Craig Townsend

5S-creating a tidy workplace allows even further improvements. For any of us who have participated in a 5S activity, it’s great when you see clutter eliminated, but it can be just the start of a journey. I facilitated a 5S activity in a large Customer Service area but I learnt there was another area across the far side of the building where they stored documents. The documents were mostly delivery receipts and invoices signed by customers. It was common practice that those who went searching for documents came back hours later, complaining and disappointed. Unfortunately, there were no storage opportunities closer to the main office. We included this document archive section in the scope of the 5S activity. The team had a shelving unit built that was designed for the archive boxes. The boxes were labelled according to date with the older documents at the far end and the newest documents closer and easier to access. They limited the amount of storage to 24 months, with each column being 1 month. One of the admin staff approached me a few weeks later and was excited about how much time it saved. Nicole told me, “we used to hate going to look for documents and disappointed coming back empty handed, also having to move a whole lot of boxes to get to the one at the bottom, not to mention bending down for hours, it was painful”. She concluded by saying “why didn’t we do this years ago?” After 12 months of this new system, they have now eliminated the storage boxes and everything is scanned and stored as soft copies on a shared-drive, making the search significantly simpler. Nicole has been saying, “without the initial 5S activity we wouldn’t been able to see what’s possible and move to a paper-less process”. Plan for de-cluttering in your next 5S activity and start the journey towards further improvement.

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5S-creating a tidy workplace allows even further improvements. For any of us who have participated in a 5S activity, it’s great when you see clutter eliminated, but it can be just the start of a journey. I facilitated a 5S activity in a large Customer Service area but I learnt there was another area across the far side of the building where they stored documents. The documents were mostly delivery receipts and invoices signed by customers. It was common practice that those who went searching for documents came back hours later, complaining and disappointed. Unfortunately, there were no storage opportunities closer to the main office. We included this document archive section in the scope of the 5S activity. The team had a shelving unit built that was designed for the archive boxes. The boxes were labelled according to date with the older documents at the far end and the newest documents closer and easier to access. They limited the amount of storage to 24 months, with each column being 1 month. One of the admin staff approached me a few weeks later and was excited about how much time it saved. Nicole told me, “we used to hate going to look for documents and disappointed coming back empty handed, also having to move a whole lot of boxes to get to the one at the bottom, not to mention bending down for hours, it was painful”. She concluded by saying “why didn’t we do this years ago?” After 12 months of this new system, they have now eliminated the storage boxes and everything is scanned and stored as soft copies on a shared-drive, making the search significantly simpler. Nicole has been saying, “without the initial 5S activity we wouldn’t been able to see what’s possible and move to a paper-less process”. Plan for de-cluttering in your next 5S activity and start the journey towards further improvement.

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‘Been there a long time and is absolutely pigging!’ Thankfully this is not a manager’s comment lifted from my last PDR but is very close to a comment my wife made about me yesterday!  It floated through my mind yesterday and got me thinking about how things can still slip through the net in the most wonderful of processes. A few years ago, I was on a visit to the warehouse. Any time that I ever go to see a warehouse where my stock is sitting, I like to go for a walk around and get eyes on it. It is good to get out of from behind a desk and see the business that I am responsible for. As I walked through the racking, I noticed a pallet that was particularly filthy tucked away in a corner. On inspection it transpired that this was one of my skus On my return to the office, I did some digging as to what it was, and it turned out that the pallet in question had been receipted in over 3 years previous. Because there were just a few old cases, they were always getting missed when it came to reviews of slow movers. There was always a bigger parcel of stock that needed clearing, and no-one had ownership of the task to clear those cases. Meantime the stock sat there merrily costing money every week for storage and getting shorter in date code remaining. With the best will in the world there will be anomalies and outliers falling out of your processes. They may not actually cost much in the long run to deal with, but their existence can erode trust in your process as senior people ask, ‘Well what else is out there that no one is dealing with!” It is relatively simple to fix. 1.        Develop a report that can be easily run to identify problem skus and stragglers. 2.        Run it regularly as the quicker you spot them the easier they are to clear. 3.        Appoint one person who is responsible for dealing with them and making them go away. 4.        Give that person any support when they ask for it. If you want someone to assist your business in dealing with slow movers, then drop me a message. I would be happy to help.

