Simpler Consulting's New Winning by Design Book Details the Use of Lean Management to Revolutionize the New Product and Service Development Process

PITTSBURGH, Dec. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Simpler Consulting, L.P., a leading global management consulting firm, today announced the release of a new book, Winning by Design. The book, co-authored by Vice President of Research and Development, Oncology Systems at Elekta Rob Westrick and Simpler Vice President Chris Cooper, provides an in-depth look at the Simpler Design System™ (SDS) and how it can be used to improve quality, reduce cost and expedite lead time during the new product and service development (NPD) cycle.

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In today's commercial world, organizations are constantly in an arms race to release new and innovative products and services. Whether it is corporate pressure, a new competitive product or consumer demand driving the need for the product, this pressure causes a promise point – or, product release date – to be determined before the value-added research phase has been completed. As a result the promise point is driven so far upstream that the development process becomes a bottleneck, resulting in disappointing earnings and disappointed customers.

"When designing and bringing a new product to market, organizations have become so accustomed to the waste that is it increasingly difficult to identify, never mind eradicate," said co-author Westrick, who spearheaded the implementation of SDS at Elekta. "I co-wrote Winning by Design to educate engineers and executives on what waste looks like and provide guidance on where improvements can be made to improve quality and expedite the launch of a new product."

In Winning by Design, Westrick and Cooper outline how the Simpler Design System™ (SDS) can be applied to the two distinct mental phases of the NPD process – exploration and execution – to transform performance and significantly reduce the end-to-end timeline, enhance quality, improve morale and make cost performance much more predictable. The book serves as a practical guide, divided into two parts, labeled A and B. Part A is aimed at leaders who wish to create the vision to initiate change, and Part B is aimed at the people on the frontlines, implementing and driving the change to a better NPD process and environment.

Launched in 2010, SDS is a service that assists organizations with the new product development process by applying Lean management principles to save time and money in getting high-quality products to market across the manufacturing, high-tech, medical device and pharmaceutical industries. By utilizing SDS, organizations have seen cost reductions upwards of 25 percent and time to market reductions in the order of 50 percent.

"By using SDS, leaders, project teams and entire organizations have the ability to completely transform their new product development process," said Cooper. "Organizations not only reap the fiscal benefits of cost and time reduction, but they also see an improvement in product quality and ultimately increased customer satisfaction and trust – arguably the most valuable gain of the entire process."

To learn more about the Simpler Design System™ and Lean management, or to receive a copy of Winning By Design, please visit: http://www.simpler.com/publications.html.

About the Authors

Rob Westrick
Rob Westrick is the Vice President of Research and Development for Elekta Oncology, a leading producer of radio therapy equipment. However, his career spans many industries including aerospace, construction vehicles, oil and gas equipment as well as complex medical devices. At General Electric Aircraft Engines, Westrick was trained in Edwards Deming's continuous improvement methods and Six Sigma. He spent four years as an aircraft mishap investigator which ignited his interest in design failures whether the cause was design error or a design that was unnecessarily hard to manufacture or service. He realized the decisions taken during the design process are all important but in many cases these decisions are made without realizing their true consequences.

As Westrick moved to new sectors, he took this knowledge with him and broadened his experience of transforming the process of creating new product designs. In 2005 he decided to start his own consultancy and in 2007 he joined Simpler Consulting where he met Chris Cooper, a kindred spirit, and together they created Simpler Design System.

Chris Cooper
Chris Cooper has over 20 years of leadership experience in the delivery of successful large-scale Lean transformations across a broad range of industries, companies and countries. His industry segment experience include aerospace, defense, military, finance, marketing, healthcare, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul. Cooper had been at the forefront of the Lean revolution speaking at conferences, working with executive teams and as an assessor of the Shingo Prize. He has been the sensei for many significant and pioneering Lean transformations and has often introduced Lean concepts to new sectors and organization in the commercial business and non-profit fields. As Vice President of Simpler Consulting, Cooper leads a multi-cultural team of consultants in more than ten languages throughout Europe and Asia.

Cooper is an Aeronautical Engineer through formal apprenticeship program with BAE Systems and has a Business and Technology (BTEC) Higher National Diploma (HND) from the University of Humberside.

About Simpler Consulting, L.P.
Simpler Consulting, L.P. is a leading global management consulting firm that helps companies improve processes to stimulate business-impacting results. Unlike traditional management consulting firms that specialize in developing strategy but fall short on execution, Simpler plays an active role helping clients create an organizational culture that continuously seeks out opportunities to make improvements. With its proprietary Simpler Business System^®, Simpler Sensei have delivered the fastest and most enduring Lean transformations at more than 80 healthcare networks around the world. To learn more, visit http://www.simpler.com.

SOURCE Simpler Consulting, L.P.