UK Manufacturing Consultant For Your Factory Floor

Mark Greenhouse – Manufacturing Engineer, Operations Leader and UK Manufacturing Consultant

Most factories don't miss delivery dates because people aren't trying hard enough.

They miss them because capacity, flow and management control aren't properly understood.

They suffer the symptoms daily: late deliveries, not enough output, growing backlog, overtime that isn't delivering enough additional output, constant expediting, too much WIP, changing priorities and managers firefighting.

I help manufacturing MDs understand why their factory isn't performing and what to fix first.

Remove the Stress from Your Manufacturing Operations.

• 33% more output in 12 weeks.
• Production lead times cut from 47 days to 20.
• Turnover up 40% in 6 months with same staff, same equipment.

Those results come from manufacturing knowledge gained from 30 years on factory floors, a Masters in Manufacturing Management, and the kind of expertise that Cambridge University Press publishes and Parliament calls on for evidence.

Mark works with factory and manufacturing leaders on real world problems, investigating to find the problem and then helping them and their teams to quickly solve a series of symptoms

• capacity constraints - understanding where capacity really exists and what is limiting output
• poor flow and scheduling - getting work released, sequenced and controlled properly
• long lead times - getting work released, sequenced and controlled properly
• management capability - helping production and manufacturing managers lead the factory properly
• factory layout,  - improving material movement, space use and production flow
• operating strategy - aligning capacity, people, technology and growth (marketing and sales) plans
• Lean/process improvement - applying the right improvement tools where they will actually make a difference, deliver more output you can sell. 

Where the issue needs immediate leadership rather than advice, Mark also provides interim manufacturing and operations leadership.  

The Manufacturing Consultant That Manufacturing Leaders, Institutions & Policymakers Trust

UK Manufacturing Consultant - Mark Greenhouse

Mark isn't just another consultant he's the manufacturing expert that world-class institutions, industry bodies, and government commissions turn to.

Academic & Institutional

He has written for Cambridge University Press on Lean Techniques, training business leaders across the globe. He has written for the Møller Institute at Cambridge University on making digitalisation projects succeed.

For over a decade he delivered an annual Manufacturing Operations Improvement lecture to more than 4,000 MBA and undergraduate students at Leeds University Business School.

Government & Policy

Levantar contributed evidence to the Manufacturing Commission's 2026 Parliamentary Enquiry into SME Manufacturing — reviewing how manufacturing SMEs can participate in the UK's Industrial Strategy. The enquiry was co-chaired by Lord Bilimoria and Bill Esterson MP and published by Policy Connect. The resulting report, Small Means Essential: why Britain's manufacturing SMEs are vital for growth, made seventeen recommendations to the UK Government.

Hull and East Yorkshire Councils have commissioned Mark to produce a Process Improvement Handbook and a 7 Hats of Manufacturing Leadership Guide for manufacturing firms in their area.

Manufacturing Expert - Speaking & Media Appearances

2026

Coming In September 2026

Leadership in Manufacturing Conference — Invest in East Yorkshire, Sept 24th 2026
"Your Manufacturing Managers Are Constantly Firefighting, They wear seven management hats everyday." Discover what the best operations leaders do differently.  Manufacturing Leadership Conference Booking

BAMA Innovation Day — British Aerosol Manufacturers' Association, Royal Armouries Leeds, April 2026
"Transforming factory performance: practical strategies for improving capacity and lead times"
BAMA Innovation Day 2026 | Full programme

Manufacturing Leaders Summit — Theo James Recruitment & New College Durham, April 2026
"Simplifying manufacturing performance — identifying where productivity is lost"
Manufacturing Leaders Event listing

Manufacturing Leaders Podcast — Theo James Recruitment, January 2026
"Unlocking the Secrets of Manufacturing Efficiency"
Podcast page | Watch on YouTube

2025

Humber Business Week — June 2025

Manufacturing presentation covering processes, good practices and efficiency

Lessons from Manufacturing Improvement

2024

Rubik Podcast — December 2024
"How Digital Transformation is Reshaping the Manufacturing Landscape"
Watch on YouTube

Future of Manufacturing Conference — Invest East Yorkshire, June 2024
Future Of Manufacturing Conference page

Process Improvement in Construction — sharing ideas from manufacturing companies linked to the construction sector - Hull & East Riding Council, July 2024
Lessons from Manufacturing
Process Improvement Event page

2023

Improving Manufacturing SME — HEY LEP, November 2023
Event page

"We thought we needed more people. We just needed better systems."

