Danny Heslop's Process Leader Level 4 Story with AB World Foods

AB World Foods is an international branded food business, home to well-known brands including Patak’s and Blue Dragon, and is part of Associated British Foods (ABF). It’s Leigh site is home to a busy manufacturing environment and within that setting, people development plays an important role in supporting quality, operational performance and future capability.

Danny has built his career at AB World Foods over the last decade. He first joined the business as an apprentice, completing a Level 3 food manufacturing apprenticeship before progressing through a range of manufacturing roles, from operator to technician and team leader. Towards the end of his Process Leader Level 4 apprenticeship with CQM Training & Consultancy, Danny was promoted to Team Manager of the Cookhouse, the area where food is prepared, batches are made and quality checks are completed before products move on to filling.

In his current role, Danny supports a sizeable team structure, with around 34 team members working in the Cookhouse area, alongside five team leaders. For Danny, the Process Leader apprenticeship has supported that transition by strengthening both the technical improvement skills and the leadership confidence needed in a busy manufacturing environment.

The Process Leader Level 4 programme combines leadership, operational improvement, project delivery and health and safety. For Danny, that blend was particularly valuable because it supported the role he was moving into.

While he enjoyed the second year of the programme, with its focus on Six Sigma, DMAIC and project work, he also recognised the importance of the first year in building his confidence around the people-focused side of leadership.

“The first year has just given me the confidence in the different aspects of dealing with people.”

That confidence became especially relevant as Danny moved into his Team Manager role. One area that stood out was recruitment. Although he had previously been involved in interviews as a team leader, the programme helped him understand more of the work that comes before the interview stage, including job descriptions and the broader recruitment process.

As Danny explained, this meant he was not stepping into that part of management “completely in the unknown.” The programme gave him the background knowledge and confidence to get involved and apply what he had learned in a real workplace context.

Danny’s improvement project focused on one of AB World Foods’ production lines, specifically the line two Meypack case packer in the ready-to-eat area. The Meypack packs ready-to-eat poppadums into outer cases and sits towards the end of the process before palletisation.

The business problem was clear. Over the previous 12 periods, line two Meypack had generated 8131 minutes of downtime, making it a priority area for improvement. Danny’s project was scoped to reduce downtime on line two Meypack by increasing OEE on the machine by 10%. The work focused on asset care and standard settings for line two Meypack, with changes to the material supplier and line one Meypack remaining outside the project scope.

At the start of the project, the objective was to reduce downtime by 15%, equivalent to 1227 minutes and a potential profit opportunity of £37,246. Alongside the productivity opportunity, the project also had an important quality and customer impact. Reducing downtime and improving control of the Meypack would help reduce the number of outer cases with packs that were not glued correctly, while also reducing the risk of cases reaching customers without barcodes, which could lead to customer fines.

The Maypack was the third highest cause of downtime on the line. The two highest causes were already being addressed through separate improvement activity, which made the case packer a clear and practical focus for Danny’s Process Leader project. His aim was not simply to reduce lost time, but to improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), support Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), strengthen quality and improve the day-to-day working environment for operators.

Through the project, Danny identified that the team had moved away from effective process control. Standard settings either were not in place, were out of date, or were not being followed consistently. Over time, this meant operators had been “fighting with the machine”, making reactive adjustments to keep production moving rather than working from a reliable, controlled standard.

Using tools including SIPOC, 5W1H and OEE analysis, Danny was able to break down the process, understand where issues were coming from and evidence the impact the Meypack was having on the line. The 5W1H analysis highlighted that the condition of the machine was poor. Filters were blocked and not cleaned regularly, the gluing system leaked glue and was not being cleaned consistently, and machine settings had been changed reactively in response to previous downtime.

A key part of the project was returning structure to the process. Danny gathered data on the machine settings being used when the equipment was running well compared with when it was not. He also reviewed pack and case measurements, investigated the impact of regular cleaning and asset care, and explored how glue build-up was affecting the movement of cases through the machine.

One of the practical issues related to the glue nozzles. When glue behaved inconsistently, it could build up within the machine, affecting the surfaces the cases needed to travel across. This then caused packs to twist, creating a knock-on effect through the next stages of the case packing process. The improvement work helped the team understand the relationship between settings, cleaning, asset care, material condition and machine performance.

The project also highlighted the importance of packaging specifications. Previously, when outer cases caused issues on the line, the team would often try to adjust the machine to suit the packaging. Through the project, Danny helped bring clearer understanding of the required measurements into the production area. If cases were out of specification, the team could now identify this more quickly, put the affected materials to one side, raise the issue through AB World Foods’ supplier non-conformance process, and use a different batch of outer cases.

