Results
Results are important, they speak volumes. However, the journey getting to the results is just as important. The organisation remembers the journey long after the benefits.
Just talk to our clients who have ‘lived’ thru a Coxswain Alliance project. Their consistent feedback is that the Coxswain Alliance installation project journey is important factor in achieving sustainable bottom line results.
The kind of results our clients expect are varied – there is no such thing as a typical project. We deal in both the hard and soft results, the tangible and the intangible. The calibre of our people and the strength of our methodologies enable Coxswain Alliance to deliver on both types of results.
Installation is about changing the status quo, and realising improved results. A significant number, perhaps as much as 70%, of change programs fail to deliver projected results. What should you be looking for in a consulting partner to help you deliver improved results? Resources
Result – 10% improvement in throughput in 11 weeks.
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top Hospitality
top Healthcare
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top ICT
top Utilities
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top Infrastructure [PE venture]
top Financial Services
top Automotive
Delivered efficiences
top IT & Construction
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The kind of results our clients expect are varied – there is no such thing as a typical project. We deal in both the hard and soft results, the tangible and the intangible. The calibre of our people and the strength of our methodologies enable Coxswain Alliance to deliver on both types of results.
Installation is about changing the status quo, and realising improved results. A significant number, perhaps as much as 70%, of change programs fail to deliver projected results. What should you be looking for in a consulting partner to help you deliver improved results? Resources
Task – Processing | Throughput Improvement
Result – 10% improvement in throughput in 11 weeks.
Coal Handling & Preparation Plant [CHPP] was regarded as a bottleneck in a complex, multi-mine value chain.
Project activity involved:
Working with management to position them to lead the program – communicate vision, drive urgency and ensuring personal involvement.
Implementing change where the work occurs – engaged all levels of the workforce in the project activity to alter entrenched behaviours and attitudes.
Standardising work practices across management levels and crews.
Leveraging the value chain information, and installing visual management techniques.
Re-tooling IT systems to capture information simply for Root Cause Analysis and Reliability Engineering. Revised physical reports and the review cycle to ensure relevant information was obtained on a short interval basis to enable rapid decision-making.
Training and coaching of Supervisors and Superintendents, providing them with the skills to engage and direct their people in a more consistent and effective manner.
Re-defining roles and responsibilities to clarify what is expected from each management level.
Project activity involved:
Insight – Rapid change and improvement made possible by ensuring high workforce engagement – working with the business, not to the business.
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Task – Processing | Throughput Improvement
Result – Ability to meet expanding customer demand, estimated $16m value.
Increase the production of export quality, premium grade coal by optimising processing capability.
Project activity involved:Setting the organisational environment for changed work practices.
Engaging the broader organisation and drawing on their support to operationally improve the processing unit. This involved logistics, maintenance and technical services.
New tools were introduced, requiring different behaviours, levels of scrutiny and problem solving.
Requirements for increased efficiency and utilisation became apparent to the teams & superintendent – resulting in skills training and coaching.
Upstream supply was integrated into decision making and communication increased.
Project activity involved:
Insight – Behavioural focus enhances technical improvements.
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Task – Open Cut Coal | Equipment Strategy & Utilisation
Result – Validation of resource utilisation assumptions and drivers.
Independent fact based assessment of haul truck utilisation and manpower scheduling to assist alignment of HO and site management.
Project activity involved:Investigation of current situation and understand causal factors.
Reviewing and defining optimal work practices, standards and management methods to minimise impact of variable utilisation upon 1) mine planning and 2) the effectiveness of the dispatch function, the standards used and the triggers for response/action.
Reviewing/developing a working resource model, complete with assumptions and allowances to facilitate the determination/validation of drivers of resource requirements whilst optimising cycle time, availability, reliability and utilisation.
Understanding the drivers of utilisation variability, its impacts and the significance of availability, reliability and sub-optimal maintenance practices.
Reviewing/revising data capture methods and practices, including alterations.
Project activity involved:
Insight – KPI’s drive behaviours – but get them right or it can be at the expense of output.
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Task – Refining | Productivity & Workforce Skills Deployment
Result – $9 million in productivity improvements, which were directed immediately to expansion efforts.
In preparation for a major expansion, a leading resources company identified the need to restructure their labour force.
