A Norfolk company has halved its ‘waste’ thanks to a bespoke consultancy support scheme delivered in conjunction with the Manufacturing Growth Programme (MGP).

Thetford-based Warren Services (www.warrenservices.co.uk), which specialises in CNC machining, welding and fabrication, identified an excessive level of waste and set out to improve the situation.

After pinpointing a problem with its quality control procedures and tapping into external expertise, it was able to make an initial saving of £50,000.

HR manager Estee Ross said: “We had to face the fact that we had issues with our waste levels and decided to access bespoke consultancy, which is where the MGP came into its own.”

A tailored six-week employee plan was created to suit the needs of the business and then delivered in-house to the staff.

MGP manager Chris George said: “It took a little while to get full ‘buy-in’, but the company is now reaping the benefits with time and cost savings.”

Employees now raise, implement and manage waste improvement ideas themselves, driven by a culture change within the business.

Ms Ross added: “The mind-set of ‘we’ve always done it like that’ has been replaced by employees asking ‘why do we do it like that?’ and coming up with ways for us to improve.

“The cost savings could be endless, given the many areas of the business that can be improved. We think over £200,000 is possible.”

Established in 1990, Warren Services has recently won a number of new contracts to provide high-quality machined components to the automotive, general engineering and food sector.

It operates from two facilities and employs 94 people.