That distinction was important. What may previously have been recorded or treated as machine downtime could now be understood more accurately. The team had a better way to identify whether the root cause was the machine, the material or the process conditions around it.

As a result of the improvements made on the Meypack, AB World Foods saw a a 95% reduction in downtime based on this cause, demonstrating the operational impact of applying structured improvement tools to a clearly defined production issue.

One of Danny’s biggest takeaways was the importance of the Define stage within DMAIC. Rather than moving straight to action, the programme helped him understand the value of properly defining the problem, engaging stakeholders and measuring what was really happening before deciding on a solution.

“Getting that Define stage right and really understanding the problem and what it is that your stakeholders want from the project… that’s probably the biggest thing I took away.”

That learning has changed how Danny now approaches improvement. Before the apprenticeship, he reflected that he would often try to jump straight to the solution. Through Process Leader, he developed a more structured and patient approach: define the problem, measure it properly, understand what the data is showing, then work through the right improvement activity.

The project helped the team regain control of the process. Updated standard settings, measurement checks, cleaning routines and defined control limits gave operators a clearer way to understand when the process was running as expected and when further investigation was needed.

As Danny explained, the team moved from simply having a setting to having upper and lower control limits. When the process moves outside those limits, the team now has a prompt to investigate properly rather than continuing to adjust the machine without knowing whether the real issue sits elsewhere.

For Danny, the benefit was not only improved efficiency. Reducing rework and machine issues gave operators more time to complete the tasks that help the area run well, including cleaning, paperwork and maintaining standards. The project therefore supported OEE, quality, GMP and operator confidence, while giving Danny a practical improvement framework he is continuing to use in his current role.

The impact of the programme has continued beyond Danny’s formal apprenticeship project. Since completing the project, Danny has already started using the tools on other improvement activity, including a project on the fryer in the same room.

Now in the Cookhouse, he has a number of projects he wants to progress and expects to continue using the DMAIC framework and the tools learned through the programme.

“It’s definitely the sort of framework that I’m going to use moving forward.”

For AB World Foods, that means the value of the apprenticeship extends beyond one completed project. Danny has developed a practical improvement approach that he can continue to apply in his day-to-day role, supporting further opportunities across his area.

Danny completed Process Leader as part of an open cohort, alongside learners from AB World Foods and other organisations, including other food businesses and KMF Group, a sheet metal fabricator.

He found the open cohort format valuable because it gave him the opportunity to learn from people in different working environments. The mix of food manufacturing and other industries created useful discussion, with learners able to share ideas, compare approaches and reflect on how different organisations manage similar challenges.

Support from CQM was another important part of Danny’s experience. He highlighted the role of CQM Development Coach Alan Clark, both in delivering the sessions and in providing support outside the scheduled workshops.

“I couldn’t have asked for any more really support wise… Alan was great all the way through.”

When Danny needed help outside the sessions, Alan was available and would set up calls to talk things through. As Danny moved towards End-Point Assessment, that support was strengthened further through EPA preparation sessions with Alan and Angela, including mock assessment activity and feedback on what went well and what could be improved.

Danny achieved a distinction, and the preparation helped him go into assessment with greater confidence and clarity.

Danny is currently focused on settling into his new Team Manager role and applying the learning from his apprenticeship in that environment. Longer term, he is keen to continue developing, particularly in the improvement and data-led side of the programme that he enjoyed during the second year.

He is already considering further Lean Six Sigma training, potentially at Green Belt or Black Belt level, to build on the improvement skills he has developed through Process Leader.

For Danny, the programme has delivered value across both sides of his role: the leadership confidence to manage people more effectively and the improvement framework to deliver structured, evidence-led change.

“You take a lot from it… one year focusing on leadership and one focusing on project work and continuous improvement. I’ve taken a lot of value from both, which I’m now using day-to-day in my job role.”

Danny’s progression at AB World Foods is a strong example of what can happen when a business creates opportunities for people to grow and supports them as their responsibilities develop. Having invested in Danny from his early apprenticeship through to his current management role, AB World Foods has helped create a clear pathway for progression, capability-building and operational impact.

With the support of his manager, Lee Twiss, Operations Manager at AB World Foods, Danny was able to apply his learning to a live operational challenge that mattered to the site. That internal support, combined with CQM’s coaching and delivery, helped turn the apprenticeship into something immediately practical: a measurable improvement project, a stronger approach to process control and a development experience that supported Danny’s move into a management role.

For employers, it is a strong example of how Process Leader can help develop people who are ready to lead teams, improve performance and take greater ownership of operational improvement.

Would you like to find out more about our Process Leader Level 4 Programme?