The Organisation:
Chesterfield Special Cylinders are world leaders in the design and manufacture of engineered high-pressure gas containment systems. They supply to a broad range of industries worldwide and have been for over a hundred years. The business is based in Sheffield, Yorkshire.
The Challenge:
A significant reduction in demand for one of its core services led Mick Pinder, the MD and Phil Catton, the Production Director to question the effectiveness of that service. They wanted to see how best to realign their offering with market need and asked The Excellence Partnership Ltd to review and improve that service offering.
The Approach:
Working closely with the operations team - a project was initiated, based on The Excellence Partnership's Lean Improvement Framework. This:
- Enabled the team to review the service and understand the need to change to meet the needs of the market.
- Developed the team's understanding of Lean Thinking and its application in Chesterfield Special Cylinders.
- Re-engineered the process to maximise the value-added activity and minimise waste and process variability.
- Engaged the entire supply chain to address the inter-departmental and inter-business issues that were reducing efficiencies.
- Developed a new methodology for scheduling and controlling the operation in line with customer demand.
- Developed a new package for the service, making it more attractive to customers.
Dave Cook, who manages that core Service, led his team to come up with and implement a detailed improvement plan to make the operation significantly more effective.
The Outcome:
The programme has enabled the operation to develop: A more effective and efficient Service; Create new methods for managing variability in customer demand; Improve the management and control of the overall supply chain.
The programme enabled the business to instantly win a significant new order meaning the return on investment on the work was 35:1.
The MD Mick Pinder said "This project was an undoubted success in terms of its deliverable but there is a more peripheral benefit to this kind of exercise which a lot of people miss. Done in the right way, a lean event can engage the shop floor, make them realise that we need and value their input. They can see tangible evidence of their efforts and bridges start to form between management and the workforce. For me, this is as much a part of a Lean event as creating a more efficient service. The team visibly improved in confidence through the exercise which was good to see and relationships have improved also."