Nexans Olex employs more than 650 people and is Australia’s largest manufacturer of electrical power cable. It has two Victorian plants in Lilydale and Tottenham, one in New Plymouth, New Zealand. It became part of the French-owned international Nexans group, with more than 100 plants worldwide, in 2008.

1. CASE STUDY
NEXANS OLEX
smarter processes www.promapp.com
Nexans Olex employs more than 650
people and is Australia’s largest
manufacturer of electrical power cable. It
has two Victorian plants in Lilydale and
Tottenham, one in New Plymouth, New
Zealand.
It became part of the French-owned
international Nexans group, with more
than 100 plants worldwide, in 2008.
www.olex.com.au
Simplify multiple systems and add
value company-wide
The key process challenge
Nexans Olex pride themselves on being certified to three international standards for
Quality, Environmental and OHS Management – including ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
However, their related procedure documents were very complex and not well
integrated, with numbering systems established around superseded standards.
Owned by a small number of ‘experts’, the systems were not widely understood,
meaning many processes resided within the minds of individual staff members rather
than being formally documented. This posed risks when key personnel left or moved to
another role.
In essence, the existing systems were not adding much value to the wider business.
Why choose Promapp?
The aim of introducing Promapp was to simplify multiple existing systems in a way that
would add value to all areas of the organisation. The focus was on systems being useful
rather than being designed to pass audits.
“Primarily, we are doing this to be useful to the business, not to pass audits and
certification. It just so happens that it helps with that, as well,” says a Nexans Olex
representative.
Implementing Promapp
The executive team opted for a pilot program in which Promapp would first be
implemented at the Lilydale plant; an option enabling testing prior to any further
decision about an Australasian-wide roll out being made.
It was crucial that the new system did not compromise any of Nexans Olex’s
hard-earned certification, hence their external auditors conducted a day-long review at
the early stage implementation. The auditors then submitted a formal report
indicating their satisfaction that Promapp would support the relevant certifications.
“One of the unexpected benefits we found in the implementation process was people
learning to think in terms of processes. Just by understanding the actual steps, we
expose areas that may be unclear or inefficient. Some of our early attempts at
mapping processes were very confused, but with some diplomatic feedback from the
experts at Promapp, we have improved significantly.”
The success of the pilot trial at Lilydale, saw Promapp later rolled out to the Tottenham
and New Plymouth plants.

2. CASE STUDY
NEXANS OLEX
smarter processes www.promapp.com
“Promapp… gives us the best
opportunity for meaningful
continuous improvement. It’s
what makes it fundamentally
different from traditional
systems and infinitely better.”
NEXANS OLEX
Outcomes and benefits from the Promapp system
Promapp has delivered Nexans Olex a range of benefits, both expected and
unexpected.
• Refinement and simplification of processes:
“Just one big advantage of Promapp over previous systems is that it allows monitoring
to see who is looking at various processes and how often. If there are processes no one
is looking at, we can question whether we need to keep them or, alternatively, we can
encourage people who should be using them to do so.”
• Reduced administration time:
“Because the Promapp software does such a good job of tracking the version control
and changes, the time we spend developing the systems is not taken up by the
detailed administration that our old systems demanded.”
• Seamless personnel transition and handover:
“Recently, a HR Administration Officer gave four weeks’ notice because she was
moving interstate. She used this time to create process maps for most of her
responsibilities. This meant that when a replacement was recruited, the transition into
the new role was much easier. Many of the processes were very specific, practical
tasks such as: How to order new clock cards; How to induct a contactor; How to
manage keys on site and so on. Promapp made is easy to capture even those small
processes which can cause real disruption if they’re not followed.”
• Efficient and effective audits:
“We have just had a round of external audits and as expected, the auditors loved
Promapp and were very complimentary in their report. All seven Non-Conformances
that had been raised previously were closed and no new ones were issued. The
auditing process was much faster than normal. In future we will probably give them a
log in and ask that they do a desktop audit before they arrive on site to check
compliance – saving money and time.
• Engaging people and building continuous improvement:
“With Promapp, process owners have the autonomy to make changes without getting
a second level of approval. That is the best opportunity for meaningful continuous
improvement. It’s what makes it fundamentally different from traditional systems and
infinitely better.”
Tips for new players
• Don’t worry too much about getting maps perfect on first attempt. Just get it down,
be thick-skinned and accept suggestions for improvement. Encouraging people to
review, suggest and change works better than agonising to get it perfect first time.
• Build buy–in at all levels of the organisation through regular presentations and
practical demonstrations, because there can be resistance to change. With Promapp
we have found that the more people who see it the more support it gets.