Blue Crow Optical PLC $(2024)$

Introduction

Neil Balfour, the Manufacturing Director of Blue Crow Optical, was leading a discussion to the

Management Board in April $2023$ of concerns with the development of the manufacturing facility at

the company$$s Riccarton site. This was just one in a series of frequent meetings concerning all

aspects of these developments from people through to procedures, new technologies, quality

management, works engineering projects, plant layout proposals, process routing, product

technology$/$customer discussions, sales forecasts, the setting of deadlines and review of progress.

The current preoccupation of the Board is with the ongoing transfer of facilities from the Seafield

Road site to the expanded main production facility at Riccarton, and the introduction of capacity

and procedures to meet the planned new product launches.

$$The growth of sales from $80$m now to $238$m by $2025$ needs careful handling from

all aspects of the business. The manufacturing task not only requires the transfer of

the existing Seafield Road site products to our main site here at Riccarton, but also

the introduction of a whole crop of new products into this site during the same period.

However, in addition to planning the phase$-$in of these products at Riccarton, we also

need to consider our current strategy for determining the use of production process.

We must ensure that our strategy is still appropriate and that we are implementing it

in a consistent way. Yet, the challenges of managing this scale of growth means

reviewing it on an on$-$going basis$.$

Following this meeting the Management Board of BCO has arranged for a consultancy group to

conduct an independent operations analysis to evaluate and make recommendations for BCO

when considering if $$strategy is still appropriate and that we are implementing it in a consistent

way. Yet, the challenges of managing this scale of growth means reviewing it on an on$-$going

basis$$