Case Study /
WSP New Zealand

Accelerate & Simplify: WSP NZ’s Delegation Level Authority (DLA) Transformation.

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SECTOR / INDUSTRY

Engineering

CAPABILITIES FEATURED

Lean Business Analysis

CASE STUDY PDF

OVERVIEW

WSP New Zealand faced complex project delegations after its acquisition. Assurity Consulting’s process optimisation and intuitive Decision Tree model streamlined DLA navigation, de-risking operations and accelerating onboarding for new projects.

KEY OUTCOMES

Automated Decision Tree reduced DLA queries to four or five simple questions, significantly speeding up the approval process.
Clear, codified delegation guidelines have improved risk management, ensuring consultants know exactly whom to approach from the start.
Enhanced efficiency and productivity have boosted client relationships and placed WSP NZ in the top quarter of consulting firms.

ABOUT THE CLIENT

WSP New Zealand is a premier engineering consultancy and a part of the global WSP Group. With 40 offices nationwide, they deliver multidisciplinary professional services spanning transport, sustainability, buildings, and more, constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation and excellence.

THE CHALLENGE

Following the acquisition of Opus International Consultants Ltd, WSP New Zealand struggled with integrating and automating complex DLA documentation. Inconsistent processes risked delaying projects and mismanaging risk, underscoring the need for a streamlined, automated solution to support effective decision-making from the outset..

 

WSP New Zealand engaged Assurity Consulting for the delivery of Process Optimisation Training. As a result of the initial engagement, Project Management delegations, known as DLAs (Delegation Level Authority) were identified as key processes to simplify and accelerate.

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OUR SOLUTION

Assurity utilised Lean and Agile methods when performing the analysis of WSPs current DLA policy documentation. Due to the complexity of the DLA policies it was key that the WSP stakeholders were able view the work being done at an early stage, collaborating and guiding the Assurity team in an iterative manner. The great collaboration with key stakeholders at WSP enabled Assurity Business Analysts to deliver the work in a lean and iterative way, ensuring a high-quality end results, within the desired timeframes. Assurity created a decision tree model to better enable WSP staff to understand and apply the correct Project Management DLAs to their contracts and projects.

“As part of this ‘transformation’ agenda, Assurity Consulting came in and trained a cohort of our people on change management as part of a Process Optimisation Training exercise. As a result of this initial engagement, and as one of the initiatives where we appreciated that change was necessary, was in delegations.”
John Leatherbarrow, Manager – Commercial, WSP Global 

RESULTS

WSP New Zealand today enjoys an accelerated and de-risked method which directly affects its ability to bring new clients and projects on board the right way.

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“…the initial Process Optimisation training engagement proved an ideal introduction to Assurity’s methods and approach. This brought a lot of thinking processes to light and established the right mindset for looking at our delegations. After all, the delegations are about logic; Assurity hasn’t changed the delegations, which stay as they are, but has rather guided the thinking around them to get our organisation away from waste.”
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