Pictured at the Mid-West Lean Network workshop in Virgin Media (from left): Helen Downes, CEO, Shannon Chamber; Stacy Franklin, Emer O Connor and Ailish O Neill, Virgin Media; Claude Costelloe, Chair, Mid-West Lean Network; Jennifer O Donovan; Fiona Kennelly Hogan and Glen Winn, Virgin Media.
One of the key goals of the Mid-West Lean Network is to encourage a greater uptake of Lean in all types of organisations, not just the manufacturing sector. To demonstrate how Lean can be used in back-office type operations, a workshop on transactional lean was held in Virgin Media’s facilities in Limerick where the Continuous Improvement team gave comprehensive presentations on the value that they are delivering to the company.
Led by Glen Winn, Head of Revenue Assurance and Fraud and Stacy Franklin, Business Improvement Manager, Fraud and Revenue Assurance, the Virgin Media team outlined how, through training staff in yellow and green belts, and focusing on specific projects, they have delivered impressive financial savings in the finance area alone and, using the knowledge gained and the processes deployed in Limerick, are now doing multi-million-pound projects for Virgin Media UK.
“It has been a fast learning curve for most of the team, some of whom have only been working with lean for less than two years. The fact that they can now stand up and present on what they have achieved is tantamount to the value they see in lean and their determination to identify lean project that will deliver savings to the company,” stated Glen Winn.
“The hardest part of any lean journey is getting commitment,” he added.
“Once you commit to it, you must direct adequate resources to it, train your staff to give them new competencies, and put new structures in place. Once embedded, lean leads to greater collaboration.”
Thanking the Virgin Media team for their excellent sharing of information, Shannon Chamber CEO Helen Downes said: “The enthusiasm and energy of the Virgin Media team was nothing short of outstanding. Their commitment to lean and willingness to share with the network is the essence of what we are trying to do in the Mid-West Lean Network; demonstrate how becoming lean can make a difference in all aspects of a company’s operations.”
Membership of the Mid-West Lean Network is open to companies across the Mid-West region. To register simply log onto www.surveymonkey.com/r/WZZ5RY9
The 5th workshop in Network’s 2018 programme will deal with structured problem solving, which is a core part of any Lean Journey. It empowers staff to identify and define problems, find the true root cause and implement countermeasures. The workshop will be held in Element Six in Shannon on Friday, 29 June from 8:45am – 10:45am; bookings via:
www.shannonchamber.ie/events/mid-west-lean-network-workshop-5-structured-problem-solving/
The inaugural Mid-West Lean Network Continuous Improvement Awards 2018, sponsored by LBS Partners, are also open for applications. These awards have been introduced to recognise the progress being made by companies in the Mid-West to embed lean processes into their businesses and to encourage more companies to see the value and payback from becoming lean, are also open for applications.
To enter, simply request an editable pdf entry form from lkizaite@shannonchamber.ie and either complete online or in hard copy and return to Shannon Chamber lkizaite@shannonchamber.ie or via post to: Shannon Chamber, Suite 14, Shannon Airport House, Shannon Free Zone, Shannon, Co Clare V14 E370.
