Taken from Speech by Mr Michael Heseltine, President of the Board, at a Sunday Times Conference on 1 June 1992 :
When I visited a steelworks in the North of England I found a brand new factory, equipped with the best machinery available. Yet it was losing money. A party of Japanese visited the same plant. They came from the same industry and operated the same machinery in Japan. But they were making money.
When they had toured the plant their British host asked them if they had any suggestions to make. Their reply was very simple: 'We have very little to suggest. You are doing what we do with the same equipment, in much the same circumstances
there is nothing of substance in our observations.
But you might be interested to glance at this list of little things we
noticed. '
In order to
The list contained 57 items, none of particular substance.
All obvious. Let me give you just one example. shoot the rod from the furnace, the doors of the furnace had
to be opened. The Japanese opened their door 6 inches. The
British opened theirs 18 inches. The difference in heat loss
was measurable and had a price environmental as well as
economic.
The 57 items added up to the difference between profit and
loss. That same British company, with the same equipment, doing the same things, but with tighter management, is now profitable.
There can be no more telling illustration of the steps we need
to take if we are to compete successfully in the world market.
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