Lean journey helps hull manufacturer, J & C R Wood, make the most of its 65th year in business

By Pressvine Worldwide
schedule22nd Jun 15

East Yorkshire manufacturer, J & C R Wood, which employs 30 people at its 20,000 sq ft factory on Clough Road, is celebrating its 65th anniversary by focusing on growth in domestic markets and the continuation of a lean manufacturing journey that has generated £50,000 of savings.

  • £12,000 investment by the business
  • 75 hours’ worth of training from experts in lean manufacturing
  • Resulting in £50,000 worth of savings being made
  • Introduction of 5S and a continuous improvement roadmap

The Manufacturing Challenge

“We have experienced some tough trading conditions in our export markets, with sales of our ‘Metalcraft’ range of metalwork tools slowing down…especially in Russia” explained Barry Wood, Financial Director.

“We wanted to look at areas of production where we could save costs and become more efficient. This wasn’t going to be a quick exercise, we needed to ensure the buy-in of all members of staff.”

The management team at J & C R Wood turned to MAS to help review its operations and identify key issues that could be resolved through the introduction of lean manufacturing.

Business Growth Service Action

MAS Business Growth Manager Don McCombe visited the company to review all working practices, met with employees to discuss new processes and started work on embedding best practice procedures on the shopfloor.

Barry continued: “The lean process has been extremely enlightening and is making a real difference already and it is still early days.

“It makes you take a step back and look at your operations and processes in a different way. Whilst, we have been aware of lean for some time our past efforts to introduce it never fully got off the ground.

“Don has done a fantastic job in helping all our staff understand the need for this in our business.

“We cannot speak highly enough of the support from the Business Growth Service (MAS) and we believe other local manufacturers should be seeking their help.”

The Results

The project involved a £12,000 investment by the business and more than 75 hours of training from experts in lean manufacturing, resulting in the introduction of 5S, a continuous improvement roadmap and regular best practice sharing meetings.

So far, £50,000 of savings have been made by removing production bottlenecks, improving workflow and reducing the amount of stock held at any one time.

Don continued: “When I visited J & C R Wood recently it was clearly obvious that engaging with the workforce had paid dividends. You can see many changes have been made and the tangible benefits are being seen, not least in the significant savings enjoyed and better relationships with the customer.

“There is even a Lean information board in place so that every visitor can see the company’s commitment to world class manufacturing.”

J & C R Wood has continued to invest in the infrastructure of the company, with Solidworks CAD software purchased, along with the integration of a new IT network for improving stock control and streamlining admin.

Longer term, the business is looking to upgrade its CNC machining and its fabrication section with the necessary equipment to further improve its rapid response time on point of sale prototypes.

“The lean process has been extremely enlightening and is making a real difference already and it is still early days. It makes you take a step back and look at your operations and processes in a different way.”

Barry Wood, Financial Director, J & C R Wood

Don McCombe, Business Growth Manager, Business Growth Service (incorporating MAS)

“Lean isn’t a one off project with start and end date; it is about embedding a culture of continuous improvement. When I visited J & C R Wood recently it was clearly obvious that engaging with the workforce had paid dividends.”

Overview

Employees: 34

Turnover: £1.6m

Sector: Materials & Engineering

Location: Hull, East Yorkshire