Our LeanSmart methodology is rapid and is focused on value and sustainability:
- High-value, bottom-line results are what drive us, and what it helps its clients to deliver.
- Our consultants help our clients to move quickly, implementing and refining improvements until an optimum solution is sustained.
- By Wiring the organisation, we will not only make the installed solutions sustainable, but will empower ongoing and permanent improvements.
- Our parallel training of client Change Agents will create a basis for further improvements when we leave. This will not only drive further long-term improvements but also develop your ‘high potential personnel’ as future leaders.
Our LeanSmart approach secures lasting impact through three key focus areas
Wiring: Ensuring the organisation is focused on key problems and the delivery of solutions by optimising management infrastructure and performance management. Key elements include Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), target setting, performance reviews and organisation structure.Optimising: Making the most effective use of key processes and generating, and implementing, explicit ideas for improvement.Sustaining: Ensuring that solutions and new ways of working are sustained and are further improved upon by wiring them in and training Change Agents and line management alike. Adapting solutions as required.
We focus on nine sources of waste that LeanSmart targets for lasting impact
- Scrap/rework – manufacturing example: production lots discarded throughout the process due to poor quality.
- Waiting – construction example: planning and compliance to plan, with scheduling and variances not being managed correctly, or at the right levels, leading to delays and cost overruns.
- Inventory – maintenance store example: having too many spare parts, inappropriate spare parts or an inability to dispatch spare parts in a timely manner.
- Motion – mining operations example: trucks making journeys across the mine when not fully loaded.
- Transportation – stores example: having non-optimised stores, non-optimised locations and non-optimised route planning, leading to inefficient and ineffective logistics.
- Overproduction: catering example: not having control of the number of servings needed per given time period, leading to producing/cooking/warming up of more food than is needed.
- Over-processing – gold production example: gold refined to levels of purity that far exceed customer requirements.
- Experience – external legal services example: not fully utilising all employee experience to ascertain which external legal firm is best and the most cost effective at what products and services.
- Prioritisation – procurement example: not focusing on cutting the largest, or easiest, spend categories first when tackling procurement spend, leading to smaller savings being realised than were possible.
Our LeanSmart value proposition
Our methodology follows industry best practice, mixing a strong focus on prioritised value with process optimisation and management experience, ensuring sustainability through solutions, hardwiring and intensive coaching. We put in place the best people for the full extent of the engagement – we use a mix of individuals from top strategy firms and line managers who are experienced in delivering results in lean operational change. We strengthen accountability within your organisation. We focus on decision-making discussions, not on slick presentations and long meetings; our mantra is: “enough information to make a decision”. From day one, our teams support the line to deliver results. We offer flexible pay-for-performance fees to align ourselves with our clients’ interests.
Examples of how we have helped our clients:
- Increased labour efficiency by 12% and developed continuous improvement capability at an airline catering company
- Increased productivity by 28% in five months in a key department of a chemical and discrete manufacturing company; reduced FTE’s by 25% and increased production by 10% by end of year one