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Many thanks to the team from Optimize for the invitation to their event at the Royal Institute in London last night. Rachel Riley hosted discussions from Palletex, Motor Transport magazine and Zenobe around the challenges of freight distribution as industry looks to de-carbonise and discussed the significant progress being made. APPLIED LEAN CONSULTING LTD identifies and reduces waste (stock levels, layout, movement around the site) and improves efficiency whilst on-site. But it would be good to have a universal transport solution to recommend, something that: - works with (only) 10-20 vehicles (vans, flatbed, hi-ab) - for parcels / pallets and ugly freight alike - cope equally with payloads of bulky insulation or weighty timber - allow last minute changes to orders - deals with staggered start times and has ability to add in collections on the same route. Optimize is the nearest solution we know. Any other recommendations out there? #worldofoptimization #leantransport #efficiency

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This is another warehouse automation company raising more capital. There is a good and bad. news in this. This could mean companies are ready for the next step of market expansion or could mean the cash is running out. What do you think? #warehouse #automation Brightpick #investments https://lnkd.in/gRJCTGgD

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The simplicity of EV has been brought home to me this week, a friend has a VW Tiguan that alledegely suffered total engine failure although the dealer has been carrying out further tests which disprove this theory. However I'm sure had the vehicle been electric the problem would have been much easier to diagnose and far less stressful for all parties concerned. I was born in an era where the Ford side valve and BMC A series petrol ICE's were king, these engines were simple to fix, not very refined and drunk a pint of oil every 3,000 miles. Over the years they have become far more refined, much more efficient and use far less oil, but has the ICE had its day? I think so. We're at a crossroads I think, whilst we have a good number of EV drivers who embrace their daily drive, many who find hybrids a better option and still many who still hate the idea of anything not ICE. As I work in the CV sector I'm finding ICE faults and failure much more common and some German manufacturers whos vans used to appear bomb proof are far less so, for me the jury's out !!

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🚚🔋 DAF Trucks UK has highlighted key challenges for accelerating the adoption of battery-electric trucks in the UK, stressing the need for more government support to meet zero-tailpipe-emission goals. At their end-of-year briefing, Louis Jones, EV & Connected Services Director, emphasized expanding the £200m Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme to drive wider industry adoption. Full story here: https://ow.ly/5HoP50UtqC0 #ElectricTrucks #Sustainability #ZeroEmissions #DAFTrucks #HGV #GreenTransport #CleanEnergy #EVInfrastructure #commercialmotor

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🚗 Automotive News Hopefully good news for our Tier 1 & 2 supplier clients down the supply chain we support. Ford has started production of electric drive units at its Halewood plant in the UK. These units will power the all-electric versions of the Ford Puma Gen-E and E-Transit Custom, two of the UK’s best-selling vehicles. . The Halewood plant, located in Merseyside, has undergone a major transformation to support this new production. Ford invested £380 million into the facility to ensure it could meet the demands of electric vehicle manufacturing. This move aligns with the company’s broader goal of producing only electric passenger vehicles in Europe by 2030 . This milestone highlights the growing importance of the UK in the global shift towards electric vehicles. The Halewood plant is expected to produce 420,000 electric drive units annually, further solidifying its role in Ford’s EV future. . #automotivemanufactruing #automotivecomponents #checkedrecruitment Link: https://lnkd.in/ghpMdyRk

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👏 Yet another example of why Unipart Logistics are a little different. Our breadth of capabilities is simply extraordinary. If we can support VW Group UK in their SAP supply chain transformation journey, what can we do for you? 👏

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Handing over from one team to the next using a Shift Handover Over Board. In a newly created small cell of 8 staff per shift in a large factory, they were struggling with 2 issues: 1) communicating key messages from one shift to the next oncoming shift, 2) arriving day shift not knowing the department status from the night shift. We piloted a Shift Hand Over Board showing key messages indicated by green (yes) or red (no). These key criteria were selected via a brainstorming session with the combined team. The key purpose: What key pieces of information you’d like to know that ensures you have a good day? Since their Supervisor to Supervisor hand over was only 5 mins, they wanted to capture the important things, ensuring nothing was missed. The Board allowed them to do this. They also wanted to test an Hour-by-Hour chart added to the board, showing at an instant the rate of production for each hour block. While this had only just started, they were optimistic of success, as other departments in the site used the same tool. You’ll also note they included the latest Gemba Walk Observation sheet, indicating findings of the recent Gemba Walk. A visual Shift Hand Over boards helps to ensure important information is captured and sets up the teams for success. See in the comments a link to a free download of the Gemba Walk Observation sheet.

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Handing over from one team to the next using a Shift Handover Over Board. In a newly created small cell of 8 staff per shift in a large factory, they were struggling with 2 issues: 1) communicating key messages from one shift to the next oncoming shift, 2) arriving day shift not knowing the department status from the night shift. We piloted a Shift Hand Over Board showing key messages indicated by green (yes) or red (no). These key criteria were selected via a brainstorming session with the combined team. The key purpose: What key pieces of information you’d like to know that ensures you have a good day? Since their Supervisor to Supervisor hand over was only 5 mins, they wanted to capture the important things, ensuring nothing was missed. The Board allowed them to do this. They also wanted to test an Hour-by-Hour chart added to the board, showing at an instant the rate of production for each hour block. While this had only just started, they were optimistic of success, as other departments in the site used the same tool. You’ll also note they included the latest Gemba Walk Observation sheet, indicating findings of the recent Gemba Walk. A visual Shift Hand Over boards helps to ensure important information is captured and sets up the teams for success. See in the comments a link to a free download of the Gemba Walk Observation sheet.

