Case Studies
CNES - The Brief
Expert advice from the Manufacturing Advisory Service (Yorkshire & The Humber) is helping CNES, part of the world wide metals company, Corus Group Plc, to become leaner, cleaner and more competitive.
The Brief
Expert advice from the Manufacturing Advisory Service (Yorkshire & The Humber) is helping CNES, part of the world wide metals company, Corus Group Plc, to become leaner, cleaner and more competitive.
Enjoying a long heritage (the Scunthorpe Structural Workshop celebrated its centenary in 2004), CNES has gained an unrivalled reputation for providing engineering solutions.
Over the years the workshops have been involved in innovative projects including the world-famous Jodrell Bank telescope and Humber Bridge , and CNES has recently won a clutch of major orders including manufacturing lift shafts for the new Heathrow Terminal 5 building and has also successfully produced a prototype hull for The Terrier, the MOD's new armoured engineering vehicle.
Business manager Alan White said: “To remain competitive in the UK and successfully combat the growing threat from overseas competition, we need to achieve maximum efficiency and productivity.
Continued...
“As part of an initiative designed to take the workshops forward, we turned to MAS YH for advice on ‘lean manufacturing' including 5S, a lean methodology to revitalise and organise the work place.
“Adviser Brian Sainsbury of PDA Management Consultants (an associate of MAS YH), visited us and with the help of some of his colleagues organised presentations on the delivery of ‘lean' training to as many of our engineering workforce as possible. They have responded magnificently and have really taken the new working practices on board.”
With over 1000 skilled people working across four major sites including Scunthorpe and Rotherham , CNES hold a wide range of highly sought-after engineering skills across a number of diverse processes.
Alan White added: “A thorough ‘Spring clean' on a massive scale, is underway as the first phase of implementing ‘lean manufacturing'.
“Clearing out redundant equipment from the Scunthorpe workshop which is over 400m long, storing other items so they could be efficiently and safely accessed and brightening up the building has also been successfully carried out.
“All these improvements are on-going and will play an integral role in our drive to remain one of the leaders of engineering capability in the UK .”