10/09/2006 Frequently asked questions Hommes
& Production
|
Subject 1: On site interventions |
Subject 2: Hommes & Production
(H&P) |
Subject 3: Fields of expertise |
|
H&P leads your project –
how it will work ? |
|
|
|
|
What are the advantages of H&P over an independent specialist? |
|
|
|
What is the invoicing process? |
|
|
|
What are the possibilities for
changing the H&P consultant? |
|
|
|
What are the differences between
a consulting firm and a network approach? |
|
|
|
What is the relation between
H&P and the affiliated consultants? |
|
·
What
is the legal structure of H&P?
H&P
is composed of independent specialists who are amalgamated into a Professional
Association in order to offer a range
of services that improve the contract established with your H&P Counsellor.
The main difference with a traditional consulting firm is that each
H&P Counsellor invoices for all of the services, whether these have been
undertaken by the Counsellor or by other H&P consultants.
The advantage of this approach is to have only one person guaranteeing
all aspects of the contracts. This implies that the strength of the independent
specialists is backed by the Association (H&P network), allowing guarantees
of reliability and perpetuity equivalent to those of a traditional consulting
firm. It should be noted that the independent specialists are high level
professionals who prefer to work on their own in order to constantly improve
their level of expertise.
·
What
are the advantages of H&P compared with an independent specialist?
H&P provides two
important guarantees and several services that an independent specialist does
not:
-
Each
client’s project file is centralised by the H&P network. The file includes
the major project steps as well as the essential elements allowing another
H&P consultant to take over the project (with the client’s agreement) in
case of a temporary non-availability of the regular Counsellor. (H&P
Charter Article)
-
Your
regular H&P Counsellor may propose the intervention of another Counsellor
or of a consultant recommended by our network to be in charge of some
particular aspects of your project. In such a case, the intervening consultant
is obliged to respect the H&P professional code of ethics. The invoicing
will be done by the H&P Counsellor with whom you have agreed on the
different contract terms (tariffs, expenses and other contract details). In the
same way, project management is carried out by the regular H&P Counsellor
and takes into account all the projects given to other consultants, whether or
not they are H&P Counsellors.
-
The
possibility to have the project management undertaken by another Counsellor of
the network.
-
The
possibility to subscribe to a global audit of your project.
-
The
possibility to introduce training activities linked to your project.
·
What
is the invoicing process?
For short-term
operations, the invoice is presented in accordance with the agreement between
the H&P Counsellor and your company. The invoice is sent just after the
Counsellor’s work is completed, for immediate payment.
For long-term
contracts, the invoices are presented each month, based on the number of days
of work and the travel expenses of the Counsellor during the month. The
invoicing elements are described within the proposal and the possible
additional clauses which you agree upon with your H&P Counsellor. Such
additional clauses have to be made for each modification of the basic proposal
and added (by fax or e-mail) to the project file.
·
What
are the possibilities for changing the H&P consultant?
Our objective is to
succeed in every mission. However, it may happen that different points of view
emerge within the project team several months after the start of a project:
-
If the
difference of opinion concerns a consultant within the project team, the
problem must be raised directly with
H&P Counsellor.
-
If the
difference of opinion concerns the H&P Counsellor, the H&P Counsellor
will propose another Counsellor capable of taking over the project (H&P
Charter Article).
-
If the
difference of opinion concerns the H&P Counsellor and you do not want to
discuss the matter directly with him, we strongly advise you to quickly get in
touch with another member of the H&P Network to explain the situation. Your
request will be dealt with in full confidence, even if you have decided not to
have a Project Director (H&P Charter Article to which all H&P
Counsellors agree).
·
What
are the differences between a traditional consultancy firm and a network approach?
A traditional
consultancy firm is often structured by job titles: Director, Project Managers,
Expert Consultants, Senior Consultants and Junior Consultants. The set up and
the carrying out of your project often follows a Top-Down approach. Each
consulting firm has offices to which the consultants are attached.
The network approach
is based on the development of new technologies, particularly the internet. It
is well developed in the USA. It allows senior consultants (with several fields
of expertise) and geographically distant to propose network services to
clients. The consultants are bound by a
professional code of ethics. The structure is simple (consultant members of the
network or “Counsellor” and affiliated consultants recommended by the network for
their fields of expertise). The H&P Counsellor consultants are fully in
charge of the projects and take care of their management. This new approach allows the setting up a
reduced team of consultants contributing a maximum of added value whilst benefiting from the expertise of the network.
The other advantage is to limit all unnecessary travel to headquarters, as well
as multiple administrative tasks which are no longer essential. All the
Counsellors are well equipped with computers and maintain a shared management
of the clients’ files, knowledge of the specialities of the members of the
network and access to a large and specialised bibliographical database (H&P
Charter Article). The confidentiality of files is managed by the network with several levels of
access (H&P Charter Article).
Regarding visibility,
the network members are often in a position to intervene in a conference or a
seminar as they have three essentials assets: in-depth knowledge of the
subjects, field practice and exchanges of experiences in the network. H&P
wishes to share its experience and invest in the preparation of conferences in
order to always be at the cutting edge in its fields of expertise. (H&P
Charter Article).
The H&P
affiliated consultants do not belong to the network, but they benefit from an
accreditation of the members to accompany them on different sites. Most of
these consultants have special skills that we want to propose to our clients and
which is part of our outlook concerning the efficiency of the sites. When
working with H&P, the affiliated consultants have the same status as
H&P consultants and respect our professional code of ethics.
The continuous
improvement tools are the means to achieve industrial excellence . They are
often used together with an improvement plan in order to bring short and
mid-term solutions to problems raised by an industrial diagnosis and respond to
the industrial strategy of the company. Each improvement project is designed
for a specific sector of the company and with a precise short-term objective
(less than 12 weeks). Overall, the projects are sufficiently tactical and we
propose a classification of the tools (5S, SMED, etc.) on the three main areas
of improvement (Delay, Quality, and Efficiency) supported by the basis of all
evolution: the employees.
Regarding employees,
we cover all the aspects of “raising competencies” as well as the development
of a learning organisation.
Regarding delay,
we cover all the delay reduction methodologies: physical flow, data flow,
global flow organisation, supply chain management, flow performance measurement.
Regarding quality,
we cover all the specific quality techniques and the promotion of a culture of
quality within the company.
Regarding efficiency,
we cover all the tools coming from TPM® and focused on local equipment productivity.
·
H&P
leads your project – how it will work ?
Every intervention
leaded by HOMMES & PRODUCTION is linked to a proposal which has been given
to you. The senior consultant in charge of your project has been chosen and written
in the proposal. According the size of
the mission, and specific problem, more than one senior consultant can help you
to fulfil the proposal successfully.
The same consultant
may be able to deal with the tasks of project management (e.g. steering
comittee) as well as those of a consultant (e.g. follow up of a 5S project,
SMED project, etc.).
The travel expenses
(hotel, meals and journeys) will be invoiced according to the receipts.
However, a fixed sum may be established in the contract.
In order to guarantee
equity between all our clients and allows transparency of consultants’
interventions, the travel expenses are charged from Paris and do not take into
account where the consultant is actually located.
Local exceptions can
be made for SMEs which have difficulties accessing the consultancy. These SME should
be able to benefit from consultancy help such as FRAC. In that case, the
H&P Counsellor will make a special proposal. The intervention of any person
other than the H&P Counsellor will follow the general rule.