Project activity involved: Optimising productivity over a 12 month program by the adoption of new management systems to effectively plan, schedule and execute their work as well as report on performance.
Deploying a management training and coaching program to prepare frontline and senior managers to manage in a new and more challenging environment. This program was then integrated into the organisation’s induction training for managers at all levels.
Improving the consistency of work practices and strength of engagement across all organisational levels, leading to faster decision-making, improved communication, greater flexibility and alignment across the organisation.
Redeploying parts of the skilled workforce freed up from the productivity improvements to the expansion, avoiding recruitment and turnover costs.
Project activity involved:
Insight – Significant productivity improvements even in resource intensive industries can be achieved without capital expenditure by implementing the right behaviours, tools and techniques.
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Task – HR | Revision and Standardisation of On Boarding
Result – Alignment of three sites to amalgamate and standardise practices.
Aligning three sites to a standard practice for on-boarding of new employees.
Project activity involved:Defined current practices and workshopped with a group made up of all sites.
Defined best practices and means for ongoing capture.
Process mapped and critiqued over a period of three weeks.
Actions assigned to correct process deviations and gaps.
New process workshopped by site and agreed.
Clear implementation plans.
Rectifying justified criticism of operational customers.
Project activity involved:
Insight – Like processes diverge quickly without appropriate engagement and oversight.
top Hospitality
Task – Quality Improvement | Training & Skills Transfer
Result – Enhanced capability to deliver business improvement initiatives.
Global hotel chain needing to install quality improvement tools and techniques across 65+ properties.
Project activity involved:Partnering to deliver formal training and coaching of the regional QI team to deliver on the quality improvement target areas.
Created the real life examples for the Quality Improvement team to experience prior to field work.
Contributed expertise and confidence to support the Quality Improvement Leadership.
Provision of simple tools and techniques to back up the improvement methodologies being installed.
Enabled the ‘how to execute’ the new methodologies.
Project activity involved:
Insight – Tapping into expertise to provide a confidence in how to deploy methodologies will improve the pace and scale of implementation.
top Healthcare
Task – Turnaround | Business Review & Viability
Result – Realistic sales pipeline and options to reduce footprint and costs.
Independent and realistic assessment of likelihood that this business function could be returned to profitability.
Project activity involved:A rapid assessment of the true state of the pipeline of work and what management disciplines were required to stabilise the business.
A realistic pipeline established, which clarified where effort needed to focussed.
Assistance to close branches and communicate with clients.
Recommendation of a new operating model be put in place to guide efforts of staff to driving volume into the business, including basic management tools.
Coaching and direction provided to the new GM.
Project activity involved:
Insight – Clarity of what drives activity and revenue is important to focus operations – as is the right metrics.
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Task – Technology Rollout | Project Management
Result – Project management and critical path re-established and on track.
Prevention of IT roll-out delay due to lack of critical organisational data input.
Project activity involved:Establish the operational information required and develop an approach to rapidly gather it in line with the IT rollout schedule.
Installation of a disciplined process and tools brought the operational component back on schedule within 4 weeks.
Increased accuracy of required operational data.
Highlighted unforeseen risks, allowing for early action.
Project activity involved:
Insight – A simple focus on what is required and a dedicated resource to deliver it can overcome organisational inertia.
top ICT
Task – Contact Centres | Diagnostic and Strategy
Result – Able to confidently and accurately allocate costs, based on volumes, to the relevant business units.
Rapid and independent assessment of call volume levers and tactics to reduce or mitigate those calls.
Project activity involved:Established true root cause of call volumes, through rapid on-the-ground measurement, leveraging existing systems available.
Established new criteria for call coding, based on call volume drivers rather than product types.
Engagement with site management and staff about where action could be taken rapidly to address call volumes.
Alignment at an executive level about who was accountable for call volume drivers, leading to an acceptance of their own individual business units’ accountabilities.
Project activity involved:
Insight – Driving to a higher level of customer service can lead to fewer calls and falling costs.
top Utilities
Task – Organisational Role Clarity | Engagement & Direction
Result – Increased management engagement and direction.
Role clarification exercise to improve the working relationships between Operations and Engineering.
