Originating in Japan by Masaaki Imai, 5S is a disciplined & systematic methodology for creating a clean, safe, orderly, high performance work environment. It is one of the foundations of a Lean System and supports the principles of waste reduction. With SatiStar’s knowledge and guidance, your 5S team will learn and implement the principles of 5S and benefit from improved efficiencies, reduced costs of operation, improved safety and greater team work and pride.
 

Variation is defined as unacceptable deviation from the mean or target. Six Sigma is a methodology to manage process variation that causes defects and to systematically work towards reducing that variation to eliminate those defects.
 
The objective of Six Sigma is to deliver high performance, reliability, and value to the end customer. Pioneered by Bill Smith at Motorola in 1986, six sigma was originally defined as a metric for measuring defects and improving quality, and a methodology for reducing defect levels below 3.4 Defects Per (one) Million Opportunities (DPMO). Six Sigma has now grown beyond defect control.
 
This approach to continuous improvement focuses on the use of a number of improvement tools, applicable by individuals and teams.
 

A complaining customer provides you with a golden opportunity to demonstrate your organization’s commitment to excellence. Failures happen, but if you can recover from that failure in a world-class manner . . . then you have an opportunity to create a “wow” for your customer.
 
The 8 Disciplines of Problem Solving is a structured approach to investigating the causes of problems and then resolving them irreversibly, while mitigating the impact of the problem.
 
A world-class approach to eliminating the causes of customer compaints, SatiStar’s methodology is consistent with the Global 8D approach developed by Ford Motor Company.
 

APQP is a defined process for product development that provides a common path (between supplier and customer) and synchronization of these development activities. It ensures that appropriate and timely communication occurs within your organization, as well as between your organization and your customer’s organization.
 
Originally developed by the automotive industry, this approach to planning ensures that nothing is left to chance, and that the Design and Development function is fully integrated with operations in meeting customer needs.
 

Comparing your company’s processes to those of your competitors is often referred to as benchmarking. All this does is compare you to others who think like your people. SatiStar’s enormous breadth of experience enables you to compare yourselves to companies “outside the box”. It is in looking at companies that are in completely different industry or service sectors that new ideas may emerge.
 
Benchmarking is a method for organizations to compare their processes, practices and performance with others.
 
There are two major approaches to benchmarking:

• Process Benchmarking
• Performance Benchmarking

An effective performance measurement and reporting system can accelerate your organization toward the achievement of desired business results.
 
SatiStar can provide your employees, executive management, owners, or even your board of directors with a detailed analysis of overall business performance to facilitate strategic business decision-making.
 

Prior to embarking on any improvement of your operations it is advisable to develop a profound understanding of the current situation and the opportunities for improvement. SatiStar’s Business Performance Improvement Assessment approach accomplishes these objectives. This rapid assessment provides you with an analysis report that incorporates a fully quantified, prioritized and comprehensive action plan for improvement.
 
Assessments are often designed to answer highly specific and narrow business questions, or provide answers to a well-defined business problem. In such cases, the investigation will result in recommendations for future actions surrounding such questions. Alternatively, the assessment may be a more general investigation of quality, efficiency, or profit improvement to name just a few typical assessment areas. In such cases, the investigation will result in highly actionable recommendations for performance improvement that can usually be achieved with little capital investment. These recommendations are integrated into a structured, high-level implementation plan. Our assessments are applicable in a wide variety of situations, including cycle time reduction, cost reduction, revenue or margin improvement, new product development, plant or office layouts, and vision alignment.
 

As your organization grows and evolves, people are so busy doing their jobs that they don’t take the time to critically examine and optimize their business processes. The result often manifests as customer and employee frustration, excessive cycle times, lost profits, excess scrap, etc.
 
SatiStar’s 5 step BPR methodology reduces overall process cycle time, reduces waste and rework, streamlines and simplifies work and greatly increases overall customer satisfaction.

A business strategy articulates the overall direction of the business. It defines the intent of your business. A good business strategy should be clearly differentiated from those of other businesses in the same sector. Business strategies that are essentially identical to those of your competitors do nothing to help you differentiate your company from them – and potentially confuse your employees.
 
We’ll assess your overall business strategy and provide guidance if needed to accelerate you toward your desired vision.
 

