Case studies
Rawlinson Kelly Whittlestone Ltd (now part of EC Harris)
In 2004 RKW was a small consultancy well known for providing a wide range of healthcare planning advice for the NHS and the private sector. But we realised that in order to get ahead of the competition we needed further skills in both data analysis and simulation modelling.
Our plan was to develop tools for a variety of healthcare processes so that we could advise our clients, both public and private sector, on the best mix of space, staff and resources to be both efficient and effective.
Westminster's School of Computer Science came to our aid with a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) to produce a flexible model that covered all aspects of planning, be it single departments or whole hospitals.
For example, planning an effective A&E department requires statistics on the health of the surrounding population to establish the nature of demand. For the best practical layout we can model variations in opening hours, staffing levels, types of equipment used, the most convenient location for that equipment.... and more.
The project has been a roaring success. It has given us technological skills that match our understanding of healthcare. We can accurately gauge the size of the hospital for the catchment area, produce an efficient layout for the building, and our graphical reporting techniques will illustrate our designs in action.
The software is invaluable for our clients, private sector bidders who want to present their proposals, health care providers who want to improve their operational efficiency and it is a great marketing tool for us.
Our business plan had always been to look for a strategic alliance with another company. When we started discussions with EC Harris towards the end of the KTP, our simulation modelling techniques were undoubtedly a jewel in our crown!
Contact us
Denis Carroll
KTP Unit Manager
101 New Cavendish Street
London
W1W 6XH
T: +44 (0)20 7911 5865
E: d.c.carroll@
westminster.ac.uk
Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP
RPC is a large firm of City lawyers, with special expertise in the areas of insurance, reinsurance, commercial and corporate legal services. The advice we give our clients, here and abroad, involves understanding the specific context of the individual client.
It is a truism that developing a brand means establishing a reputation that's consistent for all our people. To do this we know that the more we can share any rare insights with our colleagues, the more collectively expert we will be.
That is why we have welcomed a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the University of Westminster to develop our own use of social media tools and techniques. At far less than the normal cost of such a project, the Westminster Business School is designing with RPC a social-based intranet that, like a twitter stream, will show people what is going on within the firm, without deluging everyone with emails. Most importantly it will enable partners to take insights gained individually and make use of them collectively for the benefit of our clients.
Neal's Yard Remedies
In small companies ideas are often restricted by resources, but NYR's partnerships with the University of Westminster have extended our horizons at a price we could afford.
The first Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) was with the School of Biosciences in 1996. We needed a good Quality Assurance system to make it possible both to manufacture in house and to launch new ranges more easily.
The project was a great success: our QA system seriously reduced the costs both of manufacturing and of developing new products, and it significantly speeded up their journey to market. Moreover it meant that in-house knowledge sky rocketed, which does wonders for growth.
Our second KTP two years later was also with Westminster's School of Biosciences. The challenge this time was to explore natural materials with inherent microbial properties so that we could replace all our synthetic preservatives with natural ones – a change that was fundamental to our image.
It involved extensive research and screening of materials, which hugely increased our expertise in formulation. Much of the knowledge we depend on today in developing new products was gained during that KTP. It has added value to our range and it has secured NYR's position at the cutting edge of natural formulations.
Addison Lee
In 1998 we were a medium size car service with 800 vehicles within the M25. Our operations were manual, we used radio systems to speak to our drivers, but we were growing so fast that we knew we needed a total makeover.
Help and inspiration came from the University of Westminster's Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Unit and their School of Computer Science. Without enormous financial risk to Addison Lee, they proposed a complete IT infrastructure, rebuilt from scratch. It was to be an enabler, providing the building blocks to take us forward in quantum leaps, as and when we were ready for them.
With their superior expertise in data storage and complex engineering techniques, we now have a system where our telephonists communicate easily and accurately with our expanding fleet. We've left our competitors far behind and the system is keeping pace with our growth.
The change has been fantastic. We have 3,000 cars and we can track them all. That means we can reach the driver most suitable to collect each and every passenger, and we can let the passenger know exactly how long that car will be – even accounting for weather and traffic conditions.
Our sophisticated system makes it possible to take humans out of the loop. The different generations can order a car in whatever way suits them best. The friendly voice is there for those who prefer personal contact, but 40per cent of our bookings are made through Facebook, iPhone and other apps – without needing to speak to our call centre.
The result? Our average pickup times have halved from 20 minutes to ten minutes, and we are ten times more profitable than we were then.
Dendrite Clinical Systems Limited
For nearly 20 years Dendrite Clinical Systems has supplied the international healthcare sector with specialist clinical databases that make it possible to analyse and report the results of patient care.
After the Bristol Royal Infirmary scandal in the early '90s, the Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons created a Cardiac Surgical Database, which published patient outcomes (including mortality data). However, some surgeons feared that their mortality rate would seem higher than their colleagues, as they were operating on high-risk patients.
So in 2002, Dendrite engaged the University of Westminster's School of Computer Science, via their Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Unit, to design ground-breaking software that would show whether a surgeon was operating within the national standards, at the same time as taking account of the severity of the patient’s illness.
The result has been a triumph: a transparent system of data collection, providing a huge range of clinical data that has cast light on the factors that influence results. The new software has helped boost sales in the UK and Europe by 25 per cent, as well as capturing new markets such as Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong. Moreover, as with all R&D, the Inland Revenue gave Dendrite a tax credit.
Dendrite is now starting a second KTP with University of Westminster to provide an online presence for its medical newspaper business. It is hoped that by transferring Dendrite from a print to web-based publisher, the project will establish them as a ’niche’ web-based, specialist healthcare publisher.
Concentra Consulting Limited
In 2008, Concentra was the marriage of two companies: a firm of management consultants, and a technology house, expert in web design. We could analyse our client's companies, and present stunning graphics, but, frustratingly, we lacked the tools to make our recommendations stick because we had no dynamic model to show clients how our suggestions would improve their operation.
Managing Directors often say that people are their most important asset, but they cannot gauge how changing the company will affect those people, nor can they assess how redistributing people could increase efficiency. Our vision was to provide a software programme that would model all that.
With the help of the University of Westminster's Department of Human Resource Management via the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Unit, we designed OrgVue to model the People, the Processes, and the Performance: What is the gender balance in the workforce? How many levels of staff are there and how many people at each level? What are the salary structures? What is the ratio of fee earners to non-fee earners? Of client-facing employees to support staff?
With OrgVue, we can show any company the impact of altering their key variables. Our resulting analysis is a picture that shifts as the numbers change. The client can see the effect of our suggestions over time, and they can link people with profits.
The KTP gave us an expertise in HR that delivered a slicker OrgVue faster and cheaper than we could have done on our own. Most importantly we gained a state of the art programme that has helped attract venture capital to Concentra.
