by Alfred | May 15, 2016 | Lean
Value Stream Map: How can it offer Operational Excellence? Obtaining excellence in business operation is sometimes limited as hazardous markets and competitive interests seemingly create insurmountable obstacles for many business owners. With the changing market...
by Alfred | Feb 15, 2016 | Lean
Value Stream Map What is a Value Stream Map? A Value Stream Map is a Lean Management method for simultaneously managing the current state and planning for the future state of the series of processes that lead a product or service from the beginning of production right...
by Alfred | Nov 9, 2015 | Lean
Case Study: Jewellery Manufacturer and Retailer This company is a specialised jewellery retailer offering unique quality and service. Their two stores in Canterbury and Brighton offer quality products, tailored manufacturing and professional sales service embodied in...
by Alfred | Jul 27, 2015 | Lean, Quality Management Systems
Last time you’ll probably remember that we began talking about the 3rd principle associated with an effective Quality Management System that is up to ISO standards, which is the involvement of people associated with your company. If I may, I’d like to begin by picking...
by Alfred | Jul 10, 2015 | Quality Management Systems
Following from the last article, here are more key benefits of involving your people – a key principle for Quality Management. People will be held accountable Another key element associated with involving others in the day to day running of your business is that they...
by Alfred | Jun 24, 2015 | Government Grants, Lean
Funded Assistance As a business owner, you may be unaware of business improvement grants that may be available to you – federal funding and state funding especially in Victoria. There are many assistance programmes that the Australian government is offering to...
by Alfred | Jun 8, 2015 | Quality Management Systems
Since getting into business many years ago, if there’s one thing I picked up relatively quickly, it was that an effective quality management system can literally be the difference between success and failure in businesses all over the world, no matter how big or small...
by Alfred | May 25, 2015 | Quality Management Systems
Leadership: The 2nd Principle of Quality Management Last time we were talking about leadership benefits associated with Quality Management System principles. We looked briefly at what leadership is and a few ways in which it can benefit you and your business as a...
by Alfred | May 12, 2015 | Quality Management Systems
Leadership: The 2nd Principle of Quality Management Now that we’ve looked at leadership, and a few of the traits and qualities that I believe make up a good leader, here’s a look at how great leadership can prove so beneficial for your business: Improved...
by Alfred | Apr 30, 2015 | ISO 9001, Quality Management Systems
Last time around we took a look at the benefits of implementing an efficient Quality Management System (QMS) in your workplace, and placed a special emphasis on customer focus, i.e. making your customers the focus of your business attentions. This time I’ll be talking...
by Alfred | Apr 16, 2015 | ISO 9001, Lean, Quality Management Systems
What are the typical issues you face in your business or organisation? Here are the Top 7 questions you could ask yourselves if you need a Quality Management System (QMS) and ISO 9001. 1. Do we need to increase confidence in the quality of my goods or services as they...
by Alfred | Mar 30, 2015 | Quality Management Systems
Last time we looked at customer focus and this week I’d like to continue where I left off and provide you with a few more benefits associated with customer focus. Before we do that however, first off here’s a reminder of what I spoke about to help refresh your...
by Alfred | Mar 21, 2015 | Quality Management Systems
I’ve been in business for longer than I care to remember and one question that people always seem to ask me is what they should do in order to guarantee 100% customer satisfaction and have customers coming back to them again and again. Now, before I go any...
by Alfie | Mar 17, 2015 | Quality Management Systems
What are the typical issues you face in your business? Here are the Top 7 questions to ask if you need a Quality Management System (QMS). Video Transcript: Top 7 Questions to Ask if you Need a QMS? Do we need to increase confidence in the quality of my goods or...
by Alfred | Mar 10, 2015 | ISO 9001, Quality Management Systems
I often hear organisations get too fixated on simply complying with the Standard and focusing too much on obtaining an ISO 9001 certification. Whilst it is important to tell your customers and the rest of your supply chain that you are certified to ISO 9001,...
by Alfred | Mar 3, 2015 | ISO 9001, Lean, Quality Management Systems
Does your business or organisation have a structured and formal problem-solving methodology to ensure you “fix it forever”? Customer Complaints In my previous discussions, I talked about the costs of poor quality. One of the supposedly biggest costs of poor quality is...
by Alfie | Mar 2, 2015 | Quality Management Systems
You can use this video to help with training programs you are conducting in the office. It will also come in handy to generate management buy in for any QMS related decision making that you require. What is a Quality Management System? Video Transcript: What is a QMS?...
by Alfred | Feb 25, 2015 | ISO 9001, Lean, Quality Management Systems, Six Sigma
Wastes When our businesses produce defects, this clearly translates into WASTES, which obviously converts into unnecessary cost to the business. If we looked at all materials thrown out in our factories, otherwise known as scrap, then the cost is quite obvious. We...
by Alfred | Feb 17, 2015 | ISO 9001, Lean, Quality Management Systems, Six Sigma
Often we don’t realise that our business or organisation ‘spends’ a fair bit of money due to the poor quality of our goods or services. I have seen many examples where the teams, especially in management, don’t recognise the fact that there are a lot of wastes in the...
by Alfie | Feb 15, 2015 | ISO 9001, Operational Excellence, Quality Management Systems
What are the Quality Management Principles? There are basically eight quality management principles on which the quality management system standards of ISO 9000 are based. These principles can be used by any business as a guide or framework towards implementing a QMS....
by Alfred | Feb 11, 2015 | ISO 9001, Quality Management Systems
People often ask me what the difference is between a Quality Management System and ISO 9001. A Quality Management System or QMS is what you need to develop and effectively implement in your organisation. An ISO 9001 refers to an international standard that sets out...
by Alfie | Dec 16, 2014 | 5S, Lean, LEAN Six Sigma, Six Sigma
5S is a business methodology that describes how to organise a work space for efficiency and effectiveness. It originates from 5 Japanese words all beginning with the letter ‘S’ – seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu and shitsuke. Although there are many...
by Alfie | Dec 9, 2014 | Lean, LEAN Six Sigma, Six Sigma
Lean Six Sigma is a business technique that utilises teamwork to improve performance by reducing and removing waste within an organisation. It makes use of lean manufacturing practices to eliminate the eight kinds of waste (abbreviated as DOWNTIME – Defective...