Organizations are primarily social systems. Without people there can be no organization. The problem is that people are extremely resistant to change, even if it is perceived as easy. In order for meaningful change to occur the combination of organizational dissatisfaction with the current state, a vision for an improved future and the possibility of immediate, tactical action must be stronger than the resistance within the organisation.
 
Our consultants will work with your people to achieve “buy-in” at all levels.
 

Compensation Management is an integral part of the management of the organization. Compensation Management contributes to the overall success of the organization in several ways. Effective compensation management programs recognize the value of competitive pay and incentives, include the measurement of the contribution made by your human resources, and most importantly have an investment view of payroll costs.
 

Sometimes it’s hard to envision the effect of changes on the output of business process. It can be prohibitively expensive (not to mention risky) to make changes to your business processes.
 
Simulating the processes allows you to see effect of changes, without having to actually make those changes to your processes. We have the ability to create computer-based process simulation models that you can use to maximize your overall confidence with the proposed changes.
 

A discipline applying technical and administrative direction and surveillance to identify and document the functional and physical characteristics of a configuration item, to control changes to those characteristics, to record and report change processing and implementation status, and to verify compliance with specified requirements.
 
We can help create a world-class configuration management system and database – to minimize wasted effort, maximize validity of information.
 

The customer loyalty business model used in strategic management is one in which company resources are employed so as to increase the loyalty of customers and other stakeholders in the expectation that corporate objectives will be met or surpassed. Loyalty measurement includes all of the elements of Customer Satisfaction and adds the dimensions associated with long-term loyalty (repurchase behavior & willingness to act as an advocate).
 

Customer satisfaction is a business term which is used to capture the idea of measuring how satisfied an enterprise’s customers are with the organization’s efforts in a marketplace.
 
We can design and deploy customer satisfaction measurement systems, including facilitating customer focus groups.
 

A major element of cost for many companies that are implementing new enterprise-wide IT systems such as SAP, is that historical data must be moved from the old system to the new. We can bring our expertise and integration tools to facilitate this move, at substantially lower cost to you.
 

Protecting information systems and demonstrating compliance with accepted standards of good practice is an increasingly important part of good business management. Consequently, organisations need a clear definition of what constitutes good practice in information security.
 

Whether you need help creating a single database application or report or are considering optimizing all the information buried within your organization, SatiStar’s technical expertise and proprietary tools will reduce the cost of database design and development and simplify work for your people.
 

This statistical approach to improvement is extremely rapid, and enables us to identify those factors that are most important in influencing the output of your processes.
 

Distance Education is characterized by a deliberately integrated multiple-media ‘print + broadcasting’ approach, with learning materials specifically designed for study at a distance. It is often is based on two-way communications media such as the Internet or video-conferencing that enable interaction between the teacher and the remote student as well as among students, either individually or as groups, but at a distance. Students can study in their own time, at the place of their choice (home, work or learning centre), with or without face-to-face contact with a teacher.
 
SatiStar’s approach to distance education combines technical architecture with the value-added activities and skills needed to implement a distributed education environment. Since a distance education program is so dependent on technology, our approach is focused towards answering the key question, “Under what circumstances and for what instructional purposes is a technology best used?”
 

A major improvement in organizational efficiency can be obtained by deploying an EDMS to manage all of the documents of the organization. We can help you to determine the benefits, and then help implement any of a number of systems. As this is not a desired core capability for most companies, we can implement SatiStar’s own QSi* service, where we outsource management of the EDMS for you.
 

A major improvement in organizational efficiency can be obtained by deploying an electronic system to manage all of the documents of the organization.
 
We can help you to determine the benefits, and implement any of a number of systems. SatiStar can provide guidance on selecting the software package that best suits your needs – from an intranet based document control to externally hosted complete compliance solutions – CAR, PAR, Doc and Data, NCR, Management Review, Internal Audits, and more.
 

Employee involvement significantly benefits a business by tapping into their greatest resources, their employees.
 
Transformation to world-class only happens if 100% of the workforce is engaged. Our approach ensures that everyone feels valued for their ability to contribute, and that their contribution is recognized.
 

An employee survey can help you to:

• diagnose issues and overall organizational climate
• anticipate potential problems
• assess teamwork and management style problems
• measure the effects of organizational change.

We can directly measure the morale and attitude of your employees using one of our standardized “barometers”, or by custom designing one specific to your organization.
 

