South East manufacturers celebrate finding £23 million of added value through collaboration at a recent Best Practice Awards ceremony organised by MAS South East.
The Best Practice Awards, organised by the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) South East, is an opportunity for manufacturers to demonstrate their successes and showcase the benefits of collaboration.
MAS South East is focusing on encouraging local manufacturers to collaborate with one another in order to achieve strong and sustainable growth within the South East.
Member manufacturers of the eight local Best Practice Clubs set up by MAS South East across the region attended the awards ceremony, hosted at the RBS Williams F1 Conference Centre in Oxfordshire. The event gave member companies – which number over 100 – a chance to be recognised for their commitment to continuous improvement and operational excellence.
The Best Practice Network was established to help companies share knowledge, expertise and experience in the pursuit of continuous improvement. Mark Knowlton, MAS South East network manager, said the initiative was proving the value of collaboration. “Since the network formed over four years ago, member companies have benefited from £23 million of added value directly as a result of support via the Network, including £9M people productivity and increased turnover of £8 million.”
“The clubs help manufacturers focus on sustaining improvements, maintaining momentum, motivating team members whilst earning from shared experiences and knowledge,” he added. “The monthly meetings enable manufacturers to review progress in business critical areas such as leadership, customer focus, skills development, growth, innovation and operational excellence with their peers.”
Dan Valovin, managing director of East Sussex-based Screen Solutions, a company providing bespoke workplace solutions to wide applications, said: “Four years ago, one out of two customer orders was either wrong or incomplete and we needed help.
“With the help of MAS we embarked on a series of lean awareness programmes and ‘Train the Trainer’ initiatives that has enabled the company to make significant business improvements – we are now a ‘make to order’ business, hold no finished goods in stock and our COTD, Customer On Time Delivery, is consistently in excess of 98% – we are profitable and are continuing to invest in change with lean at the heart of the company at all times.”
David Caddle, programme manager at MAS South East, said: “The clubs are a great way to help manufacturers sustain lean improvements and business efficiencies, and encourage further development through a mutual exchange of knowledge.
For more information about the Best Practice Network, contact MAS South East 0845 609 2121, email [email protected] or visit www.mas-se.org.uk
