04/01/2012 by Andrew Nicholson.

Just a quick note that the new national (UK) MAS website is at http://www.mymas.org/,

with a link to a new searchable Register of Consultants

http://www.masdirectory.org/mas/Manufacturer/index.php

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15/03/2011 by Andrew Nicholson.

Expert on-site assessment offered to owner-managed manufacturing companies in Northern England. To book your Free Factory Audit now visit FreeFactoryAudit.com - it does what it says!

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05/12/2010 by Andrew Nicholson.

Since my early days at Hewlett Packard I’ve been a great fan of the Malcolm Baldridge Award. In the US it’s a highly renowned and much-coveted Award and many organisations use it as a tool for benchmarking, assessment and performance measurement. In Europe it’s been “translated” into the EFQM Business Excellence Model.  

The principles on which it’s based are very simple but most people and organisations find them very difficult to apply consistently and well. Personally, I find it reassuring in some ways that Award-winners will typically score around 500 or 600 on a scale of 1,000.

I’ve always thought that if you spend your life telling other people how important it is for them to improve how they do things then  you’ve got be serious about improving your own approach. As the Americans themselves put it: “You’ve got to eat your own dog food!”

Which is exactly what the Baldridge folk themselves are doing, with the ”New” Baldridge Award.

Here are some comments from the “Baldridge Blog” (my title, not theirs!) http://www.baldrige.com/baldrige/baldrigestate_programs/the-new-malcolm-baldrige-award/: 

“The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award came into being by act of Congress in 1987 at a time when the quality of many American products suffered by comparison to that of the Japanese. The criteria for the Award aligned with the teachings of great quality gurus like Deming and Juran. The goal was to improve quality so that American businesses would be more competitive.

Today, the Baldrige criteria address all of the elements that contribute to an organization’s success and sustainability, including quality, and are not limited to use by businesses. In fact, business accounted for just over 14% of this year’s Award applicants.

The name change precedes changes to the Baldrige criteria that the Baldrige program indicates will be available shortly. The 2011-2012 model should show significant improvements over the previous version, particularly in the customer focus area. Stay tuned for more details.”

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05/12/2010 by Andrew Nicholson.

Congratulations again to James H Heal!  Shortly after their successful Excellence in Business Award 2010 from the Yorkshire Post, they’ve won the “Manufacturer of the Year” award organised by the Halifax Evening Courier.  This award honours Calderdale’s strength and expertise as a centre of manufacturing excellence and the winner had to demonstrate the following:

• A modern and efficient approach to manufacturing and marketing
• A commitment to excellence in its products and service
• A highly successful trading performance, preferably based on new and improved products as well as established lines
• A strategy to reach new markets and improve reach within existing ones
• Where applicable, a commitment to research and development

 Congratulations to everyone as you continue on your Lean Journey! http://textile-testing.blogspot.com/

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