It will be no surprise that businesses face many demands and complexities regarding running their operations more effectively and impacting the bottom line while delivering on their promises to their people, clients and society.
Health and safety management and integrating health and safety into best practices is another part of the puzzle we would like to explore through the lens of the business excellence model and with consideration to operation excellence.
Business and operational excellence are not just management buzzwords; they certainly don’t mean ticking boxes to achieve compliance. We believe that if you view business excellence as a comprehensive framework to enhance performance and secure a sustainable competitive advantage, it would make sense to view health and safety not as an add-on that you have to do but something to embrace as a way to reduce costs, build your brand and be an employer of choice while delivering on your CSR responsibilities.
On the other hand, operational excellence is a tactical approach that aims to improve the efficiency of day-to-day business operations. The focus here is on improving processes, quality, and performance metrics.
In this context, we also think it would make sense to embrace partnering with single-source suppliers wherever possible. Across all business areas, but as a health and safety consultancy and training partner, we want to discuss the merits of choosing one supplier for all your health and safety consultancy and training needs, wherever possible.
Why? Well, we have seen the results of a comprehensive approach rather than a piecemeal approach to supplier management and relationships. They say the proof is in the pudding, and you may have great outcomes with your procurement strategies.
What matters ultimately is that the business grows and continually improves. Everyone has to start somewhere, and we all certainly learn from our failures, which are simply feedback. This continual learning and feedback approach means that we have the opportunity to think and act differently. This means seeing health and safety as a value add in your search for business and operational excellence.
But let’s start with a reminder of the Business Excellence Model
The Business Excellence Model (BEM) is a management tool, often synonymous with frameworks like the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model. The model exists to help businesses understand their strengths and areas of improvement across a range of performance categories, providing a blueprint for achieving and sustaining overall excellence.
The Business Excellence Model
The fundamental concepts of excellence are adding value for customers, creating a sustainable future, developing business capability, harnessing creativity and innovation, leading with vision, inspiration and integrity, managing with agility, succeeding through people, and sustaining outstanding results. The model recognises that excellence is achieved by balancing the needs and expectations of all stakeholders.
With the Business Excellence Model reminder done. What next?
Understanding the Comprehensive Approach to Health and Safety
The comprehensive approach to health and safety transcends the traditional fragmented view of addressing individual components in isolation. Instead, it emphasises a comprehensive, interconnected system that considers a business’s entire spectrum of health and safety needs.
Health and safety is an intrinsic part of all areas of business. While it could be viewed as a necessary evil or a carbuncle on the backside of humanity, it is undoubtedly a strategic component of delivering business and operational excellence.
As Aristotle says, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In simple terms, a whole car is better than all the parts if you were to embark on a road trip.
The Benefits of a Comprehensive Approach
As you would expect, the benefits are wide-ranging. Firstly, A single-source supplier, such as Ligtas, is not just a supplier. Rather, when viewed and invited to be a strategic partner who understands the business’s mission, vision, and strategic objectives, we can work with you to align with these and contribute positively to the business’s overall aims.
Well-implemented health and safety practices reduce costs and liabilities and increase brand and reputation. Add effective training into the mix where a better understanding of the single-source supplier’s processes and standards and potential issues, a single source supplier can help to improve efficiency and awareness and support you in creating a culture of health and safety.
The knock-on effect of a deeply embedded health and safety culture improves perception and trust
The biggest benefit considering the above is that together, we create safe places for people to live and work while also considering their health and well-being.
The Role of a Single Source Supplier
This is the part where we share what seems obvious to us: partnering with a single-source health and safety consultancy and training supplier aligns with the comprehensive approach to health and safety.
The supplier’s expertise, comprehensive range of services, and understanding of the business’s unique needs enable them (Ligtas) to deliver tailored solutions that address all health and safety aspects (where possible).
At Ligtas, we believe that single-sourcing consultancy and training streamlines achieving health and safety objectives by reducing complexity, enhancing synergy, and relationship building, which can provide cost savings or efficiencies compared to alternative approaches.
We have a helicopter view and can see beyond your seen issues because of experience and training. We can advise on things that do not appear to be immediately clear.
Suppliers like Ligtas bring our expertise and a wide range of innovative solutions tailored to align your specific needs, thus enabling the implementation of a comprehensive health and safety strategy which can highlight any potential challenges or obstacles you may face when implementing a comprehensive strategy.
Naturally, as Ligtas stays up-to-date with evolving health and safety standards, we can actively contribute to the business’s ongoing improvement efforts by adding value.
We believe when you have a 360 view of a business, you can openly discuss strategies for overcoming barriers to success. This mindset, we believe, can help unlock business excellence. One such example of this can be seen in this case study.
Ultimately, we are here to give you peace of mind.
By centralising your health and safety consultancy and training requirements with a trusted supplier, businesses gain a partner who becomes an extension of your business.
What If a Single Source Is Not Possible
There will always be situations when a business may not want a single source. There may be one product that doesn’t address their needs. This is normally within the health and safety field, getting best in class, for example, fire doors or fire suppression systems. The needs of a data centre are not the same as a manufacturing plant, hotel, office complex or high-rise residential building; therefore, specific needs must be addressed.
When procuring and building a relationship with a health and safety consultancy and training provider, your needs and the goals of managers in different departments may differ.
In this case, open and honest communication is a must. Can the issue be addressed in another way? Is it possible to negotiate a different way forward so that adjustments can be made? Are there gaps in the training catalogue?
Perhaps you won’t have to wait too long to get what you need from the right supplier. Sometimes, a compromise is needed, as long as it’s not detrimental to your partnership.
And if all else fails, then a multi-supplier strategy could be your way forward to meet your unmet needs. In this case, you will need the best of each part of the equation.
As a consultancy and training provider, we suggest that the decision ‘should’ lie with first choosing the best consultancy, then the training provider that meets your needs.
This decision is important as it sets the foundation for the multi-supplier strategy. Businesses can access valuable industry insights, strategic recommendations, and tailored guidance by engaging with a reputable consultancy.
Consultants possess the expertise to assess the business’s needs and formulate a comprehensive strategy across all areas of health and safety. They bring a wealth of experience, enabling businesses to make informed decisions and mitigate risks, and we say go beyond compliance.
After selecting the consultancy, the focus is on identifying the training provider that aligns with your needs and who can collaborate with the consultancy. This step recognises the significance of training and development in optimising the utilisation of chosen services.
A competent training provider equips the business’s workforce with the necessary skills and knowledge that consultancy can often identify. We would also recommend that the training provider has been rigorously assessed as a competent training provider.
With the consultancy and training provider in place, businesses can now focus on embedding those suppliers into business and operational excellence strategies.
No relationship, including supplier relationships, is perfect. There are bound to be hiccups along the way. The goal is to manage challenges in collaboration by focusing on your business’s overall health and safety objectives and keeping business and operational excellence in mind. Be flexible and always keep the lines of communication open.
And Finally…
In conclusion, the journey to unlocking business excellence in health and safety begins with embracing a comprehensive approach. We’ve explored the comprehensive health and safety concept, which goes beyond isolated components and considers the interconnected system of your entire business.
In the pursuit of business excellence, don’t overlook the critical role that health and safety plays. Embrace the comprehensive approach, and together, we can create a safer, more efficient, and more successful future for your organisation.
Take the next step towards business excellence by contacting us today and exploring how Ligtas can be your partner on this journey. Let’s unlock excellence together.
