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CEA Manufacturing Excellence Project The six companies chosen to participate in the CEA’s "Promoting Performance - Manufacturing Excellence" programme by undertaking MasterClasses are:
EXPORT BID SUCCESS The CEA understands that its bid for DTI Sector Partnership funding for a new export initiative has been accepted. As reported in the last Newsline the project is aimed at helping small and medium size companies develop export strategies.
CEA Chief Executive, Rob Oliver, commented "SMMT Industry Forum results suggest that the total Promoting Performance programme, which will cost nearly £200,000, will fully pay back this investment in terms of improved efficiency to the construction equipment industry". The MasterClasses concentrate on the manufacturing process to deliver tangible results and require total commitment from the companies involved. Each manufacturer will be required to drive forward sustainable world-class competitiveness via practical shop-floor improvement programmes. The classes are led by Japanese trained engineers and fully engage a company appointed team from the shop-floor. The engineers will measure key manufacturing indicators of Quality, Cost, Delivery (such as floor space utilisation, value added per person) and produce a prescription for improvements which will be tracked over a period of time. The companies chosen as pilots are also required to actively support regional CEA Supplier Forums which will be a focus for the exchange of manufacturing best practice ideas and information amongst suppliers to the construction equipment industry. The four regions, based on the geographical spread of suppliers in the industry, are the North West, the North East, the East Midlands and the West Midlands. The results of the MasterClasses from the companies participating on the pilot scheme will be published at the Supplier Forums to show others in the industry what can be achieved. A series of Supplier Forums will be arranged in the New Year when data from the first pilot companies is available. Besides giving case studies, the Forums will be attended by the purchasing teams of the major OEMs to enable them to meet supplier companies to the industry. There was an excellent response from companies in the construction equipment industry interested in participating in the Manufacturing Excellence project. The six pilot companies were chosen after careful consideration by the CEA Manufacturing Excellence Team (MET). Membership of the MET includes representatives from the SMMT Industry Forum and from OEM and component supplier members of the CEA. It was decided to prioritise supplier companies during the first year of the CEA programme. Criteria for choosing the companies included:
Ray Golson appointed as CEA Manufacturing Excellence Project Manager
Companies considering competitiveness programmes and/or interested in the Regional Forums should contact: Pam Hyde or Ray Golson |
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PROMOTING
PERFORMANCE UPDATE
MasterClasses,
set up originally for the automotive industry and run by the SMMT
Industry Forum, will be completed by the six pilot companies before
March 2002. The cost to the pilot companies will be half the normal
price, being subsidised by the CEA’s grant from the DTI for the
Promoting Performance programme.
The
CEA has appointed Ray Golson to work on the MasterClass project with
the SMMT Industry Forum. Ray has extensive experience in the
manufacturing industry as a Manufacturing Director and Works Manager.
He also has experience in implementing MasterClass programmes. Ray
will be working with the CEA to advise companies in the construction
equipment industry about what is involved in taking a MasterClass and
the benefits to the manufacturer.
