Arsenal reaps benefits of AI tech partnership, Air Products marks 50 years of OPEX & more – PEX Community News

PEX Network’s weekly news bulletin rounds up the latest from the process community including operational excellence, digital transformation, business process management (BPM), process mining, artificial intelligence (AI) and much more.

This week includes:

• Arsenal and ABBYY discuss impact of AI on women’s sport
• Operational excellence in the “DNA” of energy provider Air Products
• RB Global appoints Steve Lewis to drive operational excellence
• BPM360 Podcast explores HR in BPM initiatives
• AdaptHealth hires new COO to align organizational structure with business processes
• Scandlines seeks Lean expert as new head of quality and processes

Arsenal and ABBYY discuss impact of AI on women’s sport

AI technology is playing a key role at Arsenal Women Football Club (W.F.C) and in developing the women’s European football (soccer) game generally. That was the message shared at a recent event held as part of Arsenal Women’s first-ever pre-season tour. Arsenal chief commercial officer Juliet Slot (left) joined Ulf Persson, CEO of process automation and AI vendor ABBYY, at the UK Deputy Head of Mission’s residence in Washington D.C. to reflect on the club’s strong recent growth on and off the field. ABBYY is the official intelligent automation (IA) partner of Arsenal W.F.C.

“We’ve seen extraordinary growth in recent years across the game,” said Slot. “Last season, our average attendance was up 93 percent on 2022/23 across all our home games, and 11 percent up across our Emirates matches. We’ve got to this point by testing and learning to adapt to a new, growing audience for the women’s game, and by an unwavering commitment at all levels across the club to keep moving the game forward.”

ABBYY’s partnership with Arsenal Women reflects its commitment to diversity, innovation and empowerment both on the pitch and in the workplace, added Persson. “We are proud to contribute to the global momentum of women’s football, showcased by events like Arsenal Women’s US tour. We are keen to further explore how AI technology can help advance the women’s game.”

Speaking at All Access: Intelligent Automation thought leader Doug Shannon discusses the impact of AI on intelligent automation

Operational excellence in the “DNA” of energy provider Air Products

Operational excellence has been integral to the company culture of Air Products, a leading manufacturer of industrial gas, for more than 50 years. That’s according to Gift Nyambe (left), general manager, technical at Air Products. “In my experience, there is unequivocally one golden rule – operational excellence is the ultimate goal that supports the company’s vision of achieving operational health and safety with zero harm,” Nyambe said. Air Products embraces a philosophy that “nothing is more important than safety…not production, not sales, not profits,” he added.

There are three elements that support operational excellence at Air Products, Nyambe said. These are operational discipline, occupational health and safety and process safety. Operational excellence can be achieved when these three elements are harmoniously integrated and embedded in the day-to-day activities of operations, he continued. In instances where businesses strive for operational excellence, they are perceived and experienced as better and safer places to work. As part of the process of making a business safer, there is inevitably a likelihood that they will also become more productive and achieve greater growth, Nyambe said.

RB Global appoints Steve Lewis to drive operational excellence

Commercial assets and vehicles marketplace RB Global appointed Steve Lewis as new COO to drive business growth through operational excellence. Prior to RB Global, Lewis served as division president at GXO Logistics where he was responsible for the operational processes, technological capabilities and safety standards at more than 120 distribution centers.

“Steve has a proven track record of developing and deploying operating systems that support profitable growth and performance in a variety of industry verticals worldwide,” commented Jim Kessler, CEO of RB Global. “His diverse experience, commitment to speed of delivery and ability to scale efficient operations will add significant value to our leadership team as we continue to focus on our partners and instill operating excellence across the organization.”

BPM360 Podcast explores HR in BPM initiatives

In the latest episode of the BPM360 Podcast hosts Caspar Jans and Russell Gomersall discussed the role of human resources (HR) in BPM initiatives. Jans and Gomersall reflected upon the key challenges of managing HR within BPM endeavors, the importance of placing the right experts in appropriate roles and the impact of effective knowledge management on organizational efficiency.

The pair also highligh ted the pitfalls of implementing technology before establishing processes and the significance of communicating BPM goals at all organizational levels as well as the benefits of centers of excellence (CoE) in BPM, strategies for preventing burnout and ensuring continuous development, engaging with HR to support BPM and embedding BPM into organizational culture.

Jans is featured in the 25 operational excellence thought leaders to follow in 2024 list in recognition of his contribution to the process excellence community. He is also speaking at All Access: BPM 2024 on September 10 and will be participating in a breakout session where attendees can meet him to discuss all things BPM.

AdaptHealth hires new COO to align organizational structure with business processes

AdaptHealth, a network of medical equipment companies, announced a new COO to align the organization’s structure to best reflect its business processes. Scott Barnhart will step into the role, effective September 23, 2024, having most recently served as COO of Qurate Retail Group. Barnhart has more than 30 years of leadership experience in global operations including supply chain management, manufacturing, procurement, logistics, customer service and product portfolio management.

“The skillsets Scott brings will help us advance our commitment to delivering exceptional care to our patients while fostering organic growth through disciplined operational excellence,” said Suzanne Foster, CEO of AdaptHealth. “There’s a bright future for AdaptHealth and this change serves to best position us to seize upon the opportunities ahead.”

Scandlines seeks Lean expert as new head of quality and processes

European ferry company Scandlines is looking to hire a Lean expert as its new head of quality and processes to spearhead its transformation. The role is responsible for driving process improvements and developing a framework for standardized processes across the organization, according to the job description. The individual will be required to promote the adoption of a Lean mindset and culture, support the leadership teams in enhancing quality and efficiency in services and processes and lead in fostering an environment of continuous improvement, it added.

The successful candidate will need to be comfortable interacting with all levels of the organization, hold an academic degree (bachelor’s or master’s) and have at least ten years of experience in leading Lean improvement efforts. The job is based in Copenhagen, Denmark and offers a “competitive salary” based on qualifications.

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