| ! |
Celebrating our 23rd year supporting organizational innovation! |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| |
| February, 2010 - SimNet 8 Universal Idea Management Software Showcased on Innovation Tools Web site
The flexible SimNet 8 software toolset was showcased by Chuck Frey in the Innovation Tools website. Innovation Tools is a premier site for innovation professionals to stay informed on current topics related to innovation. Click here for a copy of that demo. |
|
| |
|
| January, 2010 - Newest Version of Our SimNet 8.2 Software Released
Our vision of Idea Management continues to evolve with the lastest version of our SimNet 8 Enterprise Software Version 8.2 toolset to manage ideas globally. We made significant updates to our powerful reporting module plus created other tools to help you easily see/find ideas. SimNet's flexibility continues to evolve as well. Other Idea Management software seems to want you to fit to how they manage ideas. We believe the opposite is true, we want our software to morph to how you capture and manage ideas. Contact us for a demo. |
|
| |
|
| January, 2010 - Article by our CEO Jim Schwarz on Innovation
Check out the latest article on Creating an Innovation Portfolio - Building a Holistic Approach to Innovation (PDF 260K - Jan 2010). Check out other recent articles in the section on staff articles below. |
|
| |
|
| September, 2009 - Enhanced SimNet Integrated Portal
Promoting your idea or recognition system is important to its success. That normally is done via a set of related portal pages. These portal pages are something you normally want to manage yourself so you can keep content fresh and interesting. New features were added to SimNet to allow you to link information from SimNet into your portal. So now you can include: submit idea buttons, idea pop-ups, reports, graphs, or a dashboard of idea statistics. Below is a section of a custom portal page, we created for a customer, with overal statistics on the top right, a backlog listing for the person viewing the page plus a graph of idea activity at the bottom.
For instance you might want to showcase best practice ideas. Here you could include a link for that idea that would pop-up all current information on that idea (including recent collaboration).
Another might be personal statistics or KPIs for the user viewing that page. Some SimNet portal features are not included in the standard SimNet package and may require an additional fee - call our sales staff to confirm your needs and what is included in the standard package. |
|
| |
|
| May, 2009 - SimNet Store - On-Line Awards
Our development team formally released our new on-line SimNet Store. This fully integrates with the SimNet 8 Universal Idea Management software. Participants can redeeem a wide range of merchandise, gift cards or other items based on a points-based program. Our on-line store will work with your own in-house awards process or link with a variety of awards vendors. Points can be pooled from a variety of programs too - ideas, continuous improvement, suggestions, safety, recognition, wellness and others. This allows you to create a custom look-and-feel that fits your organizational culture. It is easy to use - people familiar with on-line shopping will find it very intuitive.
For example New York Air Brake uses our SimNet Store to allow participants to redeem gift certificates on-line. First, they use SimNet 8 to manage their idea system (ideas@work) and their wellness recognition program (wellness@work). People receive points awards for the different wellness activities they participate in or ideas they are involved in. Based on their points bank, people can select awards. They selected Marketing Innovators to manage providing the gift certificates for both their U.S. and Canadian operations. Since SimNet supports single or multiple currencies, it is able to provide the award processing documentation to Marketing Innovators independently for both countries. Contact Jim Schwarz for more information - jims@tqs-sim.com or +1 970.252.9115 or +44 (0) 844.8709115 UK |
|
| |
|
| February 2009 - Visakhapatnam, India
CEO Jim Schwarz traveled to india in February 2009 to share his knowledge of Idea Management. He ran workshops for Vizag Steel (RINL) leadership. The Vizag Steel Plant (VSP) is located in Visakhapatnam, India (state of Andhra Pradesh in SE India) and employs 17K people.
The VSP has a rich history of supporting quality initiatives. They have a suggestion scheme that was started in 1993 and also have Quality Circles, Six Sigma, Knowledge Management and other activities. Mr. Kanakayya Gadapu, General Manager at VSP supports many of the improvement activities and arranged for Jim's visit. India also has a national organization to support ideas from employees called INSSAN - Mr. Bhushan Ganjoo from Mumbai also attended the workshops and provided input from an Indian perspective. At the VSP facility, Jim ran an all-day workshop on Idea Management for Senior Leadership and another one for middle-management.
