Does your ERP system need some rocket fuel?
Each year, The Manufacturer publishes its Annual Manufacturing Report (AMR). It’s probably the most comprehensive report on manufacturing trends in the UK. This year it states that the “strong…
Key strategies to reduce manufacturing costs – without investing capital
Many UK manufacturers finished 2016 with a surge in demand from overseas customers, largely because of the favourable exchange rates for exporters. The effect was to take manufacturing growth…
Spreadsheets or a dedicated plant-floor solution – what’s best for your factory?
According to our recent survey, 64% of you continue to use spreadsheets to collect and analyse data in your factories. Typically, you re-enter task times and other job details…
Eight common excuses for using paper-based data collection on the shop floor
Our recent survey of UK manufacturers revealed that an astonishing 46% of you are still using pieces of paper to collect critical information from your shop floor. You’re using…
Industry 4.0: don’t get left behind
Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing, big data, IoT, advanced manufacturing intelligence… you’ve heard all the buzzwords, but what do they really mean, and what’s their relevance to your manufacturing business? If you’ve considered any…
How to turn small batch manufacturing from problem to opportunity
James Womack, author of the best-selling business classic text ‘Lean Thinking’, tells the story of how he challenged his children to an envelope-stuffing competition. While his children set up…
Five ways manufacturers use analytics to drive up labour productivity
We asked some of our key customers to tell us how they use the data and analysis, that our solutions give them to drive their continuous productivity improvement programs….
Is your manufacturing business ready for Brexit?
Whether you voted to leave or remain, like it or not, the UK is destined to leave the European Union within the next two to three years. Brexit may…
Six root causes of poor labour productivity
Poor labour productivity rates are a growing concern for policymakers and manufacturers alike. Output per hour in manufacturing fell by 2% during the final quarter of 2015 but rose…
Labour KPIs – what does good look like?
UK Labour Productivity According to the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) most recent Labour Productivity statistical bulletin [1], the weakness of manufacturing productivity has been a ‘defining feature’ of…
Five reasons why your manufacturing KPIs fail
Jeremy Harford, Managing Director of MESTEC, explains the five reasons why your manufacturing KPIs fail to improve factory performance. By all accounts, times are tough for UK manufacturers. The…
Small changes for big wins – marginal gains in manufacturing
If manufacturers want advice on making small change for big wins, MESTEC’s Jeremy Harford believes they could do a lot worse than looking to Great Britain’s Olympic cycling team,…