This client is part of a larger international group comprising of several United Kingdom subsidiaries. There were three separate manufacturing sites each employing between 150 and 300 staff. They traded as separate companies, although they were broadly similar in terms of the products and administration systems.
However, although the first company operated successfully to ISO 9000 standards, the picture across the group as a whole was very different:
The second company had not kept up-to-date with ISO 9000 and could have lost BSI accreditation at the next assessment if action was not taken in the near future
The remaining company did not have a formal quality management system, but still carried out many of the BSI requirements
Customers in this industry no longer saw ISO 9000 as a necessity; consequently, the marketing advantages of registration were diminishing. The main question for the client was, what direction they should take with regards to ISO 9000 and quality management in general? Our brief was to examine the role of quality management within all three companies and to recommend a course of action. The project had to be completed quickly if one of the group companies was to prevent accreditation lapsing before a clear direction was determined.
Without going into specific detail, the report was delivered to the Group MD within the proposed time scale and at an agreed fee. The final decision was taken and the group embarked upon their long-term strategy.
Process improvement
We were selected from an initial invitation to tender involving more than 50 bidding companies. The brief was to examine the outpatient referrals process in an NHS hospital, from GP referral, through to the patient being discharged.
The objectives were to undertake a process improvement exercise, to recommend how things could be improved and to provide a basis for future planning and decision-making. This entailed mapping and detailing the entire process, including:
GP referral
Appointment booking
Clinic preparation
Medical records
Consultant appointments
The processes were analyses in terms of flow charts and detailed descriptions of the stages involved. In addition, statistical data and outline facts were included. The outcome was a project that was delivered well within budget and to the exact time scale. There were more than 25 recommendations; the vast majority of which were successfully implemented.
Cost savings evaluation
This client had a dilemma - a supplier that claimed to be able to provide cheaper and better raw material had approached them. The budget was c£1.0m per annum and the potential saving around 20%. On the face of it, the decision looked obvious. However, there was a snag - the client had to take large amounts of material that was of a variable quality. Some was better than the specification - but some was also worse.
Our brief was to compare the two suppliers and to recommend the best option. This entailed evaluating the raw material in terms of the main issues, including:
% of good vs. reject
Supplier delivery and reliability
Material yield through the machining processes
Extra labour required to cope with the re-work
Initially, deliveries were analysed in terms of useable material. The good quality material was then tracked through each part of the machining process to determine scrap and wastage levels. Having compared the two suppliers both statistically and logically, the conclusion was reached that the original supplier was the best. Although substantial savings could be made at the purchasing stage, costs escalated throughout the process and these savings were subsequently negated. The project was concluded successfully, on budget and within the agreed time scale.