He also presented at regional universities - Andhra University and GITAM University (Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management) along with presentations to regional professional groups. This included a regional Quality Circle group - Mr. D. V. Ramasarma who heads that group helped with arranging the local presentations.
Jim was impressed with the level of activities to support innovation and improvement via idea and team processes - he is writing an article to share his experiences there that will be available shortly. |
|
| |
|
| November 12-13, 2008 - Chester, UK
Bill Shockley, Senior Consultant for TQS, returned recently from the ideasUK conference held annually in Chester, England. |
|
 |
| |
Bill presented TQS’s SimNet 8 Idea Management software to the association members. “ideasUK is one of the best-run conferences I have attended,” Bill said, “Chairman Andy Beddows of Boots, and operations manager Anthony Denatale, run a great program. Every UK organisation with a suggestion scheme will find the conference more than worthwhile.”
It is an international event as well, with attendees from the United States, Germany, Cyprus, Holland, Canada, India and the Middle East. Besides presentations on a wide range of topics related to Idea Management and suggestion schemes, there is the annual ideas competition. A panel of judges selects the top ideas from various member organisations with the winners recognized at the annual awards banquet.
Also attending was Graham Holt, a member of the TQS board of advisors, who previously ran the suggestion scheme for the UK's Cooperative Bank. Graham is also an Executive Committee member for ideasUK and past chairman. See www.ideasUK.com for more information on the organisation (they also sponsor International Ideas week in May). |
| |
His subject was the "Umbrella of Innovation", as described in the recent book, "A to Z of Idea Management" by Jim Schwarz, CEO of TQS. |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| 2nd Edition A to Z of Idea Management for Organizational Improvement and Innovation by James A. Schwarz |
|
| 
|
Business survival in this highly competitive world requires a shift to true listening. We must listen to our customers, to our suppliers, and to our employees if we want measurable improvements and successful innovation. Listening requires a new kind of business culture - a culture grounded in coaching, customer focus, and an effective idea system.
The A to Z of Idea Management for Organizational Improvement and Innovation is the one resource you need to set up and manage a high performing Idea and Recognition System. It explains how to avoid problems that can undermine idea systems. (more) |
|
|
| Check out the newest articles written by TQS staff and the TQS Board of Advisors:
- Idea Based Innovation (PDF 76K) - An excerpt from the 2nd edition of The A to Z of Idea Management for Organizational Improvement and Innovation written by James A Schwarz . A reference on innovating and transforming our organizations by creating high performing idea and recognition systems.
- 10 DO's and DON'Ts of Suggestion Schemes (PDF 67K) - Graham Holt successfully ran the suggestion scheme for the Cooperative Bank in Manchester, UK. This idea system captured people's creative inputs from throughout the bank. Here are a few bits of wisdom from his experiences in managing that process.
|
| |
|
New SIM-Integrated Idea Management Software Offerings
|
SimNet 8 Enterprise Software Version 8.2 - SIM
Enterprise is a completely new generation integrated idea management and
award/recognition tracking software. We let you manage innovation and improvement activities the way you want to!
It includes client/server capabilities and
advanced features based on customer research. With one single central database,
you can manage all of your innovation, intellectual property, collaboration, continuous improvement, suggestion, lean
manufacturing kaizen, corrective action and team-based activities.
Plus each local
site can customize entry forms to meet their unique needs. Handles International situations easily - it is multi-lingual and multi-currency. No other software system can handle complex idea workflows like SimNet 8! A new demo is
available, contact Jim Schwarz for details at jims@tqs-sim.com |
| |
|
Total Quality Systems Software Inc.
www.tqs-sim.com
www.tqs-sim.co.uk
Phone: +1 970.252.9115 General Inquiries - Colorado Office
+44 (0) 844.8709115 UK
Fax: +1 970.252.9116
|
| |
|
|
|