DuPont: Transforming the Way Organizations View and Approach Risks

The founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg once said, “The biggest risk is not taking any risk.” But too often the lack of planning for the unforeseen risks can all-too-easily sideline business, or even force it to shutter.

In today’s fast-paced business landscape, organizations face new and more complex risks. Challenges such as digital disruption, economic instability, and increasing complexities demand new ways to measure, manage and respond to risk in an enterprise.

Specializing in mitigating such challenges, DuPont Sustainable Solutions (DSS), a prominent operations risk management company enables organizations in managing all facets of risks effectively.

Through a wide range of operation management consulting services, it helps businesses to protect, empower and engage their employees who lead to improving the productivity of their operations while reducing their impact on the environment, managing risk, innovating more rapidly, and building the capabilities within their workforce.

Engaged In the Tenacious Pursuit of Risk Management

Initially, the primary objective of DSS was to offer safety training observation programs /STOPTM to customers in North America. Gradually, it diversified its services and grew in three dimensions – service offerings, industries it serves, and its geographical presence.

Today, DSS stands out as a world leader in operations risk management and operations excellence with offices in 30+ countries. The leading company has provided services to 1,700 clients in 100 countries and workplace safety training to 3 million people worldwide.

When asked about their success strategy, Srinivasan Ramabhadraan, the APAC Managing Director of DuPont Sustainable Solutions says, “The leading edge is maintained by continuously upgrading our intellectual property and capability of our own team by the application of new techniques and methodologies. For example, in order to enhance understanding of risk at the shop floor, we have incorporated programs developed based on affective psychology and neuroscience. Within all of our services, we have been integrating digital/technology solutions and innovation to accelerate improvements.”

As a global operation consulting business, DSS has advised leading industrial companies around the world on operations improvements and workplace safety for more than 50 years and has been ranked top EHS consultancy for brand preference by independent research company Verdantix.

Mitigating Risks through Integrated Solutions

“We develop solutions that use an integrated framework that is tied to business strategy and includes four key components that continuously reinforce each other: employee mindsets and behaviours, organizational governance and management, processes and technology and worker capability and competencies. This framework is applied across the value chain to best achieve improvements, “explains Srinivasan.

DSS understands that businesses require more of change-management than just a technical or management solution for achieving sustainable improvement in performance. Thus, it offers an integrated solution to organizations that not only help them in achieving and sustaining improvements but also enable them to attain a culture of continuous development.

“We have codified our approach using the internal best practices of DuPont and more importantly, practical learning we have had in working with clients across industries and cultures, “adds Srinivasan.

DSS has worked with many leading companies from multiple sectors including oil and gas, metal and mining, chemicals, food, power and utilities, and construction and now, it has ongoing engagements in industries like automobile, railroads, retail, or even cruise liners.

Leading Organizations towards Growth and Success

Ensuring clients’ success as the priority, DSS forms a true partnership with its clients to transform their processes, technologies, mindsets, and capabilities with a full suite of proven operations management consulting services designed to optimize outcomes, reduce risk and increase efficiencies.

DSS’s strong commitment to clients’ success reflects in many wins it had over the years. For instance, DSS helped a steel manufacturing company to achieve a 75% improvement in their safety performance.

In another case, DSS helped a utility company in developing 2030 Vision and implementing the necessary operational improvements to drive cost reduction 10% – 30% across four of their facilities, while increasing plant availability from 84% to 96%.

“By leveraging our DuPont heritage, deep industry and business process expertise and diverse team of expert consultants who themselves have been practitioners with hands-on experience, we help our clients turn operations management into a competitive advantage,” says Srinivasan.

He further adds, “Companies come to us because we understand the challenges they’re faced with every day and we see these challenges as an opportunity to change the way they manage and measure risk.”

Endeavours To Gain a Global Foothold

Looking to the future, DSS believes Asia Pacific is an attractive market to grow for DSS. Hence, it plans to expand and enhance its solutions through the use of data analytics, digital technology and an increased focus on innovation. The company further aims to double its workforce in the next 2-3 years and expand its global footprint.

“We have been growing rapidly with double digit CAGR for the last 3 years. China, India, and ASEAN continue to be the most attractive markets for DSS based on the size of the economy and the fact they represent almost 50% of the world population,” says Srinivasan.

“As we continue to expand, one thing that will remain the same – we will focus on delivering value to our clients and making the world a safer place,” he concludes.