Five Minutes With…Richard Young

Tell us a little bit about your background?

I was born in Hampshire but have lived most of my life in the Midlands, before moving to the Norfolk coast with my wife Amanda in July 2019. I have four grown-up children, who I am incredibly proud of, they all work very hard in their respective fields. I also have four lovely grandchildren.

How long have you been with DC and where did you work previously?

After having a few jobs in different industries, my 13-year career started in 2001 at Toyota Manufacturing in Derby. Based in the Press & Weld department, I was attached to the sidemember group, where I was involved with building the external side panels, roof and internal sub-assemblies for the steel body. After four years I was selected to move to Pilot, supporting engineering in the development of new models and line alterations, using my knowledge to ensure the processes were capable, efficient, and balanced. During my seven-year secondment to Pilot I was lucky enough to make four trips to Japan for new model process development and training.

On my return to production I started to get a nagging feeling that I could do more with the skills developed during my time in Pilot and started to look at other roles that would benefit from what I had learnt, that is when I was introduced to KM&T, I thought I would be a good fit and eight and a half years later here I am.

What role(s) are you working on now and how have they gone?

There are a number of different roles I’ve completed over the last few months which have gone really well.  Currently I am working on a project with a large static caravan manufacturer which is enjoyable!

Recently I finished a project with Cadent where I was asked to develop a planning tool to generate stage gate dates based on the process rules (maximum decommission periods) and material lead times identified through value stream mapping workshops, in order to level load the working calendar and reduce employee fatigue. It went very well, as I got very good engagement from the client team. Not only did I develop the planning tool but I also noticed large amounts time and money were being wasted when moving and stripping assets around the property due to them needing to hire cranes and transport from outside companies. Having previously worked on a contract in a boat building factory I identified that there was a similarity to the way the boats and heat exchangers could be manipulated, so with the site team at Cadent we built a business case to purchase a small boat lifting frame which would ultimately save them significant sums each year.

I have also been working alongside the team at Cooke Optics. They are great to work alongside as they are very receptive to the coaching on offer. I’ve been developing a 5S process with the teams, to create a good standard of cleanliness with all relevant tooling and equipment within reach of their processes, all irrelevant items removed supported with an audit process to ensure sustainability. I have also been coaching the production engineers in A3 Problem Solving, using real time data to identify areas for improvement and utilising cause & effect (fishbone) and 5 Why investigation to drive down to the root cause in order to apply the correct countermeasures to reduce defects and increase right first time to an acceptable level

What is your favourite part of being a consultant and where do you see your role going?

My favourite part of being a consultant is knowing you have helped individuals and businesses improve the way they operate.

I am working towards a managing consultant role, which will mean I can pass on some of the knowledge and skills I have developed during my time at Toyota and as a consultant for Develop Consulting.

What advice would you give to anyone else wanting to become a consultant?

It’s hard work, you need to be a people person. Very often we are parachuted in by the management team, but the shop floor doesn’t know there is a problem. So, you have to break down barriers and build relationships very quickly before getting things done. However, accomplishing a turnaround in business in such a short time makes the role very rewarding.

And what are your plans for the rest of 2022? Both in work, and in your personal life!

I’m working to continue to support Develop Consulting with product development, utilising my nerdy Excel skills. Because of Covid and moving home I’ve had limited time dragging a bag of clubs around a field so I plan to play a little more golf!