Brainstorming BMW workers at the Mini plant in Cowley have saved the company £10.5m in the last two years.

Staff at the factory are asked to come up with three ideas a year which will make their jobs easier and help save money.

Out of 14,333 ideas put forward last year, 11,064 were put into practice - a take-up of more than 80 per cent and well ahead of the company target of 9,000.

The brainwaves range from simple ideas, such as using a smaller size of paper, to complex engineering solutions on the production line.

More than 200 teams have been created, with the power to tackle production issues.

Every month, the production line is stopped for 90 minutes to allow the teams to discuss how they are to put ideas into action.

Paint shop process manager Norman Evans's team came up with a way of preventing damage to fuel flaps during the spraying process. It saved the company £94,000.

Mr Evans said: "It was very satisfying to participate in a workshop that had such a positive outcome."

As a reward, individual teams are treated to days out at sports and motoring events and every worker receives an annual bonus in their wages if they exceed their target.

The drive to generate ideas and make savings is part of BMW's Continuous Improvement Process strategy across all its 24 factories in 15 countries.

Nicola Scott, head of change management at the plant, said: "People are excited and proud about what they have achieved and it also means they have improved the quality of the car and their working environment."

Dr Tony Heiss, managing director of the Oxford plant, said: "We have moved away from a strongly directive management style to a much more autonomous teamworking approach.

"This places the achievement of plant improvement targets directly into the hands of our employees and makes a real difference."