John Smith Email & Phone Number

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

After 25 years of engaging with Australian Industry as SIRF Roundtables in NSW and Qld, we have re-branded to become Industry Partners Australia.I have had the privilege of designing and facilitating over 200 industry knowledge sharing events for our members, hosted senior leader dinners, retreats, masterclasses, site tours, and connected industry with industry through our referral processes.New event types have been developed, such as our leader retreats in the beautiful Hunter Valley, and I have refined our facilitation practices across the organisation.With my QLD colleague, together we have created our Critical Thinking for Problem Solving program.I have educated over 300 professionals in problem-solving from many organisations such as Visy, Arnotts, Qantas, Unilever, Origin Energy, and Sydney Water.Left my footprint on industry by educating over 500 front line and mid-level managers in leadership practices assisting them in building their leadership capability and becoming the leaders that everyone deserves. Focus areas are aligning and engaging teams towards a common goal, change management practices, improving communication and conversational capacity, comprehending time management philosophies, leading projects towards success.Developed and delivered bespoke training sessions and workshops for our members, including Kaizen continuous improvement workshops. Overall the experience continues to expand my own horizons as the work involves keeping abreast of industry trends across a broad industry sector and building connections across various functional responsibilities within businesses, from CEO's to the front line leaders, and inclusive of Health Safety and Environment, Continuous Improvement, Reliability and Maintenance, Supply Chain, People and Culture, and also Strategy.

Sydney, Australia

At SIRF Rt, we believe in the transformative power of shared knowledge. We create unique opportunities for member companies to collaborate, learn from each other’s experiences, and apply new insights to drive innovation and growth within their businesses.In my role, I lead and facilitate over 40 events annually, engaging with approximately 800 professionals across various industries. My expertise lies in LEAN methodologies and Structured Problem Solving, where I guide companies toward achieving operational excellence and efficiency.This position keeps me deeply connected to key industries, including power generation, water networks, and manufacturing sectors such as chemical, healthcare, food, and industrial production. My work primarily focuses on improving supply chain excellence, maintenance and asset reliability, and operational performance, with a strong emphasis on health, safety, environment, and organizational culture.By helping organizations foster collaboration and invest in the development of their people, I enable them to turn knowledge into actionable results that drive long-term success.

Nsw

As a key member of the Executive Leadership team at Liquip, I championed cultural and business transformation by leveraging the LEAN philosophy to engage and empower teams, driving measurable improvements across the organization. I successfully led comprehensive operations, overseeing Demand Management, Planning, Procurement, Manufacturing, and Warehouse & Distribution, and delivered significant operational efficiencies.I optimized processes, achieving a 22% improvement in customer delivery DIFOT through value stream mapping, Kaizen improvement events, and fostering a collaborative workforce culture. Strategic initiatives such as layout redesign, Kanban implementation, and leadership coaching resulted in enhanced productivity and streamlined operations.Notable accomplishments included being an integral member of an ERP upgrade team transitioning from Mapics to Oracle, ensuring seamless integration across manufacturing, distribution, and tanker truck servicing.Initiated and implemented barcoding for all material movements and enhanced production back-flushing improving inventory accuracy, labour productivity and shipping accuracy as a strategic project lead on the replacement of legacy ERP system to new ORACLE ERP system.As a result of acquisition and new product introduction requiring increased shipping capacity I led a cross functional team in a week long Kaizen event. Redesigned business processes and warehouse / shipping layout increasing delivery capability by 33%.

Nsw

I spearheaded the implementation of MRP and Demand Forecasting systems across 12.000 SKU's to improve supply chain operations, and directed the integration of new product development into manufacturing.Led a team to redesign the assembly department layout to enhance customer service responsiveness, implementing single-piece flow cells, point-of-use storage, and standardized operating procedures. These changes increased production output by up to 80%, reduced quality issues, and improved agility in meeting evolving customer demands.Led Kaizen burst events across multiple departments, reducing variability in manufacturing processes and significantly increasing productivity. Developed employee capabilities through targeted training and coaching, and implemented SMED, Kanban pull systems, visual management, and standardized work processes. These initiatives maximized employee time spent on value-added tasks, further driving operational efficiency

Sydney, Australia

At Greif Australia, a global leader in industrial packaging manufacturing, I led daily operations across multiple facilities with a focus on safety, quality, and cost optimization, ensuring alignment with the company’s strategic objectives. I advanced through internal promotions, driving site-wide lean manufacturing initiatives that improved efficiency and effectiveness.As part of Greif’s LEAN transformation, I received advanced training from McKinsey Consulting on methodologies such as Plant Diagnostics, Line Balancing, SMED, OEE, and RCA. I recalibrated fixed production costs to adapt to fluctuating manufacturing volumes and developed capacity planning models to optimize labor costs while maintaining production goals. Additionally, I established weekly cross-functional supply chain meetings, which enhanced collaboration across Greif’s four manufacturing facilities, driving operational consistency and performance improvements.