The Organisation:

Produmax is a specialist engineering business that manufactures and supplies precision-machined parts for the Aerospace industry from its facilities in West Yorkshire. With a high level of skill in providing customers with cost-effective engineered solutions, the company has organised itself to meet the growing demand for the delivery of high-precision, high-quality parts to customers worldwide.

The Challenge:

Jeremy Ridyard - the MD - saw the potential to grow the business but recognised the need to develop a more effective operation and create a culture of continuous improvement.

The Approach:

Working closely with the senior team, our approach deployed the SC21 framework (The National Aerospace & Defence Improvement Programme):

• It helped the business understand its strengths and weaknesses.
• Developed people to understand best-practice methodologies and the principles of continuous improvement.
• Established the foundations for Operational Excellence - based on minisimising waste.
• Improved operations layout and production planning and established an effective problem-solving process.
• Developed key individuals within the organisation to lead the cycle of improvement, and established the mechanisms to ensure it is sustained.

The Outcome:

The programme helped enable a 10-fold increase in throughput for a significant part of the business and increased productivity by 28%.

It also created the culture of continuous improvement the people have now adopted in measuring performance, identifying and prioritising improvements, and making changes to the business on its journey to operational excellence.

Jeremy Ridyard the MD said "The work we've done with The Excellence Partnership has been a significant factor in helping us win a 10-year contract with a major customer in the Aerospace industry. They have helped us create a more effective operation in a way that's right for our people and our business."