December 8, 2014 News The IATF has established a work team consisting of IATF member organizations to develop a design specification for the revision of ISO/TS 16949 to align with the ISO 9001:2015 based structure and requirements. For further information please visit the IATF website – http://www.iatfglobaloversight.org/
September 12, 2014 News The big, the small, the innovative and the straight up efficient. All of these manufacturers and more have been included in The Manufacturer of the Year Awards 2014 shortlist officially released today (11th September 2014). Entries for this year’s awards came from far and wide with shortlisted businesses as diverse as cosmetic production through to aircraft engineering. The awards programme this year received a strong number of entries from highly respected names including Coca-Cola Enterprises, MBDA UK, McCain Foods (GB), Cummins Generator Technologies, as well as class-leading small and medium-sized companies, such as Croft Filters, Fracino, Xtrac and many more. In a show of resurging confidence in the sector, an increase of 25% in entries was received compared to last year’s awards, making the job for shortlisting even more difficult. View the complete shortlist here For further information and to book your table at this year’s event, visit: www.themanufacturer.com/awards Callum Bentley, editor of The Manufacturer said: “These finalists represent the versatility and strength which is present within UK manufacturing. This year has been a year of increased confidence in the sector and a confidence which we have been seeing personally on a day to day basis as we deal with individuals and companies around the UK. “With such an increase in entries from such a diverse group of manufacturers, this year’s event will no doubt be a worthy celebration of the brilliant effort UK companies are making to help re-establish the growing economy.” All finalists will now attend an intensive judging day at Aston Villa Football Club on October 7, to make face-to-face presentations to an independent judging panel. Those shortlisted in the World Class Manufacturing category will receive site visits by an industry panel as part of the process. The winners will be crowned at The ICC, Birmingham on November 27, where over 1,000 industry leaders will come together for a night of reward, recognition and celebration. The Manufacturer Director’s Conference 2014 As the flagship event The Manufacturer Directors’ Conference (TMDC) will focus on the drive for continued growth in the year ahead, addressing both the opportunity for innovation and investment that this will bring. High achieving leaders will impart their knowledge and give insight about how they plan to grow their business. This will be complemented by inspirational industry figures, key government members and leading academics who will discuss the trends and influences that are shaping the future of manufacturing. This year’s event will once again be held at Birmingham’s ICC on November 26-27. For more information or to register your attendance, visit the MDC website. Industry Forum sponsored Supply Chain Excellence Award Congratulations and good luck to the entrants in the Industry Forum sponsored Supply Chain Excellence Award category. They are: EGGER (UK) Encirc Preformed Line Products (GB) Selex ES Sheffield Forgemasters International Spectrum Brands (UK) – ‘Rayovac MicroPowder Batteries’
June 19, 2014 News Industry Forum is delighted to sponsor The Manufacturer of the Year Awards 2014, which offers manufacturers from across the UK the opportunity to showcase their achievements across 14 different award categories. As principal sponsor for the Supply Chain Excellence category, Industry Forum is partnering with the awards to reward and recognise the UK’s best and most inspirational manufacturers. The Supply Chain Excellence award recognises those organisations that have applied innovative thinking and measures to improve business performance and successfully engineered their supply chains to achieve greater agility, profitability, efficiency and customer responsiveness. The Manufacturer of the Year Awards 2014 was launched at the House of Commons, earlier this year, with more than 200 senior business leaders turning out for the launch, sponsored by Margot James MP and attended by Business and Energy Minister Michael Fallon. Speaking at the event Nick Hussey, chairman of SayOne Media (publisher of The Manufacturer), said: “Manufacturing in the UK is buoyant, determined and as our recent Annual Manufacturing Report confirms increasingly confident. The Manufacturer of the Year Awards represents the biggest and the best way to test your organisation against world class manufacturers, celebrate your success and show your teams, your suppliers and your customers that you are strong, vitally important and here to stay.” Business and Energy Minister, Michael Fallon, also present at the launch, said: “These awards celebrate the ambition, creativity and innovation that’s evident across the breadth of British manufacturing. Manufacturing is critical to the UK: it’s responsible for 52% of UK exports and over 2.6 million workforce jobs. The Government is working closely with the sector to give businesses the confidence to invest – securing high skilled jobs and a stronger economy.” The awards are independently judged by an expert panel, comprising senior representatives from the manufacturing industry, previous award winners and manufacturing oriented academia, whose experience and feedback provide highly valued learning and reflection for entrants. In 2013, The Manufacturer of the