Lean Manufacturing Consultants UK

When the Factory Feels Busy, But Progress Is Slow

If your teams are constantly busy but output isn’t improving, you’re not alone.
Most manufacturers reach a point where small fixes no longer deliver big results. Quality dips, lead times creep up, and everyone’s firefighting again.

That’s where Lean Manufacturing Consulting from Levantar helps.

We work with you on the factory floor to uncover waste, redesign flow, and create a system that’s easier to run, easier to manage, and consistently profitable.

What Happens If You Don’t Improve

Keep firefighting, miss more orders, and burn out your best people.

Finish on Friday, worry over the weekend about what didn't ship and promise it won't happen again - rinse and repeat.

Lean manufacturing helps you break that cycle.

Lean manufacturing isn’t just about cutting costs or headcount — it’s about doing more with what you already have.

It’s a practical approach that eliminates waste and improves flow, so you can:

Lean Manufacturing Consultants UK - Shadow Board

Produce more in less time

Deliver on schedule

Reduce rework and inventory

Build a culture of continuous improvement

The five core Lean principles — Value, Value Stream, Flow, Pull, and Perfection — guide every improvement we make.

At Levantar, we focus on results, not buzzwords. Lean only works if it makes life easier for your people and your customers.

Yes, there are some Japanese principles in it but we'll use the English words. Plus some of the ideas that people think of as Lean came from Germany and even MG (Morris Garages) in the 1920s.  

Every project starts with your team and your reality. No templates, no cookie-cutter playbook. Your factory is different to every other factory. You have a unique layout, your machines and tooling will be different, the teams experiences, the software you use, all different.

Even if your factory is part of a larger group, it will still be different from the rest of the group. 

Here’s how we work:

Lean Manufacturing Consultants UK

1. Observe the Shop Floor (we call this Gemba Walks)
   We start where the work happens. Observing the flow of the orders, identifying delays, frustrations, and hidden bottlenecks.

2. Map the Value Stream
   Together, we trace how materials and information move through from sales, purchasing, production to dispatch. To understand where time and money are lost.

3. Design Improvements
   From layout changes to scheduling improvements and workflow design. We find solutions that fit your business, not just textbook theory.

4. Pilot and Measure
   We trial new ideas in one area, measure the results, take on board feedback and refine the approach. 

5. Embed and Sustain
   Through visual management, leader coaching, and simple performance metrics, we make improvements stick.

We don't start with a big training programme. We don't take you away for 3-5 days and teach you all the Lean Manufacturing techniques in one go. We don't announce a "Continuous Improvement Manufacturing" exercise to all the staff. 

We do focus on where improvement will deliver more orders out of the door.

Manufacturers we’ve worked with typically achieve:

• Shorter lead times — often by 30–40%

• Higher throughput with the same staff and machines, from 20-50%

• Reduced waste and rework

• Smoother flow between departments

• Improved morale and Leadership — staff stop firefighting and start improving

• Stronger profit margins from day one

“After two months, output was up 44% and orders went out on time, every week. ” — General Manager, UK manufacturer

The Challenges We Solve

Constant Firefighting and late orders
Shrinking margins despite strong sales 
Stressed teams and overworked managers (and owners) 
Processes that no longer work for a business that has grown
Systems and Processes that can be followed and work
Sustainable growth without burnout
Managers who step up and develop
Growth Plans that deliver the sales potential
Sustainable growth without burnout

If that sounds familiar, we can find the root causes and fix them for good. 

Not Sure Whether Lean is For You?

Constant Firefighting and late orders
Shrinking margins despite strong sales 
Stressed teams and overworked managers (and owners) 
Processes that no longer work for a business that has grown
Systems and Processes that can be followed and work
Sustainable growth without burnout
Managers who step up and develop
Growth Plans that deliver the sales potential
Sustainable growth without burnout

that sounds familiar, if you've no experience of it how will you know?

Ok, it's free to call and have a discussion.

Rather than commit to a full improvement programme you could audit the performance of your factory. Uncover whether it could do more and how to do it, get a plan of what to do in what order.

Perhaps Maybe you're thinking, "I need my managers to step up, I need them to do more.  I'm not sure how to do it" Then our Manufacturing Leadership and Coaching Service was designed for businesses that find themselves with this dilemma.