Tuesday 5 December 2017








CASE STUDY


Providing the University of Oxford with Lean IT training and consultancy

Summary of work
ELS was contracted by the IT Dept., Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford to provide Lean IT training and consultancy. During the scoping meeting two courses with 11 students on each course and three follow on workshops were identified as the requirements. The two courses were the APMG LITA (Lean IT Association) syllabus with one workshop designed for leadership & management and the other two workshops designed for how an A3 planning and problem solving sheet is put together. The complete contract was delivered between 20 Jun – 25 Oct 16.

Background
The head of the IT Dept. needed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the way the department provided IT service to the Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford. He wanted to bring the department together to work more as a team to deliver a better service to its customers. He was familiar with Lean and felt that it would be the best vehicle to achieve his aims.

Approach
The delivery of APMG LITA courses to the members of the department was seen as the best approach. It not only provided the department with a standard and recognised performance capability but also gave the members of the department CPD by means of a formal qualification and a sense that the employer was investing in them as employees. As well as the courses the follow on workshops were designed to help embed Lean thinking and promote a sense of team working into the department culture.

Conclusion
The courses and workshops were well received by all who were involved with the head of department stating

                 ‘…the team found the training to be both interesting and engaging. Throughout our experience working with ELS we have found them to be flexible, responsive and helpful. Administratively ELS are reliable and straightforward to deal with and we consider the training and consultancy services offered to be of a high standard.’

www.elsbusinesstraining.co.uk

Wednesday 22 November 2017





Productivity Ninja – ELS Office, Thursday 30 November 1000-1500

Cost - £150+VAT

  
ELS are pleased to be offering a new one day course – Productivity Ninja – to help you boost your productivity. By regaining control over your working environment and getting the most out of your hours in (and out of) the office this course shows you how to master the art of productivity.

This course explores different techniques to:
·         overcome procrastination
·         use email more efficiently
·         increase your personal time
·         declutter an information overload

Stanford University has proven research that multitasking is less productive than doing a single thing at a time… [it] reduces your efficiency and performance because your brain can only focus adequately on one thing at a time (World Economic Forum 13/10/17). Therefore, the best way to increase productivity is to employ a range of techniques to reduce your workload and become more efficient in order to make your work hours count.

Get ahead of the curve by joining our course and learning these techniques to increase your productivity and banish that feeling of overwhelm.

Julie Dungate is our highly successful trainer, facilitator and change manager with a proven track record of enhancing personal skills and technical knowledge; able to enthuse staff to positively contribute to change activity and improve of business processes. In addition a very experienced, proactive manager and leader who has successfully delivered change projects and brought pragmatic solutions to improving operational delivery.

To book call our sales department on 01235 861805


Tuesday 14 November 2017


Explosive Learning Solutions deliver a three-year programme for NHS staff

Learning and development specialist Explosive Learning Solutions (ELS) is working with National Health Service (NHS) Improvement to deliver training to 400 people across England.

The programme aims to provide these students with the skills to enable them to train their NHS colleagues in the operation and implementation of demand and capacity (D&C) models. In the process, students will become local specialists who can give ongoing support on issues of D&C practice. 

According to the NHS, the mismatch between capacity and demand is a key reason why waiting lists or backlogs develop and waiting lists and waiting times increase. Understanding the outputs of robust demand and capacity modelling is a fundamental requirement for the planning and delivery of healthcare services in a modern health and social care system.

The ELS programme, which will be in force for the next three years, uses a blended approach where the classroom has been ‘flipped’.

ELS’s Marc Waterman explained, “The knowledge-based material in the programme is contained within the NHS’s virtual learning environment (VLE), or learning management system (LMS), and is accessed electronically. The face-to-face element of the programme reinforces the learning of this knowledge and – importantly - enables delegates to practise the skills they need.

“A webinar concludes each segment of the programme, allowing the delegates to reflect on, and cement, their learning in preparation for the next module in the programme.”

He added, “The programme aims to provide the knowledge and skills needed to bring about a shared understanding between providers and commissioners on demand, capacity, bottlenecks and constraints.

“This can help them to, among other things, understand the reasons why waiting lists grow; understand the gap between a service’s required capacity and its current capacity; identify any potential inefficiencies; support better decision making around service changes, and reduce waiting times for patients.”

