A project that has recently come to fruition was for Greenleaf Recycling Ltd in Bedlington, Northumberland. The have just gained their PAS100 / CQP accreditation, which we supported them with. PAS100 is akin to ISO9001 for compost producers, and includes a full QMS (Quality Management System), Standard Operating Procedures, HACCP controls and NCR system. Accreditation was notified on the 24th April 2012 and our congratulations go out to Greenleaf for achieving this success. From an on time delivery performance perspective we were particularly interested in how the lead time for compost production could be reduced, and through design of the process schedule and defining some standard working practices the lead time for compost production has been taken from 6 months down to 3 months. You can view the Greenleaf website here . Smartspeed Consulting Limited Taking the frustration out of on time delivery.

When you are trying to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of a business process you are often presented with in-trays. They may look quite innocuous as they sit there on the edge of the desk, but the way that they are used can greatly affect the ability to close out project tasks, or affect the lead time of the process that they are part of. As an example, one of my clients was having problems with the length of time it took to produce their manufacturing orders. As I was engaged to lead some lean transformation work in this area I scoped the sales order processing part of the business into the project. There was initially some scepticism as to why I would need to look there when it was a manufacturing problem I had been hired to resolve. However, after explaining the lead time was from order receipt right through to despatch of the products my client agreed that the administrative function may have some effect on the overall time taken. The analysis from the offices in that

Continuous Improvement, or CI, is a heavily used term that often doesn't create the results that we would hope for. Common approaches to CI often help people move from having problems to being 'OK'. However, most people find that it is much more difficult to use these approaches to move from being 'good' to 'excellent'. From his past work with clients who struggled to move from 'good' to excellent', Giles Johnston, a business improvement consultant, has devised a simple method for generating new improvements (hence helping your staff to take the tiny steps that embody CI). From the most junior person to the most senior within a business this simple tool can be applied to provide new insights and ideas to improve your business. This booklet gives you a step by step guide to using this approach and ideas on how to best use it for your business. Quick start templates are also provided (via a download link in the resources section). So, i

NBSL have announced a new round of funding to help Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the North East of England with their change management and process improvement projects. The funding is up to 40% contribution (to a maximum project value of £3500.00 excluding VAT) and requires that a number of criteria are met for eligibility. For more information and advice about this potential source of funding please visit the NBSL website ( http://www.nbsl.org.uk ) or contact us ( info@smartspeed.co.uk ). Smartspeed Consulting Limited Taking the frustration out of on time delivery.