Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), with the support of the Government of Ontario, will provide financial support directly to manufacturers (i.e. greater than 10 employees) embarking on productivity improvement initiatives. The allotment of funds has been set at $25M, effective October 2008. CME’s SMART Program Funding can include implementing best practices in information technology and automation, to process and quality improvement initiatives, energy efficiency and productivity improvements of lean manufacturing or design.
The funding per facility is limited to $50,000 with a maximum approval of 50% of eligible project costs. The project costs can include capital expenditures, software license fees, professional service fees for training, and direct labor dedicated to the completion and management of the project. Past initiatives for improvements can be included provided that their commence date of August 1, 2008.
For those manufacturers who are looking for ways to increase quality, productivity and profits, ActionCOACH will support selecting the project. Our role is in the alignment of your profitability goals, with testing and measuring techniques that build your development plan. Our leadership in coaching and our approach would support from submission to final payment (i.e. 4-8 months). The funding mechanism is tiered and is allocated with payment at 30%, 20% and 50% based on the successful completion of each stage of closure and begins after successful approval.
The submission of application must be completed on-line only with a non-fundable price tag of $1000 per submission. Applications will be accepted online continuously through May 2009 and within 45 days the top-ranked projects will be notified of their selection or approval into the funding program.
As you consider your commitment to start your own transformative journey toward operational excellence, please do not hesitate to contact us directly. We have attended the local seminars and training workshop on the program overview; our coordinates are (519) 620-9020 or by email bernadeenmcleod@