We can measure the overall capability of your employees, identify gaps and suggest approaches to close the gaps that are consistent with your organization’s overall value system and all applicable legislation.
 

A company’s environmental performance can have a significant impact on its success. ISO 14001:2015 is the internationally recognized standard for Environmental Management Systems (EMS).

An EMS provides a framework for managing environmental impacts so they become more efficient and more integrated into overall business operations. However, much more than this, an EMS can reduce costs, improve efficiency and secure a competitive advantage.

People in teams need to work together to solve business issues. The problem is that sometimes they don’t know how to work together, either because they don’t have a methodology, or because of their process of working together, or because they can’t collectively agree on a way forward when things aren’t working well.
 
We can work with and enhance your existing CI program, or use our own 10 Step approach – a team-based, structured approach to solving problems and making improvement in all business processes. We can facilitate your teams through their entire improvement effort, thereby reducing the delays in achieving the desired improvement while minimizing the risk of failure.
 

This structured approach to risk analysis was originally developed by NASA, and can be used to minimize risk across all manufacturing, service and administration processes. Failure Mode & Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a Risk Assessment / Risk Management (RA/RM) tool used to bullet-proof processes. It works by identifying those potential and actual failure modes that are likely to have significant performance impact.
 

Sometimes all you need to do is to implement a performance breakthrough in one of your functional departments, rather than across all of the business operations. This is often an excellent first step.
 

Sharing the financial gains with the people who help deliver them can form a valuable part of the overall incentive program for the company. SatiStar’s consultants can help custom design a gainsharing program for you.
 

Good Laboratory Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices require the documentation of processes, procedures and work instructions to ensure that these operating areas function in a reliable and robust manner.
 

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) is an internationally recognized approach to the management of the safety of food products. HACCP focuses on the prevention of biological, chemical and physical hazards, rather than the inspection of finished products. Potential safety risks and hazards are identified so that appropriate countermeasures can be developed to reduce or eliminate the risks. HACCP recognizes that it is both inadquate and inappropriate to merely “test” the quality of perishable food products – food producers and handlers need to carefully examine their food facilities, receiving, production, handling, testing, packaging and storage processes and ensure that all efforts are made to eliminate the risks of the hazards being realized.
 

If your business requires your data centre to be a high availability operational service you need a highly reliable operations support group to ensure that your availability requirements can be consistently met and sustained.
 
SatiStar takes a Quality Management Systems approach to IT Service Management to deliver the end-to-end support models focused on data centre management and controls. Front-line manufacturing and service personnel have long been gaining the benefits of using best practice concepts including those from ISO, Six-Sigma, Lean Systems, Continual Improvement and Process Thinking. It is now time for IT Service groups to capitalize on these techniques.
 

The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) issued by the UK’s Office of Government Commerce (OGC) provides concepts, policies and guidelines for managing IT infrastructure, development and operations. Leveraging the ITIL framework provides organizations with the ability effectively maintain service level agreements, while reducing costs, incidents and problems.
 
The ISO/IEC20000-1 standard provides the requirements and a structure for the implementation of a world-class benchmark for the management of IT services. Although it uses different language, this standard is very closely aligned with the ITIL framework. Taken together, these two standards represent the best practices available globally for IT service management.
 

It’s tough to achieve superb order fulfillment performance if the overall product and process design, development and production launch processes do not deliver reliable cost, quality and delivery performance. Everyone knows even “small” design; development or launch (DDL) errors can cause major grief. These processes are knowledge and communication intensive and often involve multiple design databases, interdependent work processes, frequent changes, and long lead times. It is no surprise that the design, development and launch process is often an organization’s riskiest business process.
 
Initial Stage Control (ISC) is an integrated design and development planning and management control system designed to minimize these risks, deliver smooth launches and meet agreed-upon quality, cost and delivery performance targets.
 

ISAD is a SatiStar methodology for the top-down creation, integration and alignment of business and operational strategies, imperatives, objectives and commitments.
 
It culminates in implementation planning, development of key performance indicators, progress tracking mechanisms and the means for corrective actions when performance does not match the desired objectives.
 

The integrated supply chain strives to simplify, standardize and synchronize supply chain processes, and align relationships to achieve efficiency, effectiveness, customer satisfaction and lowest total cost.
 