Global Printing Machinery Leader, Cambridge UK

• Production time cut from 47 days to 20 days in just 4 months
• Same staff, same equipment, 57% faster turnaround

"Our overtime budget disappeared - and so did our stress."

Fabrication & Manufacturing Organisation, Humberside

• 33% output increase in 3 months
• Zero overtime required to hit targets

"We could finally keep up with the sales demand."

Electro-Mechanical Assembly Company, Yorkshire

• From 8 to 12 machines per month with existing resources
• 50% increase without adding factory floor staff

Real-World Experience Combined With Academic Excellence 

Mark brings his 30+ years of manufacturing leadership from many different businesses combined with his qualifications.  Mark holds a Masters in Manufacturing Systems and Engineering Management from Nottingham Trent University and a BEng in Manufacturing Engineering, also from Nottingham Trent University. He uses this powerful combination and blend of manufacturing and supply chain knowledge and experience to help to clients to deliver the results they've been searching for.

Professional Memberships held by Mark Greenhouse 
Member, Institution of Engineering and Technology (MIET)
Member, Chartered Management Institute (MCMI)

I review your Manufacturing Cycle

• Where does Demand or the Enquiry come from? How much work do you do with that?
• How do you Plan, Schedule (they are different) and then Purchase materials, assemblies
• How do you release Work Orders? Get Orders ready through kitting
• Run production, ensure men, material and machines are ready
• Finally Testing, Packing and Dispatching orders

Then the logic:

1. Find the symptoms, the challenges in the Business
2. Uncover the evidence across the Manufacturing Process Cycle 
3. Understand how and where the Production Cycle area fails
4. Reveal the true Business impact on on-time delivery, cashflow, people, motivation 
5. Determine Priority actions, don't fix everything at once

Fix First / Fix Next / Fix Later.

Not Just Theory - Proven in the Trenches

Mark's journey from factory floor to boardroom:

Education: Education: BEng in Manufacturing Engineering and Masters in Manufacturing Systems and Engineering Management, both from Nottingham Trent University.

Started: Team leader and supervisor roles - managing real people, real deadlines, real consequences

Progressed: Through operations management positions - optimising actual production departments not theoretical models

Advanced: To Operations Director - responsible for entire manufacturing operations, P&L accountability

Mastered: Project management for major capex investments - new equipment, machinery purchases, department restructuring.

Why this matters: He's solved the exact problems you're facing, in roles just like yours, in factories and on industry sites like yours, with the same pressures you feel every day.

What I’m Seeing in UK Manufacturing SMEs - manufacturing up to £50m t/o

• Manufacturing managers are frequently technically experienced but under-developed as managers. They're not accidentally appointed, they are given the role but no training.
• Scheduling is poorly understood. Meaning spare capacity is being lost every day.
• Businesses often misunderstand their true operating model. You're not make to stock, or make to order, bespoke, custom made that's your fulfilment model. Your true model is one of 5, that most have never even tried to understand.
• Standards and data exist but are used much less than businesses assume. Oh and don't think you need lots of data to get started in improvement.
• Owners, MDs, CEOs. Leaders want staff to take responsibility, want to deal with the skills gap, are not sure how to get the most from Data, AI. At the same time they recognise the experience many of their staff have and want to develop them. They aren't sure where to start.

These observations come from 18 Factory Performance Reviews undertaken during 2024-2025, principally in UK SMEs.

Manufacturing Consulting Results - Turnover up 40%

UK Privately Owned Machinery manufacturer based in Yorkshire with Mechanical & Electrical design, CNC machining and Assembly capability.

Problem: Lead Times too long and getting longer, customers complaining about the long lead times and missed delivery dates, quality issues and complaints rising.

