Capacity
Increasing capacity without increasing cost
Newton recognises that wherever the capacity of a process limits sales, there are substantial opportunities to increase efficiency and avoid the costs associated with the usual solutions of overtime, adding more shifts, outsourcing or
capital expenditure.
Firstly we ensure that production lines are crewed to the optimum level, and that breaks and shift handovers are well covered. Once the basics are in place we optimise scheduling to ensure the correct running order and batch size, minimising changeovers and all associated losses. Then we challenge existing procedures, production speeds, downtimes and causes of waste so that current capacity is truly maximised.
A pre-requisite of successfully delivering an improvement project is knowledge transfer and the training of key site personnel – this is implemented and tracked with the same vigour as technical improvements on the line.
Our success is reflected in measurable improvement and hard figures – like a 70% increase in site capacity for a ready meals producer, a £2.5 million p.a. increase in profit from a 20% improvement in site capacity for a fresh food business, and a 40% increase in caramel manufacture for a biscuit company, avoiding the need for outsourcing and saving £170,000 a year.