Offering gun and ejector drilling, honing and CNC machining services, the night shift at St-Albans, Hertfordshire-based Premier Deep Hole Drilling is focused on providing the truncated lead time customers expect for their parts. Managing director, Stuart Grant, explains: "As part of our lean manufacturing activities we started a nightshift in October 2010, using very experienced, multi-skilled permanent staff to provide the flexibility required by our customer base."

Lean manufacturing involves continuous improvement, process re-engineering, and the elimination of waste. However, many companies implementing lean manufacturing principles overlook the possibility of using customised shift work patterns to support or enhance their efforts. Shift working can improve lean manufacturing systems and implementing the right shift pattern can prove to be a leap forward in the continuous improvement process.

One of the goals of continuous improvement is to reduce the amount of time between starting work on a part and completing it. "Some companies invest significant time and effort in reducing cycle times. Then, at the end of the working day, they shut down the plant and turn out the lights. All of the work in progress at that time will sit idle until the plant starts up again in the morning (up to 14 hours later). Meanwhile, the lead time clock continues to tick," states Stuart Grant.

Premier's customers operate in the majority of the most technically demanding and precision orientated industries, such as aerospace, oil and gas, petrochemical, mining and construction, and motorsport. So the company's staff are acutely aware of the need to meet quality levels and on time delivery targets. "Now, every day from Monday to Thursday, we can efficiently work 20 out of 24 hours. This can be applied as machining time to finish complex parts with extended cycle times or used to meet quick turnaround deadlines. Operating this way has reduced our WIP by around 15 per cent," Stuart Grant says.

He continues: "Matching the material flow on the shop floor with the shift pattern efficiently balances labour resources, and allows us to rapidly respond to changing customer demands. The efficiency on the night shift also runs very high, around 92 per cent OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness), because there are far less distractions and much more focus on the intended task."