An initial Factory Diagnostic Review was carried out. Initial insights identified that improvements to scheduling of work through the assembly sections would give the largest impact. A new scheduling tool was developed with the team and tested live and adjusted as needed. This was used in a single Daily Meeting, previously the business had held 3 Daily Meetings, the power of this solution reduced it to one.

Within 12 weeks the output had been increased by 33% OR just over £1M per month!

Other projects could then be introduced, e.g. kitting of parts for assembly teams to help reduce build time by 20% and improving quality control through several process.

Over the next 18 months,

• Turnover grew by over 40%,
• Gross Margin by over 80% and
• Staffing numbers by just 8.5%.

The increased output came without increased staffing costs. Increasing the Margin. 

Imagine that in your business.

Manufacturing Consulting Result - Output up 40% in 3 weeks!

UK Manufacturing plant in East Yorkshire with Laser Cutting, Fabrication, Welding, Paint and full Assembly operations. 

Problem: Customer Orders Delivered Late and at risk of cancellation. Ops Management team had been unable to solve and resigned, leaving one Supervisor to hold the plant together.

The initial Factory Diagnostic Review identified the single key bottleneck process. The first stage of improvement was to ensure this department was managed daily and the business was scheduled around it too. Further improvements were made to equipment being used, to speed up processing of materials, standard raw materials were specified and purchased. Both actions resulted in shorter times to process work at the bottleneck. Worked directly with Supervisor and shop floor staff to manage the production process through a daily meeting process.

• Within 20 days the weekly output had been increased from £120k a week to over £190k.
• Increased output was maintained with no extra staff. FREE OUTPUT WITH NO LABOUR COSTS
• Turnover increased from £6m to £10m in just 6 months.
• Customers and Haulage firms gave positive feedback on the ability to hit agreed dates. 

Staff then brough forward other projects which also improved quality and lead times, which convinced customers to stay. We redefined the management roles and assisted in recruiting a new Ops Management team.

** The results above can't be guaranteed, They are dependent on a number of factors. We work with you and your teams to find at least 20% more output from your existing, plant, machinery and teams. 
Before we start we recommend a Factory  Performance Diagnostic Review where we review and provide you with the insights and a target figure you could achieve. 

What Makes Mark Different From Other Consultants

He's Walked in Your Shoes

• 30 years from team leader to Operations Director
• Managed real production deadlines with real consequences
• Led major capex projects - knows what works and what doesn't
• Supervised teams doing exactly what your teams do every day

His Masters and 30 years on the factory floor give him a deep understanding of:

• Deep understanding of MRP, ERP, and BoM optimization
• Production planning and scheduling expertise
• Bottleneck identification and elimination strategies
• Financial management of operations
• HR and team development in manufacturing environments
• knowledge of the Operating Model types you can choose and how they affect delivery, staff, finance, HR.

What makes this different? Most consultants have either academic knowledge OR practical experience of one industry.

Mark combines both - he studied the theory, then spent decades proving it works in real factories of many types.

How I approach Manufacturing Consulting 

1. Understand the factory you're actually running

This brings in the Product–Process Frequency / operating-model thinking.

The order may be bespoke. The processes aren't.

Different production systems need different planning, scheduling, material and management approaches. Your factory is probably not a production line, so why are you trying to run it like one?

2. Factory performance comes from flow, not busyness

People and machines being busy isn't the same as producing more finished goods.

Why do manufacturing businesses struggle with capacity even when machines aren't fully utilised?

Every business has one main bottleneck, no matter what you do elsewhere this will restrict your output.

Find that make it work! 

3. Manage the factory ahead of time

Here comes planning, scheduling, work readiness, Golden Hour, managers looking forward rather than permanently recovering today's failures.

If you or your managers are spending today chasing today's production, who's managing tomorrow's, next week?

4. Diagnose before improving

Don't start with Lean.

Don't start with a new ERP.

Don't start by buying another machine.

Don't start by blaming the Production Manager.

Understand why the result is happening first.

I've developed some core services which you can read about in the links below. If you not sure whether these are for you, call me on 07712 669396. My initial consultation is always free.

