Help for marine manufacturers looking to develop their business
The Manufacturing Advisory Service South East has been helping companies in the region to develop their manufacturing capability. The organisation is part of a national Government manufacturing initiative and is funded by SEEDA. It was ooriginally set up by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) but is now a programme of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)
It was set up to introduce business improvements into as many companies as possible in order to raise the productivity of UK manufacturing.
The modern definition of manufacturing is broad; covering the full cycle of activities from research, design and development, production, logistics, and service provision to end of life management. Some of the support services that MAS-SE offers include:
- Free expert helpline
- Subsidised follow on support
- Best Practice visits
- Manufacturing Network
- Access to… Seminars, Network & Event programmes
- Web based support materials
One company to benefit from the help on offer is Lewmar, designers and manufacturers of steering systems, anchoring systems, winches, hardware, bow thrusters, hatches and port lights since 1950.
The design, craftsmanship, reliability and commitment to supporting the marine industry has made its name synonymous with consistent quality and global market leadership. Empowering boaters with a greater sense of control, Lewmar understands the need for performance and absolute control over an individual’s craft.
Based in Havant, Hampshire, Lewmar began to experience a number of issues within their windlass assembly area which were not meeting company or customer expectations. Products were not reaching dispatch on-time and the team was not working together to amend the situation. Processes had to be streamlined but due to a lack of expertise within the field of lean, Lewmar called upon the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) South East to introduce them to a number of essential lean manufacturing tools and techniques.
Prior to the implementation of the MAS South East five day ‘Rapid Improvement Workshop’ (RIW) to improve the windlass assembly area, two key objectives were agreed upon. First, to improve productivity within the assembly area with the use of lean tools and techniques and secondly to encourage the team to work together in solving problems by using process mapping information flows to see the current state of the production process.
During the five day Rapid Improvement Workshop, led by Senior MAS South East Specialist Patrick Lee, a team of nine Lewmar employees were introduced to a number of lean manufacturing techniques and principles, including manufacturing simulation, process mapping and 5S. Opportunities were identified for improvement using a process mapping exercise and an action plan was created, implemented and completed as a result.
Key Achievements
• Cell Capacity Increased with Sales Value of £1.95M
• Reduction in Space Utilised by 10%
• Improved Product Manufacture
• Reduced Lead Time
• Improved Process Flow
Graham Payne, Managing Director at Lewmar, has been impressed with the results. “We have earned our reputation as a world leader by continually providing innovative, quality products for the marine industry backed by in-built reliability, designed and developed by experts. Introducing lean to the team and into the production process has been a real eye opener and we have been able to achieve a number of positive, significant results.”
If you would like to find out more email StuartWood@mas-se.org.ukStuartWood@mas-se.org.uk or call 07920 496481. Alternatively log onto the website http://www.mas-se.org.uk/tender_opportunities or call 0845 609 2121
Send this story to a colleague
