failure and encourage risks in this situation as there is no way to create a creative flow of ideas without pushing the boundaries. As mentioned before, while some innovations may not be as successful, there will those few which will truly benefit your business and help it to expand.

You can never know who a great idea will come from, but by creating an environment which encourages your staff to be free to fulfil their potential, some of them may just surprise you. Delta Acoustic Screens are a great addition to create this type of environment or to enhance the work space your currently have.

With acoustic foam included, they are ideal for use in open offices to allow staff to concentrate and to develop their own thoughts without the risk of distractions.

Furthermore, Delta Screens from Rap Industries are available in many vibrant fabric colours to add a dash of colour to the office which will go a long way to stimulating staff and creating an environment they will want to work in.

How to Strike the Right Balance Between Collaboration and Privacy with Your Office Design?

A key factor in office culture which developed during the 1970s and 1980s was a perceived notion that by giving staff complete privacy would lead to an increase in their productivity and efficiency. This led to the conception of the cubicle layout, a flimsy multitude of boxes which are set up in massive cube blocks which distinctly resemble the same environment which battery hens are raised in. Developed with the promise of your own little patch to customise and in response to the classroom styled layouts which came before it, the cubicle design on paper seemingly had it all.

The practicality of them quickly became apparent as organisations adapted their offices with the ‘innovative’ new design. The initial negative factor was noise and unsurprisingly, packing people into tight, modular layouts means you can hear everyone talking, phones ringing and chairs creaking all of the time. Rather than giving staff privacy, the cubicle layout only makes productivity worse by introducing a tirade of distractions. Ever since, designers have been trying to create designs that provide much needed private space while opening up employees to collaboration. Delta Acoustic Screens adopt the privacy provided by a cubicle screen but cut it in half allowing natural light to flow through the room and incorporates acoustic foam to soak up unwanted sound.

The failure of the cubicle design has led to the rise of the ‘living office’ which combines the best of private and social space. While maintaining the same open office layout, desks are arranged in friendly clusters to create an environment which encourages collaboration. The living office layout is benefited significantly by allowing significantly more natural light to flow through which creates a more comfortable and calming atmosphere.

Noise is a notorious problem with open office layouts and has led to acoustics becoming an increasingly integral part of the design process. Without putting on a pair of noise cancelling headphones or creating a series of private offices, the best way of reducing ambient office noise is by introducing soft surfaces such as carpets, partition screens and even walls. More innovative solutions involve creating flexible work spaces for staff where they feel most comfortable for the work they are doing, but this simply is not feasible for small businesses where space is scarce.

The need to create a positive mix of collaboration with privacy are what the Delta Acoustic Screens are designed to address. Many small businesses simply don’t have the budget to completely re-design the office, but with minor adjustments to the arrangement of the office combined with acoustic absorbent screens, you can create a balance of encouraging creativity while providing the privacy which staff need to complete their work. The size and design of the screen is up to you, meaning there is the option to allow more collaboration with a curved top design or provide more privacy with a straight top. Each Delta Acoustic Screen is developed with an eye-catching design, so they will even introduce a stylish and modern touch to your office.

Schools can be one of the hardest environments to get right in order to encourage children to concentrate and develop. With distractions aplenty in the classroom, there are some subtle factors that can be influenced to help children to learn. The effect of sound, colour and light can create a better quality of life for young people simply by boosting mood and motivation. The challenge is incorporating all of these aspects together to create an environment which isn’t cluttered and overpowering and therefore it is important to strike the right balance during the design process.

When considering what hinders learning in the classroom, the most obvious factor is noise and idle chatter in particular. Vocal classmates can be a constant distraction and this is no different in the adult realm where vocal colleagues can be equally as frustrating. With an increasing budget available for classroom design, this opens the opportunity to acquire acoustic control in order to absorb and control volume levels in learning environments.

