Seminars

Back to Basics – A real business case for Lean Manufacturing

0915 - 1000


CALLING ALL MANUFACTURERS... What would you do with a 25% improvement in efficiency in your business?

Are you struggling to survive and grow as we move out of the recession?  Do you need to save costs, eliminate waste and tighten up on efficiency?

This FREE seminar hosted by MAS aims to bring things back to basics for manufacturers – presenting a proper business case for Lean Manufacturing.

Featuring a case study presentation from Gerald Smith Production director of metal component manufacturers Darron SBO, who have used a Lean manufacturing approach to guide them through an extremely difficult period in their history as their industry continues to be effected by the economic downturn.
Find out:

  • How a properly devised Lean strategy will deliver real cost savings as just one natural output amongst a host of other business benefits.
  • How to identify and reduce wasted activity throughout your organisation.
  • How to get buy-in from your workforce to start making their own improvements.
  • How to achieve a sustained continuous improvement culture.

Delivered by:

  • Kerry Cochran, MAS Specialist and Owner of Lean Business Solutions Ltd has been working with MAS for five years and has considerable experience in leading culture change programmes and continuous improvement activities. 
  • Brian Keeley, MAS Specialist is the former director of Brighouse-based manufacturer Heritage Ceramics, and is now using his expertise and experience in reducing costs to help other businesses in the industry.

The Heritage Ceramics factory closed last November when its parent company moved manufacturing overseas but, following his success in implementing Lean at the company, Brian was immediately asked to join MAS approved specialists ‘Lean Business Solutions’ to help firms across Yorkshire & Humber reduce waste and improve efficiency.

Both Kerry and Brian believe that ‘Lean’ thinking has been instrumental in allowing manufacturing companies to battle through the recession and come out fighting on the other side.

Gerald Smith, Production Director of Darron SBO

Founded in 1969, Darron SBO (part of the Schoeller-Bleckmann group) manufactures and supplies a range of high quality components to the gas and oil industries.  Its Yorkshire site employs 100+ people, many of whom have in-depth knowledge of advanced engineering materials.

Due to increasing share-holder and customer demands, in 2005 Gerald Smith invited MAS specialist Kerry Cochran to work with the company to identify improvements to its current manufacturing processes.  The company needed to implement Lean, improve its production planning process, reduce machine downtime and scrap reduction activities in manufacturing areas.

The company achieved a number of significant improvements in performance while improving sales and profitability, doubling over 3 years.

But as the recession hit in 2009, the company found itself in a fight for survival and needed to reassess its position.  In this seminar, Gerald will share Darron SBO’s journey during the past 12 months and how Lean manufacturing has allowed them to survive and plan for the future as many of their competitors floundered.

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