What is Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM)?

Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) is a strategy for reducing lead-times across all functions of an organisation. The resulting improvements in speed and responsiveness increase the organisation’s agility and responsiveness, resulting in competitive advantage.

 

Many well-known Lean Manufacturing tools have been developed for high volume/low variety, or ‘mass production’ environments. Think of techniques such a Pull Systems, Kanban, Line Balancing and Heijunka for instance, often applied to fast moving production lines. However, these tools often do not translate well to low volume/high variety environments, which require short batch runs, higher levels of customisation and fast response to changes in customer demand.

 

For businesses facing the challenge of meeting increased customisation and speed, QRM is a strategy which relentlessly focuses on reducing lead-time both on the shop floor and in the office operations. QRM strategy comprises of 4 core concepts; The power of time, Organisation structure, System dynamics, Enterprise wide application.

 

Quick Response Manufacturing applies to every aspect of an organisation, is singular in its focus and simple to understand – generating competitive advantage through relentless reduction of lead-time.

 

Industry Forum has now partnered with The QRM Institute, which provides four levels of training and certification in QRM to offer the only QRM Silver Course® in the UK. The QRM Institute Silver ® Course combines theoretical knowledge of QRM principles, with practical applications through exercises and simulations. It illustrates the transformation of a cost-centric traditional organization (shop floor or support services) into an agile QRM-cell organization, focused on the reduction of the lead time.

The QRM approach is not about working faster, but about working better together. In order to simplify operations and streamline the company’s processes – both internally and externally (suppliers and customers) – by creating a motivating and sustainable collaborative dynamic. 

 

The course, which is suitable for a great number of roles within the manufacturing environment, enables attendees to respond better to the challenges and demands of customers who are moving towards high mix / low volume environments.