My business intelligence expertise in a nutshell

For most of my working life I have been active at the business end of IT, and the systems/information side of business. My skillset includes:

• Business Analysis, including information analysis, business process mapping and business improvement

• Having also worked on large construction projects, I understand Project Control and Engineering data and the tremendous opportunities that exists to contribute to project success

• My involvement in IT business systems ranges from project management, feasibility studies, scouting & selection, implementation (business processes, training, reporting etc.) and post implementation reviews

• In general business management:

  • I am experienced in facilitating workshops and asking those unconventional questions that might lead to a great idea

  • Building and maintaining Quality Management systems and performing audits

 

What is Business Intelligence and what can it do for you?

Business Intelligence (BI for short - sometimes also referred to as data-analytics) unlocks and gives meaning to the data your systems produce. This translates into measures (eg widgets produced per day) which can then be charted against targets. The most obvious and published measures usually relate to sales (how many widgets did we sell, which types, to which customers, in which areas etc.). However, there are many more areas that BI can be useful for your business. For example:

• In the area of quality: number of defects, re-work, rejects etc. Perfect for target setting, and analysis of common denominators in those failures (eg time-of-day, distractions, defective parts, wrong tools)

• Concerning efficiency: time management, shopfloor layout, availability of inventory, disruptions etc.

• If you have equipment, do you know your bad actors, or spending on each piece of machinery?

• In the office: how much effort does it take, typically, to process a purchase order or invoice, what about those disruptive phonecalls? Are your processes efficient and effective?

• If you use timesheets, where is the time spent?

• Do you analyse the information from jobsheets?

• Paper forms often contain a wealth of information that should be captured

 

Having information at your fingertips will enable you to set targets, identify and zoom in on problem areas and generally become more pro-active and therefore more in control.

 

Arrangements

If you have a specific project or activity in mind where I could be of assistance, I can help you scope the effort required (if needed) and based on the agreed scope I can execute for fixed price or reimbursable. I am happy to travel and work at your premises, work remotely or a combination of both.