Lean Manufacturing Excellence

ukfirst, the industry forum for the furniture industry, recently took delegates on two best practice visits as part of a manufacturing excellence course in partnership with The Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers.

Based at Highgate House in Northamptonshire, delegates at the three day course held a combined total of 124 years’ experience and represented all levels from shop floor to director.

ukfirst’s Master Engineer, Bruce Lovell used practical demonstrations and interactive workshops to demonstrate how the implementation of lean manufacturing techniques can streamline businesses and improve competitiveness. The course covered the fundamental lean concepts which included layout, quality, 5s and kanban systems.

“Layout can have a dramatic impact on improving efficiency levels. Not only does it allow the elimination of material handling but also allows better visibility and communication.” Said Bruce.

With the help of ukfirst Master Engineers Andrew Taylor and Bruce Lovell, delegates were able to create a standard work combination table and standardised work chart in the waste reduction session, which led to a discussion on potential reduction opportunities. One delegate commented: “The interactive sessions made the whole lean process and improvement in efficiency easy to understand”.

Guest speaker, Peter Checketts from Furnisure, talked about understanding risk in lean manufacturing.  Furnisure offer a unique combination of risk management, health and safety, business continuity planning, support and insurance. “Lean manufacturing has squeezed costs out of the supply chain by moving to just in time inventory management. Risks such as this need to be managed to ensure lean doesn’t mean disaster if the supply chain is interrupted,” he told delegates.

Paul Goodall from Camira Fabrics spoke about the company’s commitment to environmental issues. Camira Fabrics were the first UK textile company to gain the environmental management standard ISO14001 and have continued to strive for continuous environmental improvement.

Delegates visited the manufacturing plants of both Johnson Controls, a global provider of automotive interiors, and award winning piano maker Kembles Pianos, to see how lean manufacturing has benefited their operations.

Milton Keynes-based Kembles Piano’s has been making fine British pianos for over 90 years, and the visit gave delegates an insight into how the organisation has adopted lean manufacturing and continuous improvement. The tour allowed delegates to see how product flowed through the factory in an organised manner, supported by good 5s, layout and visual management.

The best practice visit to Johnson Controls the following day helped delegates to see how improvements can be made to quality, cost and delivery to promote an organised and relaxed culture.

Certificates were presented on the last evening by George Mitchell, the Master of the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers, the City of London Livery Company of the British Furniture Industry.

For further details or to register you interest in future ukfirst courses please contact Alex Woodfield on 01438 777801 or email

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