Our continuous improvement approach

Our simple yet extremely effective structured 4-phase approach to Continuous Improvement is results driven, fully adaptable and proven to deliver significant and measurable benefits in the performance of people, process, plant and operations.  This approach ensures we provide a tailored support package, specific for your exact needs.  

We also understand that leading, delivering and implementing change can be difficult and fully recognise that we must consider the people and organisational challenges that will be faced for all improvement initiatives.   Hence why all of our continuous improvement support offerings are built on robust people development and change management principles, to ensure the highest probability of delivering successful and sustainable change.

Time and energy spent at this initial stage will be invaluable in helping us all understand your exact needs.  We will work with you to determine the current situation and where you need to be, helping you create your future state condition to scope out the goals and expected benefit.

This will identify and clarify the need for change, the following may be used during this phase;

• Value Stream Mapping - Current State Assessments
• Continuous Improvement Maturity Assessments
• Value Proposition Mapping
• Policy Deployment  

Now that we know where you need to be, we will provide recommendations to help get you there. This phase focuses on the engagement required with key stakeholders to ensure alignment and agreement on where we need to be and the approach to be taken.  We will now work with you to design and plan for the change using the "Preparation Phase" of our robust change management model to;

• Develop the business case / project charter and ensure sponsorship
• Change Readiness Assessment - To understand risk
• Prepare change team
• Develop the Continuous Improvement Plan - CIP
• Start development of the communications plan

This is the value adding piece of the process, where we facilitate, support and work with your teams to develop and drive the improvement solutions to achieve measurable benefit.  The approach taken will depend on the level of problem or opportunity but will typically fall within one or more of the following;

• Lean Implementation
• Rapid Improvement Event - Kaizen approach 
• A3 Continuous Improvement Project
• Organisational and Process Redesign
• Team Development
• Agile Scrum - Team enhancement / Implementation

We overcome the “but we’ve always done it like that” mindset by the engagement and involvement of your own people in the development of the solutions. 

We will support your teams with the roll out of the improvement solutions in line with the Manage & Sustain phases of the Change Management model, which is built in to all of our service offerings, this will ensure maximum benefit is realised. 

Sustained improvements can only be achieved when people ultimately change their ways of working and learn how to lead change themselves.  To help support this and drive the culture of Continuous Improvement in your operation for every improvement service we offer we will always ensure there is an opportunity for development of your own personnel - building internal capabilities, not dependencies.