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BEST FACTORY AWARDS
Celebrating manufacturing excellence
8 Northumberland Avenue  London  Friday 25 September 2015
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Contents
BEST FACTORY AWARDS
Celebrating manufacturing excellence
8 Northumberland Avenue London Friday 25 September 2015
Welcome
Tony Wallis, commercial director,
Toyota Material Handling UK
Max Gosney, group editor,
Works Management
4
Arla Foods
13
Milk is made the NASA way at Arla Food’s
space-age Aylesbury site from the moment dairy
tankers are directed to intake bays by the SAPlinked system to despatch via robotic vehicles
Kohler Mira
22
A guiding principle at shower maker Kohler
Mira is to live on the leading edge of design
and innovation, an approach that applies as
much to its processes as its products
Sponsors
5
Vaillant Industrial UK
15
All the figures surrounding Vaillant’s Belper plant
are astounding. The domestic boiler maker has,
for example, achieved a 94% improvement in
finished goods quality since 2010
Heraeus Electro-Nite
23
Heraeus – which makes temperature sensors
for steelworks – strives for right first time,
every time by relentlessly targeting the best
production efficiency
Leyland Trucks
17
Around 15,000 trucks built to individual
customer specs at the Leyland plant each year
are shipped to markets from Europe to central
America, Taiwan and Australia
The Hut Group, Myprotein
24
Training supplements manufacturer The Hut
Group, Myprotein has made great progress,
building on improvement work on the shopfloor
alongside heavy capital investment
Diageo
19
A staggering 40 million cases of spirit are
produced by Diageo at Leven every year,
supported by global brands such as Smirnoff,
Gordons, Tanqueray and Captain Morgan
CP Electronics
25
Over the last three years, energy saving
lighting controls maker CP Electronics has
introduced more than 400 products which have
contributed 14% to sales
Tharsus Group
21
Tharsus is a developer, manager and contract
manufacturer of other people’s products with a
pin sharp vision – to create mutual success
and competitive advantage for its customers
Plastek UK
27
Plastek UK has improved its business
dramatically over the last five years with a
focus on quality, reliability, cost effectiveness
and building customer relationships
Siemens Magnet Technology
7
Siemens Magnet Technology, Eynsham attracts
the ultimate Factory of the Year prize for being
bold enough to go after the seismic
improvements as well as the incremental ones
3M UK
10
Respirator manufacturer 3M UK has
concentrated on successfully implementing its
Lean Management System since appearing at
the BFA finals a year ago
Fujifilm Speciality Ink Systems
11
Fujifilm Broadstairs , the manufacturer of UV
digital and screen printing ink, is Britain’s Best
Process Plant for the third time in four years
thanks to its mastery of major market change
Siemens Digital Factory
12
Siemens Digital Factory, Congleton has defined
an ambitious new ‘North Star’ vision and
‘Congleton 2020’ five-year strategy – 10 themes
to help it on its journey towards world-class
Published by Findlay Media, Hawley Mill, Hawley Road, Dartford, Kent DA2 7TJ T: 01322 221144 www.findlay.co.uk
Editor: Ian Vallely Winners’ stories: Max Gosney and Ian Vallely
Photography: Chapman Brown Photography, Charles Milligan, Dean Smith, Donald MacLellan, Iain McLean, Rob Lacey
2 BFA
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Foreword
The power behind the glory
The best sites exhibit a range of key attributes,
as Professor Marek Szwejczewski explains
W
e read a lot about the poor performance of UK
manufacturing, especially the productivity gap.
However, a visit to this year’s Best Factory Award
winners quickly eradicates such misconceptions about the
state of UK manufacturing.
The best plants have been continuously improving in
terms of delivery, quality, and importantly productivity.
This year’s winners exhibit several common
characteristics that lie behind their success:
• Safety – this year, even more factories were achieving one
million working hours between lost time accidents, but the
best were achieving in excess of two million working hours.
• Excellence – the sites have focused on the achievement
of operational excellence, pursuing this through the
adoption of lean manufacturing and Six Sigma approaches.
• OEE – overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is now one
of the key factory performance measures that managers
monitor and improve.
• Innovation – one of the reasons behind the winners’
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
success has been their focus on innovation: developing
new products and, importantly, innovating within the
production process.
• Continuous improvement – the best factories continue
to place an emphasis on continuous improvement (CI) and,
in particular, on radical improvements.
• Working with suppliers – the factories have been
working on joint improvement projects through which they
have achieved lower costs and improved quality.
• Environment – the best are aiming to recycle all their
factory waste and avoid landfill or “waste to energy”, which
some would consider to be just incineration.
The Best Factory Award winners provide the benchmark
of manufacturing excellence and we are very proud to
acknowledge and celebrate their achievements.
Professor Marek Szwejczewski
Director, Best Factory Awards
Cranfield School of Management
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Welcome and Sponsors
Strength in quality
T
he Best Factory Awards (BFAs) are about promoting best practice and a continual striving
towards quality. It is these strong values that attracted Toyota Material Handling UK to become
involved with the BFAs over a decade ago and remain the reason we continue as the headline
sponsor. We are proud to be associated with this coveted awards programme that grows in
strength and develops its content every year. In many other industries, companies can be very
guarded about their operations and how they do things, but you don’t see this in the BFA events.
As a sponsor we have been able to make a great contribution through the sharing of
knowledge. As the world’s number one manufacturer of materials handling equipment, our
business is driven by the Toyota Production System (TPS), which focuses on quality, cost
reduction and on-time delivery, and we have shared our understanding of this system and
showed how it is used throughout all areas of our business.
