Helping site leaders get more value from operational data and connect it with the decisions that drive plant performance.
The Challenge
Firth came to us wanting to build on its existing systems and processes to further improve the efficiency and profitability of its concrete plants by enabling site leaders to make even better-informed commercial decisions.
The business already collected extensive performance data and provided site leaders with detailed commercial reporting. The opportunity was to help site leaders engage more confidently with that information – making it easier to identify what mattered most and translate the data into practical decisions at site level.
This was about more than building confidence with spreadsheets. Firth wanted to strengthen the connection between site leaders’ day-to-day operational responsibilities and the overall commercial performance of their plants. Site leaders already managed production, scheduling and the many operational demands of running a plant; the opportunity was to help them see more clearly how those decisions connected with commercial outcomes and how they could actively use the levers available to improve performance.
Our Partnership
Synapsys worked with Firth to get clear on the behaviour the programme needed to enable. Rather than treating spreadsheet skills as the end goal, we focused on helping site leaders understand why the data mattered to their role, and how they could use it to influence the performance of their sites.
We translated this into a highly interactive, scenario-led one-day workshop where site leaders could practise connecting real operational situations with their responsibilities and commercial data. This allowed participants to work with the kinds of decisions they encounter in their plants and explore how different choices could influence overall site performance.
We developed the workshop and a detailed facilitation guide, piloted the experience, and delivered train-the-trainer support so Firth’s own finance team could confidently facilitate an engaging learning experience without needing to be professional facilitators.
The Impact
The pilot provided strong early evidence that the approach was working. Participants engaged well with the experience and reported greater confidence using Firth’s commercial spreadsheet. Importantly, they could explain how the information applied to their roles and demonstrated an understanding of the connections between operational decisions, commercial data and plant performance that the programme was designed to strengthen.
The programme also gave Firth a practical way to measure longer-term impact. The same operational KPIs site leaders learn to interpret are already measured through Firth’s existing reporting processes. This creates a direct connection between the capability being developed through the programme and the business measures Firth already uses to understand plant performance.
Over time, this means the impact of better-informed site decisions can be tracked through business-as-usual data. At the time of the case study discussion, longer-term evidence of improved plant profitability was not yet available, but the programme has established both the capability and the measurement pathway needed to assess that impact.