1. Mixing Unit, Farington, Lancs.
… our story
July 2000
to
March 2004
By John Burdett

2. Basic Information
 Manning 18 staff
 Volume 6000 t/yr
 Turnover (@cost) £4400K
 Deliveries 300/yr
 Value Added/ Employee £56K
 Turnover/ Employee £243K

3. July 2000 - A Unit is Created
• Unit Capacity calculated @ 110t/week
• UK had supplied 40-60t/wk to NL in past
• Cost price was set @ 1.27 eu/kg - NL own cost price is 1.09 eu/kg
• 85% of cost price is raw materials
• UK materials found to be 15% more expensive than NL materials
• NL viewed UK supply as expensive & unreliable
 Agree to supply of 100t/wk @ 1.09 eu/kg
 Driver is survival = must become a reliable supply source
 CE 532 cycle time UK = 8.5mins., NL = 6.2 mins.

4. December 2000 - Form
• NL mixer breakdowns in Nov. UK supplies 150t+ for 6 week period
• Reliability concerns begin to fade
• Key UK material suppliers on board & begin to deliver cost reductions
in line with NL cost base
• Finished Goods set up as large KANBAN
• In absence of feedback from NL, cost tracking software developed in-
house
• Unit Offices are made open plan & redecorated by own staff
• Unit Dashboard established - this uses data recorded on streamlined
Production Sheet - 1 sheet covers entire 24 hour period.
• Engineering focus on improving equipment reliability
• Technical focus on reducing cycle time

5. July 2001 - Storm
• Organisation change
– 3 crews of 4 changed to
4 crews of 3
– Frees up resource to run
sheeting line, helps with
holiday cover
• Technical focus delivers cycle
time reduction to 7.5 mins.
• Unit capacity & normal call off
adjusted to 140t/wk
• Operators moved from weekly
pay to monthly
• Clocking rules are relaxed

6. Dec 2001 - Norm
• NL agree to change in capacity utilisation - now uses UK as base load
(@140t/wk), & tops up with supply from own mixers
• Unit produces own P & L statement for 2001, showing modest
contribution
• Unipoly sells CB division to Fenner - Unit has 5 year lease in current
location
• CCTV system installed for operator safety/ building security
• P/Order database introduced for local spares, consumables
• Mill stockblender rebuilt - new unit is quieter & easier to replace as it
uses off the shelf parts

7. July 2002 - Reform
• New structure introduced - weekly
meetings now run without Unit Mgr.
• Unit P & L updated to coincide with
Fenner financial year, shows 4%
contribution
• Unit Mgr. Placement in NL to report on
opportunities to improve NL mixing unit
• NL safety change highlights “sticking”
quality issue with compound supply -
investigation centres around anti-tack
application
• Exterior of unit is painted by own staff -
surrounding land is cleared up also
• Focus is on growing capability in line
with NL volume forecasts

8. Dec 2002 - Reform
• UK moves to “expensive” anti-tack material & automates concentrate
dilution – sticking problem is solved
• UK moves to bigbag supply of carbon black (25% cheaper than local
source) - NL has bulk silo supply
• Raw material costs now almost identical between UK & NL
• OEE now recorded using database for ease of analysis & drilldown
• Unit Mgr. Involved in site lease negotiation for other Fenner units @
Farington
• Unit Mgr. Begins renegotiation of site service charges with landlord

9. July 2003 - Perform
• First significant CAPEX
– Screw conveyor feed for carbon black
– Replacement Hagglunds drive
• RA Taskforce - quality improvement of Std. Belts
– Exercise shows UK mixing operating @ 3.4 sigma, & exposes lack
of control in NL calander process as major obstacle to further
improvement
• Unit Mgr. Begins 8 mth placement @ PVC belt factory in Hull, covering
long term absence in Factory Planning role
• Cycle time now reduced to 7.15 mins. UK, 7.5 mins.NL!
• Equipment Concerns list generated - aim is to extend life to end of
current lease without significant CAPEX
• Key UK raw material supplier begins shipment into NL as well
• Locker Room & Showers are decorated by own staff

10. Dec 2003 - Perform
• All unit documentation overhauled & streamlined
– Business Recovery Plan
– SOPs & Flowcharts simplified again (phase 2)
– Safety documents extensively overhauled & converted to Flowchart
format
• Further raw material changes deliver cost savings (pre-weigh sulphur,
carbon black consignment stocks)
• 1st operational links with 3rd party organisation - access to calander
eqpt
• Unit P & L statement for 2003 shows contribution of > 10%
– Still invoicing @ prices agreed in 2000!
• UK rubber industry enquiries for sheeting grow, as competition dies off
• Prospect of sale as going concern - ongoing supply contract into NL
• Unit Mgr. developing an ABC system for PVC factory in Hull - factory
planner returns to work
• Unit Mgr. Secures £105K/ yr savings in site service charges from
Landlord

11. Conclusions
• “Last Chance” is an opportunity to be radical in the changes made
• Have a clear vision on the sort of business you want to be
– stay true to that vision, but be prepared to be flexible to external
influences on timescale/ approach
• Don’t push everything all the time
– If you can afford the time to let people develop at their own pace, they
will own the changes made themselves
– People learn by doing, not by being told how to
• Collect & store information in a format that allows easy analysis
– monitor for trends & use to “coach & mentor”
• Deploy quality tools & techniques “as & when”
– Don’t follow “fashions”
• Don’t preach, use visual displays to promote discussion
• Communicate each next step in bite size chunks