Supply Chain Management optimizes all of the steps of the process from your suppliers through your operations to your customers.
 

Value Chain Management strives to simplify, standardize and synchronize supply chain processes, and align relationships to achieve efficiency, effectiveness, customer satisfaction and lowest total cost.
 
Value Chain Management takes Supply Chain Management to a new level and includes integrated strategic alignment and deployment(ISAD), your suppliers’ suppliers, your customers’ customers, business process reengineering (BPR), international standards (ISO9001), and increased customer value.
 

A key requirement of any Management System is periodic monitoring of the functioning of the management system. SatiStar’s certified lead auditors are capable of performing this activity on your behalf, at substantially lower cost than doing it internally.
 

Once you’ve finally achieved registration to ISO9001, we’ll help you retain and improve it – whether or not we originally helped you implement it.

SatiStar uses the “process approach” for internal auditing!

In process approach auditing, the flow and focus of the audit is on the organization rather than the ISO 9001 standard. This means that we consider the effectiveness and efficiency of the processes of the management system and how they interface with other processes. This approach focuses on adding value and ensures that your company is continually improving in the areas that you define instead of just auditing for compliance to the standard. (The process approach to internal auditing is the preferred audit methodology of the International Organization for Standardization as defined in ISO9004.)

The ISO9000 family of standards are among the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) most widely known standards. The ISO9001 standard is implemented by just under one million organizations in over 176 countries.and is now the international reference for quality management requirements in business-to-business dealings.

The ISO9001 standard is primarily concerned with “quality management”. This means what the organization does to fulfill:

• the customer’s requirements, and
• applicable regulatory requirements, while aiming to
• enhance customer satisfaction, and
• achieve continual improvement of its performance in pursuit of these objectives.

The IT Infrastructure Library developed by the Office of Government Compliance (OGC) in the UK, now formalized in ISO20000:2005-Part 1 is the global standard for IT service management. It provides best practice guidelines for IT service management.
 

A rapid, team-based approach to improvement that is consistent with achieving Lean systems. SatiStar’s consultants can train and facilitate your teams through our Kaizen methodology.
 

A leader is a person who inspires you to take a journey to a destination to which you would not go by yourself. This is distinguished from the traditional manager, who simply maintains the status quo. Today’s business challenges revolve around change, innovation, passion and creativity – which requires leadership!
 
Delivering sustainable results is highly dependent on the quality of the leaders of the transformation. We’ll provide clear recommendations about the capabilities of your leadership group, and can then coach and mentor as needed.
 

As your business processes become increasingly automated and reliant on IT, the reliability and capability of your IT department has become critical to the operation of the business. How effectively and efficiently you run your IT department has become of strategic importance to the overall business. Your organization needs to know what the IT department is capable of supporting, while the IT department needs to be confident that they can consistently and reliably deliver to the expectations of the business.
 
Traditionally, IT departments regard themselves as the owners of the IT infrastructure, applications and resources that support the organization’s operations. Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) provides an enhanced, customer-centric approach to managing IT processes and supporting structures. ITSM also ensures alignment of the interaction between the IT processes and those of the business. The result is more reliable business support and a much better idea of where changes to the IT department would provide business benefits.
 
SatiStar’s approach to ITSM focuses on the value-added activities and skills needed to rapidly implement an ITIL-compliant service management model. The result of considerable process reengineering, our standardized and rapid ITSM methodology has been built on Lean and Six-Sigma principles and integrates well with any relevant systems and methods that you may already have in existence. SatiStar offers a standardized methodology that results in a customized solution that is sustainable, culturally sensitive and has been fully demonstrated in the most demanding of environments.
 

Lean is basically all about getting the right things, to the right place, at the right time, in the right quantity while minimizing waste and being flexible and open to change. Lean requires that we:

• Specify value in the eyes of the customer
• Identify the value stream and eliminate waste
• Make value flow at the pull of the customer
• Involve and empower employees
• Continuously improve in the pursuit of perfection.

Lean Manufacturing is an approach that can be implemented in a manufacturing environment. Alternately, you can apply Lean Principles to a service industry, or even in administrative functions.
 

This assessment is designed to provide a rapid and thorough diagnostic that will identify the major gaps and opportunities for improving the quality management system. This project is a QMS diagnostic along with a practical implementation plan for achieving rapid improvement to the quality management system. Through effective management of that system, the company’s process and product quality will be rapidly improved.
 

