Some
recent case studies ..
Project: Business Performance Improvement
Industry: Varied
Line of Business: Varied
We have run our Business Performance Improvement workshop to train staff teams in more than twenty major organisations in business
improvement concepts, tools, and techniques in preparation for
implementing internal improvement initiatives.
The workshop consolidates in concise, easy to understand and
apply form – the core elements common to all of the contemporary business improvement techniques such as Total Quality
Management, Business Process Reengineering, Root Cause Analysis, Six Sigma and Lean Thinking.
Client teams have come away from the workshop with the knowledge and skills to implement
improvement projects in their organisations. In all cases, teams were able to generated significant benefits and resolve major
business and operational issues.
In many cases we have been retained on a part time basis to mentor client teams through to
project completion and to verify discipline in the use of the process.
Some organisations have been
so impressed by the results their people have achieved, that they have engaged us repeatedly to train more and more staff, completing
more and more projects. In the case of a few organisations, almost every employee has at some stage attended our workshop and the use
of the tools and techniques learned has been integrated into their culture as part of their “business-as-usual” paradigm.
Project: Six Sigma Implementation
Industry: Financial/Business Service
Line of Business: Transaction Processing and Customer Support Service
Project involved providing
consulting advice and support on Six Sigma implementation in a
global business across five major sites spread across Australia, Europe, China, USA and India
The Six Sigma curricula of
major Six Sigma companies were reviewed and a curriculum customised
to the needs of a transaction based service business developed,
covering Green Belt level and Black Belt level accreditation.
The HMG consultant was
retained to deliver the Green Belt and Black Belt training across
all sites. A significant amount of this training has been delivered
and four of the five sites have fully operationalised Six Sigma
based continuous improvement with active Six Sigma teams working on
improvement projects becoming part of the normal operating practice.
The project is still on
going, and is currently focussed on broadening and deepening the
extent of Six Sigma implementation in the broader global
organisation, as well as building internal training and development
self-sufficiency.
Project: Cost-of-Quality
Review
Industry: Financial Services
Line of Business: Funds Management
Review of the back-office and customer support operations of a funds management organisation
in order to understand the cost structure and quantify the cost of quality as a basis for planning and
targeting business improvement efforts.
HMG consultant worked together with a team of client staff to analyse the cost structure
of the business in Cost-of-Quality terms. Key opportunity areas for improvement were identified. A cost model was developed which
allowed the client to model the bottom line impact of actioning the
various opportunities, use for prioritising projects.
The outcomes and recommendations of this review were actioned by the clients’ own
quality and process improvement team infrastructure.
Project: Business Improvement Review
Industry: Manufacturing
Line of Business: Plastics Manufacturing
Whole of business review of a plastics components manufacturer to understand overall cost
structure, identify opportunities for improvement to reduce costs and waste, and improve product and
process quality. A key outcome was developing an understanding of and quantifying the cost of
quality as a basis for planning and targeting business improvement efforts.
HMG consultant worked together with a team of client staff to analyse the scope of
business operations, including production, sales and marketing, procurement, supply chain management and
customer support. A final report was produced highlighting the cost structure of the business
in Cost-of-Quality terms. Key opportunities for improvement leading
to significant reduction in cost, improvement in productivity and
improvement in quality were identified and an action plan proposed.
Project: Performance Measurement/Balanced Score Card
Industry: Financial Services
Line of Business: Funds Management
Provided training and implementation support to client team charged with implementing a
Balanced Scorecard based business performance measurement system, identifying, tracking and reporting relevant key performance
indicators.
Project: New Product Development Lead Time Reduction
Industry: High-Tech Communication Equipment
Line of Business: High-tech Electronics Product Development and Manufacture
Conducted a review of New Product Development and Launch processes to identify opportunities
to accelerate this process in an industry where innovation and rapid time-to-market are critical success factors.
Numerous opportunities for improvement and to accelerate these processes were identified by the
consultant. Final recommendations resulted in the organisation implementing significant improvements to research and development,
design, prototyping and transition to manufacturing leading to major reductions in product launch lead times and significant improvements
in product reliability and the ability to incorporate customer feedback into new product development.
Project: Maintenance Auditing and Benchmarking
Industry: Building Products
Line of Business: Mining, Processing and Building Products Manufacture
Maintenance Management review and audit of six independent business units in a large
conglomerate corporation, engaged in various activities from mining, processing, fleet management and
the manufacture and supply of specific products to the building industry.
The review was aimed at auditing the performance of maintenance in each business unit using
a standardised audit methodology that allowed for benchmarking against best practice. This was used to identify
significant gaps as a basis of the development of improvement strategies for each division.
Ongoing internal benchmarking and the facilitation of best practice sharing between
divisions, and the adopting of a common maintenance management system were key client
outcomes arising from this project.
Project: Operations Review and Improvement
Industry: Banking
Line of Business: Mortgage Processing
A review of the mortgage processing operations of a major Australian bank led to a HMG
consultant being engaged to support the implementation of effective workflow management processes
and lean thinking concepts at their mortgage processing centre as well as the development and launching
of continuous improvement teams.
Many more industry and context specific project
case studies are available on request.
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