Cash injection helps UK lean manufacturing cause

Edited by the Manufacturingtalk editorial team Dec 9, 2005

North-eastern UK manufacturers have gained financial support, which will allow 14 new engineers, handpicked from regional firms, to be trained in best practice 'lean manufacturing'.

The future of a trailblazing scheme turning around the economic fortunes of North East manufacturers has been assured with a major cash injection.

One North East is investing GBP 9.4m into the North East Productivity Alliance (NEPA) to ensure its acclaimed work with regional companies continues until at least 2009.

The cash will allow 14 new engineers, handpicked from regional firms, to be trained under the NEPA programme, to work with management and shopfloor staff to engrain best practice 'lean manufacturing' into companies and raise their productivity.

The funding will also ensure the future of NEPA's Digital Factory project - which helps firms adopt new technologies to boost productivity.

The first wave of 16 NEPA engineers have just received their NVQ Level 4 certificates in business improvement techniques after up to three years working in the project.

All have returned to companies in the North East, many to promotions.

Included in their ranks is Jacqueline Rutherford, back in a promoted role at Black and Decker in Spennymoor, leading sustainable process improvement projects.

Rutherford, 29, of Durham, said: "My time at NEPA has been fabulous, I have thoroughly enjoyed it, working with the team in an effort to make a real difference at companies right across the North East".

Every engineer has enjoyed going into companies and helping drive their productivity through lean manufacturing techniques.

Ultimately our role has been to assist them to save money and jobs by making them more productive, which helps them to compete with the low cost economies of eastern Europe and China." In the past three years, NEPA's 'Dissemination of Best Practice' project has created 113 jobs, safeguarded a further 1,601, assisted 224 businesses and generated 3,776 learning opportunities.

The Digital Factory project has helped 164 firms and delivered 2,269 learning opportunities.

Existing NEPA cash will allow the continuation of its Engineering Fellows and Workforce Development projects.

The Engineering Fellows project aims to develop a body of knowledge for regional businesses to use to improve their practices and compete on a global stage.

The Workforce Development scheme provides training for employees in key aspects of productivity improvement, helping manufacturing staff gain formal qualifications in productivity improvement at NVQ Level 2 and above.

The new funding brings to GBP 17.8m the total cash invested by One NorthEast, the Learning and Skills Council and the EU in the NEPA programme.

David Allison, One North East director of business and industry, said: "This further investment by One NorthEast in the NEPA programme is proof positive of the importance the regional development agency attaches to manufacturing.

The NEPA programme is held up as a shining example nationally of how the public sector can work with private manufacturers to raise productivity and help them compete in a fierce global marketplace.

Manufacturing continues to be a cornerstone of the North East economy, employing 169,000 people, contributing 25% of its GDP and generating GBP 2.6bn in wages every year." The NEPA team is keen to work with regional companies to identify new engineers to work in the project.

Employees will gain valuable new qualifications, boosting their worth to their parent companies by bringing best practice technique into the workplace.