2010 Award Categories

Terms and Conditions regarding the HMA Board Award

The winner of this Award will be rewarded with an overseas trip for 2 people to a renowned Trade Expo. The trip is to take place in April, 2011 and will be arranged through the HMA's "In Kind" Travel Sponsors, Travelworld Newcastle.

The prize covers the cost of 2 economy class return airfares with Qantas Airways (Sydney-destination-Sydney), plus $2,000 per person toward accommodation and incidental allowances. For more information relating to this prize, please visit the HMA website at http://www.huntermanufacturing.org.au/

As a follow up to the trip, a report is to be submitted (within one month of returning from the trip) to the HMA Board, demonstrating the benefits and impact of the trip on the person/s and/or company. The information will be used by HMA to profile and promote future Awards and will be posted on the HMA website to highlight the successful outcomes available by winning such a prize.

The HMA Board Award will be judged separately from other Award categories and will be awarded to the company/person who is judged as having the potential to gain the most benefit from such a trip.

Eligibility

Nominations are open to any manufacturing company who has made an application for an award in at least one or a number of the 2010 listed award general categories (Marketing, Innovation, Product Design, Technology, Manufacturing Process, Export of Manufactured Goods, Training, Environmental Practice, Safety or Employee of the Year) as well as submitting the other compulsory application of Manufacturer of the Year.

Applicants should demonstrate how such a trip would benefit them in terms of any or all, but not limited to, the following: gaining knowledge/skills/technology to enhance existing projects, gaining knowledge/skills/technology to benefit planned projects, growth of the company/person, importance to the company/person of establishing contacts that allow them to expand their area of expertise/market, improvement to the business operations/profitability/safety.

Excellence in Marketing

Nominations are open to any manufacturing company that has introduced an innovative marketing programme that has contributed to any or all of the following: increased sales, improved market share, establishment of new markets and increased profitability of a manufacturing company's goods or services (please provide evidence of these effects where possible).

The judges will look for examples of excellence in Marketing that include, but are not limited to, packaging, promotional methods, method for measuring cost versus return, email/website activities, visual branding and suitability of programme for the purpose and target market

Excellence in Product Design

Nominations are open to any manufacturing company that has introduced an innovative product design. The product may be at the prototype stage, or fully commercially developed. Applications should demonstrate how the product design has increased sales, improved the productivity or increased the quality or safety of the business due to the introduction of the new product/design (provide evidence of these effects where possible).

The judges will look for examples of innovation in product design that include, but are not limited to originality, performance, design development and process improvement.

Excellence in Innovation

Nominations are open to any manufacturing company that has introduced an innovative product, process or service that has contributed to reducing costs, increasing sales, improving the quality or safety of a manufacturing company's goods or services (provide evidence of these effects where possible).

The judges will look for examples of excellence in Innovation that include, but are not limited to, aesthetics, simplicity, longevity, cost, performance, originality and impact on safety.

Excellence in Technology

Nominations are open to any manufacturing company that has developed a new technology or has applied existing technology in a novel way that has increased sales, improved the productivity or increased the quality of its goods or services and positively impacted on safety due to the introduction of the new technology (provide evidence of these effects where possible).

The judges will look for examples of innovations in technology that include, but are not limited to, new invention, performance, technology development, process improvement and e-commerce or e-trading applications.

Excellence in Manufacturing Process

Excellence in manufacturing process may be assessed by measuring a number of important inputs and outputs. Completion of the following questionnaire will constitute your entry in this section.

Nominations are open to any manufacturing company that has developed or introduced a manufacturing process that has improved the quality of the product or the safety or productivity of the process (provide evidence of these effects where possible).

The judges will look for examples of innovations in the manufacturing process that include, but are not limited to, effective manufacturing control (lean or competitive manufacturing techniques), introduction of incentive schemes, reduction in energy usage, process time and ‘work in progress', reduction in inventory levels and efficient supply chain management.

Excellence in manufacturing process may be assessed by measuring a number of important inputs and outputs. Completion of the following questionnaire will constitute your entry in this section.

Nominations are open to any manufacturing company that has developed or introduced a manufacturing process that has improved the quality of the product or the safety or productivity of the process (provide evidence of these effects where possible).

The judges will look for examples of innovations in the manufacturing process that include, but are not limited to, effective manufacturing control (lean or competitive manufacturing techniques), introduction of incentive schemes, reduction in energy usage, process time and ‘work in progress', reduction in inventory levels and efficient supply chain management.

Excellence in Training

Nominations are open to any manufacturing company that has introduced an innovative training programme that has contributed to an improvement in the performance of a manufacturing company (provide tangible evidence of these improvements where possible). 

