Learning to be Lean

Chris March-Jones, Head of Continuous Improvement EMEA at Justrite, is using the principal of Lean manufacturing to improve the way we work at Hughes.

Lean manufacturing is a methodology that focuses on minimizing waste within manufacturing systems while simultaneously maximizing productivity. The Manufacturing Institute offers an Accelerated Route to Lean (ARTL) programme aimed at providing proven, practical toolkits to speed up the process of implementing Lean manufacturing.

After just a few weeks of starting the programme, the Lean strategy Chris implemented at Hughes more than doubled production capacity in one of the manufacturing cells and cut customer lead times on those products by 3 weeks.

“I knew there were opportunities to introduce Lean concepts at Hughes and that the potential was there. What I didn’t understand was how to pull together all the disparate Lean ideas I’d experienced over the years into a coherent process.” said Chris, “The knowledge I gained on the ARTL programme with the Manufacturing Institute really helped me to break down the problem, and approach it in a very data-driven manner.”

To find out more about how Chris benefitted from the ARTL and is aiding Hughes and Justrite Safety Group embrace Lean principals, read the Manufacturing Institute’s case study: https://manufacturinginstitute.co.uk/blog/accelerated-route-to-lean-manufacturing-helps-double-production-capacity-for-safety-specialists/