Medical device manufacturers have a responsibility to consistently deliver devices that are safe and effective.
 
ISO 13485:2003 specifies quality management system requirements for organizations that need to demonstrate their ability to provide medical devices and related services that consistently meet customer and regulatory requirements.
 

Mentoring refers to a developmental relationship between a more experienced mentor and a less experienced partner referred to as a mentee or protégé.
 
A role we’ll often play is to be a knowledgeable guide, who can coach your people to excel.
 

Mistake-Proofing is a simple yet extraordinarily effective technique for preventing workplace errors using low-cost devices that can be developed by the workers themselves. Mistake-Proofing (MP) is fundamentally a process control technique focused on error elimination through technical means.
 
MP is accomplished by making permanent changes to equipment, processes, or procedures, product design, or information that eliminate errors, or provide an immediate signal if an error occurs, thereby enabling immediate corrective action.
 

Many companies have multiple locations, and there are significant operational advantages in all sites using one policy manual and common, best-practice processes.
 
SatiStar has performed over 1200 QMS implementations for clients ranging from 6 employees to those with hundreds of locations, and tens of thousands of employees.
 
Quality Management Systems include, but are not limited to, ISO9001 for general business, AS9101 for aerospace, ISO/TS16949 for automotive.
 

ISO 45001:2018 is recognized as an effective Occupational Health & Safety Management System (OHSMS) for achieving improved and sustainable OH&S performance through control and systematic management of OH&S hazards and associated risks. The standard helps maintain a healthy and safe work environment.

The OHSAS specification is applicable to any organization that wishes to:

• Establish an OH&S management system to eliminate or minimize risk to employees and other interested parties who may be exposed to OH&S risks associated with its activities
• Implement, maintain and continually improve an OH&S management system
• Assure itself of its conformance with its stated OH&S policy
• Demonstrate such conformance to others
• Seek certification/registration of its OH&S management system by an external organisation, or . . .
• Make a self-determination and declaration of conformance with this OHSAS specification.

As business processes change to reflect new and emerging business needs, the organizational structure often needs to be redesigned. This includes the organizational chart, positional changes, job descriptions, career paths, succession plans, etc.
 
It is one thing to pull out a piece of paper or open your graphics software and design a new organizational chart. It is quite another thing to build the right organization for the right reasons, staff it appropriately, then determine what is required to make that new organization work.
 
The correct sequence is to first build the new business processes, then create the most appropriate organizational structure that supports those new processes.
 

While Quality of products and services is considered critical to most organizations, the management of Quality is difficult to staff and support.
 
Well qualified and knowledgeable Quality leaders are extremely difficult to find, and competent Quality leaders can often be very cost prohibitive. SatiStar’s team can be your quality management function.
 

Policy deployment is a comprehensive, closed-loop management planning and objectives deployment process. The use of this process continuously improves both management capability and the reliable achievement of significant objectives. Policy deployment is increasingly being used by companies to help achieve and maintain a competitive edge. In leading organizations today, policy deployment is viewed as a core enabling technology.
 

A team-based, structured approach to solving problems and making improvement in all business processes. We can work with and enhance your existing CI program, or use our own 10 Step approach.
 
SatiStar’s continuous improvement program covers the facilitation of continuous improvement projects, a CI training workshop and the design of a company-wide continuous improvement program for your facility.
 

SatiStar’s consultants are process experts. Everything we do begins with an in-depth examination of how work is performed by creating detailed process flow diagrams. The process flow diagrams (PFDs) can then be used for training purposes, documentation, process discipline, process troubleshooting, process improvement and breakthrough, ISO9000, and more.
 

The first step is to examine your current state processes. The next step is to envision a new future state business process. Our consultants bring their many years of experience with processes across a very wide variety of industries to facilitate this part of the improvement process. This ensures that the changes are not merely evolutionary, but are revolutionary in nature.
 

Managing multiple projects that rely on shared resources requires highly skilled capabilities.
 
For those who work in organizations that are multi-project environments, where resources are shared across a number of projects, there are usually a lot of things that need to get done. An environment of many projects typically generates competing priorities for project resources and managers alike and can make it difficult to know which project task should be given priority.
 

SatiStar’s project management consultants will facilitate the creation of new Project Management processes tailored to your needs, teach your people the fundamentals of project management and support the implementation of these new skills and business processes for project teams on current projects.
 