Who Mark Works With and Why Manufacturing Owners Call For Expert Help

UK Manufacturing Consultant - Mark Greenhouse

Mark consults regularly for Industrial businesses & Factory sites across the UK.

He works with standalone businesses typically from £5m-£150m ,as well as multi-national sites. He’s worked with

• UK manufacturing SMEs;
• family-owned businesses;
• PE-backed manufacturers;
• divisions/sites within larger groups.

Providing manufacturing consulting services across a breadth and range of industries. He often sees larger organisations as made up of small group sites, with individual market focus. The challenge of many larger blue chips is similar to a £30-50m manufacturer. 

Instead of a list of technical solutions, such as 5S, Lean, Six Sigma, here's the questions manufacturing leaders often share with him, the production challenges they have, the factory problems they want to solve.

The reasons they get in touch....if your challenge is here, maybe you should too..

Strategic Growth Initiatives

"We need to double capacity without doubling costs"

Factory expansion projects through to setting up new production facilities and merging manufacturing sites.  

Organisational Changes

"Our people are our biggest asset - and our biggest challenge"

Help Leadership transitions from the shop floor to management. Assisting with identifying and filling Skills gaps on the factory floor and in Succession planning.

Market Pressures & Competitive Responses

"Our competitors are moving fast - we need to move faster"

Lead time reduction projects to implementing Lean manufacturing tools. Extracting maximum value from data and systems and preparing for digital and AI initiatives. 

Major Factory Investment Decisions

"We're spending £50k - £250K+ and can't afford to get this wrong"

Equipment and Capex selection  to ensure maximum ROI. Helping on automation priorities and software operating parameters, especially making MRP & ERP work for you. Warehouse & logistics optimised to suit your operating model.  

Crisis Management & Turnarounds

"We need results fast or we're in serious trouble"

Guiding factories on rapid improvement initiatives, cost reduction and supply chain disruption recovery programs.

Pre-Sale Due Diligence

"Potential buyers are asking tough questions about our operations"

Increase the value of your Operations, get the Performance Benchmarked.

Your Next Step Is Simple

Don't spend another weekend worrying about Monday's production schedule, thinking about that investment, second guessing how to move forward.

Pick up the phone, dial: 07712 669396 Or email: mark@levantar.co.uk

What Happens Next:

1. Free consultation call (1 hour) - understand your specific challenges.
2. One-Day Manufacturing Performance Review - identify your biggest opportunities
3. Custom improvement plan - tailored to your operation and constraints
4. Results you can see - usually within the first 30 days

Stop Accepting "That's Just How Manufacturing Is"

Your operation doesn't have to be chaotic. Your team doesn't have to be stressed.
Your customers don't have to wait. You don't have to work weekends.

Call 07712 669396 today.

Time is your most valuable resource. Stop wasting it on problems that can be solved.

Mark Greenhouse MIET MCMI
Manufacturing & Operations Consultant
mark@levantar.co.uk
07712 669396

"The best time to optimise your manufacturing was yesterday. The second best time is today."

These reviews are from 2018. If you're a recent client and would like to share your experience, we'd be grateful — leave a Google review here.

"Throughout 2016 I had the privilege of working closely with Mark Greenhouse of Levantar... any SME looking to build a strong platform in readiness for the next stage in its organisational growth... I am delighted to give testimony to Levantar."

Roy Thompson, Former Head of Production & Process Engineering, Inca Digital Printers, Cambridge
★★★★★ Google Review — March 2018 | View on Google

"Levantar provide a fantastic service...helped to dig much deeper to identify underlying issues across the business and how to improve them... really easy to work with and are able to challenge and develop individuals from the shop-floor to the management team. I highly recommend them.
Garth Williams Software Manager ABG International Ltd ★★★★★ — Google Review, May 2018 | View on Google

"An in depth knowledge of how to fix all the problems you can imagine any business to have, exceptional consultancy — cannot recommend them highly enough."
Phil Robson, Operations Manager, ABG International Ltd ★★★★★ — Google Review, May 2018 | View on Google

Page Last Reviewed: 1st June 2026