Student helps 'trim' manufacturer

The recession has forced many businesses to trim the fat to survive but one Christchurch manufacturer has gone as far as inviting a 21-year-old student to knock its business into shape.

Metal manufacturing firm Carlton Taylor Industries cut 10 jobs last May when the downturn disrupted predicted growth.

But the company now estimates "lean processing" changes being made will boost revenue by about 40 per cent.

General manager David Hawes said the firm made changes on the factory floor last year, including reshuffling staff and easing production line bottlenecks. It also turned to Lincoln University commerce student Ashleigh Davies to sort out its administration.

"We got used to way things had always been done," he said. "You need people to come into the place and ask the obvious questions."

Davies spent the summer break as a Carlton Taylor intern, sifting through the paper trail and pinpointing bureaucratic merry- go-rounds where time and money were being lost.

The internship is part of her post-graduate dissertation on "lean processing", - looking at supply chains, such as how Carlton Taylor can more efficiently turn orders into finished products.

"A lot of the improvements you will see are very common sense," she said.

Davies identified triple checking of paperwork and performing the same task in wildly varying ways, as costing Carlton Taylor time and money.

Hawes said most of Davies' recommendations would be adopted to help cut costs significantly and dramatically improve productivity.

"We are expecting 40 per cent more revenue from the same people by using lean [processing] through the whole company."

After the recession, many of Carlton Taylor's customers were demanding that smaller orders be delivered quickly to avoid holding stock for too long.

"That means we to have more flexible, and work smarter rather than harder."

Hawes said that after a drop in revenue from late 2008, Carlton Taylor had returned to growth in July last year.

Hawes and Davies stress that lean processing is not about shedding staff, but rather finding better ways to use them.

"It can happen, but it's really about reshuffling," Davies said.

Davies finished her internship last Friday, but plans to return to Carlton Taylor in six months to review its progress.

- © Fairfax NZ News