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Archived news
Annual Jamboree
For those of you who still cringe at the memory of shanking your shot in the practice area at Hampden last November (has it really been a year?), you'll be relieved to know that this year's Jamboree will take place at the House for An Art Lover in Bellahouston Park, where there's much less scope for embarrassment. Doubtless the Hampden pigeons will be relieved that they won't have to duck for cover this time around. Although we'll be sending out invitations, you can book your place early when you register through the events diary for this year's event on Wednesday 21st January - numbers are limited.
CeeD reaches a milestone
The number of CeeD member organisations is now greater than 50... and still growing. We'd like to thank all our member companies for their continued support. The more companies which choose to join, the greater becomes the expertise and experience available to all in solving operational challenges. If you have an issue you'd like CeeD to raise within the community, please get in touch via contact CeeD.
Bright sparks join CeeD
CeeD is delighted to welcome both Dowding and Mills Electronics and Terasaki (Europe) Ltd to our growing community.
With a local presence in Bellshill and other locations throughout the UK, Australia, USA and the Middle East, Dowding & Mills is the UK's largest independent engineering and electronics services company offering complete geographical coverage in all service areas.
Terasaki is a specialist manufacturer of electrical protection equipment, particularly low voltage miniature, moulded case and air circuit breakers. With its European headquarters based in Clydebank, Terasaki (Europe) Ltd has subsidiaries in Spain and Italy and controls an extensive agency network spanning Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
The future of engineering
A key aspiration of CeeD is to encourage young people back into engineering and related technical subjects as a positive career path. So we're delighted that 22 of them entered our Modern Apprenticeship Passport in 2008.
In years to come, when these young people and those that follow become fully qualified, the available labour pool will be enlarged and the positions of those experienced operatives nearing retirement will be more readily backfilled.
Click here for more information on the Modern Apprenticeship Passport.
Hello Moto... and Nokia... and Samsung... and Sony Ericsson...
CeeD is delighted to welcome Total Repair Solutions of Inchinnan to our growing community. TRS is Europe's largest 3G mobile phone repair company. John Muir, Head of Quality & Engineering at TRS commented, "we... are looking forward to reaping the benefits of working together to improve business performance."
Howco Oilfield Services aims for a slick performance in October
Following on from 'Financial Strategies in a Downturn', part 2 of this mini-series will examine your strategic marketing options in the current climate. Our host for the day is Steve Hoggan, MD of Howco Oilfield Services which is part of the Howco Group, a great Scottish success story and another recent addition to the CeeD community.
Continually striving as we do to provide useful information to address the 'coal face' issues of business operations, CeeD is delighted to announce that Gerald Michaluk will address this Ayrshire gathering. Gerald is the CEO of Glasgow based Marketing Management Services International and author of several books on Marketing strategy, including "Riding The Storm" which deals specifically with strategic planning in turbulent markets.
Numbers are strictly limited for this one - but you can get ahead of the crowd by booking via the events diary.
A Wee September Dram-a with The Edrington Group
If recent news from the financial sector has you reaching for a wee dram, then our hosts for September's Bubble Group meeting certainly won't complain! The Edrington Group is best known for producing iconic brands such as the Famous Grouse, The Macallan, Highland Park and Cutty Sark among others. With Lehman Brothers entering Chapter 11 and a run on some UK banks, the theme for September's Bubble Group meeting could not be more topical. Scott McKerracher, Regional Director for the Clydesdale Bank and one of Scotland's senior banking figures will discuss 'Financial Strategies in a Downturn'.
Places are now very limited. Register via the events diary.
Rolls-Royce helps provide the thrust behind CeeD
As one of our newest sponsors, Rolls-Royce Inchinnan played host to CeeD's most recent 'Bubble Group' meeting on 26th August. The topic was 'People in the Change Process' which sought to address ways in which managers can win over staff who are reluctant to adopt new methodologies and working practices. More than 50 people attended and were treated to a site tour of the Inchinnan facility to see how a world class company organises its manufacturing operation and workflow through that operation. Mark Turner, Manufacturing Engineering Executive led the event off with an overview of Rolls-Royce business operations around the globe and where the Inchinnan plant fits into the bigger picture. Peter Hill of CFM Consulting then took over the reins to discuss coaching and mentoring techniques for managers, pointing out along the way how a failure to adequately plan, implement and resource can lead to specific behaviours within the workforce, as demonstrated on Slide 6 of the presentation which you can now get from the downloads section of the site.
BPI hosts the next Environmental Cluster
CeeD announced today that BPI will host the next meeting of CeeD's Environmental Cluster at its Ardeer facility in Ayrshire on Wednesday 14th January. This meeting will be of particular interest to companies which produce VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) as a part of its production processes. BPI has come up with a novel and almost costless way to get rid of these potentially dangerous gases...CeeD members can register via the Events Diary
James Watt College set to celebrate its Centennial Year
To celebrate its Centennial year James Watt College is hosting its first Industry Open Evening from 4pm on the 12th of March.