The ELS programme’s four modules cover:
·         Effectively leading D&C change Initiatives
·         Becoming a D&C practitioner
·         Designing and delivering training
·         Developing and supporting D&C stakeholders

About the National Health Service Demand and Capacity programme
The national Demand and Capacity programme was established in 2016 to support the NHS to better understand demand and plan sufficient capacity, so that patients do not wait unnecessarily for treatment. Jointly sponsored by NHS England and NHS Improvement, the programme aims to:
·         Work with system leaders and support them in the development of local capacity, capability and confidence in demand and capacity modelling and reduce reliance upon external or central expert resources.
·         Develop and deliver a national training programme to embed knowledge and expertise within local health economies.
·         Make sure the principles, methodological approaches and datasets are understood and recognised by both commissioner and provider organisations, in order to produced shared health economy plans.
·         Develop a suite of national tools and models which are produced to an approved and accepted methodology to make sure there is a consistency of approach.
·         Support and inform the production of robust activity plans at local organisational level and place-based unit level as required for future planning rounds.

About Explosive Learning Solutions
Founded in 2005, Explosive Learning Solutions (ELS) is a learning and development (L&D) consultancy that believes in using original and challenging solutions to inspire, enthuse and empower people to meet its clients’ needs. Working with clients in the public, private and business sectors worldwide, ELS focuses on organisation-oriented needs analysis; leadership and management; training and development – applying a systems approach to training methodology; learning technology; education; coaching and mentoring; HR development, as well as specialist expertise in the public sector including in defence issues.

For more information, please contact:
Cath Convery, ELS, +44 (0)1235 861805; email CConvery@explosivelearningsolutions.com
Marc Waterman, ELS, +44 (0)1235 861805; email MWaterman@explosivelearningsolutions.com
Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, +44 (0)1727 860405; email bob.little@boblittlepr.com

Better Business Cases: the Commercial Case - Free Webinar

Thursday 14 December @ 1300

Delivering the Value! From blue sky strategy to money in the bank.
Large numbers of public procurement initiative have suffered where the business case wasn’t as clear as it should be, and the contract has not managed to deliver the benefits expected.
This led to the UK Government’s development of the ‘Five Case Model’ – a best practice approach to developing spending proposals and enabling effective business decisions, further resulting in the development of the Better Business Cases training and certification scheme.
Presenter Cath Convery will explore one of the five key components of the Five Case Model – The Commercial Case– to see what you might include, some of the tools you might use to write an effective business case and to hopefully leave you wanting more!
This webinar is designed for anyone involved in writing or reviewing business cases and spending proposals.

Register for this free webinar on Thursday 14 December at 1300 by clicking the link below

https://apmg-international.com/events/better-business-cases-commercial-case

Monday 6 November 2017

PRINCE2 2017 Webinar - The same but better


If you didn't manage to join us last week when we discussed PRINCE2 2017 - The Same but better - 7 things that have changed. Click here to view PRINCE2 Webinar

Tuesday 17 October 2017

Visit our website www.elsbusinesstraining.co.uk to book your next career development course online through our brand new payment portal



or email info@explosivelearningsolutions.com 

or call our sales team on 01235 861805

Thursday 12 October 2017


ELS is pleased to announce that we have passed the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standard inspections for another year.

ISO 9001 is a certified Quality Management System (QMS) which demonstrates our ability to consistently provide products and services that meet the needs of our customers and other relevant stakeholders.  Our QMS is based on sound quality management principles including a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement.


ISO 14001 is an internationally accepted Environmental Management standard that outlines how to put an effective environmental management system in place. It has help Explosive Learning Solutions remain commercially successful without overlooking its environmental responsibilities. It has helped us grow while reducing the environmental impact of our growth.

The ability to demonstrate that a company can consistently produce products and services that meet the needs of customers and stakeholders has long been associated with the Quality standards.

Evolving over time out of an MoD requirement for quality assurance from its suppliers the first UK standard for Quality Assurance was published in 1971 by the British Standards Institute. Throughout the 1990’s growing numbers of shelves of procedure manuals led to a radical change in the concepts underpinning what was now the ISO9000 series of standards. Now in its fifth revision ISO9001:2015 the standard reflects the latest quality management good practise standards. The ISO 9001 accreditation provides a reassurance which has been verified by a third party that the companies you are working with are committed to providing a consistent and efficient product or service to their customers.

For Explosive Learning Solutions this means we can reassure all our stakeholders that we are working towards operational excellence, providing a consistently high quality service each and every time. The ELS Business Management System allows us to streamline our processes to ensure we remain agile for our clients and customers whilst maintaining the same quality in all our service provision.

The system defines some of the key principles of quality management and forms the fundamental way in which ELS manages its business
 *Customer focus and satisfaction * Motivated Leadership * Involvement of its people * Defining the processes by which we will operate on a day to day basis. * A systematic approach to management
 * Continual Improvement of services and service delivery



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