Customer first is our philosophy, which means putting customers at the heart of what we do. We
work with many manufacturing companies as their materials handling partner and understanding
their challenges and operations, but also their great achievements, is important to us. It is seeing
these journeys and listening to these discussions where, as a sponsor, we get the most value.
The Best Factory Awards continue to be a great platform for us to share our experiences and
ideas, but also understand the challenges many manufacturing companies face.
We continue to be involved with the Best Factory Awards so we can support the great British
manufacturing industry by recognising those businesses that show excellence in what they do.
Tony Wallis
Commercial director, Toyota Material Handling UK
A fond farewell
H
ello and goodbye. This will be the last Best Factory Awards (BFAs) brought to you by
Works Management; our contract has come to an end and as part of our corporate
strategy we move on to pastures new.
There have been some fantastic memories made over the past 11 years on the BFAs. My first
came in September 2010, my inaugural BFAs final. What struck me most was your passion. I’d
come across from healthcare and pharmacists just don’t jump up and pump their fists as readily
as you guys. That heart-on-your-sleeves, love-what-you-do attitude is inspirational.
Out on this year’s judging visits there were two perfect examples. The first was a team leader
at Arla Foods who, between the whir of milk cartons passing down the line, described the buzz
of being in production; the kick he got out of walking into a supermarket and holding aloft
something in the chilled goods aisle that he’d helped make.
That pride was echoed by a lineside worker at Fujifilm who fizzed with enthusiasm as he
described being asked for his opinion by managers on potential improvements to work flow. He’d
joined the site from a timber merchant where he’d offered suggestions to the yard’s bosses only
to be told to get back to his day job. But here in manufacturing he was empowered, involved,
respected – here in manufacturing he mattered.
Tales like these will, for me, be an abiding memory of the Best Factory Awards. We wish the
BFAs – made by you, the hugely talented people who work on site – every success in the future.
Max Gosney
Group editor, Works Management
4 BFA
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
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Best Factory Awards
Sponsor of the Energy and
Environment Award
Sponsor of the Factory of the Year Award
From a single truck user to large fleet users, we are a strong
business partner.
Our ‘Customer First’ philosophy has its source in the Toyota Production
System. No matter how good the final product might be, it would be
worthless if it did not meet customers’ demands and satisfy their needs.
Toyota is a company that has a reputation for excellence on a global scale,
but it is only by acting locally that we can deliver the highest levels of
customer service. This is delivered every day in the UK by a team of almost
1,000 people trained to focus on delivering excellence and strengthened by
the Toyota Way.
Toyota offers a complete range of solutions to cover any application
requirements; quality new and used forklifts, warehouse equipment and
automation solutions, plus national service support, short and long-term
rental solutions, truck management, genuine parts as well as tailored product
and safety training.
www.toyota-forklifts.co.uk
Atlas Copco Compressors is the UK
operation of the Atlas Copco Group,
providing oil-free and oil-injected
stationary air compressors, gas and
process compressors, turbo expanders,
nitrogen generators, air treatment
equipment, pipework, air auditing and
management systems, customdesigned engineered packages, plus
spare parts and service plans.
The Group offers innovative
compressors, vacuum solutions and
air treatment systems, power tools
and assembly systems, focusing on
productivity, energy efficiency, safety
and ergonomics.
www.atlascopco.co.uk
Sponsor of the Most
Improved Plant Award
Sponsor of the Supply
Chain Award
Sponsor of the Health &
Safety Award
As the UK’s leading distributor of
maintenance, repair and overhaul
(MRO) products, Brammer offers
added value services to help reduce
working capital, improve production
efficiency and reduce total
acquisition cost including industrial
vending service Invend™ and
Insite™ – effectively a Brammer
branch within a customer’s site.
The company has an extensive
portfolio of more than five million
products and more than 90 sales and
service centres nationwide.
www.brammer.com
With over 180 years’ experience,
Buck & Hickman is the UK’s leading
supplier of specialist tools, general
maintenance and health & safety
products.
This rich heritage enables Buck &
Hickman to use its considerable
industry knowledge to add value at
every touch. Its range of over 60,000
products includes leading hand tools,
power tools, PPE and consumables,
as well as Roebuck and Q-Safe
brands, both available exclusively
from Buck & Hickman.
www.buckandhickman.com
IOSH is the Chartered body for health
and safety professionals. With around
44,000 members in 100 countries,
we’re the world’s largest professional
health and safety organisation.
We set standards, and support,
develop and connect our members
with resources, guidance, events and
training. We’re the voice of the
profession and campaign on issues
that affect millions of working people.
IOSH was founded in 1945 and is a
registered charity with international
NGO status.
www.iosh.co.uk
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
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Siemens Magnet Technology
Location: Eynsham, Oxfordshire
Sector: Engineering
Winner: Toyota Material Handling Factory of the Year
Best Engineering Plant
People & Skills Development Award
F
aint heart, it seems, never won Best Factory. Siemens Magnet Technology,
Eynsham attracts the ultimate Factory of the Year prize for being bold enough
to go after the seismic improvements as well as the incremental ones.
Our judges praised the site’s record in delivering “radical” performance gains.
Big ticket ambitions are on show in products, processes and people
management at Eynsham, which won the Best Engineering Plant award at the
Best Factory Awards three years ago.
First up: product innovation. Eynsham’s design and manufacturing nous created
the ultra-light magnet at the heart of a revolutionary new 7 Tesla MRI scanner
launched by Siemens this May. The magnet is 50% lighter than its predecessors,
significantly cutting MRI running costs and thereby enabling technology that was
only feasible in the research lab to find its way onto the hospital ward.
The groundbreaking design was all made possible by sweeping process overhaul.
Sacred cows have been hunted to extinction in this corner of rural Oxfordshire.
A major redevelopment of the plant’s entire manufacturing area released 20%
of the total factory space and enabled all products to run on one production line.
