What Internal Teams Often Miss — And Fresh Eyes Find

After decades in industry, I’ve heard the same line more times than I can count:

“We have our own team. We don’t need outside help.”

Internal teams are hardworking and knowledgeable — but being immersed in the day‑to‑day often creates blind spots.

A good example: a major corporation once told me their Lower Mainland facility was “fine” and didn’t need support because their CI team was focused elsewhere. I spent three to four hours walking the plant and uncovered over $1,000,000 in annua

l savings through improvements in takt time, quality, and waste elimination.

When I presented the findings, their CI team was immediately reassigned to that site.

This isn’t rare. It’s actually very common.

A fresh set of eyes can spot opportunities that become invisible to people living inside the process every day. An external perspective isn’t a criticism — it’s an advantage.

Sometimes, meaningful improvement starts with someone who simply isn’t part of the routine.