September 20th, 2018
Change is not what it used to be The only certainty we have about next week is that it will certainly be different from today. That’s one reason the ability to manage change effectively has become so critical for organisations to survive. While the good news is that there are many concepts available to help […]
September 5th, 2018
Robust Critical Path Analysis using Monte Carlo Simulation Dr P.G. Rowe, Senior Consultant In project management a PERT (Programme Evaluation and Review Technique) diagram shows which tasks are required to have been completed before others are started. A simple example of a PERT diagram for sourcing and installing a new kitchen is shown below: For […]
Bourton Group LLP welcomes new addition to Management Board. September 2018 Bourton Group LLP are delighted to announce that Julian Hynd has joined the management board as a non-executive Adviser. Managing Partner, Mike Notman said: “I am delighted that Julian has joined us to help with our strategy for growth and development. I welcome his counsel […]
August 22nd, 2018
Are Lean and Six Sigma Mutually Exclusive? Dr Phil Rowe Senior Consultant In the world of process improvement two giants have been fighting it out over the last two decades – Lean and Six Sigma. There are staunch advocates and critics of both. But, are they mutually exclusive? And, should a business do one or […]
August 9th, 2018
Chasing Productivity… it’s a marathon, not a sprint Arran McDonald, Senior Consultant We live in interesting times. The UK’s departure from the European Union has bought us political upheaval and a great deal of economic uncertainty. It’s also created many practical concerns to businesses at a time when we had begun to trumpet progress and […]
August 1st, 2018
The Lean Six Sigma Belt Structure Mike Horton, Senior Consultant Eleven years ago, while working for an American chemicals corporation which was beginning to introduce Lean globally, I got my first 100% improvement focussed job, and the role was officially called Tool Facilitator. Two years later, when it was announced the role names were all […]
July 19th, 2018
Creating a vision is one of the most challenging tasks undertaken by a team or organisation. “Vision” in this context refers not to a few simple phrases, but rather the complete articulation of the future state, i.e. company values, processes, structure, technology, job roles, and environment. The question is… What steps can I take […]
July 3rd, 2018
Process FMEA – A step by step guide to facilitating continuous improvement by driving down errors and rework Keith Bennett, Senior Consultant A Process Failure Mode Effects Analysis (PFMEA) is a structured analytical tool used by teams to identify and evaluate the potential failures of a process. PFMEA helps to establish the impact of the […]
June 21st, 2018
3 Elements of Motivation – what buttons to press, or not to press! Our quick overview outlines three forms of motivation in the workplace: Achievement Affiliation Influence It is an insight into why team members might respond differently to change and offers some useful do’s and don’ts when influencing individual team members. Imagine the scenario… […]