The extra space was repurposed for the in-house development of new products
and processes that culminated in the record-breaking 7 Tesla magnet. Efforts were
spearheaded by employees who see improvement as second nature rather than
extra-curricular activity.
‘Standing still is falling behind’
“CI is embedded in everyone’s day job,” explains John Laister, director of
manufacturing at Siemens Magnet Technology. “It is not considered to be
something special. Improvement is considered to be business-as-usual and it’s
often said that ‘standing still is falling behind’”.
Eynsham’s aversion to standing still becomes most apparent when it comes to
stepping forward to the suggestion box. Enthusiastic employees generated 268
implemented ideas in 2014, which yielded more than £1.3m in operational savings.
A further 11,963 production hours have been saved through kaizen activity.
Creative juices are cultivated at team-based exercises with a strong emphasis
on delegated autonomy. Team members sharpen their skill sets through extensive
training opportunities with nearly 30% of employees attaining an NVQ Level 3.
And the top topic around Eynsham’s every corner is how to ensure the site’s
future as the number one preferred global supplier of MRI systems worldwide.
Getting there means overcoming the twin perils of eroding market price and rising
component costs – fearsome foes that won’t be slain by a single kaizen event. Or,
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
Siemens
Magnet
Technology
by numbers
£1,324,095
Amount saved by
suggestion scheme
ideas in 2014
11,963
Production hours
saved from kaizen
activity in 2014
99%
On-time delivery in
full by vendors
96%
Quality score as
rated by customers
97%
Uptime availability of
key equipment
BFA 7
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Inspired by innovation
September 2015
M
A
N
U
F
A
C
T
U
R
I
N
G
M
A
N
A
G
E
M
E
N
Glowing report
Shedding light on
LEDs in factories
Health & safety
Selecting and buying
the right safety kit
In this issue: 3D printing • Next generation train design • Engineering Design Show preview
www.newelectronics.co.uk
T
september 2015
www.eurekamagazine.co.uk
22 September 2015
INDUSTRY 4.0 • SAFETY CRITICAL SOFTWARE • ELECTRONICS DESIGN SHOW PREVIEW
WINNING THE
SPACE RACE
Professor Sir Martin Sweeting
assesses the state of the
UK’s space industry
About face
Engineering thrills
Rollercoaster simulation for scares and safety
Transforming your people’s attitude to change
INSIDE: NEW MANUFACTURING MANAGEMENT SHOW REVEALED
FA
ST
Sh E
ow XH
Gu IBIT
id IO
e N
In
sid
e
FASTENING & ASSEMBLY SOLUTIONS AND TECHNOLOGY
www.findlay.co.uk
www.machinery.co.uk
September 2015
Autumn 2015 • A Eureka pu blicatio n
August 2015
THE HEAVY
ANSWER TO
WIND TURBINE
BLADE RUNNER
AUGUST 2015
www.materialsforengineering.co.uk
Bonding for Harley composites
Turbines under test
SEPARATE
5-AXIS
SUPPLEMENT
Graphene coming of age
Passionate about engineering
007_BFA_SEP15_Layout 1 16/09/2015 11:23 Page 9
Siemens Magnet Technology
Location: Eynsham, Oxfordshire
Sector: Engineering
Winner: Toyota Material Handling Factory of the Year
Best Engineering Plant
People & Skills Development Award
as lead BFA judge Marek Szwejczewski puts it: “The CI at the site is important,
but it won’t be enough on its own to ensure the site is competitive going forward.
The plant has had to make step changes in performance; not just in process
technology, but also introducing new products, having a clear strategy and
attracting the right people.”
Products, processes and people. Brought together and infused with Eynsham’s
trademark endeavour to create the ultimate conductor of manufacturing excellence.
Congratulations to all the team at Siemens Magnet Technology, Eynsham
winner of the Toyota Material Handling Factory of the Year 2015.
The judges said:
”Siemens Magnet Technology demonstrates manufacturing excellence across the
board and is an exemplar of UK manufacturing at its very best. The site has
identified that extensive price competition in their market means they will need
to make step changes in performance to stay competitive.
“They have responded with a holistic strategy which doesn’t just focus on CI or
one area of operations, but targets advances across the whole business. Key goals
include modernising the product portfolio and delivering innovation like the ultra
lightweight magnet created for the new 7 Tesla MRI scanner. The team has also
focused on process innovation with a radical redesign of the factory.”
“To win the overall Factory of the Year you have to demonstrate improved
performance across the board: reducing lead times, improving productivity,
drawing on the talents of your people and delivering outstanding product
innovation. Eynsham delivers in all of these key areas.”
“The site wins the People & Skills Development prize because of its
comprehensive approach to ensuring it has the skills in place to deliver greater
manufacturing flexibility. Eynsham has made a huge effort in developing people.
Personal training logs are available for all operators to ensuring training is taking
place in the right areas. The site has focused on recruiting more apprentices and
has teamed up with BMW at Cowley as part of a joint training programme. The
focus on apprenticeships comes in recognition that the factory’s existing
workforce profile is getting older.”
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
40%
Siemens Magnet
Technology’s global
share
80%
Employee
engagement
4.2%
R&D spend based on
percentage of total
revenue
20,000
Magnet Technology
systems shipped
120
Number of countries
to which orders are
shipped
498
Days since last lost
time accident
BFA 9
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3M UK
Location: Newton Aycliffe, County Durham
Sector: Household & General Products
Winner: Best Household & General Products Plant
3M UK
by numbers
$8m
Savings from CI
suggestions
100
Employees trained in
Six Sigma in 2014
$250,000
Energy savings
93.5%
Orders supplied ontime in-full
S
o impressive is 3M’s work building pyramids that Egyptologists could soon
be making an unlikely pilgrimage up the A1(M). The manufacturer of
disposable and reusable respirators has concentrated on implementing its
inverted pyramid, aka the Lean Management System (LMS), since appearing at
the BFA finals a year ago.