We’ll also guide you in the implementation of project management processes that are based on Theory of Constraints.
 

Quality function deployment or “QFD” is a flexible and comprehensive group decision making technique used in product or service development, brand marketing, and product management. QFD can strongly help an organization focus on the critical characteristics of a new or existing product or service from the separate viewpoints of the customer market segments, company, or technology-development needs. The results of the technique yield transparent and visible graphs and matrices that can be reused for future product/service developments.
 

SatiStar has performed over 1300 QMS implementations for clients ranging from 6 employees to those with hundreds of locations, and tens of thousands of employees. Most of our QMS implementations have been based on the globally recognized standard of management excellence – ISO9000.
 
Quality Management Systems include, but are not limited to, ISO9001 for general business, AS9101 for aerospace, ISO/TS16949 for automotive.
 

Similar to an ISO style internal audit , this gap analysis will also include a report on quality system effectiveness and efficiency.
 

Despite the claims by many that they separate their work from their personal lives, people are happiest when they work for companies that share their value system.
 
We’ll help design programs that respect the values of your most prized resource – your employees.
 

These are Executive Information Systems (EIS) that enable you to focus your attention where needed.
 
These systems include management reports, scorecards and dashboards.
 

The purpose of a Reward and Recognition program is to recognize the outstanding behaviors that lead directly to the accomplishments of the mission and strategic goals of a division or unit.
 
An important consideration is to say “thanks” to your people for their contributions to your improvement effort. We’ll help design programs that maximize the return on this investment.
 

With corporate governance becoming increasingly subject to stakeholder scrutiny, compliance to and deployment of a set of financial management standards has become mandatory for the board of directors of most organizations.
 

Setup reduction provides for the rapid and efficient convertion a manufacturing process from running the current product to running the next product. These projects are also referred to as “quick changeover”. Quick changeovers are a critical element in reducing overall process cycle time. SatiStar’s proven methodologies minimize the overall time to implement setup reduction improvements.
 

Too often people are thrust into a job with little or no training. We’ll help identify skills gaps and then assist in developing your employees.
 
Upgrading a specific skill can be as simple as getting a co-worker to show you how, or as complicated as taking a number of courses. SatiStar’s training consultants can help sort out what’s needed:

• assess current skill set of employees
• identify additional skills that they may need
• provide options for acquiring the skill.

In organizational development, socio-technical systems (or STS) is an approach to complex organizational work design that recognizes the interaction between people and technology in workplaces.
 
The term socio-technical system also refers to the interaction between society’s complex infrastructures and human behaviour. In this sense, society itself, and most of its sub-structures, are complex socio-technical systems.
 
At the heart of successful, sustainable improvement is a well designed program that strikes a balance between the technical and the social aspects of improvement.
 

Statistical process control (SPC) is a method for ensuring that processes are predictable. It is a set of methods using simple statistical tools that are applicable by personnel at all levels to detect whether the process is under control.
 
Statistical Process Control charts enable your employees to distinguish signal from noise, so that they can work on the most critical issues to stabilize processes and improve overall process capability.
 

To facilitate your selection of a new IT system, we can help by creating a detailed specification document that informs the prospective vendors exactly what is being requested.
 

Continuous improvement depends on selecting and using the proper tools to analyze the data that’s generated by your processes. SatiStar’s knowledgeable consultants will help you to select the proper tools for the job and how to apply the tools to analyze data from your process.
 
We’ll ensure that you achieve rapid improvement in processes through the use of a wide variety of statistical tools (from simple to advanced).
 

A company’s suppliers can play a critical role in enabling major performance breakthrough. Successful companies have learned the value of establishing partnerships. Partners go the extra mile for each other; they’re truthful about deadlines, promises, and pricing; and they’re easy to do business with. This relationship — bound by a common interest — creates loyalty and financial success. You’ll learn how to cultivate successful partner relationships in our Supplier Development program.
 
SatiStar can help implement a comprehensive Supplier Development Program that ensures that your suppliers join you in your performance improvement effort. We help make this a win-win proposition for your suppliers.
 

A common problem encountered in Lean, Six Sigma and TQM implementation is performance deterioration after the completion and handover of a breakthrough improvement. This can happen despite installation of control mechanisms to monitor ongoing performance.
 
