"It's fair to say I haven't come across a manufacturer yet that can't make efficiency savings," says Andrew Nicholson, who has worked with manufacturers in the north of England for more than 14 years. Whether it is streamlining processes or improving the layout of the factory floor, there are plenty of ways businesses can become leaner and more efficient.
The good news for small businesses is that they can implement changes quicker than their larger counterparts. "Small companies can be fast, efficient, flexible," says Nicholson, of Nicholson Consultancy, which helps businesses identify efficiency improvements. But there's also a flip side. Staff often have to take on a wider range of tasks and responsibilities as part of their role rather than specialise in a particular area. "In small companies people have to do a larger number of jobs and few people do five jobs well," says Nicholson.
One source of inefficiency that manufacturers should try and eliminate is wasted time. "Waiting is a massive waste in lots of businesses," says Nicholson. "Waiting for decisions, materials, people, information, equipment and so on." However these are all problems that can be fixed. With materials, for example, it's all about "making sure the right materials are available at the right time. Work with external suppliers so that materials arrive just at the right time. It's about building good, long-term relationships with the suppliers."
Something that businesses should bear in mind when they move into a building is its layout and how it could affect the way the company works. Working out of buildings that are several storeys high is not always ideal. Lugging equipment and stock up and down stairs can be time consuming. Another factor that can make a big difference to the efficiency of the production process is the layout of the factory floor. A common time waster is moving products or materials around unnecessarily. For example, taking things to one area of the factory and then moving them back to the original spot. "We've worked with lots of companies where the physical floor is not as good as it could be," says Nicholson. "Having too much stock is also a common waste. It takes up room."
"Another area of waste sounds strange, but it's over engineering," says Nicholson. "It's doing the job too well, making the product too good, they're giving the customer more than they expect without the customer paying the price for it. We come across it with traditional engineering companies."
When assessing whether production is as efficient as it could be, a good method is to draw a map of a how a particular process works. This tends to illustrate what works well and where improvements could be made. "Often people will have good ideas about what can be done," says Nicholson.
United Automation Ltd (UAL), in Southport, sought advice from the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) about improving its manufacturing process. The company, which makes a wide range of products for businesses, including heating, ventilation and air conditioning, catering equipment and electronic control products, is marking its 50 year anniversary by increasing its workforce and also its sales in key markets. UAL therefore needed to ensure its manufacturing processes were lean and cost-effective.
One of the changes it introduced was to its assembling process. Previously the assembling team would pick up the description for a particular job and collect the parts themselves. They also kept components around their desk and, when something ran out or was damaged, they would go and refill it. However this made it difficult to keep track of stock. So the company created a team that pre picked and counted the components for a job. "Then everything's ready to be assembled," explains Dean Fashoni, operations manager at UAL. "We have more control over stock and quality. The whole process is more efficient and fluid." It's also easier to spot when items are accidentally damaged due to the way they are handled. And staff training can be set up to address this. "Less stock is wasted and damaged," says Fashoni.
When it comes to streamlining operations, it's not just on the factory floor where efficiencies can be made. "More and more manufacturers we're working with are looking at non production - back office and admin," says Nicholson. "The issue with back office processing is that the waste and efficiencies are more hidden."
With back office processes it's all about how information is stored and handled. "An electrical company we worked with assumed all the company information was held in their system, in one place, but the information was stored in 42 different places in the company, including in notebooks, A4 pads and in people's heads."
The Printed Cup Company, which makes branded paper cups, has made efficiency improvements to its order processing. Sarah Woodward, operations manager at the company, which is based in Clitheroe, says: "When we first started manufacturing we did all of our orders by paper work. The order came through in the sales office and we'd take it to the building next door where we manufacture." However working this way was time consuming and there was a risk of paperwork going missing.
"We already had an online system where customers approved the artwork online, so we decided to try and build onto it the orders for manufacturing," explains Woodward. "Now it's really simple and easy. When the artwork is approved by the customer it puts the order through." The manufacturing staff have iPads and tablet computers and they receive an email notification of the order. "If we get a big order through for 50,000 cups, they're notified straight away so it's easy to plan the manufacturing, printing and forming of the cups. It's a lot more fool proof and it's a lot quicker."
Nick Brandwood, manufacturing adviser at the Manufacturing Advisory Service North West, says there are some common themes that small manufacturers face. He says inefficiencies derive from a company not having a production schedule. "Or they will have one and it's hidden away in a drawer somewhere. A production schedule shows you what your production plan is for the day or the week." It can help a business measure its performance. "When I'm going into a business, I ask how do you know if you've had a good day or a bad day? That's your trigger for continuous improvements."
The best companies review their performance daily, says Brandwood. "If there's one thing that separates excellent manufacturing from the crowd, it's a 15-minute review on the shop floor in the morning on what the issues are that they are likely to face that day."
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