The Company

Like the dictionary definition, Whetstone is so named for the way we provide services to organisations; that is, using our knowledge and experience to help you hone the edge of your organisations's performance.

We support processes that assist you to make good management decisions and implement them. We help you plan where you want your organisation to be in relation to your markets and customers.

Whetstone assists you to refine the management skills, knowledge and processes you already have. Whetstone's focus is on achieving the effective bottom-line results. The heart of Whetstone is qualified people with proven success in many fields. Our experience spans corporate, government and community sectors.

Whetstone is networked locally, nationally and internationally with associates whom we can draw on to extend our capabilities and deliver the best results.

Our Philosophy

Our service approach reaches beyond basic analysis and planning to facilitate the actual undertaking of planned actions through directly engaging members of your organisation in the process. We work with you to achieve outcomes you want, bringing fresh perspectives, improved communications and greater commitment to your decision-making by unlocking existing in-house wisdom and skills.

Whetstone stands on the ideals of serving you through: maintaining an effective, professional relationship; identifying innovative approaches to change that directly affect business performance; building on a record of mutual trust delivering on our promises of timeliness and quality; and following-up to ensure results meet your needs.

In a changing environment, we recognise your need to remain focussed on core activities while dealing with challanges that often arise because of change. We can offer you the benefit of Whetstone's expertise on short-term, intensive placement within your organisation to help you through that time.

Fundamental to our service is focussing on improvement that yields measurable, net benefit to your organisation. These improvements should be sustainable as well as performance enhancing.

We understand that change will affect every part of your organisation and its people. Our approach examines all potential impacts and ensures they are taken into account during the change process. The effects of any implemented change are measured and reviewed over time, supported by Whetstone's evaluation services.

Market Linked Planning and Strategic Development

Effective business planning is based on knowing your customers needs and then working out how best to meet those needs.

This applies equally to planning internal activity as it does to those aspects of your organisation more transparent to customers.

Good planning is important because it provides:

• A framework within which consistent decisions about the future can be made and evaluated;
• the basis for a sound strategy to communicate the organisation's intentions to all stakeholders.

We offer extra benefits from a planning approach that:

• Is focussed on the areas of the organisation where important decisions need to be made;
• Ensures achievable actions are scheduled to give effect to the decisions made; and
• Provides support for implementation, follow-up and evaluation.

Organisational Performance Improvement

Performance is about getting the most out every dollar spent, even for an organisation that is not compelled to return a profit.

Monitoring performance is important because it helps to:

• track progress towards chosen goals;
• provide early warning of emerging problems;
• evaluate the impact of actions taken.

Whetstone places emphasis on a simple, clear approach to managing performance improvement. We provide customised support to identify and implement the most appropriate measures.

The results from Whetstone's Organisational Performance programs stand out because:

• our measurement systems involve staff;
• we have experience in broad range of organisation types and sizes; and
• we focus on a manageable set of appropriate, key performance factors.

Design & Implementation of Organisational Systems

Every organisation, large or small has systems; even the informal, unwritten habitual practices are a kind of system.

Systems either evolve or are deliberately set up for a purpose and are important in organisations because:

• they help to produce consistent outcomes;
• they are usually more time and cost-effective than having no system

Whetstone support services for the development and implementation of systems provide superior benefits because:

• we have an extensive track-record in organisational systems management;
• the relevant analytical skills of team members is this area is well-proven;
• our approach to solving the system challenges in organisations is collaborative and recognises all relevant views.

Training Development and Program Delivery

Training ensures that appropriate skills are available to meet and organisation's operational and management needs.

On-going training and development of individuals is important for all organisations because:

• the skills needs of every organisation are constantly changing;
• it helps to maximise organisational performance.

Whetstone delives better value-for-money training support services through:

• our programs being linked to the work of the organisation while recognising individual needs;
• our commitment to maintain contemporary knowledge through research and more importantly, on-going industry involvement;
• our presenters all being skilled trainers as well as having directly relevant industry experience upon which to draw in the training context.

Whetstone is a Registered Training Organisation

Some of Whetstone's Structured Training Courses include:

Organisational Support Services

• Project management
• Product specification & design
• Production facilitation & control
• Product development

• Engineering system design
• Technical specification
• Manufacturing design
• Prototype management

People Placement

Through our national affliates, Whetstone provides advertising, applicant search, reference checking and interview services to meet your organisation's operational and management recruitment needs.

An arm of the Whetstone group operates the franchise for ETM Placements Pty Ltd in Tasmania. With a database of 25,000 professional, including engineers, scientists, architects and managers, this service is unique in providing an extensive search capability among working professionals, not just who are looking for alternative employment.

To provide the most effective service for our clients we focus only on:

• management; and
• engineering specialists.

Program and Project Evaluation

Whetstone Pty Ltd provides evaluation study services to industry, government and non-government enterprises.

A typical evaluation consultancy based on the logic model will assist clients to:

• Summarise the key elements of the program
• Explain the rationale behind program activities
• Show the cause and effect relationships between activities and the outcomes by relating particular activities to particular outcomes
• Help identify the critical questions for the evaluation
• Provide opportunities for evaluation stakeholders to discuss the program and agree upon its description
• Help in communicating the elements of the program to policy makers, departments and their staff.

Essentially, evaluation studies use the three standard question formats What? Who? and Why? to determine the reporting outcomes.

