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News Release from: BERR (Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform)
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 28 July 2006
Free support offered to UK automotive
firms
The UK's DTI Manufacturing Advisory Service is asking suppliers of the global automotive industry to take advantage of free manufacturing support and boost the sector in the UK.
Whilst the automotive sector hosts the biggest motor event of the year, the UK Government's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) is asking suppliers of the global automotive industry to take advantage of free manufacturing support and boost the sector in the UK Visitors to the British International Motor Show and firms from across industry are being encouraged to utilize the wide range of benefits that MAS can offer and draw on MAS assistance to become more productive and globally competitive
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 4 Apr 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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Companies like Piolax Manufacturing UK, a producer of injection moulded components and assemblies for the automotive industry, have already utilised the help available to them through MAS in order to keep up with global competition.
However, there remain many automotive companies not taking advantage of the help on offer to them, much of which is delivered completely free of charge to SMEs.
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Most manufacturers need only make very simple and straightforward changes in order to make a real difference to their bottom line.
Although part of a Japanese group, Piolax UK is very much a stand-alone operation and approached MAS in the North West to help it face the pressure from other low cost economies.
MAS was able to highlight and remove high levels of wasted effort and activity within a number of the company's manufacturing areas to deliver major productivity gains.
Focusing efforts on assembly stations, MAS North West's Lead Practitioner Mark Stone worked with the company on a pilot cell and found that poor station layout and lack of the right equipment to hand was causing problems.
Assembly operators frequently had to halt production to get more parts.
After completely redesigning layout, creating space for parts storage and improving product flow, the project was rolled out across the assembly area.
This led to a productivity increase of 74%.
Tony Dewhurst, Piolax UK's operations director, said: "We are now in a position, both in terms of cost and resources, to be able to compete within the group and bring in very lucrative new work - prior to the changes it was very difficult quoting for such work." "When we started this change process what we lacked was the knowledge of how to go about successfully introducing lean manufacturing principles".
"We needed clear guidance and this is what MAS provided." As the leading representative body for the automotive industry, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) recognises the importance of MAS in helping its members become more productive.
Graham Broome, chief executive of the SMMT's Industry Forum said, "The automotive industry is a global one and vehicle manufacturers can go anywhere in the world to source products and services.
If that business is to be sourced with UK-based companies, then they must ensure they can benchmark themselves against the best in the world in terms of quality, cost and delivery.
This is a relentless and continuous battle which many companies can't be expected to do on their own.
They must take advantage of every available offer of help.
This includes SMMT Industry Forum improvement programmes as well as those offered by MAS and the National Supply Chain Groups.".
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