Utilities & Construction Resources

“This appointment is great news for us as we start to broaden our deployment across the business, and deepen our approach in Waste and Water. S A Partners bring with them a wealth of understanding and knowledge, and we are looking forward to working with them.

This broader approach will build on the success of the Lean RCM work, which will continue to form a key part of the overall programme. The Lean RCM teams are doing some great work, and we will ensure this continues to be delivered well across Water and Wastewater and this will form a key part of the programme going forward.

This broader approach will build on the success of the Lean RCM work, which will continue to form a key part of the overall programme. The Lean RCM teams are doing some great work, and we will ensure this continues to be delivered well across Water and Wastewater. The RCM element of Lean Deployment will form a key part of the wider programme.”

Mat Jackson, Lean Programme Manager – Dwr Cymru

“The Shingo Discover Excellence training and up skilling the team have had, have given me confidence in their abilities to deliver the improvement programme.”

Tricia Williams

Manchester Airport

Reflecting upon his personal experience on the Lean Competency System level 2a – BB capability development programme.

My personal highlights throughout my journey have to be the growth I’ve witnessed within myself. From an individual with limited knowledge of Lean to becoming a certified and accredited Black Belt. Working closely with SA Partners has changed the way I come to work every day and enabled me with core skills and principals that will live with me for the rest of my career. 

 Be sure to consult with professionals before beginning your journey. Don’t under estimate the value of professional services. Working with SA completely changed my mindset on how to approach a problem and allowed me to review the business I worked within in a completely different mindset. Lean has endless benefits but using the SA Partners maturity assessment you’ll ensure you target the right opportunities and make great progress from day one! 

Ben Evans, Process improvement Manager, SSE plc (Ex DCWW)

Selection of SA Partners for United Utilities (UU) was heavily influenced by their methodology and approach to upskilling which we found particularly outstanding. They were the only supplier who recognised both continuous improvement (incremental change) and discontinuous improvement (transformational change) which reflected the nature of UU and the process changes required. They also provided evidential ‘insights’ that had been lacking from previous process work conducted within the organisation, which enabled tangible process improvements to be made which were sustainable and delivered better value for customers.

SA Partners were interacting with executive board members on a daily basis, would respond immediately to requests, changing requirements, and areas of sensitivity. They were flexible and extremely amenable to working ‘with’ UU rather than ‘telling’ UU how to affect process change.

SA Partners were asked to deliver a challenging programme of work, initially consisting of 8 end-to-end process streams cutting across the entire utility business – one of which was ‘customer to cash’ (which also included debt collection). Requirements included current & future state process mapping using a replicable methodology, involvement and upskilling of UU staff, delivery in excess of £50m efficiencies across the programme, rigorous governance and the ability to liaise and influence the Executive Board. This they achieved – and went on to undertake further process work upon completion of the original scope.

Clare Hickson, Formerly United Utilities

“RHA started working with SA Partners approximately 4 years ago. At the time, RHA had under gone significant change with new members to the Board, Directors and management teams. We had a desire for ambitious growth and the opportunity of diversifying our business. S A Partners helped us in a number of key areas, focussing on where we were heading and what we needed to do to get there. It’s not an exaggeration to say that S A Partners has helped transform our business. They were recommended to us by another organisation and has helped us to develop a clear path to improvement, achieving our goals, and ensuring director and manager teams work cohesively together with a strong trusting relationship. We have significantly streamlined our reporting, saving time and avoiding duplication across all levels enabling directors to spend more time on strategic issues, and managers to manage. The involvement of staff at a later stage helped them understand how their individual/dept performance measures impact on the business and why they are key. To get maximum benefit from working with SA Partners requires investment of time, and honesty regarding how your business is performing. It’s a hard but enjoyable and rewarding process, which definitely helps build strong teams. For a business that had undergone such fundamental change, it without doubt fast-tracked us onto the road of improvement”. 

Lesley Davies, CEO – Rhondda Housing Association

‘I really enjoyed doing the project and can’t wait to start the BB one now. Thanks for all your help and encouragement, Toni, you and Simon have been brilliant.  I can’t thank you enough‘.

Neil Morgan, Systems Manager – ICT Services
Bridgend County Borough Council