LMS aims to shift the culture from deferred decision making – ‘I’ll have to ask
my manager first’– to proactive problem solving by employees at source. It’s
reliant on an empowered base of expert operators who have been skilled up with
continuous improvement tools like PDCA, the 5 Whys and fishbone diagrams.
Daily problem solving is then supplemented by top-level kaizen projects led by Six
Sigma green and black belts.
All parties have been preoccupied with improving material flow across the 50
year-old Newton Aycliffe site this past year. The number of materials in key
production areas has more than halved through improvement activity. A whopping
345 kaizen ideas have been implemented and delivered $8m savings since 2014.
Examples of innovations include dedicated aisles to prevent interaction
between pedestrians and vehicles within production. Waste walks have also been
reduced. But one that remains sacrosanct is the daily management stroll to the
line to discuss the latest CI activity with operators. A top topic of conversation
come Monday will be the site’s spectacular rise to become the nation’s Best
Household & General Products Plant.
The judges said:
“3M has made some impressive step changes since last appearing at the finals in
2014. They have a number of lines where they have taken advantage of excellent
process technology, which allows them to produce products at very high speed
and low cost. These systems take advantage of vision systems and poka-yoke
devices and are able to achieve high overall equipment effectiveness levels as a
result.”
“Hoshin planning has really flourished as the site brings in best practice learning
from extensive benchmarking of other factories over the past year. We noted a
significant rise in the number of employee-led Six Sigma projects.”
10 BFA
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Fujifilm Speciality Ink Systems
Location: Broadstairs, Kent
Sector: Process
Winner: Best Process Plant
Export Award
F
ujifilm Broadstairs is back on its familiar perch as Britain’s Best Process
Plant. The Kent-based manufacturer of UV digital and screen printing inks
takes the title for the third time in four years thanks to its ongoing
mastery of major market change.
Sales of screen inks, historically a business staple at Broadstairs, have declined
31% since the factory first appeared in the BFA finals in 2011. But what might
have killed a lesser site off has only made Broadstairs stronger.
A proactive management team working hand-in-hand with operators has
ramped up quality standards in an attempt to secure the plant’s future as a hub
for the growing UV digital inks market while managing decline in heritage
analogue ink. Success depends on implementing near perfect production quality
with digital inks being dispersed by printers at pigment sizes of just 100nm
(around the same size as a human cell).
Right first time has soared to 100% in digital and above 97% across the entire
plant. A new £3m digital manufacturing plant was added in 2013, the same year
that digital ink sales surpassed analogue for the first time. A new packing area for
digital inks will open this year and £2m has been spent on R&D. However, it’s not
just the premises that have moved into the digital age. Continuous improvement
fever has taken hold of the site’s 320 employees.
More than 500 IPICS (Idea, plan, implement, check, sustain) ideas were made
last year with £76,000 saved. Lean thinking has permeated every manufacturing
cell with areas adorned with whiteboards listing the latest performance issues,
KPIs and countermeasures. Teams mull over the metrics at daily morning
meetings. Their assiduous approach ensures Fujifilm Broadstairs’ place as a poster
plant for the powers of positivity in the face of potentially catastrophic change.
The judges said:
“Fujifilm has made stellar progress on its journey from being an analogue to a
digital ink manufacturer. Manufacturing quality continues to soar. Digital ink must
meet finite tolerances and the site has instigated some impressive right first time
pass rates on digital and analogue ink production.”
Fujifilm
Speciality Ink
Systems
by numbers
17%
Growth in export
sales since 2011 to
account for 86% of
all business in 2015
100%
Right first time in
digital ink
manufacture
536
Improvement ideas
from employees
implemented last
year
2013
The year digital ink
orders surpassed
analogue at the plant
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
BFA 11
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Siemens Digital Factory
Location: Congleton, Cheshire
Sector: Electronics & Electrical
Winner: Best Electronics & Electrical Plant
Siemens
Digital Factory
by numbers
99.5%
Delivery reliability
7%
Average total
company revenue
invested in R&D over
the last three years
13
New products due to
be launched over the
next three years
78
Number of countries
to which Siemens’
drives are sold
12 BFA
D
rive – it’s the main product manufactured by Siemens Digital Factory,
Congleton and it’s also one of the primary qualities the company
displays. Siemens Congleton makes and supplies more than 1.2 million
variable speed drives into 78 countries. Its products are used in a range of motor
control applications including conveyor systems, production machines and cranes.
The company has defined an ambitious new ‘North Star’ vision and ‘Congleton
2020’ five-year strategy – 10 themes to help it on its journey towards world-class.
This has already resulted in significant business improvements including the
adoption of virtual reality technology. Siemens’ 3D cave has allowed it to test
product, work station and factory layout concepts in the virtual world before
making them a reality.
Continuous improvement is central to Siemens Congleton’s culture. It uses its
Siemens Production System – including 5S, continuous improvement process, lean
in offices, lean cell design, project management and Six Sigma – to meet a tough
productivity challenge from its stakeholders: a 5.5% year-on-year price reduction.
The pioneering ‘Junior Factory’ is run by a mix of 30 commercial and technical
apprentices/graduates aged 16 to 21 and acts as a small factory within the main
factory. It supplies a number of fan assemblies to the main production lines and
the apprentices/graduates are given total responsibility for running every aspect of
the manufacturing processes from the industrial to the financial.
Indeed, Siemens Congleton’s focus on its employees has resulted in sustained
productivity gains of around 6% year-on-year and employee engagement of more
than 85%.
