Manufacturing Productivity Bulletin - March Edition.
FourJaw Manufacturing Analytics
Award-winning manufacturing analytics technology that enables factories to maximise machine productivity.
February provided a 'mixed bag' of news from the media about the economy. But a 'mixed bag' of news isn't our thing as our regular readers will know. We want to cover the stories, topics and features that focus on the 'progress' the manufacturing sector continues to make to our economy. However, we recognise this is sometimes against a challenging backdrop of factors, many out of our 'direct' control.
Despite these external forces, British companies are still showing true resilience and proactive initiative; as evidenced earlier this week with Jaguar Land Rover owner, Tata Group announcing that Somerset will be the home for the site of the UK's biggest electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility.
The voice of UK manufacturing, Make UK issued its latest report - Beyond Ambition: Advanced Manufacturing, we provide our summary of the key takeaways that focus on the pivotal role of productivity amidst the competitive global manufacturing landscape.?
To help the teams running the shop floor, we've just published our latest article that explores the eight wastes of lean manufacturing and how the Kaizen methodology can be applied to help reduce them.
And finally, to shine a light on how much manufacturing is continuing to contribute to the economy, we've published our latest UK Productivity Index using the Q4 ONS data that showed UK manufacturers contributed a whopping ￡49bn productivity boost in 2023.
Enjoy our monthly wrap-up below.
ps...Still need to register for MACH? Check out the link at the bottom of this article.
Somerset is chosen as the location for the UK's biggest EV factory
?The future site of the UK's biggest electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility has been confirmed JLR-owner Tata Group says it will invest ￡4bn in a brownfield site near Bridgwater in Somerset. The government previously announced the flagship battery factory would be built in the UK, but this is the first official confirmation of the site. The new plant is expected to create 4,000 jobs and thousands more in the supply chain. It is reported that battery production is set to begin there in 2026.
Are you looking for new ways to eliminate waste in your factory??
The Kaizen methodology is often considered the "building block" of all lean manufacturing methods. One of the core pillars of Kaizen is to ‘eliminate waste’ that can be applied to the '8 wastes of lean manufacturing' by encouraging them to continuously identify problematic or inefficient areas and work on resolving them.?
Read our article that explores the eight wastes of lean manufacturing and how the Kaizen methodology can be applied to help reduce them.
Productivity is not everything, but in the long run, it's almost everything
?Make UK's latest report - Beyond Ambition: Advanced Manufacturing – delves into technologies and strategies driving advances in UK manufacturing, exploring how they can empower firms of all sizes to become more productive.
The report highlights that when firms focus not just on what they make, but how they make it, they achieve dramatic productivity gains, boost environmental sustainability, and increase their balance-sheet profitability – to not only survive but thrive in the face of a rapidly evolving global market. Read the full report at Make UK.
UK Manufacturers deliver ￡49bn productivity boost in 2023
Q4 2023 UPDATE
FourJaw's quarterly analysis of ONS data shows that UK manufacturers ramped up productivity by ￡48.5bn in 2023, marking an 8.6% increase from the previous year, with significant contributions from the automotive and food sectors. The total output for UK manufacturing reached ￡615bn in 2023. The year concluded by overcoming a mid-year slump to achieve ￡155bn in output during the final quarter.
See you next month at MACH 2024!!?Register for FREE
The MACH Exhibition will be back on the 15th of April until the 19th of April 2024! The event is renowned for inspiring, innovating and connecting engineering-based manufacturing and FourJaw is delighted to be present, with our team located on 17-362.
Be part of it. Register for FREE, using the link below.?
Thanks for reading and until next month, happy manufacturing!
The FourJaw Manufacturing Analytics Team