The Organisation:

LBBC Beechwood are experts in the provision of pressure-vessel manufacturing services to a wide range of industries and sectors worldwide.  The Company has existed for over 140 years and has vast experience and extensive skills in fabrication, machining and the manufacture of complex pressure vessels.  Recognised as one of the leading Companies worldwide in their field, they produce and supply customers in all five continents in the following industries: Defence; Marine; Medical, Oil & Gas and Processing.

The Challenge:

Andy Quayle – the General Manager – joined the business in 2019, and with his knowledge of World-Class Manufacturing understood the need to change.  He knew to be competitive in their sector, they would need to create a best-practice manufacturing facility, capable of meeting the demanding needs of customers.

The Approach:

Working with Andy, we developed a Lean Programme for the whole Company based on The Excellence Partnership’s World Class Manufacturing framework:

• Raised awareness of best-practice in manufacturing for everyone in the business.
• Trained a group of Lean Leaders on the tools, techniques, principles, and concepts required to deploy the approach at LBBC Beechwood, as well as the leadership skills needed to run lean projects.
• Worked with the management team and the Lean Leaders, to identify the key areas for improvement.  Coached the Lean Leaders to set up and run several projects to reduce waste and improve productivity.  One project focused on the foundations for lean and another on implementing a comprehensive set of lean principles applicable to the business.

Through implementing the projects, the leaders were able to see how their work had increased efficiency and improved productivity in LBBC Beechwood.

The Outcome:

The deployment of the World Class Manufacturing approach and lean thinking at LBBC enabled the business to significantly improve productivity in two major areas of the operation.

It also helped develop the culture and the way people now think and work. It has built the foundations for the organisation to continue to challenge and improve how it operates. Helping make it a better place to work and more focused on meeting customers’ needs.

Andy the General Manager said “The work we’ve done with The Excellence Partnership has been a great help to our business, allowing us to go through significant change to meet the needs of very demanding customers. We’ve now got a far more effective and sustainable business and we’re certainly better placed to meet their needs.”