The judges said:
“This pioneering site has really thought about how the market is developing and
the capabilities they need to develop going forward. The focus is very much on
the future. They think beyond pure operations so they have brought R&D closer
so that products can be developed in far shorter lead times.”
“They have worked hard on agile product development and recognise that they
need to create a factory of the future now. Some businesses will create a vision
and then put it away. Siemens Digital Factory has a living vision – they have a
laser-like focus on delivering against the goals as well as the overall vision. They
have also put an awful lot of effort into working closely and effectively with
suppliers.”
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
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Arla Foods
Location: Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
Sector: Household & General Products
Winner: Innovation Award
Y
ou will never look at a pint of milk in the same way after taking a tour of Arla
Food’s space-age Aylesbury site. This is milk made the NASA way from the
moment the dairy tankers are directed to intake bays by the SAP-linked
Tanker Management System to despatch via the hands of robotic vehicles.
Aylesbury is a brand new greenfield site and was completed in 2013. Green,
blue or red top – the site produces all grades of milk for major retailers and fills
into eight bottle sizes across eight lines. The technology is awe-inspiring.
It begins in raw milk intake, where tankers deposit farm fresh milk in a docking
area akin to an airport control tower. From there, the Arla site must pasteurise the
raw milk, extract the cream and then ad it back in to the requisite fat level for
skimmed, semi-skimmed or whole milk. Any excess cream is sent to a sister
butter-making facility.
Clever automation is everywhere and includes a Unimat machine that delivers
ready-made workwear tailored to the individual worker. The despatch area is a
technophile’s heaven. Here, up to 85 automated guided vehicles, known as Tets,
glide effortlessly across a warehouse to pick their allotted milk order and take it to
the correct lorry for despatch or for bulk storage. The AGVs have safety sensors
fitted to prevent them from colliding with people or objects.
The flesh and blood employees at Aylesbury are every bit as impressive as the
plant. The site adopts an Aylesbury Way of Working (WOW) made up of core lean
elements like just-in-time and jidoka. The management team fizz with ‘can do’ and
there is even a learning centre replete with astro turf and fully milkable plastic
cows to inspire local schoolchildren that manufacturing is the cream of careers.
The judges said:
“The Arla team have created a future dairy with hugely impressive technology. The
site operates robotic AGVs that take milk from the bottling line to the lorries for
despatch to the supermarkets. Getting these AGVs to talk to the bottling operation
is a highly complex feat, but the Arla team have made it look easy. Aylesbury is a
slick, sophisticated site and a worthy winner of the Innovation Award.”
Arla Foods
by numbers
£150m
Investment in
building the
greenfield
Aylesbury site
£1m+
Investment in
technical training
packages relating
to dairy science
and process/plant
training
99.7%
Service level
3m
Litres of milk
processed per day
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
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Vaillant Industrial UK
Location: Belper, Derbyshire
Sector: Engineering
Winner: Most Improved Plant
Energy & Environment Award
Highly commended: Best Engineering Plant
A
ll the figures surrounding Vallant’s Belper plant are astounding. For example,
the manufacturer of ‘A’ rated domestic wall-hung gas boilers has achieved an
enormous 94% improvement in finished goods quality since 2010.
On top of this, in the last five years it has reduced water consumption during
manufacture by a colossal 64%, shrunk waste by 40%, cut CO2 emissions by
27%, boosted efficiency by almost a third, and trained more than 95% of its
employees in Six Sigma.
It has also achieved less tangible wins. For example, Vaillant is currently listed as
a UK ‘superbrand’, has been voted a Which? magazine best buy, and its boilers have
been awarded the ‘Quiet Mark’ – the International Eco-Award for excellence in quiet
product design. Its SEEDS (sustainability in environment, employees, development
and products, and society) zero harm programme is another award winner.
But the company refuses to stop there. It remains at the forefront of
manufacturing best practice, continually looking for ways to further improve its
efficiency, service and sustainability.
For example, the Vaillant Group Production System incorporates a range of
methodologies including 5S, PDCA and VSM to standardise the company’s
approach to CI. Tools and techniques are important. But the company also knows
that engaged, motivated people are the beating heart of every successful
business and, by fostering positive engagement on every level, it has succeeded
in developing a culture of mutual trust and support throughout the workforce.
The team embraces a culture of ‘thinking ahead’ so every employee takes an
active role in positively contributing to making further improvements to the
operation of the plant.
Vaillant
by numbers
The judges said:
“Since we were there last [in 2010], Vaillant have continued to make significant
improvements across the factory including putting in new assembly lines, which
represent a step change in performance. They have also dramatically reduced
waste with 100% zero to landfill since April 2011. And they have cut the amount
of energy consumed per product manufactured and, partly by introducing an air
test, water consumption is now an impressive 64% below the 2010 benchmark.”
Person hours
20%
Lead time reduction
25%
Cut in plant inventory
18m
Euros invested in
production
machinery at the
plant since 2010
15,000
worked since any
type of incident
“They have invested heavily in production equipment which has considerably
improved the manufacturing process. The net result is a well-run plant that
consistently hits its productivity targets.”
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
BFA 15
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Leyland Trucks
Location: Leyland, Lancashire
Sector: Engineering
Winner: Supply Chain Award
F
rom the foot of the Alps to the Australian outback, you’re never far from a
little bit of Lancashire. Around 15,000 trucks built at the Leyland plant each
year are shipped to markets from Europe to central America, Taiwan and
Australia.
The team must build a plethora of different vehicles to individual customer
specs from 7.5 tonne trucks to 70 tonne juggernauts. The primary challenge is
ensuring all models meet exacting quality standards and lightning fast lead times
for which the plant is renowned.
