MMK employees’ innovation and efficiency efforts have increasing impact
In the first half of 2024, Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) achieved a total of RUB 284.2 million in savings thanks to the implementation of innovation and efficiency proposals submitted by Company personnel. This represented a 7.5% increase compared with the same period the previous year and exceeded the savings from innovative ideas submitted for the whole of 2022.
Since 2019, MMK has saved more than RUB 2.87 billion thanks to its innovation and efficiency efforts.
“Innovation and invention are fundamental to our development, helping us gain competitive advantages and reinforcing our leading positions in the mining and metals industry,” said Andrey Kartunov, head of MMK’s Science and Technology Centre. “Our employees not only show great initiative, but their proposals are also of exceptional quality. More than three quarters of all the ideas submitted in the first six months of 2024 were approved for implementation, which is an excellent result.”
In the first half of the year, the Company paid out RUB 13.9 million in bonuses to staff members whose proposals were accepted and another RUB 7.2 million for supporting implementation.
MMK takes a systematic approach to its innovation and efficiency efforts. The Company holds annual conferences aimed at encouraging employees to engage in research and development work, where young engineers can present their projects and inventions. The Company’s business divisions hold quarterly competitions to find the best solutions to challenging issues. In addition, annual competitions are held to identify the Company’s top young innovators and inventors as well as the best efficiency proposals. The Fresh Ideas campaign, held annually to coincide with Inventor and Innovator Day, also promotes innovative thinking among staff. This year, a record 833 ideas were submitted as part of the campaign, up from 549 in 2023.
The plant’s innovative staff have received high-level recognition for their efforts on numerous occasions. In March 2024, MMK received two gold medals and two silvers at the 27th Archimedes Moscow International Salon of Inventions and Innovation Technologies for its submissions of three inventions and one digital product.