While soft materials such as carpets can help, the addition of partition walls can maintain the open aspect of the classroom while adding a physical element to help children to concentrate. Delta Acoustic Screens incorporate acoustic absorbent foam to soak up classroom chatter while it also includes a funky design to create a more child friendly environment. The acoustic qualities of these partition screens help to reduce reverberating sound and results in allowing students and teachers to hear more clearly.

The effect of colour has been well documented because of the subliminal impact it can have on people. While this has been heavily focused towards the workplace amongst others, a recent study from the University of Salford highlights the positive influence it can have for students. The study revealed the need to strike the right balance with colour as a blanket approach rated poorly with children. While white walls are considered a staple in many educational environments, the impact is in fact detrimental to learning and leads to restlessness as well as difficulties with concentration.

Equally, bright colours lead to over simulation and only serve to distract children further. Creating a healthy balance with colour can be achieved by blending colour with carpets, blinds, partitions as well as the walls where a single, brightly coloured wall was found to be the most effective. In general, blue shades can slow down the heart rate resulting in a calming effect, while greens are subconsciously linked to fertility, thus encouraging creativity. Brighter colours such as red and orange can be very stimulating when used in moderation, making them an ideal colour to be used with partition screens.

The benefit of Delta Acoustic Screens is that they combine these two beneficial factors together to help children to concentrate and to encourage them to learn. Designed with acoustics in mind, each screen absorbs the chatter of more vocal students to help the whole classroom to focus. The child friendly design is great for adding some life to the classroom, making it a more enjoyable and calming environment to study.

If you are interested in finding out more about the options available with the Delta Acoustic Screens, or you would like to know more about how we can manufacture the screens to fit your classroom then please get in contact with our team. You can reach them by calling 01733 394941 or by e-mailing our sales team on sales@rapind.com.

Call centres are becoming increasingly integral cogs for various businesses as they adapt from being tarred with the image of being telemarketers. Instead, call centres have become the foremost way for businesses to communicate with their customers. Despite the rise of social media, customers still feel considerably more comfortable in getting solutions to their problems by speaking to a member of staff over the phone. To get the very best out of your staff when interacting with customers, it is crucial to ensure they are happy in the first place and guaranteeing they are in a comfortable environment when trying to find solutions for customers.

You can invest heavily in training staff for customer service, but this all will mean very little if they are unsatisfied with the environment they work in which inevitably filters down to your customers. The best way to ensure this does not happen is by designing a comfortable office layout which does not reduce staff to sitting in cubicles which are laid out like a cattle market. Instead, innovative design combined with careful use of colour can help staff to appreciate the space they work in, thereby subsequently resulting in better interactions with your customers.

A recent study showed that by having a well-designed layout then equated to longer calls and more satisfactory conversations with customers. One way of achieving a design such as this is with a Delta Acoustic Screen which combines the practicality of a partition screen in an open office with acoustic qualities to trap and absorb ambient office noise. The ideal part of partition screens is that they are portable and future proofed, which means they can adapt to your office whether you continue to grow or whether you need to create temporary space during different parts of the year.

As well as design, another subtle influence which can affect the mood of staff in call centres is the colour which surrounds them. Stereotypical partitions in call centres are generally grey, ugly and generally depressing which is one of the reasons call centres have generated such a poor reputation. With Delta Acoustic Screens, they feature a fresh and stylish design and are available in 20 different fabric colours so you can mix the colours to boost the mood in the office. In particular, shades of green are very well suited to a call centre environment as they prevent eye fatigue which is an increasingly common issue for staff looking at a computer screen for hours at a time.

Delta Partition Screens are designed to add a modern twist to the environment which is wrongly considered to be a grind. By rejuvenating the office space, you can invigorate the mood of your staff which has then been shown to boost relations with your customers. While it is an investment initially, the payoff can be significant by strengthening relations with clients which further down the line can lead to even more.

If your call centre could benefit from a revitalised team atmosphere and you would like to know more about how Delta Acoustic Screens can help you to achieve this, then you can get in touch with our team of advisors by calling 01733 394941 or by dropping them an e-mail at sales@rapind.com.