That’s achieved via sophisticated material planning software and close links with
suppliers who are predominantly UK-based for the powertrain element of trucks.
Every effort is made to ensure material availability stays high while inventory
levels remain low. Teamwork is the site’s lifeblood and reflected in the Leyland
Trucks’ mission statement: ‘Quality trucks built by quality people’.
Busy people too. Production volumes at the plant have soared by 30% in the
past five years. Continuous improvement has been embedded in design,
production and logistics to help the plant keep pace. There have been some
impressive performance gains: £10.2m savings from improvement projects in a
single year, 95% of customer orders delivered on-time in-full and less than 1%
off-line work in progress.
Leyland ensures extensive training opportunities for its near 900 employees.
Training budgets for external courses soared by 50% this year and around 30% of
employees are Six Sigma trained. The Leyland team just keep on truckin’ in their
mission to make quality products.
The judges said:
“To make trucks you need to get the supply chain absolutely right and Leyland are
the masters. The site has very small amounts of material on the factory floor, but
can call in stock from their supply chain with less than one day’s notice. Leyland
has worked very hard in getting the suppliers involved in product development
and employs rigorous supplier selection. They pick the right suppliers who must
operate at a gruelling 50 parts per million quality level, which is incredibly low.”
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
Leyland
by numbers
98%
Percentage of
supplier deliveries
received on-time
in-full
15,000
Trucks built per year
60
Employees enrolled
in management and
leadership training
in 2015
52%
Proportion of the
site’s Six Sigma belts
that have completed
two or more projects
BFA 17
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Diageo
Location: Leven, Fife
Sector: Household & General Products
Winner: Health & Safety Award
Highly commended: Export Award
A
staggering 40 million cases of spirit are produced by Diageo at Leven every
year, supported by a range of strong global brands such as Smirnoff, Gordons,
Tanqueray and Captain Morgan. Leven is also proud to be the sole
manufacturing site for the Diageo Classic Malt range, Johnnie Walker Gold, Platinum
and Blue, and luxury brands such as King George IV and Odyssey.
But this enterprising team refuses to rest on its laurels. It is successfully
managing the complexity of products on the line while, at the same time,
introducing more than 800 brand innovations annually.
Although performance improvement had been steady over a number of years,
the management last year determined to prove the site could achieve greater than
75% OEE and take its ‘attainment to plan’ performance above 95% while
continuing to make a step change in its accident rates and reduce quality defects
by a quarter. By the end of the year, all these ambitious targets had been achieved.
Recognising that these achievements are down to its people, Diageo has
shown a solid commitment to them by ensuring the best occupational health,
safety and wellbeing policies. All accidents and near misses, however minor, are
thoroughly investigated within seven days and key messages briefed out to all on
site within 24 hours. Full cascade of briefing is tracked until complete.
Indeed, Diageo’s dedication to health and safety has resulted in a 26% reduction
in total accidents.
The judges said:
“Diageo has a strong focus on the welfare of its workforce, which is reflected in
an excellent set of health and safety statistics.”
Diageo
by numbers
800+
Number of brand
innovations annually
26%
Reduction in total
accidents
1
Lost time accident
(LTA) last year, a
reduction from 7 in
2013, with contractor
LTAs reduced to zero
“Volumes have risen dramatically as the site has gone from packing premium-end
whiskey to expanding into the bottling of vodka and other spirits. The way the site
has risen to this challenge is striking; they have shown a remarkable
determination to improve manufacturing costs in particular, an impressive
management initiative.”
13
“The current manufacturing director is particularly focused on taking the site
through another step change. Despite the increasingly dramatic complexity of the
site, the company has put in place processes to manage this and is driving up the
performance of the site as well as striving to be the lowest cost producer.”
improvement activity
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
Lines (35 line teams)
trained and involved
in focused
BFA 19
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Tharsus Group
Location: Blyth. Northumberland
Sector: Engineering
Winner: Best SME
T
harsus is a rapidly growing developer, manager and contract manufacturer of
other people’s products with a pin sharp vision – to create mutual success
and competitive advantage for its customers by creating commercially
successful technology.
From start-ups to blue-chip companies, it helps develop and manufacture
ground-breaking products for the UK’s most innovative organisations, taking
responsibility for the products’ entire journey from development and product
management strategies to custom manufacturing solutions.
Among the components and equipment Tharsus makes are industrial parts,
washers, airport luggage scanning equipment, AGVs and recovery units, glass
crushing machines, hot foam weeding machinery, and vehicle arrest nets for
military and US police customers.
It exhibits fine organisational skills, not least on low volume infrequent running
product where maintaining the appropriate skill levels is crucial, while also
increasing manufacturing flexibility for other products.
As the business has grown, it has taken care to retain a positive, ‘can-do’
culture so that people enjoy working there and take pride in what they do.
Its ability to manage the supplier base has grown and it is creating resource
dedicated to a more formal approach in terms of strategic supplier development,
and consolidating the internal product development process.
Carefully planned and organised techniques such as 5S, standardised work and
skill control are fundamental to the company’s improvement journey under its
‘continuous opportunities and improvements’ system.
The judges said:
“This is a fascinating business – a combination of an engineering design
house/consultancy and a manufacturing operation. They are very good at
developing long-term relationships with their customers and one of the things
they are particularly concerned about is working with the right customers.”
Tharsus Group
by numbers
97%
Increase in turnover
over the last year
7
Apprentices
employed, with a
further two being
recruited
11,818
Failure rate in ppm
6
New products
introduced since
2013
“They have worked hard on improving the training of their production teams,
upping skill levels because they are in the business of selling capabilities and this
has really paid off. – their people are flexible, knowledgeable and always willing to
improve.”
