Summary
The Ontario government is providing up to $50,000 funding to
Ontario manufacturing companies for SMART improvement projects.
Why do an Assessment?
To access CME-SMART funding, it is not mandatory to do an assessment.
So, why would you want to do one?
There are X reasons to get a SMART Assessment done by a pre-qualified
manufacturing expert:
| Reason |
Explanation |
| You aren't sure where to start. |
To be eligible for SMART, your company must be at least
2 years old. However, most owners of manufacturing companies have
10 to 40 years of their lives invested in their company. Your
dedication, hard work, and retained earnings have kept you alive so far.
How do your Jr. managers &/or children feel about following in your
footsteps, working as hard as you have worked?
Like a beloved family member or spouse, it is difficult to watch your
company get older and weaker day after day. If all the world's economy
is suffering simultaneously, how will you fight that huge current
sweeping you over the economic falls to be dashed on the rocks below?
You may be questioning if it's possible (or worthwhile) to continue
fighting what may seem to be a lost cause.
PQA understands. PQA had to make some tough
choices to survive the last 4 years as many of our potential
manufacturing clients retired, merged, moved, or migrated from an
Ontario manufacturer to a distributor of foreign-made goods. Some
chose to fight back by making small changes that dramatically improved
their operations for cost, speed of response, and/or customer
satisfaction.
PQA specializes in quickly and carefully assessing a client's
operation, and working with the management, pooling all our expertise to
discover or invent a unique solution that couldn't have been achieved by
either party working alone. That's what makes PQA experts
in the manufacturing field.
PQA has expertise in quality assurance, environmental
management, productivity, project management, lean manufacturing, Theory
of Constraints, energy efficiency and conservation, and business
excellence. |
| You want & need a second opinion. |
CME-SMART only pays 50% of the cost, you have to come up
with the other 50%. Now, more than ever before, you have to conserve
your cash. You have to be sure every dollar is used wisely.
If the plan has to be adjusted, or incurs cost over-runs, or takes
longer than hoped to implement, will you have the necessary time and
money to finish?
Wasting your limited funds on a plan that is hoped and assumed to
work is no longer acceptable.
There are thousands of "good" projects that can readily
consume your remaining funds. However, there is only one "BEST"
project to invest in. If all probabilities are equal, what's the
chance you and your team has selected the one "BEST" project?
You need to be sure. A pre-approved manufacturing expert can
help you ensure you're making the best choice for your limited funds.
Bringing in an outside expert to review your team's work, budget, and
implementation schedule may generate some significant improvements.
For example:
- By using CCPM (Critical Chain Project Management), and getting the
implementation done 10% to 50% faster and/or cheaper, would this be a
significant improvement to your plan?
- While Lean Manufacturing has a lot to offer, can Theory of
Constraints (TOC) offer an even better solution? What about
Lean+TOC?
|
| You don't like filling in forms. |
Unlike other humans, PQA personnel have developed
an acquired taste and expertise for filling out forms and applications.
We're good at it, as well as more important things.
If you spent the last 20 years as a consultant, you'd be good at it
too.
Tell us and show us what you need and plan to do. Let us share
our expertise to help you get the forms filled out for you.
Delegate what you can get others to help you with. Focus your
time and effort on the things for which only you can do, they can't be
delegated to others.
|
| You have just one chance to get SMART
funding. |
There is only $25 million in CME-SMART fund.
Assuming $50,000 per company, that's just 500 projects that will get
approved. With the number of manufacturers in Ontario who will
submit an application, you'd better make sure it's the very best
proposal possible. The selection panel is composed of Lean and
manufacturing experts, similar to PQA. PQA
understands them, what they're looking for, and can help shape your
application so it puts your best foot forward.
The data verified during the assessment, the additional due
diligence, the independent review of the plan and feasibility will help
ensure your plan is rock-solid, and stands out heads and shoulders above
the other competing applications.
Buy the added insurance that a manufacturing expert can provide.
|
Depending upon your needs and budget, your Assessment proposal may be
different.
The Opportunity
Through this Ontario SMART program, you will get the best technical
assistance and up to $50,000 funding. PQA can help you choose the optimum
project to implement from one or more of the following types of SMART
improvement projects:
- Lean manufacturing
- Lean design
- Quality improvement
- Energy efficiency
- Environmental impact reduction
PQA’s SMART Assessment Template Proposal
In conformance to the SMART programs intents and requirements, PQA will
perform the following tasks and provide you with the following Deliverables:
Overview
- Company history
- Work flow, durations, lead times
- PQA’s Analysis Tool: SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,
Threats)
- Competitors, and your competitive advantage
- PQA’s Analysis Tool: 21 Success Factors
- PQA’s Analysis Tool: 9 Competitive Factors
- Prior improvement projects, and continuous improvement efforts.
Design
- Customer Needs Assessment
- Product Design methods
- Electronic data flow opportunities
- Verification, validation, and customer approval of product design
Manufacturing
- PQA’s Analysis Tool: SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,
Threats)
- Work division between operations
- Raw material inventory, order lead time, protection of materials
- Material Handling
- Work Scheduling, WIP (Work In Process) vi. Break-in (inserted rush
jobs) and abandoned (on hold) jobs
- Capacity, productivity, quality, inspection
- Waste, scrap, mistake proofing
- Lean manufacturing opportunities
- Energy efficiency, GHG (Green House Gas), and environmental
opportunities
- Risk reduction
Potential Projects
For each improvement project identified, PQA will deliver the following
analysis:
- Definition of project’s scope and methods
- Required resources and expertise
- Estimated costs
- Financial sensitivity analysis
- Project Management, and implementation schedule
- KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) historically and at completion of
project (eg. man-hrs per product produced, before and after project is
implemented).
- Economic impact of project, as measured by ROI (Return on Investment)
and DCF (Discounted Cash Flow)
- Risk assessment
- Overall impact of project:
- On your company
- In your economic region
- For other economic clusters within Ontario
- On economy and environment of Ontario.
Conclusions & Recommendations
- Priorities and Implementation sequence
- Project management team
Final Report
- You will receive one hard copy of typed report.
- You will also receive one electronic copy of report in Adobe
Acrobat 7.0 pdf format, with security enabled and searchable.
PQA Can Help
For more than 20 years, Process Quality Associates Inc. (“PQA”) has
helped hundreds of manufacturing companies better compete through tough
times with modern manufacturing methods. PQA can check your plan, or improve
your plan, or help you get a plan to flourish where others stumble. PQA can
help you get your Mojo back, for both your leaders and your workers.
Ball is in Your Court
To find out more about this government funding program, and how you can
get over $50,000 in government funding to improve your company, go to PQA’s
website at http://smart.pqa.net
For a confidential discussion of your specific situation, call PQA:
Don Whitred, Southern Ontario (519) 667-1720
Email Don Whitred
Glenn Black, Northern Ontario (705)-377-4039
Email Glenn Black
“PQA engineers the quality of your success”
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