Manufacturing Mastermind Visits Ultraframe

On 6th March, Ultraframe had the privilege of showing American manufacturing mastermind, Dr Richard Schonberger around its award winning manufacturing plant, based in Clitheroe, Lancashire.

Dr. Schonberger was an industrial engineer for eight years before spending 14 years as professor in management information systems and operations management at the University of Nebraska. He is the author of several best-selling books on related lean manufacturing topics, based on his visits to over 1,300 manufacturers in 33 industrial sectors across 37 countries.

His visit to the UK is primarily to deliver a seminar based on his study of `leanness' at The Manufacturing Institute in Manchester but Dr. Schonberger has taken the opportunity, whilst here, to visit the premises of two elite manufacturing companies.

Following Ultraframe's success at the Best Factory Awards in 2007, with an award for Best Engineering Plant, Dr. Schonberger selected Ultraframe as one of two best practice plants which he would visit whilst in the North West. Accompanied by Mike Price, Managing Director of Ultraframe Operations, Dr. Schonberger toured the award winning conservatory roofing manufacturing plant and shared his thoughts on how the company has developed into a best practice organisation over recent years.

Andy Crowe, Dr Schonberger, Mike Price, Neil Bancroft

Mike Price commented: ‘Dr. Schonberger is held with the highest regard within the manufacturing world and his 16 principles for Operations Management are used in companies across the globe in their pursuit of world class manufacturing standards. Ultraframe constantly strive to improve our lean manufacturing and to be selected for a visit from Dr. Schonberger is a great privelege.’

Dr Schonberger's 16 Principles for Operations Management are customer focused, employee-driven, data-based Principles which address all aspect of the manufacturing process:

* Team-up with customers; organise by customer/product family
* Capture/use customer, competitive, best-practice information
* Continual, rapid improvement in what all customers want
* Work force involvement in change and strategic planning
* Cut to the few best components, operations, suppliers
* Cut total cycle time & distance, change-over times
* Operate close to customers' rate of use or demand
* Continually train everybody for their new roles
* Expand variety of rewards, recognition & pay
* Continually reduce variation and mishaps
* Frontline teams record and own process data at workplace
* Control root causes to cut internal transactions & reporting
* Align performance metrics with universal customer wants
* Improve present capacity before new equipment & automation
* Seek simple, movable, scalable, low-cost, focused equipment
* Promote/market/sell every improvement

Many of these principles are used by Mike Price and the team at Ultraframe to continue to refine the conservatory roofing systems manufacturing process.

Following his visit to Ultraframe, Dr. Schonberger commented: ‘I haven't visited very many plants in the UK, but Ultraframe ranks amongst the highest of those which I have seen. In fact, I would say that Ultraframe ranks amongst the best I have seen throughout the world. What impressed me particularly was the rapid transformation over a very short time period. From my visit today it is clear that this positive trend of rapid improvement is being sustained.’

Tel: 01200 414659
Web: http://www.ultraframe.co.uk