“For a small business they take a very sophisticated strategic approach to their
supplier relationships, not something you see every day in an SME.”
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
BFA 21
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Kohler Mira
Location: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Sector: Engineering
Highly commended: Supply Chain Award
Innovation Award
Kohler Mira
by numbers
74%
Waste is recycled,
with landfill cut by
3% in the last two
years
£110k
Amount saved in the
last 12 months with
lean factory-based
kaizen activity
Nine
Six Sigma Green
Belts and two Black
Belts created
98%
Average first time
build/pass rate
across assembly and
test operations
22 BFA
A
guiding principle at Kohler Mira is to live on the leading edge of design and
innovation, an approach that applies as much to its processes as its
products. In the last five years, this remarkable company has implemented
a host of improvements that have enabled it to meet significant market challenges
including increasingly demanding customer expectations, shortening lead times
and more routes to market.
Kohler Mira comprises three top brands – Mira Showers, Rada Controls and
Kohler. Products for two – Mira (the UK’s leading domestic shower manufacturer)
and Rada (an expert in commercial showering) – are manufactured at the
company’s UK HQ in Cheltenham, making it a beacon of excellence for the group.
Indeed, driving CI is thoroughly engrained in all its practices. For example,
twice-weekly ‘operations issues meetings’ drive for root cause to solve problems
on the fly while, at the same time, creating measures to avoid recurrence.
It also employs lean tools including 5S, which not only helps boost productivity,
but also allows the company proudly to show off its factory as a ‘showroom’ for
the business.
Six Sigma, meanwhile, ensures that product designs align with manufacturing
processes. The company also has a strong focus on its people resulting in serviceminded employees who enjoy solving problems, are passionate about their work
and the business, take complete ownership of their tasks, and are happy to be
accountable.
The judges said:
“This site has worked hard with R&D and the supply chain team on getting the
design right in terms of making it manufacturable and optimising the cost of the
product. The way it has tackled design for manufacture is impressive. Indeed, the
site has become a centre of excellence for design.”
“The company are improving how they manufacture their existing products,
moving to more sophisticated cells incorporating poka-yoke devices and greater
automation. Technologically, the shower market has moved on a lot over the last
10 years, with the advent of digital showers for control, and this site is
responding well to these changes.”
“They have not lost sight of the need to work on productivity which has improved
significantly as a result of their great work on cell design.”
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
023_BFA_SEP15_Layout 1 15/09/2015 10:09 Page 23
Heraeus Electro-Nite
Location: Chesterfield, Derbyshire
Sector: Process
Highly commended: Health & Safety Award
T
he heat is on to provide 100% product reliability when you’re making
temperature sensors bound for steelworks with operating temperatures of
more than 1,500°C. Heraeus keeps its cool through a combination of highly
committed people and a factory so spotless it could be destined for the next
series of Channel 4’s Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners.
A clean environment is crucial when a contaminated sensor and faulty reading
has the potential to bring an entire steelworks to a standstill.
Heraeus strives for right first time, every time by targeting relentless production
efficiency. 5S is twinned with innovative semi-automated assembly and has cut
production time by more than 25% since 2010 and reduced scrap by 80%.
Workplace organisation stretches from the shopfloor into the back office with all
managers and 80% of employees performing weekly 5S audits. 5S efforts are
steered via a balanced scorecard, which links individual objectives to the firm’s
overarching strategy.
Faced with making sensors to daunting quality standards, Heraeus knows the
best policy is to let its people prove their mettle. “We are proud of our people and
their commitment to continuous improvement,” Mark Watts, logistics manager at
Heraeus says. “This is achieved through providing an appropriate environment
where individuals can take responsibility and achieve their maximum potential.”
The judges said:
“Heraeus Electro-Nite have put commendable effort into designing their
processes to better protect their workforce. There is a danger of slips from
spillages of powders and other materials on site. But the team are always on the
look out for ways of adjusting the manufacturing process to minimse risks.”
“Team leaders are constantly watching for trips and other safety hazards on their
gemba walks, and health and safety is at the top of the agenda at every
meeting.”
Heraeus
Electro-Nite
by numbers
0
Lost time and
reportable accidents
since 2008
100%
Percentage of
managers involved in
weekly 5S audits
£3m
Investment in
facilities since 2010
88%
Proportion of
products exported to
markets like Brazil,
Mexico and Japan
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
BFA 23
024_BFA_SEP15_Layout 1 15/09/2015 10:15 Page 24
The Hut Group, Myprotein
Location: Warrington, Cheshire
Sector: Household & General Products
Highly commended: Judges’ Special Award
The Hut
Group,
Myprotein
by numbers
20
Employees
undertaking an NVQ
Level 2 in food
manufacturing
£6m
Investment in capital
equipment in 2014-15
67%
Like-for-like growth
4.5m
Orders despatched
in the 2015 financial
year to date
24 BFA
T
hey might be a newbie at the BFA finals, but The Hut Group have exploded
out the blocks with all the power promised by the range of sports nutrition
supplements manufactured at Warrington.
The Hut Group, Myprotein makes more than 1,500 products including protein
powders, bars and snacks. The group’s number one challenge is keeping
availability of its online product range at 100%, with the Warrington site currently
standing at a tantalising 99.8%.
Progress has been built on some serious improvement work on the shopfloor
alongside heavy capital investment. Kaizen efforts are being guided by an all-new
management team in place since 2014 and headed Patrick Mroczak – the man at
the helm of the 2011 Factory of the Year winner, Aimia Foods, Haydock.
One year in and the team have already made huge strides aligning shopfloor
performance with topline business strategy. KPIs are deployed through a hoshin
matrix that links business objectives into daily employee activity. Twelve
employees have completed Six Sigma Yellow Belt training and are currently
undertaking their projects.
