Lean manufacturing driving a range of sustainable operational benefits

Our operational performance has improved significantly in recent years and the resulting benefits are apparent across all our divisions. In IMI Precision Engineering the level of product quality defects is now at its lowest level ever and in terms of safety, the division has seen an 80% reduction in its accident rate over the course of the last three years.

The drive towards sustainable progress remains a key focus as we develop and support our people to apply Lean manufacturing to continually improve our businesses and customer offering. Eliminating non-value added activities using Lean tools has resulted in faster delivery and reduced inventory. For example, in our Alpen factory in Germany, orders for our customised actuators received by 11.00 am are now manufactured and shipped on the same day. A new manufacturing line at our plant in Fradley, UK can produce any combination of 700 different finished parts on demand, rather than in batches, which results in increased productivity and reduced lead times.