Hutchinson Engineering is a dynamic SME specialising in the design, manufacture, coating, fit-out, assembly, and servicing of steel structures across various market sectors. They offer comprehensive product design, design development, and build-to-print project solutions. Their products typically feature a steel structure core, enhanced by complex elements such as stringent quality assurance requirements, intricate fit-out or assembly processes, superior coating standards, or the need for serial production.
Operating from a 10,000m² production space in the Liverpool region, Hutchinson benefit from quayside access via the Port of Garston. Their in-house capabilities span parts provision, fabrication, welding, coating, assembly, and installation, ensuring control over project quality and timelines while fostering innovation and automation in production processes.
Hutchinson’s expertise shines in projects that demand the seamless integration of multiple capabilities. Since 2016, they have amassed considerable experience in providing Secondary Steelwork for the Offshore Wind sector, successfully delivering projects to both Tier-1 fabricators and OEMs.
The challenge
In 2021, the company was operating successfully and enjoyed sustained periods of growth, however the market environment prompted a strategic challenge to further growth in the offshore steelwork markets which was being limited and constricted by lower overseas cost country competitors.
the SIG solution
Hutchinson Engineering started working with Sharing in Growth in partnership with the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership in 2021 through their collaborative business transformation program. From a 100-day diagnostic of the organisation SIG helped Hutchinson to analyse their strategic planning, supply chain and manufacturing processes creating a business transformation road map with three key focus areas: employee and leadership development programme, cost reduction and waste reduction initiatives in the supply chain and operations, and the creation of a Business Development Roadmap aligned to the growth strategy in the offshore market. Through the strategic planning workshops an aggressive target to increase turnover in the offshore wind sector to £14m per annum was defined. This would be achieved through a focused cost-reduction initiative targeting 10% cost savings over the next five years, in order to bridge the gap between UK-sourcing and overseas.
A leadership & employee development framework was developed to provide targeted coaching and leadership training based on fundamental cultural enablers, addressing gaps from the strategy sessions, and feedback from Employee Engagement Surveys. This development will harness the capability of employees by instilling key principles and skills throughout the organisation. The goal is to cultivate a culture of performance conducive to the necessary pace of change required for achieving Hutchinsons vision, mission, and values, as well as the 3–5-year objectives. Concurrently, significant investments were made in people development through initiatives such as the SiG team leader academy program, which has already seen two personnel graduate and has a current cohort of three, with three more identified for the next academy.
Analysis of the supply chain was undertaken for cost reduction leveraging supplier forecasting concepts. A statistical forecast model using the past to predict the future by identifying trends, patterns and business drivers resulted in the implementation of long-term agreements on commodities with suppliers.
To address the cost reduction within operations the implementation of flow and cellular manufacturing was introduced from Hutchinson’s traditional departmental manufacturing environment, the implementation of production Lighthouse cells with performance metrics was introduced. These metrics in conjunction with standardised communication briefing cycles provided the platform for reducing costs by consistently targeting waste activities. Structured problem resolution system comprising of four levels, contingent on the complexity of the issue, was introduced to enhance and engage all employees in problem-solving further building the capabilities across Hutchinson. This is underpinned by standardised leadership verification and feedback loops, ensuring effective governance and continuous improvement.
The development of the Business Development Roadmap incorporated key concepts of segmenting the markets by key product market groups, development of a sales opportunity pipeline management and forecasting process. This was enhanced through a market analysis using analytical tools creating a one pager summary sheet for each market reviewed at bimonthly sales review and account management. In addition, further support was provided on the market presence and networking of Hutchinson within the Offshore market focusing on the image, branding, and exposure of the business.
THE SiG RESULTS
After contacting SiG, the company embarked on its journey towards achieving their 3–5-year objectives. Through each of SiG’s focuses, Hutchinson Engineering’s employees were able to benefit from sharing ideas and implementing continuous improvement daily. As a result, the Hutchinson team were engaged and aligned against the vision, mission and empowered being able to save the company money and by providing ways of working smarter. Leadership Team routines and standardisation were implemented to ensure activities took place and reducing reactive responses from leadership, creating a proactive approach to problems resulting in a move from tactical to strategic thinking.
Through the sales forecasting concept Hutchinson were able to optimise supply chains with a reduction in transportation and service costs. This also resulted in a significant efficiency improvement within the Supply Chain team resulting in the reduction of Purchase order requests through the long-term agreements and non-value-added work through the introduction of standardised diaries for key activities.
“Learning these new skills in forecasting has had a massive impact in the way we approach our repeating orders. We have seen improved relationships with our key suppliers, cost savings and improved stock management. Scheduling our key critical processes has ensured that these tasks are being carried out correctly and we have been able to schedule time for internal departmental improvements.”
KARL TRIPP
PRODUCTION MANAGER
The transformation in the cellular manufacturing was fundamental with the part-supply Lighthouse cell significant, with the introduction of team daily stand-up meetings, tracking boards on Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost and People. The launch of practical problem solving on key performance indicator gaps resulted in benefits seen in cost-reduction, capacity, and capability improvement.
“The planning boards have really helped, having the operators committing to and buying into the plan and sharing their knowledge to aid myself and my colleagues. The material review board has been an eye opener and is key to getting the quality better in part supply, getting to the actual root cause with problem solving activities around non-conforming parts. And the improvement log in each cell, there has been some good ideas, and everyone has contributed and bought into it. People in my team also feel like they’re valued more by being able to help save the company money or provide a smarter way of working to save time, and in turn rewarded for doing so.”
TERRY RILEY
PART SUPPLY TEAM LEADER
“The transformation in part-supply is significant and we are already seeing the benefits in cost-reduction, capacity, and capability improvement. The transformation in Terry is equally impressive – we now have a forward-looking, problem-solving, enthusiastic Team Leader capable of driving the department forwards. We still have a way to go, with routines, processes, and culture development, but Terry has developed an excellent foundation to deliver this.”
STEVE ADAMS
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Through the Business Development Roadmap implementation, a comprehensive suite of performance metrics was introduced creating a status at a glance of the health and constraints of the opportunities and pipeline of potential growth. This provided Hutchinson with a level of certainty of opportunities becoming firm order intake. Through the analysis it also identified the need to recruit an additional Business Development Manager to increase the volume of opportunities. The support given on market presence has yielded significant opportunities through being granted as an approved supplier to a major offshore developer and the first collaborative proposal. A major highlight is the identification of Hutchinson as a Supply Chain Champion within the UK Offshore environment.
“When we were first introduced to SiG I thought it would be just another training programme. I thought we had a good grip on the market. It was clear from day one that we didn’t but now we do. It has been more than eye opening; it has been prolific in the change of outlook for the business and personally.”
NEIL SCRIVENER
BD, HUTCHINSON ENGINEERING
As a result of these changes, Hutchinson Engineering is now working increasingly more strategic and has achieved significant growth after one year. Turnover in September 2022 was £24.6m (an increase of £5.9m), while gross profit was at 20.7% (an increase of 0.5%), and the number of employees grew to 170 (an increase of 37). By the end of September 2023, turnover increased once again to £27.9m, while gross profit rose to 25% and employee numbers remained steady at 166 record numbers for the business.
RESULTS DRIVEN. RESULTS PROVEN.
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To learn more about how SiG can help your business thrive, contact our team today. We are committed to providing the knowledge, tools, and support you need to unlock your business’ potential and drive sustainable growth. Follow us on LinkedIn for further updates from Sharing in Growth.
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