November 11, 2012 - Cressall appointed David Moore as operations manager. Prior to joining the Leicester based company, Moore spent about 20 years implementing lean manufacturing tools for an electrical products manufacturer.
David’s experience fits in well with Cressall’s drive to continue implementing lean techniques and, during his time at Eaton Electrical he spent several years working with Cressall managing director Cy Wilkinson, who has championed the introduction of lean processes at the company.
Starting from the shop floor at Eaton, David worked his way up to team leader, then to production manager, followed by group leader when he was tasked with initiating a lean manufacturing programme.
“As a lean facilitator, my job was to teach people to reduce waste and put cost savings into operation,” David recalls. “We had one particular cell which was on double shift work with a combined team of about 30 people. When I went into the area to do a workflow and waste reduction assessment, we reduced this to one shift with 18 people to produce the same amount of work.
“I also made some floor layout changes to increase production flow and we went from repairing 2,000 units a week to 4,000 a week with two fewer people. The company also sent me to Malaysia to help retrain people there and teach them about lean techniques.
“I was also logistics manager for another company for a couple of years, during which time I saved about £50,000 a year in driver and fuel costs by implementing a GPS tracking system, and a further £100,000 a year by reducing paperwork and improving processes.”
During his interview, prior to joining Cressall, David walked around the site and could see straight away where he could use his experience to implement cost savings – despite the already impressive savings Cressall has achieved. He concludes, “I am really looking forward to introducing the lean experience and people management skills I have acquired over 20 years. I can bring my skills and help educate and mentor people at Cressall.
“I firmly believe that team leaders are key players and I plan to introduce a training programme to bring them to a level where they are able to drive the lean improvements themselves.”
Married with a one year old baby boy, 46-year old David is also an unpaid committee member of an organisation helping disabled people learning to swim. The organisation provides weekend breaks and week-long holidays abroad, and Moore has been involved in his spare time for over 30 years.
