Five employees at Sheffield-based Cooper & Turner have saved their company thousands by learning to lead a number of Lean improvement projects across the business to improve efficiency.

Robert Crossmore; Rob Foster; Carl Hatfield; Scott Marston and Neil Pearson (who were chosen by the company for their capability to progress into managerial roles in the future) have each undertaken the City & Guilds Licentiateship in Lean Manufacturing through the Manufacturing Masters programme, requiring them to undertake work-based projects to improve the efficiency of their own work areas.

Results so far include an impressive 38% reduction in packaging time, and the manufacturing lead time for a particular product grade slashed by 31%.

Background

Cooper & Turner is a fast growing business that manufactures and supplies a range of high quality industrial fasteners to markets throughout the world. Its key markets include construction, civil engineering, rail and wind energy.

The company embarked on an improvement programme two years ago, led by Operations Director David Brown and Continuous Improvement Specialist Charles Toyne - with the aim of working towards 6 Sigma and ‘World Class Manufacturing’ status. They sought advice from MAS and were introduced to the Manufacturing Masters programme.

The chosen individuals were coached through the Lean module by deliverer Dave Hood of the Ice Partnership, who developed their understanding of Lean Thinking and how it could be applied to their own work areas. As part of their qualification,
the five candidates then each identified a project that would both benefit the company and allow them to apply the principles, tools and techniques they had learnt.

The Projects


Robert Crossmore’s project involved improving the layout of a packaging line for a key product group. The aim was to set up a cell through applying best practice and to minimise packing time. The cell was designed, the equipment sourced and installed and the operation set up. Robert’s project has helped the company reduce packaging time by a staggering 38%.

Robert Foster’s project involved streamlining the manufacturing process for one product grade type. Certain key pieces of equipment were modified, changing the manufacturing process - whilst still maintaining the correct quality standards - which reduced the overall manufacturing lead-time. Robert’s project has helped reduce the manufacturing lead-time for the product grade under review by an impressive 31%. It also eliminated operations, saving £2,500 p.a. on one product range alone, with more product lines now planned to be produced by this method.


Carl Hatfield’s project involved analysing and reducing the amount of inventory the business holds in relation to the tooling needed for two key products. Carl analysed how much tooling the business had for the products under review and calculated how much the operation should hold. Moving to better controls on tooling stock levels for these two products alone will free up £10k tied up in inventory. This is planned to be rolled out to all tooling for all products which will release a significant amount of money the business has tied up in stock.


Scott Marston’s project involved improving the layout of a significant part of the whole manufacturing process. It involved assessing product flow through the current operation, and designing a better layout to minimise product movement.  Through re-designing this part of the operation, productivity will be improved and the distance travelled by products through the factory will reduce by over 40%, helping reduce costs.


Neil Pearson’s project involved the design and layout of a new laboratory within the factory. The aim of the new lab was to reduce overall manufacturing lead-time and create a more responsive operation in terms of test feedback to the business.  The new lab will reduce the lead-time for testing products by 94% and provide feedback in just over 1 hour to the current production operation instead of over 24 hours.

To find out more about how your business could benefit from the Manufacturing Masters programme, visit www.manufacturingmasters.co.uk or call 0870 220 0702