Bourton Group
Bourton Group is an independent, employee owned, international management consultancy with over 40 years' experience. They have implemented sustainable performance improvement and organisational change in both the private and public sectors. It offers practical, 'feet on the ground' consulting with experienced managers in industry. Its consultants adopt a multi-disciplinary approach involving partnership, transfer of knowledge, teaming capability, and focus upon the importance of people issues.
They implement Lean Management & Lean Office Training, Six Sigma Consulting & Training, Organisation Development and Change, Training & Development and Operations Strategy, drawing upon the methodologies and skills from each area to deliver the right client solution.
They are experienced in applying Lean and Six Sigma techniques independently or complementary as Lean Sigma.
Bourton Group excel at partnering with the client, stretching their thinking and helping them to drive sustainable improvements from within through the transfer of knowledge. By designing their approach to match the client requirements, from team based improvements, complex multi-disciplined Lean Sigma projects or through fundamental business process and organisation reviews, their professional consultants deliver the right approach to deliver client benefits quickly. In 2006 they won a regional award for their Six Sigma training at Network Rail and in 2004 won the UK Skills National Training Award for their programme Lean ways of working in the office environment at National Savings & Investments. They also won the National Training Awards in 2002 with special recognition for client partnering.
accreditations & policies
Management Consultancies Association Member 
Corporate social responsibility Diversity Supplier Environmental policy in-depth profile
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case studies
M6 extension puts Lean Sigma on the mapThe A74 between Carlisle and Guards Mill is the "missing link" in the motorway network between London and Glasgow. Stretching 9km, the road carries 42,000 vehicles a day. The scheme to upgrade the dual carriageway to motorway also included two new major structures crossing the River Esk and West Coast Main Line, demolition of the Mossband...
Lean distributionThis well-established household name supplies bread to major and minor retailers from Aberdeen to London using bakeries positioned from the Midlands area up to Glasgow. Distribution needs to move fast because product life is short and customer service expectations are high. However, costs must be kept low in such a highly competitive market. Bourton...
Lean improvement activity and skills transfer across the entire organisationThis global supplier of pipeline technology wanted to realign old processes and develop workforces in the UK, USA and Brazil to embrace Continuous Improvement.
Our brief was to develop and deliver a programme that would introduce and foster a culture of Continuous Improvement at all levels across the whole organisation, in manufacturing, planning,...
Organisation redesign and management development for UK materials handling groupBarloworld Handling are a leading provider of material handling solutions to the industrial and public sector. Their primary business focuses on the contract leasing of materials handling equipment, contract maintenance, and breakdown service provision across the UK and northern Europe.
Barloworld face pressure to increase sales growth, reduce operational...
Productivity and Supply Chain Improvement - Disseminating Best PracticeOne North East, the Regional Development Agency for NE England, has earned a leading reputation for supporting improvement in the productivity and competitiveness of manufacturing companies in its region. In concert with a number of the leading companies in the region, including Nissan, Thyssen Krup and BAE Systems, the North East Productivity Alliance...
Strategy development, project planning and implementation of a three into one site consolidationOur client is a German-owned manufacturer of large diesel engines for the marine, traction and power generation industries. The UK business operated out of three sites, two in the North West of England and a third in the South East.
In an ever more competitive market, our client needed to improve its competitiveness and significantly improve business...
Implementing Lean PrinciplesAWE was under significant commercial pressure, their budget being reduced year on year but with a need to discharge effectively a constant workload. The adoption of a Lean implementation programme was one of the management actions taken to drive efficiency and effectiveness in the workplace.
Asset Management Performance ImprovementAs part of the drive to improve working practices, and in order to ensure plant up time, BNFL wanted to introduce advanced supply arrangements for a range of machined and fabricated maintenance items at the Sellafield site. The parts and assemblies involved are typically designed to BNFL requirements, and can be critical to plant operation. About...
Performance Improvement through Culture ChangeOur client is a leading player in the highly competitive global pharmaceuticals sector, where demands for flexibility, responsiveness, and cost effectiveness are constantly accelerating.
The need for a step change, not only in global performance, but also in the organisation’s philosophy, structure, and culture was widely acknowledged. However,...
Lean enterprise transformation of VC10Bourton Group implemented Lean within a military aircraft MRO facility. In 2004 the Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA) won an extended contract to carry out deep level maintenance, repair and overhaul of the RAF's fleet of VC10 large bodied jets. This included the transfer in of Minor maintenance activity from Brize Norton into the facility.
Bourton have undertaken a number of assignments on behalf of this Regional Development Agency, including shop floor improvements, lean training and new product introduction. They have also designed and delivered Leadership Development programmes covering various skills and structures, aimed at improving operational effectiveness and delivering organisational...
Siemens Business Services made significant reductions in the cost of administering one of its accounts through the innovative use of Lean methodologies in an office environment. Lean has also laid down the bedrock to move to a target culture which promotes active involvement at all levels of the organisation in continuous improvement activities and...
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thought leadership
Lean has been around for some time and practitioners have struggled in various sectors to apply the Toyota Way. A methodology designed to improve car production work can work just as well in an office environment
Lean Thinking has its roots in the Toyota Production System and was developed for the manufacturing sector during the 80s and 90s. Over...
We all get frustrated when things go wrong, especially when a simple task takes ages to achieve. As consumers we can all think of examples, getting a new driving licence, opening a bank account or getting a company to simply answer the telephone without first giving you eighteen options you don’t want.
Now consider how your internal customers...
Six Sigma Process Improvement is a rigorous approach to improving business processes by addressing the underlying causes of variation that lead to poor performance as experienced by the ‘customer’, who is the recipient of the outputs. The early exponents were Motorola and GE in the 1980s. Since then, many organisations ranging from manufacturing...
When we think about waste in environmental and industrial terms, it’s often something that’s physical. Physical waste can exist in processes, but this is only a very small part of it. The key to identifying wasteful activity, which we define as “activity that adds no value to the customer”, is to start looking...
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