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EEF mentors a bright future for manufacturers

EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, has over 6,000 members and claims to be the single most influential force behind UK manufacturing. In 2008 it rebranded and has since expanded its portfolio of services to manufacturers, which includes a new three-part recession survival guide – Manufacturing. Your Future. Will Stirling talks to Gilbert Toppin, the organisation’s chief executive officer.
June 2009

Standing on the shoulders of giants

Eli Goldratt looks at the success of production techniques that enabled car companies to become some of the biggest companies in the world – despite their contrasting fortunes. Henry Ford and Taiichi Ohno revolutionised manufacturing by first developing flow lines and then modifying this system to environments where each work centre produces a variety of components, as at Toyota.
01 Jun 2009

Standing on the shoulders of giants

Eli Goldratt looks at the success of production techniques that enabled car companies to become some of the biggest companies in the world – despite their contrasting fortunes. Henry Ford and Taiichi Ohno revolutionised manufacturing by first developing flow lines and then modifying this system to environments where each work centre produces a variety of components, as at Toyota.
01 Jun 2009

Lifecycle analysis can’t wait for the upturn

Is carbon management important when manufacturers are struggling in a recession?
Some say yes, and that product life cycle analysis is an unavoidable part of modern
manufacturing, with several tangible benefits beyond the environmental, says Will Stirling..
01 Jun 2009

EEF mentors a bright future for manufacturers

EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, has over 6,000 members and claims to be the single most influential force behind UK manufacturing. In 2008 it rebranded and has since expanded its portfolio of services to manufacturers, which includes a new three-part recession survival guide – Manufacturing. Your Future. Will Stirling talks to Gilbert Toppin, the organisation’s chief executive officer.
June 2009

Risky business keeps insurance down

In a recessionary environment it would be reasonable to expect insurance costs to fall, given the competition among insurers for business. But there is evidence that
insurance costs for manufacturers are rising. Risk management, meanwhile, should not be axed as a non-essential luxury when cash is short, say insurers. Alistair Dawber reports.
June 2009

Why innovation remains key in the economic downturn

It might sound controversial, but today’s climate really is the ideal – and necessary – time to push your innovation agenda, as Richard Blatcher explains
June 2009

Analysing the benefits

Lean and six sigma are not mutually exclusive business improvement strategies, rather the efficacy of one is reliant on implementing the other, says Joe Goasdoué,
CEO of the British Quality Foundation. A recent survey by YouGov provides evidence that a combined Lean Six Sigma strategy is highly effective.
June 2009

Don't just tick the boxes

Manufacturers take employee satisfaction and performance appraisals seriously. But a recent survey of appraisals shows that manufacturing consistently scores the lowest in a range of industries. Why? Sarah Coles investigates.
June 2009

Benefits of a single network vendor strategy

One global packaging manufacturer has consolidated its telecoms network to a single provider, producing a 25% annual saving. TM case study: Rexam and AT&T
June 2009

Modern times call for modern ERP

A big issue for manufacturers’ IT is the efficient integration of different IT systems. One of the battlegrounds for enterprise resource planning software is between traditional legacy ERP solutions and more modern enterprise applications, where there is a tradeoff between cost, functionality and suitability to the business. Adam Prince, senior director of product marketing at Epicor, makes the case for a modern ERP system.
June 2009

Recession curbs adventurous supplier strategies

If a shattered economy isn’t bad enough, reports Colin Chinery, sterling exchange rates and the spectre of global supply chain disruptions is putting further pressure on UK manufacturers, who are having to take a closer look at their supplier strategies.
June 2009

The law tightens grip on carbon emissions

Many manufacturers will be aware of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) legislation that comes into effect in April 2010. But exactly how it works, who is eligible, who is exempt and how it will affect manufacturers is hidden in the detail. Dennis Frize gets to the nub of the issue.
June 2009