Correction: Burbidge uses Production Modelling simulation tools

£12m Burbidge, which manufactures wooden kitchen unit doors and fixtures at two sites in Coventry, has been successfully using simulation tools from Production Modelling – for both business strategy and manufacturing process improvement. Graham Heaven, finance director, explains: “We’re closely aligned to the housing market, so back in 1990 when that market collapsed we started to struggle. We found ourselves having to compete with the big importing distributors offering low prices. “We had ongoing debates on how to resolve our problems, and those went on for years.” Then Heaven came across a simulation consultancy, and says: “We decided to use them to analyse our business strategy. Should we have a warehouse packed full of kit, for example, or rationalise the product range, or modify our factory assets and move to Just in Time manufacturing? “We used the model to look at demand patterns and possible stocking policies to help us compete, but it showed that the cost of stock commitments required to cover the variability of demand on our then production methods would be too much. “So then we used it look at the factory. We collected data, and that showed two things. First, it doesn’t take long to make a door – about one hour – but material was spending three weeks in the factory, so we needed to look at lead times and batch sizes. “Second, we also needed to look at cycle times: if it’s four weeks then the required stock holding will be large, driven by variability of demand which forces you up exponentially as you push the time frame out. So we went for an average one week cycle: batch sizes went down, lead times went down from three or four weeks to two days, and the stock commitment went right down.” Burbidge went for the suggested changes, spending considerable time working along automotive industry lines to effect the recommendations. It was a resounding success. “Simulation was critical to all that,” says Heaven. “It gets you to look at the real issues in detail. Also, other people’s ideas and concepts can be analysed objectively with real information, and you can see the effect of your strategy in terms of percentage of orders late and so on.” And he adds: “It’s amazing what you find: what really happens with the processes, what’s actually being done by operators.” Which has been his path to further analysis and business transformation – going on to buy the Production Modelling tools and do the analysis and simulation in-house.