A specialist in lean manufacturing from Derby has joined a rapidly-expanding world-wide consultancy – and has urged others to follow in his footsteps.
Lee Bricknell, who lives in Alvaston, has been appointed as a Lean Specialist at KM&T which focuses on improving the organisation of workplaces to raise productivity and has offices in Europe, America, Asia and Australia.
KM&T, whose European headquarters are in Coventry, has vacancies for up to 20 more ‘lean’ staff and the 28-year-old is enjoying his new position after previously working at Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK in Derby.
Lee said: “I worked at Toyota for ten years and their culture and working patterns become embedded in your way of working without you always being aware of the skills you have acquired.
“KM&T concentrate on assessing the methods that companies employ for every second of a shift and look at how waste can be minimised
“This lean way of working is becoming increasingly important as companies assess how cost savings can be made so that time and money is not wasted and deadlines are met.
“It is difficult to introduce this lean culture into organisations who have never worked this way before but that is part of the challenge.
“It is as much about changing the mind set of staff as it is of introducing different processes and it can be a work in progress but it is worthwhile for companies’ profit margin.
“I am currently working with a company in Barnoldswick to reduce the time it takes to inspect a particular part and they have been extremely receptive to different ideas.
“One of the reasons I joined KM&T was the opportunity to progress my career because there is a set path to follow as a Lean specialist and I would encourage others to join the company.
Amy Foster, Human Resources Manager at KM&T, said there were currently 65 full-time employees at KM&T which would rise to 85 if their present vacancies were filled.
“We are always looking for new people with a lean or Toyota background and we’re keen to find more good people in Derbyshire,” she said.
“Lee is exactly the right sort of person we want to recruit because the nature of our work means we specialise in the kind of lean methods which have been honed perfectly at Toyota.
“At the moment we have 20 vacancies to work with our UK clients in various sectors for recruits who live and breathe the lean method of working.”
