Projects with the European Union Regional’s development Fund Support

SANTIAGO PONS QUINTANA, S.A. has implemented four innovation projects during 2017 and 2018, in the factory of Alaior, Menorca, with the support of the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) and the Government of the Balearic Islands.

1.- 2017 - Improvement of Productivity in the Mounting and Packaging sections, through the implementation of the "LEAN MANAGEMENT" system.

The design and manufacture of footwear is one of the few economic activities of the secondary sector that are still present in Menorca. Its dimensions and positive externalities for the Minorcan economy are important both directly and indirectly since it is one of the most important pillars with future perspectives, apart of the tourism.

The footwear companies that stills exist in Menorca to date are still making very  large investments in product innovation, machinery and training, however the constant increase in insularity, the relocation of competition,  and also the need to add to the prices of the raw materials all the transport costs that it represents due to our location, all these points are a great challenge as well as the need to take decisive actions to improve the efficiency of production procedures and internal operation.

The project carried out with the support of the Balearic Government and the Regional Development Funds of the European Union (Operational Program ERDF 2014-2020 of the Balearic Islands) is for us a “ point of inflexion“ in the production procedures of PONS QUINTANA. This plan makes the employers who work with PONS QUINTANA product more engaged on a daily basis, with the aim of improving both the organization of production and the quality of our products.

The system used to carry out this project is called "Lean Management" or “production without waste” . This method has its origin in the automotive industry in order to increase the productivity and efficiency, eliminating the waste of time, transportation, overprocessing, stocks, movements and overproduction.

It starts from the an analysis of a collection of concrete data, set up of the reliable indicators and above all with the people involved in the process to reduce costs,  increasing product quality and service. It includes all the production stages of the mentioned sections and it tends to systematize and modernize the manufacturing process which is a novelty in the Menorca footwear sector.

2.- 2017 - Development of an Application for picking orders automatically.

Secondly, we have also completed the design and implementation of an application that allows the employees and representatives of PONS QUINTANA, the automatic loading of orders in the computer system of the company, avoiding the waste of time in the writing manual and the errors that multiple transcriptions can cause in the orders and in their manufacture and service.

3.- 2018 - Improvement of Productivity in the stitching sections, through the implementation of the "LEAN MANAGEMENT" system.

The project carried out with the support of the Balearic Government and the Regional Development Funds of the European Union (Operational Program ERDF 2014-2020 of the Balearic Islands) is for us a “ point of inflexion“ in the production procedures of PONS QUINTANA. This plan makes the employers who work with PONS QUINTANA product more engaged on a daily basis, with the aim of improving both the organization of production and the quality of our products.

The system used to carry out this project is called "Lean Management" or “production without waste” . This method has its origin in the automotive industry in order to increase the productivity and efficiency, eliminating the waste of time, transportation, over processing, stocks, movements and overproduction.

It starts from the an analysis of a collection of concrete data, set up of the reliable indicators and above all with the people involved in the process to reduce costs,  increasing product quality and service. It includes all the production stages of the stitching section and it tends to systematize and modernize the manufacturing process which is a novelty in the Menorca footwear sector.

4.- 2018 - Implementation of a 3-dimensional design system.

The design process has evolved in recent times associated with the need to anticipate trends and respond to the market as quickly as possible. Through the 3-dimensional design system, it is intended to have the basis for the operation of the new machinery in the sector, and the development, from the beginning, of visible models in volume that accelerate the decision processes, eliminate the manufacture of unnecessary prototypes, increase the ability to react through model renderings, and reduce time and costs associated with traditional design systems. All this has been done based on the existing systems and the productive machinery that works at the moment in the field of computer design of two dimensions.