Council and Administration

Administration

Institute of Management Services
Lichfield Business Village
Staffordshire University Centre
Friary Way  Lichfield
WS13 6QG

Email: admin@ims-productivity.com

Tel: 01543 308605 

Registered Charity No: 288877

Registered in England No: 00832132

IMS Administrators

The Cygnul Administration Team consisting of Kirstie, Liz and Rob, took over in October 2021, at the request of the Council. We enjoy working with current and new members with all their queries.

---

Dr. Andrew Muir, Chairman/Treasurer

Andrew joined the institute in 1972, became a corporate member in 1976 and was elected to Council in 1990. He served on Council as Deputy Chairman and Treasurer up until he stepped down in 1999 due to a family illness. He is a past winner of the IMS Gold Medal Award and the Institute's award for outstanding service to the membership.

He began his career in 1962 as an engineering apprentice at HM Dockyard Rosyth, and transferred into analytical estimating in 1967. In 1968 he moved into local government work study and had a progressive career with various authorities until he retired in 2002 as lead officer for corporate best value. He now occasionally undertakes consultancy work and plays golf.

Andrew has a DMS, an MBA and was awarded a DBA from the University of Abertay for his research into performance management. He has published numerous papers and received several awards for his academic work including the Napier Medal. He was elected a Fellow of the World Academy of Productivity Science in 1999.

---

David Blanchflower, Deputy Chairman

David Blanchflower first joined the Institute in 1969 and in 1974 became a corporate member and was elected as Secretary to the Merseyside Branch. He is the longest serving member of the Institute's Council of Management having been elected in 1977.

David began his career in 1957 as an engineering apprentice with the Central Electricity Generating Board. In 1969 he moved into Management Servces and worked at a number of Power Stations until taking early retirement in 1992 when he moved into Local Government in an administrative capacity, until retiring in 2009. He has been a Justice of the Peace since 1984 and a member of the Merseyside Valuation Tribunal. He is currently a Public Governor of his local NHS Hospital Trust. 

David held the position of Institute Treasurer from 1999 to 2021. He also has responsibility for the production of the Institute Journal a task he has undertaken for the past 30 years. David played a key role in outsourcing the Institute's administration function and the introduction of life membership. He has previously held the position of Institute Chairman and Treasurer.

David has an HNC in Business Studies and an MA in Education Management. He was elected a Fellow of the World Academy of Productivity Science in 2010.

---

Richard Taylor, Director

Richard has been directly involved in, or responsible for, productivity for much of his working life. 

After higher education in engineering, civil engineering and business he worked in manufacturing and international civil engineering in roles including Work Study Officer, Methods Engineer, Industrial Engineering Manager, Planning Manager and Works Manager. His focus on manufacturing continued with General Manager and Director positions.

Having joined Scott-Grant as Regional Operations Manager, he was appointed Managing Director in 1991 by the PLC, before leading a buyout with colleagues in 1996. He has operational involvement in delivering productivity and performance improvement across all business sectors, working with customers from almost 50 countries. Scott-Grant Ltd is also a long standing productivity trainer providing IMS-approved training across all sectors.

---

Ken Gamble, Director

Ken has been a member of IMS for 25 years and a Fellow for the last 10.

He is passionately interested in Productivity and Performance Improvement.  This is evidenced in his career where he has used his experience and understanding in his positions within the retail sector, eventually moving to the DWP. 

In his role with Homes England he assessed Corporate Risk and was involved with drafting the Modern Slavery Policy and various Government registers.

As well as being an IMS Fellow he is also a member of RIG (Risk in Government) and WIG (Whitehall Industry Group) as well as having served as a Parish Council Chair.

In his spare time he has also project managed his own self build.

---

Chris Elkington, Director

Chris joined the Institute in 1971 whilst working at Lindsey County Council in Lincolnshire. He was appointed Deputy Work Study Officer for Glanford Borough Council in 1974 and then joined the Work Study team at Severn-Trent Water Authority. He became a Fellow of the Institute in 1983.

In 1985 he was appointed as Chief Executive of a consortium of local authorities, a position he held until he retired, due to ill-health, in 2011. Following recovery, he undertook a series of commissions including acting as Independent Standards Committee member for two local authorities, investigating complaints against elected members.

He is a Trustee and current Chairman of Head and Neck Cancer UK (HANCUK); and a patient expert on NHS and NICE  Head and Neck committees involved in the analysis of the considerations of using new Treatments for Head and Neck Cancer patients.

He is an avid supporter of Lincoln City Football Club, golfer and skier.

---

Mark Cooper, Director

Mark joined the institute when he was first trained as an Industrial Engineer in 1984, having completed the Diploma at Manchester and became a Fellow in 2011. Since joining the employ of Scott-Grant in 1990 he has been a committed advocate of productivity tools and techniques whilst supporting numerous clients in many sectors with a variety of projects and training. He has worked with numerous clients from SME’s with a handful of employees to multi-site, blue chip organisations, all having a common goal of improving productivity of their resources.

Mark began his career working in the clothing, footwear and home furnishing industries in 1978, starting in a junior management role within the warehouse function before progressing to a role within the IE department of Dorma - CVHF, before joining Scott-Grant, initially as a project Industrial Engineer assigned to a variety of client based projects.

Throughout the years, he has become known by many productivity and management professionals for his commitment to customer service and supporting the careers of those wishing to advance in the field of productivity and lean.