Keep it lean to keep them keen manufacturers advised

NORTH West manufacturers are being encouraged to think “lean” when it comes to design and development and not just efficient in removing waste from factory processes.

A new free service is being launched by the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) to help firms extend their lean thinking and in doing so cut costs and increase competitiveness.

Manufacturers signing up for the service will benefit from a lean products review by a specialist MAS practitioner, which will help identify bottlenecks in design and development processes.

Suggestions might focus on ideas creation, rapid prototyping, product portfolio management, risk management, and value analysis to reduce the cost of existing products.

The review will also help develop a more efficient system to reduce time to market without compromising on quality.

Small and medium sized manufacturing businesses can then take advantage of subsidised follow-up support to help implement recommendations.

Haydn Insley, of MAS North West, said that for many firms effective innovation may be more critical to business survival than production costs.

“Customers increasingly demand new or improved products, at lower cost and in half the time,” he said.

“To meet this need we have launched a new service to help companies to achieve lean performance on both new and existing products.”

He added: “Being the cheapest candle-maker didn’t help when Edison invented his light bulb. It was innovation that won the day.”