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With the deadline for Windsor Framework changes moving ever closer, are you prepared for the changes ahead regarding movements into NI? I truly understand the complexity surrounding the new rules and how overwhelming this can be for businesses - if I never have to say another acronym again, it'll still be too soon😅 We have created a simplified decision tree in order to evaluate your initial process changes, with the first question being the most important - are you authorised under the UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS)? Even if your goods are only destined for Northern Ireland, you will not be able to avail of any of the reduced datasets without this authorisation. Secondly - and equally as important - are your goods staying in Northern Ireland? If you are authorised under UKIMS, but the particular movement you are declaring is for onward movement to ROI, you should not avail of the reduced dataset. Guidance also states that if you don't know where the goods will end up, they should be treated as 'at risk.' Finally, if your goods are for NI and you do have a UKIMS authorisation, the amount of information required on your dataset (mainly the length of commodity code required) is dependent on the category your goods fall into. The provisions under the Windsor Framework are complex and have a lot of moving parts, but I would urge our customers in the coming months: ➡️ Where possible, apply for UKIMS in order to use IMMI for qualifying goods remaining in Northern Ireland ➡️ Have as much visibility as possible regarding the end consumer of goods and if they are based in Northern Ireland - this will allow you to avail of the IMMI dataset where possible, or ensure compliance with full customs controls where onward movement occurs ➡️ Ensure you are aware of which category your goods fall into in order to provide the correct information ➡️ If you can avail of other schemes such as the NI Retail Movement Scheme (NIRMS) or NI Plant Health Label (NIPHL) scheme, make sure to apply The coming months will be full of even more changes with S&S GB, Internal Market Movement introduction and changes to parcels and packaging, and as overwhelming as it can be, we are here to help!

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Proof that UK manufacturing is doing just fine. The CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for August showed a rise to 52.5 from 52.1, marking the highest level observed since June 2022. For those that are not aware, anything above 50 means growth. Our manufacturing clients are all very busy. Long may it continue. PS - the picture is some kind of water powered contraption we stumbled upon during a walk in Wales a few months ago. #ukmfg #growth #cips #procurement

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Automotive Logistics Global Supply Chain event has kicked off!! 🎤 Sneak preview of Criss Edwards red sofa interview talking about the EV Supply Chain challenges and how Unipart Logistics is solving them Keep your eyes peeled for the full interview 👀 Well done Criss Edwards you smashed it Unipart Group #automotivelogistics #unipart #supplychain #EV

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Manufacturing is having a far greater impact on the UK economy than first thought according to a major new report. ‘The True Impact of UK Manufacturing’ shows industry is worth £518bn and supports 7.3million UK jobs directly and across the supply chains/communities it operates in. Carried out by Oxford Economics and the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA), the in-depth report also shows that ‘making things’ accounts for 34.5% of all UK goods and services exports. There has never been a more important time to support, promote, and celebrate our brilliant British manufacturers. In partnership with MTDCNC, we now offer a comprehensive range of marketing services to help UK manufacturers generate more leads, elevate their brands, and ultimately sell more products. With more than ONE MILLION followers on our combined social media channels, not only can we produce winning content, but we can also deliver it to a HUGE global audience. Services available include: ▪️Video media ▪️White label videos ▪️Content creation ▪️Content marketing ▪️Recruitment advertising ▪️Email marketing ▪️Copywriting ▪️Hosted content ▪️PR ▪️Social media support ▪️Event hosting and management ▪️Live streaming services ▪️Podcast production Please send a direct message or email to arrange an initial chat. [email protected]

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HGV driver age profile: Earlier today, Motor Transport reported “The number of HGV drivers employed in this country increased by almost 55,000 over the last year, according to figures published by Logistics UK” but that “the industry was still over-reliant on drivers from older age groups”. https://lnkd.in/eyTjeXQV The graph shows three different measures for numbers and the age profile for each. The grey bars show people who say they are working as LGV drivers (SOC 8211), but which is considered by everyone in the industry to be an underestimate (my sample of one person I quizzed as to what he would call himself, when I knew that he drove an HGV, said that he would describe himself as a waste management operative AKA bin man, not a goods driver). The blue elements of the graph show people with DQCs, considered to be the best measure of people actually using their licence. The dark blue is people with a CE licence and the light blue those with C only. And the green elements are people with licences – dark for CE, light for C only. All the coloured blocks are in 5-year age bands. You can see the very different age profiles. There are many people under 45 with C licences who are not available for work tomorrow, but could be with a week’s Driver CPC course. You may not be able to read it on the graph, but 58% of those with DQCs with CE licences are over 45. The driver licence data comes from here (September 2024 = the latest publicly available): https://lnkd.in/e84RGkUt The DQC data (Oct 2024, so after the DQC renewal deadline) comes from a Freedom of Information request made to DVLA (happy to share) and the 8211= ‘Working as an LGV driver’ via a data request to the Office for National Statistics (it represents the period April-July 2024) – this latter is from sample surveys.

