The Manufacturing
Performance Masterclass (held
at Accolade Wines) brought
manufacturing professionals together
to discuss methods for Right First
Time manufacturing.

A keynote address from Richard
Lloyd, general manager of Accolade
Wines, told how the company uses
lean tools and initiatives, clear
strategy and people to shape its change
agenda. Delegates were inspired by a
5S Grand Prix board, displaying
(from track positions) which
department was doing better in
terms of 5S. Lloyd concluded that to
bring about change you must inspire
and engage with your team.

There were presentations from Yeo
Valley,Wrigley UK, Seven Seas, Chivas
Brothers, Cardiff Business School
and Spirax Sarco, covering their
approach to lean programmes and to
Right First Time. Dr Nick Rich
explored the foundations of Right
First Time, and a case study from
Grant Forbes of Seven Seas explained
how the company involves staff in
manufacturing; from marketing to
shop floor. The morning ended with
‘The Search for Perfection’ at Wrigley
UK, by lean coach Simon Billett.
In the afternoon Steve Welch from
Yeo Valley shared his experience of
getting a lean programme off the
ground. The company initially opted
for a Kaizen blitz, and saw results
going up and down. They couldn’t
get people involved, and the outcome
was disappointing. They then tried
several tools (from 5S to A3s) before
finding what was most appropriate
for Yeo Valley’s needs.

Alan France, operations director
of Idhammar Systems explained how
accurate real-time shop-floor
performance measurement can
identify and quantify the large losses
which can occur when production
runs fail to produce products which
are right first time (RFT). Following
this, Dave McVittie of Chivas
Brothers ran through an OEE
system, demonstrating why an
automated system is essential for a
fast pace manufacturing company.

The main conclusion drawn: It’s
all very well to strive for Right First
Time, but in order to begin to seek
perfection, it’s necessary to engage
with staff at all levels and involve them
in the lean journey from the start.