Year Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner, brought together over 800 attendees from manufacturing companies and supporting organisations, breaking previous records for attendance. Having grown in both number and momentum year-on-year, this event highlights the growing pride, passion and importance of UK industry. Previous winners of The Manufacturer of the Year Awards include leading names such as Case New Holland, GE Aviation Wales, Sheffield Forgemasters International and Jaguar Land Rover. All the winners for The Manufacturer of the Year Awards 2014 will be announced at an awards ceremony held at The ICC in Birmingham on 27th November 2014. The awards are open now to all UK manufacturers. Businesses wishing to enter The Manufacturer of the Year Awards have until Thursday 31st July to complete their entries. To find out how you can nominate your business, visit: www.themanufacturer.com/awards
March 27, 2014 News Business improvement solutions provider SMMT Industry Forum is partnering up with the JCB Academy on an exciting engineering challenge for students. Taking place at Industry Forum’s Birmingham offices on Tuesday 8 April, the Automotive Challenge will see 36 JCB Academy students design, build and launch a 1:6 scale vehicle made from a selected range of materials and components. The vehicles will then undertake a series of tests, demonstrating their acceleration and deceleration, handling ability, energy efficiency, ride, luggage space, occupant comfort and safety. The students, in teams of four, will ‘launch’ their vehicles to a panel of judges including SMMT Industry Forum Chairman [Mike Baunton] as well as representatives from JCB Academy and CAT. The Automotive Challenge runs alongside the students’ current coursework on Innovation, Enterprise and Technological Advance which is part of an OCR Level 2 Principal Learning qualification, and can be used by the students as part of their submitted course work towards their GCSE. The day itself will run from 10.30am until 3.30pm with the winning team presented with a trophy and individual plaques.
March 13, 2014 News Paul Hardiman from SMMT Industry Forum was invited to speak at the JIPM TPM awards ceremony in Japan on the 13th March 2014. Paul, representing SMMT IF as one of the 6 JIPM Associate Agencies, was the only non-Japanese TPM Assessor present at the awards. He was invited on stage with the other 24 Japanese Assessors at the event, which included a recognised world expert on TPM, Mr Tokutaro Susuki. The event was attended by 60 companies from 19 countries who won TPM awards, with over 450 delegates present. Click here to watch a recording of the Award Ceremony
October 17, 2013 News Are you looking to grow your business? Do you want to identify key improvement areas of your business before your customers do? Are you aware that some leading vehicle manufacturers mandate MMOG-LE on their suppliers? Find out the implication of MMOG-LE on your business What is MMOG-LE? The Materials Management Operations Guideline/Logistics Evaluation (MMOG/LE) defines a common, industry-wide set of best practices can help to improve delivery performance. MMOG/LE is an assessment tool used to measure and improve materials planning and logistics efficiency within a manufacturing facility. It is designed to eliminate supply-related delivery risk for all partners within the supply chain. The intent of the MMOG/LE is to validate the organization has robust material planning and delivery processes in place to support overall business objectives. Vehicle manufacturers require annual submission of their suppliers’ score and/or assessment. Although developed for the automotive industry, the tool can be used by any manufacturing organisation to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of their processes. Who should attend? The seminar is designed for senior and middle Managers working directly in the logistics processes (incoming, internal or dispatch) and for personnel working in support functions such as manufacturing, purchasing and IT. It is also relevant for personnel who will be assisting in undertaking a MMOG-LE logistics evaluations in an organisation. What are the objectives? The seminar is designed to make delegates aware of the structure of MMOG-LE, the assessment criteria and how to undertake an evaluation using the tool. Topics Covered Introduction to structure and content of MMOG-LE Navigating the MMOG-LE Assessment Document The MMOG-LE Assessment Process Evaluating the Assessment Results How do I register? The cost for the seminar is £195+VAT, inclusive of lunch, refreshments and access to the seminar materials. The seminar will be held at Industry Forum Learning Centre, Birmingham on the 27th November 2013, starting with registration at 8.30am and finishing at 1.15pm. To can book your place on-line or call Stacie Dicken on +44 (0)121 717 6614. For further information about the MMOG-LE Seminar: enquiries@if.wearecoal.work +44 (0)121 717 6614 Download the MMOG-LE-Seminar flyer (pdf)