A team ethos is thriving at the plant, as noted by Mroczak: “I’m most proud of
seeing our people develop a team mentality and supporting each other with
difficult tasks. We’ve still some way to go, but getting the right people in the right
places doing the right thing every day will take us to another level.”
Definitely one to watch.
The judges said:
“A rising star that shows that, in the era of e-business, you can have a great
proposition and the slickest website, but you need the right factory behind that to
back up your promise.”
“When someone clicks on a box to order 100 products then you need to be able
to manufacture that product fast. The site has responded by introducing greater
automation and workplace organisation to cater for such a large number of SKUs.
Hoshin planning and workforce engagement have also taken seed with shopfloorled improvements bolstering performance.”
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
025_BFA_SEP15_Layout 1 15/09/2015 10:28 Page 25
CP Electronics
Location: London
Sector: Electronics & Electrical
Highly commended: Judges’ Special Award
C
P Electronics is – quite literally – full of bright ideas. Over the last three
years, this leader in energy saving lighting (and other) controls has
introduced more than 400 products, resulting in the creation of 46 new
product groups which have contributed 14% to sales.
The company’s bone-deep commitment to research and development has
helped it achieve double digit growth – 20%-plus – in the last five years. This, in
turn, has enabled it to develop into the number one energy saving lighting
controls company in the UK, now with a growing reputation overseas.
The company’s CI ethos is embedded in its impressive manufacturing operation
with 5S a key part of its manufacture control record system and ‘plan, do, check
and act’ firmly embedded in its new product introduction procedures. Its highlyengaged teams also take part in a weekly brainstorming session that focuses on
specific improvements.
Another secret of CP Electronics’ CI success is the progressive way it treats its
people – management encourages a highly motivated workforce that is
intrinsically connected at every level by listening, and being receptive and
approachable; talking to people every day and correlating improvement ideas so
the appropriate actions can be discussed and taken. This is supported daily by
informal one-to-one discussions.
CP Electronics
by numbers
The judges said:
“This is a small business that has achieved recognition as a market leader in its
chosen market – lighting controls. The company is an expert, not only in the high
quality products themselves, but also in the design and layout of controls.”
new production line
“CP Electronics has the experience and has developed the reputation both to
optimise the design and manufacture its products to a very high standard and
with reduced lead times. It’s doing the right things.”
164
Number of
employees
98%
Rate at which OEE is
currently running
£350,000
Amount invested in a
in January 2015
0.007%
Overall failure rate
for 2014-2015
“The CEO has a clear vision for growing the business and showed a strong
commitment to that by continuing to invest throughout the recession in new
product development, process technology and manufacturing operations. As a
result, the company has continued to grow year in, year out.”
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
BFA 25
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Plastek UK
Location: Mansfield, Nottinghamshire
Sector: Household & General Products
Winner: Judges’ Special Award
P
lastek UK is a progressive manufacturer of plastic injection moulded
components for the packaging industry. It offers a wide variety of inspired
packaging solutions to multinational fast-moving consumer goods
businesses in the personal care, household, food and beverage, healthcare and
cosmetics markets.
The company has improved its business dramatically over the last five years by
adopting a laser-like focus on quality, reliability, cost effectiveness, and building
strong, lasting relationships with its customers.
By implementing enlightened business practices including 5S, lean
manufacturing, process mapping and waste stream mapping, Plastek UK has met
a series of challenging growth targets including boosting its sales turnover by a
monumental 41% since 2010.
And, towards the end of last year, the company embarked on a comprehensive
training programme for its production operatives, team leaders and engineers in
what it calls ‘BITS’ (business improvement techniques).
But its commitment to employee development doesn’t end there; it also offers
a series of comprehensive training programmes that employ carefully organised
skills matrices. Training ranges from manual handling and other health and safety
development, through HAACP food safety to NVQs.
Upskilling is encouraged by the management and promotion from within is a
key corporate objective, a policy that has spectacularly boosted employee
motivation and retention rates.
The judges said:
“Plastek is a lean operation and yet the injection moulding machines run
consistently at very high OEE levels. They have remarkable expertise in moulding
and assembly and are very good at working closely with customers and on the
optimum design for their particular product to reduce the cost of manufacture.”
“The automatic assembly part of the operation is polished and incorporates a lot
of poka-yoke devices such as cameras on the assembly line to check that
components are inserted in the right way.”
Plastek UK
by numbers
0
Reportable injuries
over 657 days to the
end of June 2015
£3.5m
Rate at which OEE is
currently running
£2m
Investment in
expansion between
November 2014 and
February 2015
78.87%
OEE in 2015 – up
2.47% on 2014
“They are not afraid to invest in the latest technology. They also maintain and
repair the tools on site – something that comes out of their tool-making heritage
in the US – so they can immediately identify and neutralise problems.”
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
BFA 27
BFACONF2016_Layout 1 15/09/2015 16:41 Page 2
see manufacturing
excellence in action
The Best Factory Conference 2016
St John’s Hotel, Solihull & Jaguar Land Rover,
Castle Bromwich
t
Fast track your way to higher productivity and discover
how to become a best factory
t
Learn how the winners of the 2015 Best Factory Awards
transformed their businesses
t
Share the knowledge, skills and experience of the
BFA-winning manufacturers
t
Hear first hand what strategies, tools and techniques the
winning companies adopted
t
16-17 March 2016
Find out how a dedicated approach to Continuous
Improvement and innovation can achieve amazing results
Organised by:
To register your interest and for further details,
call Sandra Marinaro +44 (0) 1234 758142 or email s.marinaro@cranfield.ac.uk
www.bestfactoryconference.co.uk
Headline sponsor:
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