Bridgestone APM Uses Kronos® to Completely Automate Workforce Management on the Factory Floor, Reducing Labor Costs and Improving Workforce Productivity

 Download Printable Version

Bridgestone APM Company specializes in the design, development, and manufacture of vibration isolation, energy absorbing pads, and foam seating components for the automotive industry. A wholly owned subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation of Japan, the company operates manufacturing plants in Findlay and Upper Sandusky, Ohio, and Dickson, Tennessee.

To position itself for success in the competitive automotive industry, Bridgestone APM focuses on lean manufacturing. The company has also achieved ISO 9001-2000, QS 9000, and ISO 14001 certification, enhancing its internal quality standards and minimizing waste.

Bridgestone APM selected the Kronos Workforce Central^® suite to more effectively manage its workforce with tools for human resources, payroll, time and labor, and absence management. With its support for lean manufacturing, the Kronos solution allows Bridgestone to reduce costs, increase workforce productivity, and improve employee engagement.

From paper to automation

Before Bridgestone APM implemented its Kronos solution, the company relied on paper records for tracking time and attendance. Payroll was outsourced and the company had no human resources system. To track employee information such as FMLA and short-term disability, Bridgestone APM staff accessed information from paper files and three separate databases. With payroll sent to an outside vendor, retrieving custom employee data was costly and time-consuming.

Bridgestone APM first implemented Workforce Timekeeper™, Workforce HR™, and Workforce Payroll™. Workforce Attendance™ went live a year later, and the company plans to add Workforce Leave™ as part of its upgrade to Workforce Central v5.2. Selecting an integrated system from a single vendor that could completely automate its workforce management was an important criterion for Bridgestone. "Kronos is a complete, integrated package that gives us everything we need," says Kim McRill, payroll and benefits supervisor. "You enter the information once, and it's available system-wide. Since we own the data, we can use it how and when we need to."

Completely automated time and attendance reduces labor costs Bridgestone APM runs three shifts daily at its manufacturing plants. All employees use the Kronos 4500™ data collection terminals to enter their information for each shift. Since the information is now captured electronically, supervisors have confidence that employee time is reported accurately. Early punch-ins have been eliminated, allowing Bridgestone APM to reduce overtime and payroll inflation, lowering labor costs. "In a factory setting, it's important for workers to show up on time," says McRill. "They're replacing someone who has to leave in 15 minutes, so they need to be clocked in and walking to their station in order for the other person to finish and clock out. Being late creates overtime, which could become a perpetual and costly issue."

Enforcing attendance policies

Before Kronos, supervisors were unable to effectively track employee attendance, resulting in incorrect recording of perfect attendance bonuses and days off. Attendance policies are now enforced consistently across the company. Bonuses are awarded accurately, and employees can check their attendance status any time through self-service Kronos terminals.

The improved attendance tracking has also helped increase employee engagement, according to McRill. "Employees don't have to worry about what their coworkers are doing because they know people are treated the same across the organization."

Improving payroll and human resources workforce productivity

With the Kronos solution in place, Bridgestone APM has gained control and ownership of its workforce data, allowing the company to reduce costs and more easily share information among departments. Bridgestone APM has cut its weekly payroll processing time by more than half, from six days to two, allowing the payroll staff to devote time to other responsibilities. "Plus, we don’t have to get other departments involved to access the information we need," says Sally Below, senior accountant. "With Kronos, the information is all right there."

One of the biggest advantages for Bridgestone APM in choosing Kronos was the fact that the company could put a human resources management system in place to manage its workforce. Now all employee information is captured by Workforce HR, and the human resources staff can easily access reports, improving productivity. "Before Kronos, it was like pulling teeth to get information," says McRill. "It would take four days just to get a birthday list. Now we can print that report in 30 seconds." Not having to ask an outside agency to pull reports together is another advantage.

Another benefit is the high quality of the information from an accounting standpoint. "I feel confident in the information I'm getting from the Kronos system," says Below. "Whether it's benefits information for auditors or healthcare reimbursements for my manager, I know where the information comes from and that it's high quality."

Minimizing compliance risk

Bridgestone APM is using Kronos to track employee training and certifications, important information in a manufacturing environment. The company tracks new hire and safety training, ISO certifications, and even whether workers have received the employee handbook. Previously this information was written down and kept in folders. "When we get audited, we generate reports and can prove that employees have received all of the training they're supposed to have,"explains McRill.

Future plans

As part of its upgrade to Workforce Central v5.2, Bridgestone APM will be implementing Workforce Leave, which will allow the human resources department to more easily track compliance with regulations such as FMLA and employment eligibility. "We're really looking forward to Workforce Leave," says McRill. "The human resources staff will love it."

Bridgestone APM

"We simply didn't have the operational data needed to effectively manage our labor resources. We needed a system the could provide the information to support labor decisions and assist in smart-sizing our organization."

Kim McRill, Payroll and Benefits Supervisor 


©2009, Kronos Incorporated. Kronos, Kronos logo, and Workforce Central are registered trademarks, and Workforce Timekeeper, Workforce HR, Workforce Payroll, Workforce Attendance, Workforce Leave, and Kronos 4500 are trademarks of Kronos Incorporated or a related company. All other product and company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only, and may be the trademarks of their respective owners. All specifications are subject to change. All rights reserved.