Dear Members,
Founded in Indiana in 1963, Cook Medical pioneered many medical devices now commonly used to perform minimally invasive medical procedures. Since its inception, Cook has operated as a family-held private corporation dedicated to a patient-first business philosophy. Today the Cook Group has grown to 60 companies, including Cook Australia.
Cook is one of Australia’s largest medical device manufacturers and exporters. The company exports its locally manufactured products to medical providers in more than 100 countries worldwide with devices across two product families: endovascular grafts for the treatment of vascular disease and in-vitro fertilisation to assist those trying to conceive a child. Both product lines were invented and developed in Australia. Today, the company continues to pursue the next generation of these technologies, resulting in technological advancements and the expansion of product offerings available globally.
Stakeholder engagement and collaboration with team members at other Cook sites globally, is critically important for enabling Cook Australia to deliver on its commitments, develop trust and become a manufacturer of choice within the Cook Group.
Cook Australia has some unique challenges in relation to collaboration with our stakeholders and team members at other Cook sites. The most significant of these challenges is the international time zone and the difficulties which that creates with general communication and participation in global working groups and projects.
In previous years one way of overcoming this challenge was to travel and meet face-to-face at key times during a project. However, it is acknowledged that global travel is unlikely to resume to the level it once was and new ways of overcoming this challenge are required. Joining late night and early morning calls are common for many people in various roles at Cook Australia and the need for this communication is becoming greater for the reasons above. However, these hours (often additional to the normal working day) have the potential to affect employee morale and safety.
Therefore, this project is looking to achieve the following:
- Improving communication and collaboration with internal global stakeholders so that Cook Australia’s commitments can be met,
- Ensuring global projects result in efficient and effective improvements for Cook Australia, and
- Improving employee morale and safety
We would appreciate feedback on:
- Any practical examples of what other organisations have put in place to overcome the challenges raised above
If you can help, please email: [email protected]
Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Phoebe Smith
Process Improvement Specialist
Cook Medical
Eight Mile Plains QLD 4113, Australia
Mob: +61 436 854 133