Role: Manager, Productivity Improvement Team
Company: Invest NI
Track Record:
“I look back at the 2012 Paralympics in London with a sense of awe at the achievements of the athletes despite the challenges that they faced — it’s quite humbling really,” said John
What does your job entail?
I head up Invest NI’s Productivity Improvement Team, which helps companies identify and implement improvements that will impact on their bottom line.
The team is made up of experienced practitioners who provide advice, guidance and support using a variety of lean thinking and supply chain principles.
We co-ordinate and mentor companies through their improvement journey and also deliver advice to the wider business community at information-sharing workshops.
Productivity improvement support is available to all our customers, regardless of size or sector.
The team has engaged with over 400 companies and to date, has helped deliver in excess of £11m of business improvements.
Is it 9-5?
A normal day for me usually starts at 8.30 and runs through to 17.30.
Occasionally, when I am visiting companies or delivering awareness or training sessions, the days can be a bit longer, but I enjoy this aspect of my work.
How did you get into this line of work?
Improvement has always been an element of my working life; however, when I was seconded on to the Total Quality Centre in Short Brothers, this notion became more formal.
My role involved training the workforce in Total Quality principles, which essentially involves satisfying the customer with quality products and service.
Following this, my appetite for all things ‘improvement’ was whetted and from then, my career has involved roles largely connected with continuous improvement and change.
Outline your career to date.
I started my career as an apprentice electrical engineer with Hugh J Scott’s.
(I am that old — you had to pay an indenture for the privilege of completing your apprenticeship!)
In 1986, I joined Short Brothers Plc, as it was then, before being seconded into the Total Quality Centre in 1989.
From there, I joined the NI Quality Centre (now the Centre for Competitiveness) in 1996 as a senior quality executive.
Following my time at the Centre for Competitiveness, I held business improvement manager roles with Ulster Weavers and Global Armour, before joining Invest NI in 2007 as a business advisor.
In 2009, Invest NI was establishing a productivity improvement service and I was appointed to my current position where, along with three colleagues, we developed guidance and training materials for customers.
Tell us about your qualifications/training.
After leaving school, and as part of my apprenticeship, I studied for a TEC and HTEC certificate in electrical engineering in what then was known as ‘Creggy Tech’.
During my time at Shorts I was fortunate that the company sponsored me through a BA degree at Queen’s University.
I have been trained in the Baldrige and EFQM business excellence models, been involved with the Northern Ireland Quality Awards since 1995 and have also acted as an assessor in the European (SME) Quality Awards.
To keep up to date on current thinking and practices, I have received a wide variety of training and development in business-improvement methods and tools.
I regularly attend conferences and seminars to ensure that I am up to speed on new developments.
What qualities are required for your job — personal and professional?
It’s important to have a sound understanding of the lean principles, how business operates and how and where to apply lean thinking and the various tools and techniques.
Engaging with different companies in different sectors and situations requires a lot of coaching, mentoring and facilitation, so it’s very important to be able to work with people from all levels of business — from the boardroom to the shop floor.
What are the biggest challenges and rewards of your work?
The rewards are the variety of companies from different sectors that we are able to assist, and the pleasure of seeing people being able to apply what we show them to make improvements within their business.
The biggest challenge is ensuring the companies remain motivated and it can be challenging when managers haven’t bought into the improvement, or don’t see the need for improvement and change.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
In between slouching in front of the TV, I like to keep busy through gardening, playing golf and coaching youth rugby.
I also like to work out in the kitchen and am trying to improve my culinary skills.
I am also the chairperson of a primary school board of governors.
Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.
As I used to play rugby, I suppose I could elaborate on the tries scored under what is now petrol pump No 4 at a petrol station in Forestside, Belfast.
But probably more interesting is the fact that I am involved in an amateur dramatics group, despite having absolutely no singing or acting ability.
Who has inspired you most in your life?
Other than the usual suspects — my parents, wife and children — I suppose I look back at the 2012 Paralympics in London with a sense of awe at the achievements of the athletes despite the challenges that they faced — it’s quite humbling really.