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With over 30 years of practical experience in manufacturing, process and engineering, Peter enables small business owners to translate their initial thoughts into deliverable solutions, improve their employee engagement across the whole workforce analyses process problems to home in on the right approach for the business and simplifies and structures both manufacturing and business processes to develop added value and efficiency.

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MAT is delighted to announce that we have agreed a collaboration with Matthew Humphreys of Phoenix Red. As a specialist engineering consultancy in the manufacturing and process industries, MAT have had a long history of developing bespoke solutions and process improvements, along with project management, and process automation design in these industries. MAT is unusual because they focus on a more general approach rather than specialise in particular skills, which means that clients don’t need to be able to define their problem to source specialist help. This new collaboration will enable the team to demonstrate an even wider understanding of different industries, but adds further depth to their mechanical engineering and production line optimisation capabilities. The hallmark of both Peter and Matthew is great communication with all levels of an organisation, and this collaboration will enable them to provide additional confidence to their clients. They both believe that improvement doesn’t always have to mean large capital expenditure and work with the existing staff to improve efficiencies and productivity. Says MAT Director, Peter Francis: “Whenever we tackle a problem, or help a client introduce improvements, we never make assumptions about the right way to approach it. Because we aren’t tied into any particular equipment, or even to specific engineering options, we’ll work with the client to find the best and long-term solution that works for them and their team – which may not necessarily be the cheapest or the obvious initial choice. “There are many applications from other industries and innovative approaches which can also be applied to our client’s business, but through constraint of industry norms, many clients aren’t aware and it requires a generalist approach to bring these in, adapt and make them work well. “Whilst many consulting companies are focused on digital improvements for manufacturing, we're passionate about making sure that it’s the people in manufacturing who are empowered to make the difference. The changes over the last 18 months have made us look closely at the potential for many smaller manufacturers who have the will, but not always the expertise or time to make the improvements they want to put in place. By helping businesses to develop, and execute, a plan to make the best use of their own people and their existing assets, we give them the confidence and the tools to forge ahead.” Matthew Humphreys added: “Companies have previously been told that technology and digital solutions are the key to company improvements. Our approach is slightly different, in that we believe that, before additional technologies are adopted, there is lots of opportunity to streamline internal processes. This means that, should digital improvements be implemented, they are based on the best possible foundations.&nbsp; “The teams within company are the people who know most about the products/processes. We will work with their experience to help improve the core processes before we look at any digital solutions. “Having used this approach over many years, in a wide range of industries, we're often able to build on the ideas and skills that already exist in the business. This helps greatly with employee buy-in and co-operation. The internal skills are so often forgotten when looking to improve processes.” &nbsp;MAT Ltd help businesses who want to make changes to their processes to define the change clearly, to bring them in within budget and with the buy-in of their workforce and specialise in processes that involve transformation or movement.To contact Peter Francis at MAT, <a href="mailto:pkfrancis@matl.co.uk">pkfrancis@matl.co.uk</a> or 01905 888174.Website: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://matl.co.uk">https://matl.co.uk</a><blockquote>Manufacturers who want to make improvements often overlook the most valuable resource they have to hand - their existing people and equipment. MAT bring that option back to the table to deliver a quicker return on investment and a sounder base for future developments</blockquote>

Exciting New Engineering Collaboration to Empower Small Manufacturers

We all lead busy lives, both in and out of work, and one of the factors of running a smaller business is that it’s very difficult to balance completing the tasks with actually having a life. Small business owners are particularly susceptible to taking on the tasks that they can’t allocate to someone else, because that someone else isn’t available and can’t be justified. This frequently spirals upwards, so everything is dependent on a very limited group of people – or maybe just the one! Sounds familiar? In the corporate world, administrative functions are often carried out by teams of people. These personnel are employed full-time to process specific tasks, and because there may be several doing similar roles, there’s a buffer so that the absence of one can be accommodated, and they are all working to a similar framework of procedures. In small business world, because these functions may be undertaken by less than a whole person, a personal absence may cause them to stop. Several, at the same time. Completely. And the results are missed deadlines, and unhappy customers (and possibly unhappy tax man!) Obviously, Small Business World can’t employ specific people for specific roles in the same way as Corporate World, but there is a way to make time spread more evenly and improve delegation and backup. For this we can take a peek at ISO9001, and the definition of roles and responsibilities within the organisation (section 5.3 for those who are pedantic as me). There is NO obligation for these roles to be defined as job titles or physical positions, and certainly no requirement for a single person to take on all of these functions. By expanding this for your business, you can see what tasks and activities need to be completed and assign them to particular people, who may have the most competence, and maybe even have a backup person for them.&nbsp; You can now offload some of those important things where someone else might be better suited. OK, so now you’ve found where you can recover some of your time, but the benefits don’t stop there! This information can be used more widely in the business: • Your workforce can clearly see who has responsibility for particular tasks, and approach them direct (meaning you don’t need to be in the loop any more than you want) • You can see who might be overloaded, and who has capacity to take on more. • You have sensible definition of tasks, which means some of them can be outsourced with clear goals. • You can see what’s missing and what is covered more than once. • When you employ someone, you can do it based on their individual competence, rather than a general job title and description. • Your workforce becomes more empowered to take responsibility because it’s there in print. It can be very difficult for Small Business Owners to delegate, particularly tasks they are good at, but by taking a confident look at what your businesses does provides you with a valuable tool to recover your time to work on the Company. Farewell to missed deadlines and rush jobs, and hello to time for you. &nbsp; &nbsp;<blockquote>Ever get the feeling that you're doing everyone else's job for them? Peter Francis explains how small business owners can delegate to release that time.</blockquote>

Time Out or Timing Out?

Engineering Director

MAT Ltd

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