Project activity involved:Using a RACI format as a means for the organisation to lead a review of roles and responsibilities to clarify responsibility and accountability.
‘Redrawing of the boundaries’ and a clarification of what was required, overlaps and gaps in accountability and productivity opportunities.
The structure was refreshed and reorganised with a greater focus on operating performance and collaboration.
Actioning and enhancement of the Genco’s lean visual management implementation.
Project activity involved:
Insight – RACI establishment led to improved cross functional cooperation.
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Task – Policies & Procedure | Strategy Implementation.
Result – Clarity of process, speed and consistency of decision making.
Alignment of key players through documenting preferred ways of working to overcome differing opinions and inform networks.
Project activity involved:Consistent and comprehensive documentation of key processes that impacted how the utility delivered to its customer base.
Engagement process to expose hidden agendas and align leaders and functions.
Easy-to-use flows and quick tips, to facilitate understanding and consistent delivery.
Aligned user group, who owned the new processes.
Project activity involved:
Insight – An independent arbiter can overcome organisational silo mentality to assist in driving alignment on how to deliver a service.
top Infrastructure [PE venture]
Task – Operations Model | Strategy Enabled
Result – Clarity on future operating model and external stakeholder needs.
New Resources sector venture lacked clarity of alignment in preferred operating model to drive stakeholder engagement.
Project activity involved:Establishing an operating model that met the needs of a range of diverse internal stakeholders.
Resolving the lack of clarity on what the value proposition was, to allow all facets of the venture to work to a common model.
The project team facilitated a process for leadership to develop an aligned view of a conceptual operating model.
This enabled to allow operations and business development to work more closely and more clearly.
Developed action plans to drive alignment internally and with key external stakeholders.
Presented more consistent message to external stakeholders.
Project activity involved:
Insight – An enterprise wide view of an operation can expose and correct divergence in thinking, which if left unfixed, can confuse external stakeholders.
top Financial Services
Task – Back Office Processing | IT Implementation
Result – Local management provided with a plan of action to target changes.
New IT tools full capability was not completely understood, nor the effort required for a successful roll out.
Project activity involved:Leveraged previous work and installed management behaviours to evaluate new system’s ability to deliver on business need.
Aligned assessment of current state of rollout and the areas of greatest risk.
Gap analysis of management behavioural interaction needs and system capability.
Assessed ability to provide accurate and timely KPI’s and relevant to process management.
Action plans to mitigate or address the risk in the short and medium term.
Ability to liaise with vendor on the specifics of what needed to be done to bed down the installation.
Clarity on the need for backing behavioural models and operational KPI’s to ensure continuation of the process performance gains made to date.
Project activity involved:
Insight – Never lose sight of other or previous initiatives. Aligning new initiatives to previous intent/outcomes sends a powerful message.
top Automotive
Task – Supply Chain | Work Practice & Behaviour Change
Result – 20% reduction in working capital achieved, equating to over $3m.
High performing group to focus on the next level of improvement in supply chain performance.
Project activity involved:System and data analysis, modelling ‘what if’ scenario’s to test proposed changes.
Collaborative approach to drive team engagement.
Aligning supply chain operations, improving inventory management practices and developing excellence in customer service.
Re-designing of supply chain processes, advanced planning models and ultimately a shift in behaviour to focus on newly standardised work practices.
Reducing the effort and cost involved, with an increase stability in decision-making.
Project activity involved:
Delivered efficiences
Insight – No matter how well run an operation or process, there is ALWAYS scope for improvement. But people are the key.
top IT & Construction
Task – Systems Implementation | Technical Sector Experience
Result – Ability of technical team to understand client requirements.
IT Services company needed specialist knowledge in navigating the construction sector environment to allow for effective systems assessment and build.
Project activity involved:Interpreting construction company value chain and project management needs, and matching to IT project management needs.
Testing the project team’s assertions for a match to the construction environment.
Understanding the requirements of both parties, acting as an advisor and intermediary to ensure understanding.
Providing the team confidence in the recommendations that were being put forward.
Project activity involved:
Insight – Understanding your customer’s paradigms is integral to delivering to their needs: show them the respect of understanding their world.
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With a flexible approach and fit for purpose solutions, Coxswain Alliance offers sustainable outcomes with real benefits in an ever-changing market.
