What is STEXCON?
STEXCON is a management consulting office specializing in quality, safety, and engineering. It offers strategic studies, analyses, and advice, guiding organizations through improvement projects with hands-on operational support. The core focus? Enhancing the customer’s value stream. STEXCON helps businesses become compliant and high-performing by establishing robust processes and effective quality management systems. The approach is like a ‘strategic exploration journey’—looking at improvement projects through a broad, conceptual lens to uncover hidden opportunities.
Main Benefits of STEXCON’s Approach
Here’s what sets STEXCON apart:
- Mapping the current state of processes to reveal what’s invisible and can’t be improved otherwise.
- Using multiple process maps to visualize steps, material and information flows, including cycle and lead times.
- Collaborative reviews with staff and supervisors to identify gaps and improvement opportunities across primary, secondary, and management processes.
- Applying value stream thinking principles to evaluate process complexity, information transfer, wait times, bottlenecks, and skill requirements.
- Developing a vision for the future state and a clear implementation plan.
- Expertise in techniques like 5S, activity balancing, SMED analysis, kanban systems, and MES system (OEE) implementation.
- Offering objective risk analysis through (H)FMEA, HAZOP, Swift, and more.
- Supporting risk management with safety walkrounds and internal audits, enhanced by the CheckGemba iOS App.
- Providing feasibility studies and technical translations when process studies call for technical adaptations.
- Ensuring compliance with cGMPs, software validation (GAMP5), equipment validation, and Validation Master Plans.
- Experience with internal and external audits, including FDA and FAGG inspections.
- Developing handy apps that help eliminate waste and promote sustainability in daily operations.
Visualizing and Improving Processes
Mapping the current state of a process is the very first step in any improvement project—because, honestly, what remains invisible just can’t be improved. STEXCON uses several process maps to lay out the different steps, material and information flows, and key parameters like cycle and lead times. This visual approach helps everyone involved—staff, supervisors, and consultants alike—spot gaps and opportunities that might otherwise go unnoticed. The process flow isn’t just drawn once and forgotten; it’s reviewed thoroughly to ensure no stone is left unturned.
Strategic Risk Management
Looking at risks from an outside perspective can be a game-changer. STEXCON offers expert opinions that cut through internal biases, using prospective risk analysis methods such as (H)FMEA, HAZOP, and Swift to identify and assess risks tied to business processes. Safety walkrounds and internal audits feed into a comprehensive risk management system. Plus, with the CheckGemba iOS App, conducting these walkrounds becomes a breeze—efficient, paperless, and user-friendly. Short training sessions help teams get started quickly and confidently.
Technical Adaptations and Compliance
Sometimes, process improvements call for technical tweaks. When that happens, STEXCON steps in with feasibility studies or technical translations that bridge the gap between design and realization. Compliance is never an afterthought—it’s front and center. This means avoiding gaps in cGMPs, ensuring software validation (GAMP5), validating equipment, and crafting thorough Validation Master Plans. The company’s track record includes successful internal audits, supplier audits, and navigating FDA and FAGG inspections with flying colors.
Project Impact on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – by improving operational efficiency and workplace safety.
- SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure – through the implementation of advanced quality and engineering systems.
- SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – by promoting waste reduction and sustainability in daily operations.
- SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – via enhanced safety management and risk reduction.
Innovative Apps Supporting Continuous Improvement
STEXCON doesn’t just consult—it also develops practical tools to support continuous improvement. Their suite of iOS apps includes:
- CheckGemba: A checklist app designed for gemba walkers, auditors, and inspectors who want to go see shopfloors and facilities without the hassle of paperwork.
- BlitzGemba: A notebook app perfect for gemba walk reporting, whether it’s a routine tour or a visit with a specific observation goal.
- TimeSteward: A visual timekeeping app that monitors events like meetings, presentations, trainings, and interviews.
- TR App: A quick safety audit reporting tool based on the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health’s safety observation method, ideal for construction site safety assessments.
These apps help organizations get more out of their gemba walks, streamline reporting, and keep safety top of mind—all while saving resources and boosting sustainability.