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The closure of the Stellantis (Vauxhall's parent company) Luton van plant will mean 1,100 jobs are at risk in Luton and across South Bedfordshire. This deeply concerning news has left many across our industry asking the government what this means for its plans on the road to net zero. Many across the HGV, LGV and Coach sectors seek clarity and certainty to invest. We have long been calling for a clear roadmap and blueprint on the road to net zero for HGVs and coaches and we will continue seek clarifications in all our engagement with ministers.   Ministers have responded to the Stellantis news by agreeing to an immediate review of the ZEV Mandate policy for cars and vans. These rules currently say at least 22 per cent of vehicles made in British factories must be battery powered. More carrot, less stick! That’s the obvious conclusion we can draw from these events and this announced urgent review. If Net Zero is to succeed then, in the circumstances, I’m heartened that the Government appears to have got that clear message.   This week’s events have ramifications for the road transport and logistics sector. With lorries accounting for 20% of UK domestic transport CO2 emissions, we support the need to decarbonise and we’re clear that the phase-out dates for HGVs of 2035 and 2040 are needed to give industry the certainty it needs to invest in decarbonisation. However, we've been clear that expecting hauliers on tight margins to absorb the estimated £100bn cost by themselves was always going to be a tall order. With a ZEV mandate enforced by fines not yet applying for HGVs and coaches, an opportunity still exists to consider alternative ways forward for the heavy commercial vehicle sector.    Our different approach contains two elements - firstly, a loan scheme part underwritten by the Government is put in place to attract the investment finance needed; secondly, accountability through a requirement to report emissions would ensure that companies hold each other to account on their plans to reduce emissions. We believe this could solve some tricky technical problems emerging from the ZEV Mandate experience - such as ensuring that vehicles are manufactured to meet actual operational need. Meanwhile, urgent clarity is also needed on specific phase-out dates for coaches. Whilst we believe that their decarbonisation pathway will mirror that of lorries given their similar operating characteristics, a signal from the Government over its intentions for coaches will help drive the investment needed. We welcome the Government’s intention to review its ZEV Mandate approach, and we call on Ministers to clarify what all of this means for HGVs and Coaches. We want to see credible, affordable and realistic measures in place for the commercial vehicle fleet which support our unique circumstances, and which assist, not hinder, our sector’s ability to invest. As ever, I welcome your thoughts.

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Administration watch A little while back Motor Transport added an Administration Watch page to its News menu and reported that: “A record 494 British haulage businesses entered insolvency in 2023, nearly double the number two years earlier, according to the latest data from the Department for Business and Trade.”. https://lnkd.in/eB4MM8wa I did a previous post on this topic and a number of people have asked me a) about the significance of these insolvencies and b) what the figures look like for warehousing. Dealing with the second point first, as that is why I created this graph using the same sort of methodology as I did before but adding an extra year to get a longer period of ‘normal’. What the graph shows is the number of insolvency notices (*see important note below). And it shows them as a moving annual total to remove all the ups and downs of individual months. The red line is for road freight and the purple line for storage But the thought that I would have a longer period of normal turned out to be interesting - look at the start of the purple line on the graph and where it’s ended up – although it feels as if there is a high current rate of insolvency notices in the warehousing sector, it is lower than the year ending December 2018. *It’s best to regard my graph as an index made from the number of insolvency notices using the search term ‘road freight’ and ‘storage’. While the demise of some companies results in only one notice, others can result in two or three. I’ve used a combination count of notices for Administration, Creditors' voluntary liquidation, Liquidation by the Court and Members' voluntary liquidation. This method will definitely overstate the number of companies that have become insolvent, and there is a small overlap between the two categories, but the important thing is that the counting method is as consistent as possible across the period. The figures for the graph come from The Gazette, which is based on three editions: London, Edinburgh and Belfast - so my graph is for the whole UK. https://lnkd.in/d3djCVqR Going back to the first point above, how significant are these road freight insolvencies? If you look at the companies reported in Motor Transport, just twenty eight have accounted for over 1700 vehicles. And over 3K staff have either been made redundant or moved with contracts to different companies. These will tend to be the larger ones, but there’s also plenty of businesses not reported on and plenty where detail isn’t available.

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