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Exelin worked with the Mulberry team to review the existing equipment layout, materials storage facilities and flow of materials in order to identify opportunities to free up space to add further manufacturing capacity. A new layout was implemented which significantly reduced work in progress, improved material flows and that created space for additional production line capacity.
Outcomes
Mulberry achieved a 60 per cent increase in line output taken as an average, four weeks prior to the project and four weeks after the project.
Follow-up audits have shown that these levels have been maintained and the same principles have been rolled out to other production lines by the on-site operations team.
Using the structured approach we have been able to identify activities consuming time, resources and space that do not contribute to satisfying customer needs. In our passion for excellence, finding ways to eliminate these activities has been both challenging and rewarding but has ultimately improved the ways of working at Mulberry enabling us to increase our manufacturing capacity within the existing building and develop a blueprint for the layout in our new Bridgwater facility which now employs 300 people and has allowed us to re-shore more of our work to the UK.
Pete Carver I Factory Manager I Mulberry
We worked closely with individuals and teams to quickly identify the root causes of their production challenges, before introducing them to improvement techniques and providing them with the skills to implement them. Our rapid engagement was exactly what was needed to give the project momentum, drive through the changes and achieve the results they were looking for.
Charles Hill I Director I Exelin