UK manufacturing orders reach the highest levels since the crisis hit

A recent report by the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) has provided some pretty positive insights into the evolution of British manufacturing, revealing a general improvement in demand, both at home and abroad.

According to a news article on this matter, the CBI report reveals that almost a third of firms (28%) questioned in the survey said order books were above normal for the time of year while 19% said they were below normal. The gap of +9 percentage points was the widest since August 2007, the month the crisis hit.

Over the three months leading to September, 39% of manufacturers said they had boosted output against 21% who said they had cut back. The gap of +18 points was the highest since August 2011 and exceeded expectations. Additionally, export orders reached their maximum value for the past two and half years, while companies are reported to have also boosted production and reduce stocks in order to meet superior demand.

Stephen Gifford, the CBI's director of economics, said: "This month's results show the manufacturing recovery continuing to gather pace. Order books are the fullest they've been since the start of the financial crisis, and firms are ramping up production to meet demand.

"Firms are more upbeat about growth prospects in the coming quarter than at any time since 1995."

This significant pick-up in British manufacturing levels will certainly lead to a bit of strain on HR and production managers, and this is specifically where Tensor can put its extensive experience to very good use.

The Tensor WinTA.NET suite supplies an extensive range of useful tools for managers, one of its most interesting features being the possibility of setting manning levels for each work station, based upon employee skills required during the working week. Any shortfalls to the expected requirement, due to absenteeism for example, can trigger a system email.

A separate module is available for rostering and manpower scheduling and the system will also easily handle all frequently used methods of calculating employee hours, from simple determination of overtime by the number of daily hours worked, to the more complex payment of overtime hours adjusted when periodic targets are not met.

If you'd like to find out more about the WinTA.NET suite, or any other Tensor plc solutions, just get in touch, we'd be more than happy to answer any query you might have.