The Challenge
CHC is a global organisation providing specialist transportation services to offshore oil and gas platforms, medical evacuation and civilian search and rescue. The company runs more than 250 aircraft across 30 countries, with major operating units in Australia, Brazil, Norway and the UK.
The highly variable nature of the business, with unique contracts and locations across each operating region, had made it challenging to establish a meaningful set of metrics to track performance and drive improvement. This was compounded by a series of acquisitions that further complicated reporting, and a move from regional to centralised operational control, driving the need for common and standardised measures across the business.
How We Did It
Our first task was to get a clear understanding of the requirements underpinning the KPIs, especially given the new operating structures with changes in accountability and ownership. At the highest level, all contracts were serviced using the same set of inter-related processes. The key was to find a way to link operational indicators across the business (the cause) with financial outcome metrics (the effect) in a way that:
- Measured performance against an agreed baseline and targets
- Identified opportunities for improvements
- Enabled data-driven management decisions
- Refined productivity assumptions for future bids and forecasts
Working closely with the BI team, we defined and piloted an initial set of KPIs linking operational performance with financial impact. As a proof of concept of what was possible, this provided the vehicle to refine the metrics and trial the supporting meeting and governance structures. This was essential in driving management decisions and real improvements from the information.
Sustainability on a global stage was key to role out, so automated KPI dashboards between each region and the global operating centre were built into an online performance hub with live data feeds. This transformed how management could access, review and act upon data.
To help manage this change we established standard ways of reporting and reviewing information. We also coached operational staff on the metrics and underlying data, and emphasised the required behaviours at all levels of the organisation.
The Outcome
- Live integrated dashboards, with clear ownership of each KPI, are now fully operational across the organisation’s global footprint.
- The client has essential anchor points for their governance processes.
- Our solution offers greater visibility to make strategic decisions and identify key areas to focus improvement effort.
- Operational teams have a platform from which to share best practice.
- In the first three months after launch, improvements to crew rostering, training and manpower management yielded $2.3M audited savings p.a.