WA Manufacturing & Operational Excellence Forum

Boost your bottom line at the WA Operational Excellence Forum 2025, presented by TXM Lean Solutions and is set to empower local business leaders with actionable insights for achieving operational excellence through Lean methodologies. Drawing from the successes of prominent WA businesses and insights from International Experts, this half-day event boasts a lineup of key-note speakers from Austal, CORIoT, CCIWA and more

Explore tangible, real-world examples shared by industry leaders. The session promises to deliver practical strategies that can significantly enhance your manufacturing operations.
Join us for a dynamic half-day conference that not only offers valuable insights but also provides networking opportunities with businesses in the local community. Morning tea and lunch are included, ensuring a productive and engaging experience for all attendees. Don't miss the chance to optimise your operational processes and connect with industry experts and peers.

Speakers:

JONATHAN PRINCE

Director, Interest Rate Specialist WA, Financial Markets, Westpac Institutional Bank

Jon is a global treasury and risk management expert with over 30 years of experience working in global financial markets.
In his current role he provides interest rate risk management advice to Westpac’s business, commercial and private clients. 
He has been with the Westpac group since 2018, having previously served as Treasurer for Westpac Papua New Guinea. 
Jon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours from the University of Leeds. He is AFMA accredited and has completed a diploma in Treasury Management.

Ryan Martin

Associate Dierctor, HR and Workplace Relations, CCIWA

Ryan has 15 years of management and industrial relations experience, providing quality legal advice to businesses in 
a wide range of industries. 
Ryan’s expertise includes providing employment solutions that contribute to the strategic thinking and direction of businesses. This allows businesses to meet their core objectives and values by effectively drafting and negotiating contractual agreements.  
He can provide advice and assistance across a range of areas including employment law, discrimination/equal opportunity and strategic negotiations. 
Ryan has also assisted clients in defending various claims in the Fair Work Commission and Federal Court.

BEN WARDLE

Head of Operations Strategy and Digital Readiness, Austal

Joining Austal in 1996 as Engineering Design Coordinator, Mr Wardle achieved success as lead designer across a broad range of commercial and defence vessel projects and programs, over ten years.
In 2006, Mr Wardle was instrumental in the development and technology transfer of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program to Austal’s new shipbuilding facility in Mobile, Alabama in the United States of America. While based in the US Mr Wardle was a significant stakeholder in the development of the Austal USA Modular Manufacturing Facility.

During the start-up of the LCS Program, Mr Wardle helped introduce world-class shipbuilding methodologies, establish local (US) defence industry contracting and a proven project management structure. 
Over the past decade, Mr Wardle has held a number of senior management positions at Austal, including General Manager of Shipbuilding, Head of Programs, Head of Supply Chain, and International Service Manager – playing an integral role in the development of the company’s product portfolio and delivery of major defence shipbuilding programs.

Mr Wardle has held senior roles developing shipyard operating models for Austal’s US, Philippines and Australian Operations. Mr Wardle has been intimately involved in developing the build strategy for over 150 vessel builds.

Mr Wardle has extensive training and experience in mechanical engineering, lean manufacturing, continuous improvement and general management. 
Currently Ben heads Austal’s Operations Strategy ensuring all activity is aligned with driving the strategy forward, including required infrastructure. Recently Mr Wardle has added Digital Readiness to his portfolio, leveraging hir experience to continue to develop digital processes to support Austal’s shipbuilding activity.

Tim Mclean

Managing Director,TXM Lean Solutions

Tim Mclean has had a 35+ year manufacturing career. Tim was Operations Manager and General Manager of manufacturing businesses in the plastics, chemicals, packaging and coatings industries, holding senior roles with Hoechst AG, International Paper, Amcor and PPG. In 2004 Tim founded TXM, now a leading global Manufacturing and Supply Chain Consulting company. TXM has offices in Australia, New Zealand, China, Canada, USA, France and the UK and projects in over 30 countries. Over the past 18 years Tim and his team have worked with almost 1000 companies across the region helping them to achieve operational excellence. Tim is the author of two books and isa sought after speaker, blogger and advisor on manufacturing and supply chain. 

JERRY WYLIE 

TXM SENIOR CONSULTANT

A business process improvement practitioner implementing Lean Thinking for some 15 years. A passion that enveloped him during 17 years in the brewing industry, leading transformation programs across multiple sites; prior to starting his first consultancy in 2016.  

Based in Perth, WA, Jerry enjoyed a long Naval career in electro/mechanical engineering.  Since entering the private sector, he has worked for over 20 years’ experience in manufacturing, mining, and the food & beverage industry.

Jerry has worked with some of Australia’s largest brewers including Swan Brewery, Lion and James Boag & Son Brewery. At his time in these businesses, he has excelled at roles in Production & Project Management, Supply Chain Leadership, and is an accomplished consultant, coach, and mentor.

Jerry’s passion for continuous improvement has led to proven success in large and small supply chain optimisation projects and manufacturing improvement projects, delivering significant OEE uplift, set up time reduction (SMED) and deployment of lean operating system methodologies, visual management, teamwork, leader standard work, practical problem solving and 5S.

Jerry obtained his MBA in 2017 and holds a Cert IV in Competitive Systems and Practices, a Green Belt Lean six sigma and became a master trainer for CCI TRACC lean methodology in 2016.  Jerry loves coaching but equally enjoys the hands-on approach to leading, demonstrating and helping people develop the ideal behaviours to deliver and sustain amazing results.

Nisarg Shah

Managing Director COREIoT

Nisarg Shah is the founder of COREIoT (est. 2013) and creator of Smart Shop Floor. Drawing from his background in communications engineering, he pioneered an innovative sensor solution powered by algorithms to help track movement patterns, utilisation and detect anomalies across inventory and equipment. The sensing technology was first proven in healthcare and later underground mining, where he successfully unified data from diverse equipment fleets into a single analytics platform.

Smart Shop Floor emerged from intensive collaboration with Australian job shops and fabricators, tackling complex challenges in real-time production scheduling and supply chain visibility. By 2022, after refining the platform through key manufacturing scenarios, it evolved to include sophisticated scheduling capabilities that manage thousands of workflow variables while responding to real-time shop floor conditions. Today, Nisarg is helping SME lean practitioners bridge the gap between traditional continuous improvement methods and Industry 4.0 technologies, making fundamental digital lean tools accessible and affordable through his software.

Event Details: 

Date: Wednesday 19th March 2025

Start Time: 9:00 am - 1:45 pm

Venue: Bishop See Conference Room  235 St Georges Tce Perth  

Our Event Partner

“We thank you for ensuring that this is a safe, respectful and inclusive event.”

Stay Connected