Testimonials
"PVA provided Case the tools to implement an “Active Supervision” culture. Prior to working with PVA Case managed manufacturing results on a team level with data from the prior days production. With PVA ‘s guidance we have instituted a supervisory process where individual effectiveness data is developed and shared with manufacturing employees several times per shift. Part of this process is to use this new data to lead to opportunities for improvement. Supervisors and employees use the data to lead them to the things that are limiting their effectiveness. They fix those things that their resources allow them to and send more complex opportunities to the Steering Committee. This process allows management to review and prioritize improvement opportunities. In the first six months we have solved over 100 of these problems/opportunities."
- Tom Arrowsmith, President & CEO, WR Case & Sons Cutlery Co.
"With the assistance and guidance of the PVA professionals we were able to transition the managerial environment from one which avoided dealing with the root cause of issues and did not focus on the day to day direct management of staff effectiveness into a highly engaged environment, involving a direct link between employee effort and the desired key performance indicators for the group. After 3 intense, focused months we were able to demonstrate a true productivity improvement of 25%. The development of the Management Operating System leveraging active supervision has enabled employees to focus on the direct impact they have in delivering the overall key results for the area and has turned around a complex and costly area of our business."
- Rick McMillin, Vice President Retail Sales, MTSallstream Inc
- Christian Roy, Vice President - Field Operations, Bell Canada
"The PVA team has been a business partner since day one, ensuring the involvement of the Plant Management Team. They have worked to develop a positive working relationship at each of our facilities and varied the approach as needed to adjust to the culture at individual sites. The delivery of improvement tools and the reinforcement of needed behaviors have paid off in dollars and the sustaining behavior needed for “Continuous Improvement”. The best activity for all plants was the use of the “brown paper” exercise this allows the employees to become engaged in the change process and allow all parties to “learn” how the process is currently working vs how they think it is working !!! Always eye opening.
We now have a detailed and coordinated KPI report tracking 42 key items that are reported and discussed across the enterprise every week. This drives the new culture of “Continuous Improvement” which focuses on key improvement activities that drive improved financial performance."
- James W. Peacock, Vice President, Manufacturing and Logistics, WhiteWave Foods Company
"PVA has assisted SaskTel Operations in implementing a Management system that focuses on Metrics and Management fundamentals. The PVA professionals involved all levels of our employee base and delivered a repeatable process and framework for continuous business improvement. PVA’s simple and disciplined approach assisted my operations team to accomplish in months what we had previously spent years trying to accomplish. I now have the methodology and tools to balance operational efficiency gains with improvement to both customer and employee experience; and I can measure them. Overall, it is a difficult transition that is far from over, but well worth the investment."- Greg Meister, Vice President Customer Service Operations, SaskTel
Morningstar Foods "I have worked with many consultants in my 41 years as a supervisor, manager and director. I consider them to be a dime a dozen but PVA is different. They actually do what they say and accomplish what they promise. My experience with them has been pleasant and very professional. They are a no nonsense group and they get down to business immediately. They focus on the details of the job and the processes and look to improve them. The training they provide to our employees, supervisors and managers is first rate and very effective."
- Gary Veuve, Vice President Manufacturing, Morningstar Foods - A division of Dean Foods
“The greatest benefit for IPEX was the implementation of a solid Management Operating System in all 6 Plants. Our Plant staff – from Shift Supervisor to Plant Manager – became stronger Managers, and because of that, started to deliver better results. It is by far the best training exercise that we ever gave our Supervisors. This is achieved because, contrary to a lot of other types of training, it is not just a 2 or 3 day theoretical program, but a 26 week program that covers both the theory and practice of solid management techniques. I would strongly recommend PVA to any organization.”
- Frank Yorio, Senior Vice President Operations, IPEX
"Allied Machine and Engineering Corporation was very skeptical
when it came to consultants. The PVA initial audit and savings
guarantee took away our excuse not to move forward. PVA made
a seamless transition into our organization and began helping
our managers and supervisors right away. People were hungry
to get better and open to input that showed them a better way.
PVA provided the management tools that fit our company.
Now each person knows whether or not they had a good or bad day. Problems are addressed as they happen and proactive problem solving occurs. We are satisfying more customers and are more efficient as a result.
The audit system and Coordinator training are key components PVA provided to make sure our company did not slide backward. They came back to our company and worked with our Coordinators to review the implemented processes and made sure we continuously improved.
We recently completed our own audit without PVA’s assistance and found that our system is better than ever! The ultimate sign of consultant’s success – equipping people to succeed on their own!"
- Steven R. Stokey, Executive Vice President, Allied Machine and Engineering Corp.
"When we first met PVA, we were at the beginning of a
productivity improvement program. Our management
methods had to be reviewed and our work methods had to
be analyzed and corrected. In an environment like ours change is not easily accepted.
After PVA did their initial audit of our process and demonstrated the relevance of making the proposed improvements, we met the PVA project team and were confident in their ability to work well with our people. In fact, this is exactly what occurred.
Upon PVA's recommendation, a clear and open communication was then held with all our people, and I think that communication has been a key element of our success.
PVA knows how to combine the rigor of their system implementation with the constraints and requirements of daily production. The coaching required a lot of time from our supervisors and they knew how to manage that situation very successfully. Moreover, the implementation times were reduced because PVA communicated well and worked closely with our people, in order to involve them in the solutions.
- Mario Bernard, President, Canam and Structal
"PVA provided a professional and capable group of people to work with us. Their training program was effective and comprehensive and while on site they provided excellent coaching to the Directors, Front Line Managers and especially to the Program Coordinators tasked with sustaining the program following its introduction. PVA provided a sound and proven methodology and a tool kit to enable our organization to increase efficiency and reduce costs. They helped us to develop measures based on our unique situation and to implement the necessary tracking and reporting devices. The principle of “active supervision” promoted by PVA is an effective means of achieving improvements simply by having managers more involved in the day to day activities of their direct reports. Overall, the implementation of the PVA process in our organization has increased communication at all levels and has produced positive results for our customers and the business."
- Kelvin Shepherd, President Consumer Markets Division, MTSallstream Inc