MALVERN Hills District Council organised their first Best Practice Peer-to-Peer Manufacturing network meeting, hosted by Mark Chatburn, Vice President of Operations at Metrasens.
The scheme, evolved from the newly formed High Growth Forum, was prompted by the small and medium high growth companies involved as many face similar challenges as they tackle 20-30 per cent year-on-year growth.
Attendance included Alice Fox and Ryan Tongue of PB Signs, Rhys Griffiths of Pulsar Measurement, Ewan Abbott of Smartbox, and Chris Pinder of HDAnywhere.
Mark Chatburn showed around those present talking frankly through the challenges high growth had meant for Metrasens over the past five years and the transformation undertaken in their production processes leading to three times productivity improvements, less production space required, and reduced costs and a slight reduction in people.
Mr Chatburn said: “When I arrived four years ago, I spent time reviewing the operations systems at the time. I worked closely with the team to put in place a three-station flow line operating with sub assembly cells.
“This enabled everyone involved to be clear about their roles and responsibilities, as well as minimising re-working.
“As a result, we increased our output by over three times a week, saving considerable costs and space utilisation.”
Coun Beverley Nielsen, chairperson at Malvern Hills District Council, who initiated the network said: “It was very generous of Mark Chatburn and Metrasens to open up their factory to us to see just how they have coped with such significant volume increases over the past four years.
“The companies attending thoroughly appreciated having this opportunity to gain a firsthand insight from those directly involved. This is the most powerful way for companies to learn, and I will be looking to organise a follow up meeting shortly.”
