
As part of our ongoing commitment to developing our teams, we are working with David Savage who is upgrading the skills of our experienced machinists, quality personnel and our storeman with lean manufacturing training via an apprenticeship scheme.
Daniel Peters, Operations Manager at M-CNC commented; “David has been a breath of fresh air to M-CNC. He has managed to give people in key positions training and a deeper understanding of improvement techniques. Even though the course hasn’t run to completion yet, I can already see that process improvements are being thought about and implemented outside of the training modules.”
“Although some candidates were hesitant to go through the NVQ training program, David has managed to engage and empower employees, so now they are looking forward to joining in with tasks and presenting and completing their own improvement techniques independently of the training modules.”
Why lean manufacturing training?
Lean manufacturing was originally developed by Toyota and focuses on ‘no waste’ production, removing any elements of the production process that don’t add value to the end product.
The qualification will equip the M-CNC team with the knowledge, skills and behaviours to continuously improve how orders are processed, which ultimately means that customers will get precisely what they want, first time, on time and at the agreed price.
What’s involved?
The group are currently focusing on workplace organisation and 5S, which have many benefits including; reduced costs, higher quality, increased productivity, employee satisfaction and a safer work space. The 5S methodology is broken down into;
- Sort – sorting through materials, only using essential items to complete the tasks
- Set in order – organising remaining materials and tools for ease of use
- Shine – keeping workplace areas clean
- Standardise – to ensure the latest standard is available for all. We all need to know what “good” looks like
- Sustain – making the first 4S’s a regular part of working life – forming a habit and self-discipline.
As part of their apprenticeship training the team are putting together a new prototype shadow board which will make the setups more efficient, increase output and reduce the frustration of hunting for tools.
Production Co-ordinator, Ross Thrasher; “We started by targeting one area of the business in the first part of the course and we found the results were positive to such an extent that we’re now rolling out the techniques we have learnt across the whole company. We are always looking to improve our processes and know the importance of continuous training and development. We really value David’s input and the knowledge he’s passing onto our team.“
Production Co-ordinator, Neil Macready; “I’ve learnt that making many small changes to the way we work can add up to a considerable improvement and how important communication is to achieve better understanding. I’ve also learnt to collect and analyse data to gauge performance and make improvements.”
David Savage; “I love visiting M-CNC. The team are so hungry to learn and quick to pick up the tools and techniques of lean. They should be really proud of what they are achieving and I can’t wait to see them be awarded with their certificates later this summer.”