1. The Times 100 Business Case Studies
Portakabin
Lean production at Portakabin

2. Introduction to Portakabin
Part of the the Shepherd Group, established in 1960s
One of the largest family-owned companies in European building industry
Portakabin is a registered trade mark
Produces high quality modular
buildings
Used to provide space in schools,
hospitals, nurseries, offices

3. Lean production
Aims to minimise waste, improve efficiency, reduce defects
Environmentally-friendly
Leads to higher quality and added
value
Portakabin meets International Standards
for quality (ISO 9001) and environmental
management (ISO 14001)
Portakabin reducing waste in three key parts of production
Flow – value added as module goes through production
Cellular – buildings created from modules to meet specific needs give customers value
Batch – provides value through volume production

4. Continuous improvement (Kaizen)
Portakabin needs to give customers what they want or need
Kaizen is Japanese for
‘continuous improvement’
Supports quality improvement
Small, regular changes
Everyone at all levels contributes ideas
Problems are dealt with as and where they happen

5. Just-in-time (JIT) Just-in-time
Keeps down costs of stock or raw materials
Less storage space needed
Releases working capital
Customer demand ‘pulls’ orders through system
Ensures orders exactly meet customer requirements
Problems may be discovered early and save rework
Portakabin’s information technology systems record available supplies
Ensures required components ordered in time to meet demand

6. Reducing waste In manufacturing process Recycling waste
Modules completed and fitted out off site
Fewer workers and less transport required
Use of standard width or pre-sized materials
Re-use of door and window cut-outs
Recycling waste
Colour coded bins for collection of different types of waste
Waste management teams to look for new ideas
Volume of waste to landfill reduced by 60% over 3 years

7. Benefits of lean production
Financial
Predictable construction time – saves labour costs
Shorter lead time - gives happy customers
Quality control – less waste, rework, unsatisfied customers
Environmental
Buildings 96% recyclable
Better at retaining heat
Social
Reduced noise and pollution nuisance for communities
Improved health & safety