Andrzej Kaniewski worked in a team under my leadership, on work optimization for CEMEX aggregate plants in Poland and the Czech Republic. His responsibility was to propose, elaborate and implement optimization measures directly at the plants. I appreciated his ingenuity and persistence in overcoming emerging personal and technical problems.
As Project Manager for all Xella plants in Poland, I have collaborated with Andrzej Kaniewski on implementing savings and investment projects at the production plant in Radom, where he was Plant Manager. I appreciate Andrzej for his passion in reaching the root causes of problems, his diligence and commitment. The plant changed radically under his guidance. This was especially noticeable in the mentality of the whole crew.
I worked on the team with Andrzej Kaniewski as part of the Optimisation Group at Cemex Poland – Aggregates Division for Poland and the Czech Republic.
During our cooperation, Andrzej Kaniewski was responsible for the Toothpaste Department. He was a pioneer of Lean solutions in this area. If he was convinced of the rightness of any action, he undertook it immediately, and he worked all of them out together with his subordinates. He understood very well the essence of the relation between planning-production-storage-shipping.
My cooperation with Andrzej Kaniewski concerned optimisation measures in the field of production, quality, sales, and new product implementation at the Sibelco plant in Bukowno. Excellent relations with subordinates, exceptional persistence in the pursuit of improving the plant’s performance, openness to cooperation, and creativity – this is how I see Andrzej. After only a few months, the plant under his management has changed beyond recognition in every aspect of activity.
Working at Sibelco was an opportunity to cooperate with Andrzej Kaniewski. The object of this cooperation was preparing the plant of which Andrzej was the manager to meet the quality and performance demands of a new strategic customer. He fulfilled the task very well, all the while not avoiding honest communication regarding the risks related to the project.
I worked with Andrzej on behalf of the technical department and Maintenance Division. It was fun to cooperate with someone who is not afraid of responsibility and recognises solving problems at the source as his main task, not sweeping problems under the rug. Andrzej hated unproductive meetings and computer systems, and he spent most time at the production site, solving real problems of the Department. He understood that the purpose of the enterprise is not just to produce goods, but to generate income.