The event, aimed specifically at the engineering industry, will give you the opportunity to meet with staff whilst enjoying a buffet and refreshments. A tour of the facility will be on offer to see some of the great work being produced by students. In addition to hearing all the latest news about developments within the school the event will provide excellent networking opportunities with local businesses from across the industry.
To register for the event, or for general enquiries please contact Cindy Robb on 01475 553045 or at crobb@jameswatt.ac.uk.
Value Stream Mapping - Members' Workshop
Philips will host a members workshop session on Value Stream Mapping on Tues 10th Feb from 1.30pm. VSM is the starting point on the road to Lean Manufacturing. Contact Kevin on 0141 800 5104 to register interest in this and other planned "lean toolkit" workshops. Please note this event is for CeeD members only.
Undergraduate seeking summer placement
We were recently contacted by a 2nd year undergraduate from Strathclyde University’s Product Design & Innovation course is seeking relevant work experience via a summer placement opportunity. If you have or know of a suitable opening, please get in touch with Nick Robb via his contact details found on his CV. To download please click here
Need an extra pair of hands?
There are 6 x MSc Lean Six Sigma Green Belt qualified students looking for project placements in local companies to support their learning.
These students are available to work full time on a project identified by your company for a 5-month period (Sept 09 – Jan 09) with a half day support per week from the University’s Dept of Design, Manufacture and Engineering Management at the University of Strathclyde.
The project should be on an existing problem within your company which you have identified. You may have tried to find solutions in the past, which have not worked. These highly qualified students can assist in implementing cost saving techniques which can contribute substantially to your bottom line.
These students are keen to gain valuable industry experience to allow them to complete their studies and require only travelling expenses – it is your company’s decision as to whether you would like to help to contribute to their living expenses by paying them a salary.
In the first instance you should respond with a brief outline explaining the nature and extent of the problem including which manufacturing processes are involved – and a note of any supportive data which you have collected. The University will then assess the nature of the project and whether it is suitable for a Six Sigma approach before working with you to match an appropriate student. Please get in touch with Kevin or Gill with any questions on 0141 800 5104 / 5.
Six Sigma Cluster Proposed
8th July 2009
Does your company currently deploy Six Sigma methodology? Do you have any expertise in this area? Would you like to contribute to and benefit from a Cluster on this topic?
Alternatively, do you aspire to Six Sigma? Are you taking your first faltering steps? Would you like to work with others in the same position?
A CeeD member has approached us to gauge member interest in the formation of a Six Sigma Cluster. If you’d like to be a part of it and get in at ground level, then please get in touch with Kevin at the CeeD office on 0141 800 5104 or via Contact CeeD to register your interest.
If you have a general idea of what Six Sigma is but would perhaps like some further clarification here’s the what and why…
Six Sigma is a business strategy that employs both statistical and non-statistical tools and techniques, change management tools, project management skills, teamwork skills and a powerful methodology (Define-Measure-Analyse-Improve and Control) to maximize an organisation's ROI through the elimination of defects in processes. The focus of Six Sigma is not on counting the defects in processes, but the number of opportunities within a process which lead to defects. The Six Sigma approach begins with a business strategy and ends up with top-down implementation, having a significant impact on profit if successfully deployed. It takes users away from intuition-based decisions (what we think is wrong) to fact-based decisions (what we know is wrong).
Organizations adopting the Six Sigma business strategy will have the following benefits:
1. Effective management decisions due to reliance on data and facts instead of gut feelings and hunches. Hence costs associated with misdirected problem solving efforts with no structured approach could be significantly reduced.
2. Increased understanding of customer needs and expectations, especially the Critical to Quality characteristics which will have the highest impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty.
3. Reduced process variability and hence increased process capability and performance, leading to more predictable and consistent level of product quality and service performance.
4. Transformation of organizational culture from being reactive mindset to proactive mindset.
5. Created new customer opportunities, improved market position relative to competitors.
6. Improved knowledge across the organization on tools and techniques of process and quality improvement.
August Bubble Group Hosted by OKI
30th July 2009
"5 hurdles to leap - preparing your manufacturing business for the upturn" is the theme of CeeD's next Bubble Group meeting. CeeD's newest sponsoring member, OKI will host this meeting on Tuesday, 25th August 2009. The guest speaker, Steve Graham of the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service will lead us through the 5 common manufacturing operation mistakes and how they are fixed. To register for this free event, click through to the events diary.
European Research Conference at The University Of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, will host the Second European Research Conference on Continuous Improvement & Lean Six Sigma in January 2010. Anyone wishing to register to attend this through CeeD benefits from a 10% discount - please notify this to the University when completing your application so they can process this discount. For further information on this event please Click here.
French Engineering Student Seeks Summer Placement
13th January 2010
CeeD member Murgitroyd & Company has been in touch to let us know of a French Production Engineering student who is looking for a 12-week summer placement this year. For his CV and covering letter please Click Here.
Click here to view the current news articles.
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