To sustain continuous improvement requires an integrated approach to the management of the company both from the perspective of process improvement and the leadership and development of people.
 
Anyone can create short term results, but the real challenge is in sustaining them over the long term. We’ll analyze your organizational capability and provide a recommended roadmap that will deliver sustainable results.
 

Few people naturally work well in teams, but all can be trained in methodologies that encourage teamwork. Along with the training, SatiStar’s personnel are able to facilitate teams to successful delivery of sustainable results.
 

Theory of constraints (TOC) is a body of knowledge on the effective management of (mainly business) organizations, as systems.
 
It is based on the fact that, like a chain with its weakest link, in any complex system at any point in time, there is most often only one aspect of that system that is limiting its ability to achieve more of its goal. For that system to attain any significant improvement, that constraint must be identified and the whole system must be managed with it in mind.
 
This approach focuses on reducing inventory, reducing cycle times, increasing throughput and treating manufacturing as a system whose performance in controlled by the bottlenecks in the process.
 

Information Technology hardware and software entail costs beyond those that are directly attributable to their acquisition. The Total Cost of Ownership of IT solutions over their entire lifespan is often several times the initial cost of acquisition. In order to make valid business decisions it is important to fully account for all of these costs.
 
We’ll help you to understand the total cost of these resources over their entire life cycle.
 

Far beyond mere TCO, we’ll help you to understand the total cost in use of the services provided by the IT function. We do this on a Cost of Quality basis – so that you’ll have a profound understanding of the overall cost to the organization of IT systems and services
 

Total Productive Maintenance is not the same as a maintenance department that repairs breakdowns (breakdown maintenance). TPM is a critical adjunct to lean manufacturing. It is a series of methods, originally pioneered by Nippondenso (a member of the Toyota group), to ensure that every machine in a production process is always able to perform its required tasks so that production is never interrupted.
 
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) will turn your maintenance from a repair function to a reliability function. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) concentrates on getting the productivity needed from your current equipment assets. “Needed” means high overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) measured over the time you need that equipment to meet daily customer demand. Total Productive Maintenance can give you overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) in the mid to upper 90% without major capital expenditures!
 

Ontario’s Ministry of Environment has enacted the Toxics Reduction Act and supporting Regulation 455/09. This legislation applies to manufacturing and mineral processing companies (NAICS codes that begin with 31, 32, 33, or 212) that operate in Ontario and are required to report to Canada’s NPRI system or under O.Reg 127/01 for Acetone.
 
Unlike pollution prevention legislation that aims to reduce releases into the environment to within acceptable limits, Ontario’s Toxics Reduction Act is focused on reducing the use and creation of toxic substances.
 

The Toyota Production System (TPS) is the framework and philosophy organizing the manufacturing facilities at Toyota and the interaction of these facilities with their suppliers and customers. It was largely created by three men: the founder of Toyota, Sakichi Toyoda, his son Kiichiro Toyoda, and chief engineer Taiichi Ohno.
 
A comprehensive approach that improves long-term profitability by implementing actions that results in increasing revenues, while concurrently working on actions that reduce costs.
 

Valuable time is often wasted in uncovering the causes of problems in processes. We’ll help create troubleshooting guides and train your people to effectively and rapidly resolve problems.
 

While most organizations perceive the Union and Management relationship to be adversarial in nature, the reality is that both have a common set of desired goals.
 
SatiStar’s consultants are well respected for their ability to enhance working relationships between the workforce and management – working towards a common set of goals
 

A key part of any Lean implementation is a profound understanding of the overall value-adding components of your fulfillment processes. This helps quickly identify where major opportunities exist to reduce overall cycle time, reduce inventory, reduce overall operational costs and increase customer responsiveness.
 

Clarity of purpose is critical to all organizations. Our structured methodology will enable your team to establish a clearly articulated, shared vision for the future that can then be communicated throughout the organization.
 

Policies document organizational intent, while procedures are used to document the general tasks of how a policy will be realized. Work instructions describe the details of the specific steps necessary to fulfill the general tasks described in procedures.
 
The degree and extent to which work instructions are required by an organization depends on the complexity of the process, the education, experience, knowledge and skills of the workforce running that process, the severity of the potential impact of that process on your customers’ processes, and the existence within that process of process controls (other than work instructions).