South East Water is the first water company to have been presented with the UK and Ireland Kaizen Institute Award for the development of its operational excellence initiatives and framework over the past three years.

Douglas Whitfield, Operations Director said this was well deserved recognition for the outstanding efforts of frontline teams across South East Water through an unprecedented period of challenge.

Although the Kaizen Awards have been running world-wide for the past 12 years, this is the first year they have been run in the UK and Ireland.

The Kaizen Institute said:

“This category for Operational Excellence encompasses projects that accomplished better productivity and effectiveness levels, simplified processes and lead time reduction.”

To gain the award, South East Water proved how it had directed its efforts on maximising operations performance, securing efficiency and effectiveness in terms of productivity, quality, and costs reduction.

Douglas Whitfield said:

“This included the development of visual management standards for production sites, summary dashboards for managers to track improvements, and relevant local performance metrics that link through to wider company measures.

“These processes have encouraged the adoption of best practice across operations and help us to embed a culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement.

“It is a really challenging time for anyone working in the water industry due to the impact of accelerated climate change and operationally it has been an incredibly demanding three years.”