Chairperson's Report - Future State Outlook
Our Mission, Our Commitment
Since 1999 when Jim Watkins inspired a very passionate, inquisitive and committed team to seek out “Manufacturing Best Practices” and bring the experience to Victorian leaders, the Association for Manufacturing Excellence has had a place in the Australian (& New Zealand) landscape as a Volunteer-led Practitioner-toPractitioner organisation inspiring each other to share, learn and grow. 21 years on and representing 18 sectors with Members in each state & territory, we’ve heard their challenges and aspirations to improve the way they engage, retain & develop their people while working with all stakeholders in their extended value chain to create a stable operating environment. It's relatively safe to say that there’s been no greater need to have a place where Leaders can safely learn and support each other to become more effective at steering their teams to do through the unknown while keeping a constancy of purpose to thrive (not just survive).
In a hybrid world, we’ve taken a deliberate and proactive approach to engage our Members with quarterly program calls, Executive Roundtable sessions and on-demand support to connect them with opportunities to learn, including the application of Continual Improvement methods to how to perform AME Lean Sensei™ Self-Assessments. We are beginning to see the most engaged Members gain significant traction through targeted development of their people, reaching out directly to other Members and opening their doors to allow AME & its Members best support them on their pathway to excellence.
Suppose this was what Jim and our Founding Members intended to create here in our region. In that case, I’m proud to say that our mission to inspire a commitment to operational excellence through experiential learning by bringing people together to share, learn and grow is alive and well.
What's Ahead? Supporting Your Pathway to Excellence.
Member Challenges and Needs
In late 2021, the AME Membership Committee and Board laid the foundation with a detailed Member needs review to create an improved experience. This was then augmented to a prioritised activity plan for 2022-23. National Manager Laura Robertson is working extremely hard with our team, partners, and broader AME thought leaders to deliver the best possible program for you and your team in 2023.
Keep an eye on your Inbox for the latest but if you want a sneak peek at what the beginning of 2023 holds, you can visit our program calendar for the latest.
More workshops, more site tours, more networking, more tailored support aligned to the AME Lean Sensei™ to help you along a structured pathway to excellence.
If you’re looking for a specific topic or event to help you address barriers to your next level of excellence (like some of our Members have told us below), we encourage you to reach out directly to us at ame@ame.org.au or LinkedIn. Alternatively, please provide us feedback on what help you need here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8Y2Y855.
AME Global
Earlier in 2022, AME Australia supported the Future of Work and Back2Basics Summits held in partnership with AME International, which was well-received and is currently planning to return for 2023. Thank you to Barry McCarthy and the Hanes Group for the fantastic work.
In October 2022, AME Dallas - Embrace Disruption paved the way for a return to face-to-face international conferences filled with keynotes, site tours, networking and practitioner learning sessions. Will you join AME Australia in Cleveland in 2023 at Reimagining Excellence as part of our exclusive MembersOnly Study Tour Group? We’re taking expressions of interest right now with limited spots available for Owners & Executives and their Teams. Contact us at ame@ame.org.au if you want more information. The AME Australia Board looks forward to working closely with Kimberlee Humphrey, AME CEO, and the incoming AME North America Board Members (https://www.ame.org/ame-article/11/18/2022/ceo-welcoming-newboard-directors) through 2023 to have a transformative year building on the strength of our collaboration over recent years.
Get Involved
My personal thanks are extended to Peter Ballas, Mitra Burns, Rebecca Michalik, Andrew Brown, Ross Kennedy, Chris Dawson, Simon Flack, Ishan Galapathy and Barry McCarthy for their time, expertise and commitment to their roles at AME Australia. AME is built on the strength of its volunteerism principles and its members' professionalism. Their commitment and passion to translating the needs of our Members into meaningful experiences, and without their efforts, we would not have attracted the number of new Members that we have in the last 12 months. If you want to go far, you must go together. AME is proud to be attracting new regional Committee Members such as Nathaniel Sopelario and Troy Taylor while at the same time having the privilege to thank Simon Flack and Mitra Burns for their incredible efforts over their tenures at AME as they focus on their new ventures, allowing the next generation of Volunteers to build on their contributions. Get in touch directly or visit our website to see the available roles and what giving back can give you in return: https://www.ame.org.au/about-us/volunteer-with-ame.
Thank You
On behalf of our volunteer Board and the entire AME Community, thank you for being a part of our leading not-for-profit association. As a Member myself, I encourage you to make the most of all the resources and connections at your fingertips from the AME. Reach out to fellow Members, connect with the AME Board and Committees to discuss your excellence journey and don’t forget to visit your Member’s Portal to continue learning on-demand and take the opportunity to share new knowledge with your Teams, Customers and Suppliers as you work together to improve and build more a resilient organisation.
I look forward to seeing you all in person or virtually over the coming months as we share, learn and grow together. Finally, but by no means least, we are extremely privileged to have Laura Robertson leading our National Office with her tireless efforts to make the most for our Members, large and small. Laura goes above and beyond, and on behalf of our entire community, we thank you for your incredible and ongoing support. Please extend your thanks to Laura when you next speak with her as her contributions cannot be understated to us all. Here’s to an incredible year ahead for all of us together.
Respectfully yours,
Tim Odokeychuk
National President, AME Australia
timo@ame.org.au