The organisation is one of New Zealand’s largest electricity network supplying electricity to over 92,000 customers. A critical system used by them to understand the health and performance of the network is their Geographical Information System (GIS). The team that supports the GIS is crucial to ensure they have the visibility of asset data across the network. The GIS team has a culture of continuous improvement.

The Challenge

The GIS team wanted to adopt a Lean Thinking mindset to understand how their processes can be more efficient. We were chosen to help them with this journey, to build their internal capability around Lean and apply the methodology on internal processes.

Key Outcomes

Rowan Teh helped them achieve the following:

1. Educate staff in Lean Thinking – understanding the approach and techniques from theory through to practice
2. Provide a clear understanding of the key processes surrounding GIS and dependencies with other asset management processes from an end-to-end perspective
3. Identify and quantify improvements associated with GIS-related processes
4. Provide a roadmap of improvements based on prioritisation using the Cost of Delay framework.

Our Difference

The key differences in using Rowan included:

1. A modern approach that enabled workshops to be conducted remotely with accelerated value stream analysis, saving time and effort
2. An approach that kicked-off with foundational Lean training to build internal capability followed by a facilitated Lean event to demonstrate a repeatable approach
3. A clear output of initiatives that encompassed a Cost of Delay prioritisation based on value to the business.

Conclusion

Building a culture of continuous improvement that challenges the current way of doing things can result in extraordinary results, but is also prone to risk from a mistrust among stakeholders if not implemented properly. Rowan’s proven methodology ensures your team build the capability and focuses their energy on problem solving and not analysis paralysis.

If you are looking for a modern approach to implement Lean thinking in your workforce, contact us.