Typically, using a comprehensive five-step process, the evaluation study can determine why the program or project is being evaluated all the way through to the effective distribution of the evaluation report.

Partners

Associates

Rob Allen

Rob Allen holds a Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tasmania. He is a qualified Lead Auditor for Quality Assurance Systems and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Australia. Rob is a Corporate Member Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Past National General President Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers of Australia, Board Member Education and Training for Professionals Inc. Rob is a foundation director of the Whetstone consulting group.

Rob has worked in private consultancy, University, TAFE and government organisations. He has both senior and general management experience and has worked in the manufacturing and building industries as a design engineer, project manager and senior manager. During an extensive career in various roles, Rob has been involved in state and national policy development at high level in industry, higher education and government.

Rob has been active in professional development issues. He was a member of the Institution of Engineers’ Steering Committee reviewing engineering education and has represented Australia at overseas conferences on engineering education and training.

Within Whetstone, Rob has particular responsibility for quality assurance, client liaison and administration. His professional work focuses on project management, training development, product development and management extension services. He believes that success in building, implementing and maintaining business and operational systems comes from commitment, broad knowledge and practical experience in similar organisations. To assist in maintaining currency with industry, he continues to undertake project management at the same time as his work in systems.

Currently, Rob is chairman of Oakdale Services Tasmania, a Tasmanian service provider in the disabilities area. He is a past National President of the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers of Australia, as well as holding a national executive position with the National Council on Intellectual Disability. As a result of his considerable involvement with community-based service organisations, he also has an interest in developing the concepts of Quality Assurance in the area of Human Services.

Darrell Johnson

Darrell has degree and post-graduate qualifications in education and is registered as a Technician Engineer with the Central Engineering Institute, London. He holds membership of the Institution of Incorporated Engineers and the Australasian Evaluation Society. Darrell is a foundation director of the Whetstone consulting group.

He has been actively involved in the training & development industry for over 30 years, bringing a wealth of practical knowledge to Whetstone. This includes his work as a Technical Author, managing major publication projects and as a training and development adviser to the manufacturing, mining, educational, and forestry sectors.

Darrell is a Registered Defence Department Training Assessor, Personal Strengths Publishing Certified Trainer, MBTI Certified Facilitator, MicroskillsTM Accredited Trainer, accredited IAMA Mediator and a Defence Force Mediator and Equity Advisor.

From an active military career in the RN, RNZAF, RNZN and RAAF, Darrell's experience includes management responsibility for technical projects and the deployment of project personnel. He retired from full-time naval service as a Lieutenant Commander in 1988 but continues the connection as a Royal Australian Navy Reserve member in his capacity as an Education Specialist Officer responsible for national training and learning projects.

Within Whetstone Darrell leads and manages the management recruitment and training services, project and program evaluation activities.

Jim McCormack

Jim holds a science degree and graduate qualifications in business, company directorship and change management. A fellow of both the Australian Institute of Export and Institute of Company Directors, Jim has been directly involved in exporter representation and training in Tasmania over many years.

His 19 years in public sector management (Commonwealth and State) spanned taxation, export trade and industry development portfolios, providing an extensive knowledge of how businesses function in Australia and a high level of understanding about effective government support mechanisms for industry.

He has also worked on development of management tools for planning, design and continuous improvement, departmental training curricula for middle management and educational materials for secondary schools about entrepreneurship in manufacturing. He has served on numerous public and semi-government committees in recent years, including the Forest and Forest Industries Council’s original Market Prospects Working Group, the AusIndustry National Training Strategy Reference Panel and the Arts Advisory Board’s Arts-based Industries Panel.

Jim provides consulting and contract services through Whetstone to companies in sectors as diverse as manufacturing, film & television, mining and health services as well as government agencies and departments.

Jim is currently the CEO of the Tasmanian Freight Logistics Council, a public company incorporated in 1999 with seed funding from industry and the Federal and State governments-its purpose to encourage exporters and service providers in jointly addressing the logistical issues and challenges of getting Tasmanian product to market competitively. Jim’s focus is on raising awareness about the significance of freight logistics, promoting efficient use of freight infrastructure and improving the quality of logistics management for our valuable export-grade products.

Jim is a member of the National Enterprise Workshop Alumni and a Fellow of both the Australian Institute of Export and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is an active member of Rostrum and also serves on the Food Research & Advisory Committee of the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research (TIAR) and the Strategic Alliances sub-Committee of the Tasmanian Food Industry Council.

Dario Tomat

Dario Tomat holds a Bachelor of Engineering, University of Tasmania, a Bachelor of Business from the Tasmanian State Institute of Technology, a Company Director's Diploma from the University of New England, a Graduate Diploma and Master of Business Administration through APESMA / Deakin University. He is a qualified Lead Auditor for Quality Assurance Systems and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Australia. Senior Vice President, Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers of Australia.

Dario's primary consulting focuses are in strategic and business planning, the development and implementation of management systems, project management and workshop facilitation.

Within Whetstone, Dario has particular responsibility for direction setting and project delivery in the areas of business planning, project management, management process analysis, quality assurance programs and OH&S programs. On the training side, Dario has been actively involved in the provision of management training to a wide cross-section of people in public and private sectors.

He is currently working with Forestry Tasmania on development of integrated timber processing facilities for hardwood, a national first.

Dario is a foundation director of the Whetstone consulting group and holds the rank of Commander in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve in which capacity he has served on various national working parties for reserve policy, strategic planning and technology-based-training.