Clear Process Improvement

Process Improvement, from Practical Common Sense Steps through to Lean and Six Sigma

What can I do for you?

All of the companies and groups that I have worked with had one thing in common; they all desired to something better. This something was unique to them, the specifics of it were unique to them. The fact that it is possible to do this something better is not unique to them. How they wanted to do it better varied from company to company, there are two general ways in which I can work:

Providing project management and advice for your staff to achieve your goals

Working for you directly to achieve your goals

Often an engagement requires a blend of both sets of techniques. The skill groups listed below start within the first group and move more towards the second group.

Project and Programme Management

You are experts at making decisions for your business; however, decisions need to be enacted to have a chance of having the effect that is desired. This action should be monitored and coordinated, and the outcomes understood to ensure that what is desired is achieved. I can provide this management (either at a project or programme level) whilst also providing access to the skills below, and being able to advise your staff on how to overcome issues within their projects.

Mentoring and Training

'Knowledge Transfer’ if often specified during an assignment. This usually has to go beyond simply letting your staff know what was done, and progresses into helping them understand why, and how to re-use that knowledge in other, similar, situations. It does however require commitment, both by offering up appropriate staff and ensuring that they have sufficient time to learn. Done properly, knowledge transfer leaves behind someone who is able to carry on the same type of work independently, and will often create a significant uplift in morale as the sustained attention and the learning of new methods is a very positive force.

Process Improvement

Of all the factors that affect how a business performs, the performance of its processes are a significant influence, with some or all of the following being crucial:

how consistent your processes are
how much effort your processes consume
how well your processes meet your customers expectations

There are widely recognised tools that I am able to deploy, either on your behalf or as a part of a training program with your staff; these tools are Lean and Six Sigma. Whilst both of these started in manufacturing they are perfectly applicable to any organisation. I also come with the advantage of being able to look in from the outside, and apply simpler changes to create improvements quickly.

Analysis, Data Translation and Information Provision

There is often a need to get additional information out of the data naturally stored within the business; this is often not easily accessible as the system was not built with this requirement in mind. These limitations often show up as information provided at the wrong frequency, available to the wrong people, with too much amalgamation or at too great a level of detail.

This information can be extracted and used, and the method of extraction used to inform more permanent methods of ensuring this information can be supplied on a regular basis. Analysis, statistical or otherwise can be carried out on the data to determine what exactly it is telling you, helping you make more appropriate decisions.

These same techniques can be used to help you move from one system to another by transforming and translating data so that it can be used by other systems. By using someone familiar with Process Improvement techniques the sources of poor data can be investigated alongside the transformation process.

What can you expect from me?

You can expect me to:

Work myself out of a job – I want to be able to leave you self-sufficient

Be pragmatic – I’m not going to apply more rigour and technique than is needed to give you a robust solution

Be honest about expectations - I’m also not going to promise to solve everything, improvement should always be viewed as a continuous activity, tomorrow’s problems and issues will be different to todays. Given the time to help your people understand some simple tools and principles, I’d like to think that you’ll become self-sufficient in the use of these tools.

Ultimately I want you to want me to come back, but not to actually need me to come back as you’re now able to improve things for yourself.

Who have I worked with, and why should I work for you?

I have worked with a variety of companies in the past in a variety of areas of their businesses. I accept that I do not have the professional knowledge that your staff have in what you do. But I do have the skills in how to get that work to and from your staff, so that they can apply their knowledge and skills. I also have the understanding of what questions need to be asked to track and monitor that work, and how to ask those questions.

The companies and institutions that I have worked with all had experts in their own spheres of expertise, be they Social Workers, Artists, Order Processors, Customer Services Staff, Planners, HR Professionals, Engineers to name but a few. They all have very similar types of problems, all with an individual flavour that is unique to themselves.

Because of this, I feel that I am very capable of providing assistance to you, whatever you do. I know that I will have a near-vertical learning curve, and expect this, I do not expect to walk into your business and know what do.

Associate working

I’ve worked with other consultancies in the past, for their clients, either being introduced as an associate working for them as Clear Process Improvement Ltd, or working as if I am one of your own staff, with your emails etc. I’m perfectly comfortable working either way, I’m also happy to use your methods and systems.

My Background

Following a Degree in Manufacturing Engineering and Management at Loughborough University, I joined Newage International (now Cummins Generator Technologies) as a graduate production engineer. Over the following 9 years I progressed from that initial role, through Senior Manufacturing Engineer, and various project roles including the relocation of a factory from Minnesota to San Luis Potosi in Mexico. My final role was as a Master Black Belt for Cummins Power Generation providing support and program management to Six Sigma projects worldwide, sites included locations in China, India, Mexico, USA, Germany, Singapore and the UK.

Following this I setup the consultancy Business Synchronicity Ltd, where I worked on projects across multiple sectors and for multiple clients, whilst maintaining and improving the technical capabilities of our own internal staff, and managing our internal systems. I have since setup Clear Process Improvement Ltd to offer these same services to the same broad range of clients.

For more details please have a look at my linked in page: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/steve-jones/6/296/889

If you wish to discuss anything that I might be able to work with you on, then please do not hesitate to get in touch, and we can see what can be done, obviously all with no-obligation. If I’m not available, or not suitable then I’ll probably know someone who is, and will put you in touch them.

To contact me please use the contact form below, or contact me through Linkedin.

My Company

Clear process improvement Ltd itself was wound down in 2020, as I moved to mostly working inside IR35 and on-payroll, which in many ways might be easier for you, and certainly would be seen as a lower risk pathway for you. However this is still me, this is what I offer, and should there be an appropriate need to start up as an independent company again then I shall.

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