Princes Foods Ltd
Princes is owned by the Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) – Japan's largest general trading company with
over 200 bases of operation in approximately 80 countries worldwide producing thousands of own label
food and drink products for major retail and foodservice customers and have a specialised portfolio of
products for industrial customers.
They specialise in sourcing quality ingredients from around the world and manufacture food and drink products
across ten state-of-the-art manufacturing sites, all driven by the need for quality, innovation and convenience.
For Princes we provided Business Improvement Techniques training and waste reduction achievements across the main
production sites in Manchester, Eden Vale (Penrith) and Bradford, for 70 staff, supervisors and management grades
supporting the delivery 45 individual improvement projects.
Following the underpinning knowledge workshops the learners divided into teams relevant to their production lines
and work areas. Each team then planned, actioned and measured the improvement for three improvement projects.
A typical project starts with the use of a project ideas prioritisation matrix, based on cost/ benefit on a list
of project ideas.
The idea selected by the team is then discussed and an action plan developed as a team exercise. The current situation
is then analysed and measured to provide a baseline for the improvement, preferably based on one the business Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs).
The improvement activity is then undertaken by the team over the planned time period, usually 4 to 5 weeks for local focused
improvements, and longer for more strategic projects.
Following completion of the project, re-measurement of the improvement activity and waste saving calculation is carried out
to ascertain the level of improvement.
Measures are then developed to help to sustain the improvement including new Standard Operating Procedures, staff training,
supported if appropriate by visual management and new KPIs.