Uncommon Sense - Tools to Improve your Work Forever

Are you proactive in identifying the forces that influence your business environment? By understanding and leveraging these forces, your organisation can navigate competitive landscapes more effectively and make informed strategic decisions that drive success.  Join PMI Partner Consultant Des Kelly as our strategy-focused mini-series continues with an exploration of Porter’s 5 Forces. Des explores...

How do you ensure your business strategy is well-crafted and adaptable to the ever-evolving business landscape? In the first of a strategy-focused mini-series that will explore specific strategic tools and techniques, Des Kelly, PMI Partner Consultant, breaks down the three pivotal phases of strategy that every Leadership team needs to master: strategic analysis, strategic choice, and strategy imp...

Have you ever questioned if your work is truly aligned with your customer's needs? Drawing on a coaching experience where a project team faced this very challenge, PMI Director Consultant Sean Buckland underscores the importance of defining value from the customer's perspective and differentiating it from the business's voice.  Tune in for insights on identifying barriers and settin...

Unlock the power of intrinsic motivation to engage your team in change. Join PMI Director Consultant and experienced Executive Coach Warren Knight as he shares valuable insights into the psychology of change. You’ll discover practical tips for empowering your team to not only accept but wholeheartedly embrace change to achieve organisational goals. More resources you may find useful: On Demand Web...

Navigate the complexities of Control Charts with ease, as we clear up some common misconceptions.  Drawing from years of experience reviewing, coaching, assessing, and approving projects, PMI Director Consultant Dennis Crommentuijn-Marsh reveals the most frequent mistakes he encounters so that you can recognise and avoid them in your own work. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out wit...

Is your data telling the right story?  The shift from simple data tables to Control Charts is more than a mere change in data representation; it's a transformative step towards data-driven decision-making.  This progression, PMI Director Consultant Dennis Crommentuijn-Marsh explains, stems from a growing awareness of variation and its impact on our processes. Join us for a powerful learning o...

Beyond its value as a statistical tool, the Control Chart is a symbol of excellence in operational efficiency and quality management that has shaped the world of Continuous Improvement. As we celebrate 100 years of Control Charts, PMI Director Consultant Dennis Crommentuijn-Marsh explores the history of Shewhart’s enduring legacy and gift to quality.  Here are some more resources that you may find...

Effective leaders recognise that their organisation's ability to improve is fundamentally based upon its ability to learn.  In this thought-provoking episode of Uncommon Sense, we delve into the transformative role leaders play in empowering teams to apply knowledge consciously, as PMI Director Consultant Warren Knight explains the changes you’ll need to make to transform learning from concep...

Process Operators are not just cogs in the machine.  They’re the heartbeat of an organisation; executing core processes and directly influencing the value delivered to customers.   Their work is vital, and as such, it demands a focus on standardisation, maintenance, and Continuous Improvement.  Join PMI Senior Consultant Damion Albinson as he discusses the role of the Process Operator, including w...

Variation represents chaos and unpredictability.  So in our business systems, which require consistency and repeatability to enable improvement, the concept of variation and its impact on performance is crucial for our Leaders to grasp. Packed with eye-opening analogies, Director Consultant Warren Knight explains the complexities of variation, the significance of control charts and the long-term v...

Managing processes is as vital as managing people for keeping the gears of performance well-oiled and aligned with organisational goals.  Join PMI Senior Consultant Damion Albinson as he peels back the layers of effective process management and explores the iterative cycle of Standardise, Maintain, and Improve, and how mastering this triad can elevate your entire operation. Here are some related r...

Imagine your organisation as an orchestra, where each section must play in harmony to create a beautiful symphony. This is the crux of Systems Thinking in leadership. Packed with thought-provoking examples and practical tips, this unmissable episode with PMI Director Consultant Warren Knight highlights the transformative potential of a Systems Thinking approach from your leadership team. Here are...

Successful process management requires a shift in mindset where everyone is empowered to think of their organisation as a collection of interconnected processes rather than isolated departments or functions.  By embracing this process thinking approach and clearly defining process management roles, you can achieve greater efficiency, better customer satisfaction, and ultimately, improved performan...