The training may be in partnership with any training provider, registered training organisation (RTO) or other company, but, the category is open only to the company that employs those undertaking training.

The judges will look for examples of innovation in training demonstrated by, but not limited to, ‘out of the ordinary' concept, provision of meaningful, measurable, ‘portable' qualifications, improvements in overall company skill levels and operational performance, evidence of ‘co-operative' training arrangements, use of multiple delivery vehicles and improved morale.

Environmental Excellence  - Improvement in Environmental Practice / Environmental Initiative

1. Nominations are open to any manufacturing company that has contributed towards reducing the impact of manufacturing on the environment (provide evidence of these effects where requested). The judges will look for examples of innovations in environmental practice that include, but are not limited to, recycling of materials and/or products, innovative disposal or reuse of waste materials, manufacturing activity that reduces the impact of the operation on the environment, energy efficient production and operational processes, products which themselves have a positive environmental impact, innovative solutions to environmental management problems.
2. Nominations are open to any manufacturing company that has introduced a significant environmental initiative or have improved their overall environmental performance that has contributed to reducing the impact of manufacturing on the environment. The judges will be looking for the following - A significant environmental initiative - a significant environmental initiative will have resulted in a substantial improvement to the environmental performance of the business within the initiative area.  This could include energy management, green house emissions, waste management, recycling of materials, environmental awareness, etc.  Judges of an environmental initiative submission will be seeking an in-depth evaluation of the benefits to the environment and the business associated with the initiative.  Information to be provided should include, background justification and support for the initiative, pre initiative performance, post initiative performance, equivalent business KPI's, details of innovative aspects associated with the initiative, employee and management involvement, sustainability of the initiative and promotion of the initiative.

Excellence in Safety

Nominations are open to any manufacturing company that has introduced an innovative safety programme that has contributed to an improvement in the health, safety and well being of employees, customers or the community (please provide evidence of this where requested, e.g. lti/mti figures, no of injuries and near misses, no. of days injury free, impact on workers compensation policy, sick days, etc).

The judges will look for examples of innovation in safety and safety systems demonstrated by, but not limited to, ‘out of the ordinary' safety systems approach, positive impact on employee safety, health and wellbeing, improved employee motivation and morale, evidence of the development of a ‘safety culture', hazard and/or risk/accident reduction and increased awareness of OH&S procedures/policies.

Excellence in Export of Manufactured Goods

Nominations are open to any manufacturing company that has made a recent significant increase in the export of its products, or penetrated a new export market (provide tangible evidence of this outcome where possible).

The judges will look for examples of export excellence demonstrated by, but not limited to, the development of export strategy, evidence of increased export in volume or location, increased sales and/or labour force and the originality of the penetration strategy.

Manufacturing Employee of the Year

Nominations are open to any FRONTLINE EMPLOYEE AND/OR SENIOR MANAGER from a manufacturing company who has made an outstanding personal contribution to a manufacturing business.

The judges will look for documented examples of personal achievement by the nominee that include but are not limited to innovation, outstanding personal contribution or result achieved, completed tasks with quality results, improvement in safety, productivity or profitability directly attributable to the activities of the nominated individual

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 Manufacturer of the Year - COMPULSORY APPLICATION

The Premier Award winner will be selected from applicants from any of the HMA Award categories. The basis of successful selection for this Award is via a weighting system for finalists among applications for the other Award categories. This means that an organisation that has submitted applications for multiple categories, but not actually been selected as a winner for any of those categories, may in fact win the Manufacturer of the Year Award.

The winner of this Award will be rewarded with an overseas trip to a renowned Trade Expo. The trip is to take place in April, 2011 and will be arranged through the HMA's "In Kind" Travel Sponsors, Travelworld Newcastle.

The prize covers the cost of 1 economy class return airfare with Qantas Airways (Sydney-destination-Sydney), plus $2,000 toward accommodation and incidental allowances. For more information relating to this prize, please visit the HMA website at http://www.huntermanufacturing.org.au/

As a follow up to the trip, a report is to be submitted (within one month of returning from the trip) to the HMA Board, demonstrating the benefits and impact of the trip on the person/s and/or company. The information will be used by HMA to profile and promote future Awards and to highlight the successful outcomes available by winning such a prize.

As winner of the Manufacturer of the Year Award, your organisation will be held up as a benchmark for others to follow. One of the conditions of winning this Award is to allow a factory/site tour by other applicants, so that they can see the standard for which you have been recognised by the HMA Award process.

Judging Criteria

The judges will look for demonstrable examples of innovation across a wide range of business activities, encompassing the entire supply chain, manufacturing processes, marketing, OH&S activities and training.