October 15, 2013 News Industry Forum Chief Executive Dr Chris Owen was invited as guest speaker to the the QAD EMEA Customer Conference where he spoke about Change Management and the common issues that were faced with implementing a change programme. The customer conference, which was situated in the stunning Weston Park country house, allowed existing QAD customers to network with over 100 of their manufacturing peers and to receive hours of learning and networking opportunities as well as access to QAD related products and services. Dr Owen’s presentation, through a mixture of practical and theoretical based models, focussed on how employee up skilling and development is a vital part of any change programme and a pre requisite if the programme is to be a success. There was acknowledgement amongst the delegates of these fundamental points and great interest in the tools and techniques that Industry Forum has used with its clients to implement successful change management programmes. Dr Owen’s presentation was concluded with two case study videos of international companies that Industry Forum has successfully worked with on change programmes, an exclusive first public showing of the newly commissioned films. QAD provides innovative enterprise software and services for global manufacturers. To see how QAD can help your organisation visit www.qad.com
October 1, 2013 News SMMT Industry Forum is proud to have been selected as one of the delivery partners for the innovative and ambitious Sharing in Growth programmes in the Aerospace and Civil Nuclear sectors. Both of these programmes will raise the capability of progressive UK Aerospace and Civil Nuclear suppliers so that they can take full advantage of the anticipated growth in their sectors. Our other partners on the programme include: Rolls-Royce plc Unipart Expert Practices Institute for Manufacturing Alexander Mann Solutions Global Integration Inspire SMMT Industry Forum’s expertise and experience in Supply Chain Development secured the prestigious position of ‘First Provider’ for Supplier Development Leaders and ‘Sole Provider’ for employee engagement in Business Improvement Techniques. ‘I am very pleased that Industry Forum has won a place as a delivery partner on the ambitious Sharing In Growth programmes. We are looking forward to playing our part in improving competitiveness in these key sectors and creating new jobs in the United Kingdom’ Mark Hopkins, Sector Manager Aerospace and Defence In co-operation with the other selected delivery partners, SMMT Industry Forum will be deeply involved in four year programmes with up to 55 UK suppliers. In each programme SMMT Industry Forum will support them through a structured approach to improve their competitiveness in three main stages: 1. Engage – A comprehensive business diagnostic leading to a robust 4 year business case. 2. Develop – Tailored, high intensity training for Management and Staff including: Leadership Business Improvement Techniques Lean production Modern manufacturing Sub-tier management Cost management 3. Sustain – Ongoing support to ensure that the business case is realised and improvements sustained. If you are interested in joining the Sharing in Growth programme please follow the appropriate link below to express your interest. Links Sharing In growth – www.sig-uk.org AMRC – www.namrc.co.uk/work-with-us/sig/
October 1, 2013 News Industry Forum will be exhibiting at the Plant & Asset Management Show 2014 8th – 10th April. Come and visit us on Stand P632 to see how we can use Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) to help your business eliminate ALL of its losses! On hand will be a qualified JIPM TPM Assessor who can help you understand TPM, its capabilities and it full potential on your organisation. We will also be presenting a 30 minute TPM technical seminar during the exhibition, day to be confirmed. To book your tickets for the Plant and Asset Management Show register for your free tickets on-line. You can also follow the Twitter feed for the show by following @PlantAssetMgt Industry Forum is one of only 6 global JIPM Approved Associate Agencies.
September 9, 2013 News Industry Forum will be holding a Total Productive Maintenance Seminar on 5th December 2013 at the Industry Forum Learning Centre, Birmingham, UK. Seminar Overview The Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM) approach to TPM Focus on zero accidents, zero breakdowns and zero defects Case study from an international organisation How to start TPM implementation Opportunities for questions and open discussion The seminar is designed for Senior Management, Functional Managers (e.g. Maintenance, Quality, Safety) and change agents (e.g. Lean, TPM) who are embarking on TPM implementation within their organisations. The seminar is designed to give delegates an appreciation of the “Pillar” approach to TPM, demonstrating how TPM can be used to recognise and reduce losses, delivering sustainable business improvement. The seminar will cover: What TPM is, how it will align to your business strategy and other improvement initiatives such as Lean The pillars of TPM and how they can drive the elimination of losses How to deploy TPM within your organisation The seminar will include teach points, interactive discussions and case study examples of TPM deployment as well as the opportunity to network. “I knew nothing about TPM before this workshop. I now feel like I have a foundation to build on” Gemma Osula, National Skills Academy, Food & Drink “Thought provoking, useful real world case examples” Scott Spindley, Hain Daniels Group “Very good presentations and presenters with a clear and concise message” Graham Wilkinson, Carlsberg Group The cost for the seminar is £95+VAT, inclusive of lunch, refreshments and access to the seminar materials. The seminar will be held at Industry Forum Learning Centre, Birmingham on the 5th December 2013, starting with registration at 8.30am and finishing at 1.15pm. Places are strictly limited and allocated on a first come first served basis. You can book your place on-line or contact Stacie Dicken using the information provided below. For further information about the TPM Seminar: enquiries@if.wearecoal.work +44 (0)121 717 6614 Download Flyer (pdf)