We’re seeing a growing recognition of the power of reflection in today’s fast-paced world, where the delivery of improved performance through every project is more crucial than ever.  Join PMI Director Consultant Sean Buckland for a timely reminder of the power of Retrospectives in helping Lean Six Sigma improvement teams overcome project challenges earlier and achieve better results. Here are som...

Whatever kind of change project you're working on, a good relationship with your sponsor is essential, but it isn’t necessarily easy. PMI Director Consultant Sean Buckland is an expert on the practical aspects of working with project sponsors, so join us for an episode packed with insider tips on how to enable your sponsor to confidently address challenges and prioritise the needs of your pro...

Is your demand unpredictable and difficult to forecast?  You can reduce this challenge and improve your business efficiency by implementing a level scheduling system.  Mastered by automotive giant Toyota, Heijunka is a Japanese term for ‘level’ or ‘flat’.  It’s about having complete visibility of the system and synchronizing the supply chain for a smooth flow of customer orders.  Join PMI Director...

Are you a Lean advocate, do you sit in the Six Sigma camp, or are you wondering what Lean Six Sigma is all about? Join us for a whistlestop tour back to the origins of Lean and Six Sigma, as PMI Senior Consultant Damion Albinson shares how these two complementary techniques have been brought together to create a powerful customer-centric approach which can deliver maximum impact through improving...

Are you in engineering or manufacturing?  Do you want to minimise downtime between changeovers?  Then this Lean tool is for you! In this episode, Director Consultant Barry Byrne draws on his practical experience to discuss the SMED strategy for reducing changeover delays.  He talks about gathering operator feedback, channelling it to create innovative solutions, opening the door to increased produ...

Do you want to know how effectively your system delivers value to its customers?  What are your measures for availability, productivity, and quality telling you? Join us as PMI Director Consultant Barry Byrne talks about OEE, and highlights the significance of having a robust data collection process, which allows for a better understanding of the “six big losses” when output isn’t as expected or o...

In this special episode of Uncommon Sense, we’re joined by former PMI Deputy Chairman Jan Gillett as we commemorate 30 years since the passing of the father of quality management, Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Jan vividly recalls the profound impact Dr. Deming had on him from their very first meeting at a conference in 1987.  He shares how this encounter was a turning point, challenging his conventional...

The 5Rs will help you work more efficiently and effectively, offering a structured way to analyse and improve processes.  So, as you carry out your work today, think about this one simple question: is this process step delivering value to our end customer?  If the answer is no - however important or necessary it might be - it is still some form of waste which we should seek to eliminate or minimis...

Kanban is all around us, although sometimes we don’t notice it.  Its purpose is to provide a signal, in a Pull system, underpinning a just-in-time approach to work and avoiding overproduction and waste.  It helps to ensure you have only what you want, only when you need it. Join PMI Director Consultant Barry Byrne as he talks about Kanban as a crucial communication method, helping to synchronise o...

Join us as we dive into the fascinating world of Total Productive Maintenance (not to be confused with Total Preventative Maintenance), and its game-changing impact on business operations. Whether you’re in the manufacturing or service industry, every cog in the machine plays a vital role in optimising value stream flow and achieving TPM excellence.   PMI Director Consultant Barry Byrne explores t...

A gauge of work completed compared to available capacity, the Utilisation Measure is a commonly used Key Performance Indicator.  But in this thought-provoking Uncommon Sense episode, PMI Senior Consultant Damion Albinson sheds light on how this measure, while popular, can sometimes hinder the achievement of flow in Lean businesses. Sharing a compelling case study to illustrate, Damion explains how...

It’s one of the top 3 calculations that supervisors and managers should have at their fingertips, according to PMI Director Consultant, Barry Byrne.  Throughput yield - the percentage of work completed successfully at any given process step – is a crucial metric when striving for perfection. Join Barry as he discusses the hidden costs of defects and rework, including implications for improving cus...