Turn CI on back office for big gains, BFA Conference told

Kaizen blitzes that went beyond the production area had major paybacks, Tony Wallis, operations director at Toyota Material Handling told almost 200 delegates at the Best Factory Conference. Wallis said: "The improvements we've got in the back offices have been better than those in our production processes. "Simple things like sending non-urgent post second class instead of first. How much will that save you in a year?" The comments came as Wallis opened the two-day Best Factory Conference, which showcases operational excellence from award-winning factories to the wider manufacturing sector. Toyota's back office kaizen blitzes have helped eradicate inefficiencies deemed unacceptable on most shopfloors, Wallis revealed. Reducing office paper stores, for example, had allowed printers to be located closer to employees, he explained. The simple switch had cut productivity-sapping walks to the printers, Wallis said. The measures were part of Toyota's commitment to cutting muda (waste) under the TPS system, Wallace added. Committment to empowering people and constantly scrutinising processes were key to TPS success, Wallis stressed. The advice was echoed by Colin Boughton of FujiFilm, Broadstairs in his conference address titled 'Quality focus pays dividends'. "Getting hold of processes" had been key to FujiFilm's award-winning improvement in right first time in the batch manufacture of digital and analogue inks, said Boughton. Openness with employees was another guiding principle, he added. "Communicate with your workforce constantly: you can never communicate too much." The conference will close day one with a keynote address from 2010 Best Factory winner Gary Winstanley of Siemens in Poole.