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WLP is a UK business consultancy service that has enjoyed over 25 successful years of helping business grow.

Process improvement

Improving processes using lean, six sigma, problem soling and chnage management techniques and tools.

Improving Productivity in Make-To-Order Production Environments

Steve Palmer on 2017-11-27 All the talk at present is about productivity and how we can’t, as a nation, afford to pay ourselves more as productivity has not improved. The productivity being talked about is the value we create per individual. Within a production environment we can define value add as the new margin (sales value minus direct costs Read More...

Managing Capacity Flexibility in Make-to-Order Production Environments

Steve Palmer on 2017-09-05 In recent years much of my work has been within ‘make to order’ environments where the products are tailored to the specific requirements of customers. As is so often the case, managers are focused on keeping the production staff busy, sometimes pulling orders forward when demand is slack. This risks customer’s changing requirements resulting in Read More...

Understanding Capacity in Make-to-Order Production Environments

Steve Palmer on 2017-09-05 Recently I have been working with manufacturing companies which make to order because the product they make is specified by the customer prior to manufacture. In both cases the process of manufacture is consistent, it is just the size of the product that varies. Orders typically involve a mix of sizes. One manufacturer has semi-automated Read More...

Data: Your Source of Answers

Steve Palmer on 2017-02-08 A lot of companies record a lot of data. Financial information, orders, process data, people data, quality data, outcome data. This data is often used to check whether things are OK or not. What about using this data to answer those questions we’d love to answer? Such questions include: Why is my rework so high? Read More...

Leadership Lessons: Become a Champion of Change

Steve Palmer on 2016-05-19 Human beings are creatures of habit – so embracing change can be a big challenge for us, especially in the workplace. However, when a business is failing, or not performing in the way we want it to, change is clearly required. So why do some companies seek advice from consultants like us, ask us to Read More...

Demystifying Six Sigma

Steve Palmer on 2015-11-27 It’s a problem-solving technique with proven results, yet Six Sigma is sometimes equated with using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. However, if you get to grips with working inside its structure and understand the tools it employs, Six Sigma can transform the performance of your business. So, how does it work? There are three Read More...

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) – Measuring Performance

Steve Palmer on 2015-10-16 One of the best methods of measuring how well a production line is running is Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). To help explain how OEE works, below is an example. Example I have a plant that I know runs at 10 tes per hour when everything is great. It runs 24 hours a day. That means in theory I Read More...

Lean Six Sigma – Improve Your Operation

Steve Palmer on 2015-07-16 It can be deeply frustrating to run a business knowing that the operation itself is flawed and costing you time, money or compromising quality. The good news is that there are ways to make changes that significantly reduce and, hopefully, eventually eradicate such problems. There are a range of strategies out there. Here at WLP, Read More...

Lean Tools – What Is 5S?

Steve Palmer on 2015-06-27 5S is one of many Lean tools out there. Often misinterpreted as “just housekeeping” it is one of the foundations of Lean. The overall aim of 5S is to reduce waste, optimise productivity and increase profitability. Do you work in an area that is used by more than just yourself? How frustrated do you get when you want Read More...

Monte Carlo

Steve Palmer on 2015-03-13 Most people when I mention Monte Carlo will think of the French Riviera, or casino, or France. But it also stands for a method of predicting how well a process will operate. Every business owner or service organization knows that the demand for its goods or services varies from one day to the next. Our ability Read More...