As you know, today there is tremendous pressure on organizations to implement solutions that will make them more profitable or effective for both today and in the future. We believe that companies coming together in a Consortium will provide such a solution.

The benefits of membership in a group such as this are unique in North America, revolutionary in our industry and will bring your company high value with your participation.

What is a Consortium?

A Consortium is a structured group of non-competing organizations who come together with a commitment to attaining World Class performance through people and improvement in process.

What are the Benefits for My Organization?

There is a multitude of terms and initiatives infiltrating organizations today … Lean Enterprise, Theory of Constraints, the Toyota Production System, Continuous Flow, Just-in-Time, High Performance Culture, Continuous Improvement … all of these can be confusing, overwhelming, and seemingly costly to companies. The goal of the CONSORTIUM is to cut through the rhetoric and introduce tools and techniques that can help participating companies to implement sustainable solutions in the fastest possible time.

“Vision without action is merely a dream; Action without vision just passes the time; Vision with Action can change the world.” Joel Barker

The Consortium will:

Come together as a group to share best practices, share knowledge, share skill sets, and accelerate training.

Bring in the best talent from around the world to facilitate learning sessions, workshops and events - based on your feedback and requests – that will improve your organization’s bottom line. The costs are significantly reduced as they are shared with your fellow member companies.

Have a group of seasoned practitioners acting as mentors, coaches and facilitators to your company and other members of the CONSORTIUM. Our team has implemented World Class concepts in over 500 different companies around the world. Our coaches are all former practitioners and have held positions at various levels in their respective former organizations … from Press Operator to Vice President of Operations. Combined we bring over 150 years of experience to you.

Tailor workshops, in-house training and implementation to suit the needs of member companies.

Form Special Interest Groups (SIG’s) from within the membership. These groups meet on a regular basis to discuss issues specific to their area of operation. Proven examples include groups focused on 5S, Lean Implementation, Procurement, Sales and Marketing, Accounting, Training, Benchmarking, Supervisory, Executive and Human Resources … to name a few.

Keep you informed about what is happening in the manufacturing industry in Canada and around the world, and communicate this to all members through a weekly newsletter.

Provide access to a shared library of world-class business resources including books, videos and periodicals. These resources are free and at the disposal of the member companies.

Determine who has a “best practice” site, anywhere in the country or world and arrange exchanges and visits that will allow our member companies to learn and “borrow with pride”.

Develop a member website to maximize the potential for exchange within the Consortium. This site will be maintained and updated regularly to provide members with access to knowledge from each other, across Canada and around the world.

Network with other similar groups, consortiums, and industry organizations to accelerate member learning.

Facilitating this Group of Companies?

High Performance Solutions Inc. is a consulting (coaching) company based in Kitchener, Ontario who has been involved with the development of consortiums and Learning Networks across Canada for the past 12 years.

Our vision is... “Keeping the Right Jobs in North America”.

Our success has come through achieving sustainable, positive results in organizations from Newfoundland to British Columbia. We facilitate and work extensively with the High Performance Manufacturing (HPM) Consortium and The Alliance for Enterprise Excellence in Ontario and were also involved with the development of, and continue to work with, other successful consortiums in Canada.

The following links show Consortiums we are involved in within Ontario and their perspective members.

www.hpmconsortium.com www.afee.ca

“Change the thinking and the processes will look

after themselves” Philip Kirby

We focus on improvements at the organization’s site by involving the process owners. The following two deliverables have been and always will be paramount in our offerings:

Change the thinking … we, as organizations have to believe that there is a better way to run our businesses. Once we can change the thinking to embrace a continuous improvement environment, we will be on the road to success.

Coach to competence … we don’t want to remain in a company for too long. The improvement process must reside with the people who are doing the job. We want to teach the people how to use the tools.

“Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day.

Teach a person to fish and you feed them for a lifetime”

Who Will Form the Consortium?

The Consortium will consist of 10 to 16 non-competing companies or organizations within close geographic proximity, which are committed to mutual success. Each company will designate one person, and their alternate, to sit on a “Board” and map the direction of the CONSORTIUM.

The Board will be made up of company decision-makers, and will be facilitated by HPS to provide insight, ideas, and experience when requested and warranted. HPS will also provide coordination and ongoing support for events and services that are mandated by the Board.

While the company has both designates and alternates to represent the company at the board meetings, it is the goal of the CONSORTIUM to have 100% of the employees of the member companies to be positively influenced by CONSORTIUM activities.

What Specifically Can My Company Expect?

The Consortium is structured such that in addition to the benefits of leveraging amongst a group of dedicated companies, each company will also receive a specific set of deliverables and benefits from membership. As the direction of the CONSORTIUM changes according to member need, these commitments may be altered, based on the guidance and direction from the Board. Your company will receive the following. The number of actual days for each item will vary depending upon the consortium you belong to.

Board Meetings

§ These meetings will be held monthly to map the direction of the CONSORTIUM and discuss the programs that are being delivered, to ensure members are receiving maximum value. The meetings consist of Education, Leveraging and Planning segments.

Lean Diagnostic

§ A detailed diagnostic of your operation will be carried out by our knowledgeable coaches (see biographies provided in this package). This will determine how your company currently compares on a World Class scale, provide a roadmap for future planning, and allows a base from where the company can benchmark itself and compare levels to other companies within the CONSORTIUM.

§ This diagnostic will be conducted on a yearly basis, in order to evaluate improvements made and determine those yet to be implemented. This will assist companies in assessing the value of their CONSORTIUM membership and evaluate what opportunities need to be pursued and harnessed.

Coaching/Consulting Days

§ This equates to 1 day per month for your company. These days are in addition to the diagnostic and will be spent working on various projects and/or initiatives that are specific in helping the company achieve World Class performance. (This may involve general consulting, planning or the delivery of training to employees.)

SIG (Special Interest Group) Days

§ These days will be set aside to facilitate Special Interest Groups established in the first year by the group of member companies

Learning Program

§ To be determined based on the continuing counsel of the Board and Member Companies, HPS will provide a world class learning program for members of the Consortium

§ The Learning Program will be menu-based, in order to allow for the individual member companies to tailor their own learning program, and select training based on specific company needs.

§ Each workshop in the Learning Program will be charged at cost to Member Companies. Revenue generated from the attendance of companies outside the Membership (non-competitors approved by the Board) will be placed in a general account to subsidize future training and projects determined by the Board.

Summary

The concept for this association is simple.

Share knowledge, people, issues and costs with others who are on the same path.

A Consortium provides the opportunity for companies to learn from each other:

Because no company can live long enough

to make all the mistakes itself

Because you are committed to change and becoming a World Class Organization… and we are committed to Customer Success