Red meat chain must become lean

UK red meat processors must apply the lean manufacturing techniques used by competitors elsewhere in Europe if they are to prosper in the 21st Century.

That's according to Dr Martin Grantley-Smith, Red Meat Industry Forum (RMIF) general manager. He spoke to Food Manufacture at the final presentation of students of the first Cranfield Fellowship in Manufacturing Management for the red meat industry at Cranfield University's Management Development Centre.

"Of the crucial issues for the red meat industry, competitiveness remains highly relevant," he said. "We have first class product, we're very good at design, but we have to get into the mindset of taking cost out without harming quality."

He said reducing cost was not about cutting labour, but about working more efficiently. Major areas for improvement included effective use of machinery, particularly clamping down on downtime, and better use of staff.

Another vital area was taking a "whole chain" approach to processing. "We need to know the things people can do in one part of the chain, which will help other parts. This whole chain approach must be a long term goal."

Grantley-Smith said examples of this thinking included understanding the importance of getting delivery times right and the effect that allowing poor quality product through had further down the processing line. Effective demand forecasting would also lessen pressure on different processing lines.

RMIF research in 2006 showed that up to £500M in costs could be cut from the red meat supply chain by boosting efficiency.

The Cranfield Fellowship in Manufacturing Management aimed to equip industry managers to apply lean thinking to their businesses, said Grantley-Smith.

Students giving their final presentations at the event at the culmination of their 18 month course reported having achieved thousands of pounds in savings for their businesses by applying techniques they had learned.