131 Courses in Belfast

Businesses that don't control their costs don't stay in business. How well are you doing? Is everyone in your organisation sufficiently aware of costs, managing them effectively and maximising opportunities to reduce them? If there is scope for improvement, this course will help get you back on track. It will demonstrate that cost reduction is so much more than cost control and cost cutting. True cost management is about being aware of costs, seeking to reduce them through good design and efficient operating practices whilst taking continuing action on overspending. This course will develop the participants' skills in: Being aware of costs at all times Seeking cost reduction from the start (including life-cycle costing) Appraising projects / production to identify and take out risk Understanding real budgeting Using techniques such as ZBB and ABC where appropriate Ensuring cost reports lead to action Managing a cost reduction process that delivers Benefits to the organisation will include: Identification of cost reduction and business improvement opportunities Better reporting and ownership of costs Greater awareness and control of everyday costs 1 Introduction - the cost management process The risks of poor cost control Capital and revenue costs The importance of cost awareness The importance of cost reduction Cost management - the key aspects How to build a cost management and control process checklist for your areas of responsibility 2 Cost removal - taking out costs Cost awareness Costs of poor design / poor processes Value engineering Removing redundant costs 3 The need for commercial, technical and financial appraisals Understand the problems before cash is committed and costs incurred Making the effort to identify commercial and technical risk The time value of money - DCF techniques for long term projects Cost models for production processes and projects Costing models - project appraisals The use of spreadsheets to identify sensitivity and risk How to focus on risk management 4 Budgeting - proper budgeting challenges costs The philosophy of the business - are costs an issue? The importance of having the right culture The need for detailed business objectives Budgetary control measures Designing budget reports - for action 5 Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) - the principles Much more than starting with a clean sheet of paper What ZBB can achieve The concept of decision packages - to challenge business methods and costs Only necessary costs should be incurred A review of an operating budget - demonstrating what ZBB challenges and the costs it may lead to being taken out 6 Awareness of overheads and other costs Definitions of cost - direct and indirect Dealing with overheads - what is meant by allocation, absorption or apportionment? The apparent and real problems with overheads Different ways of dealing with overheads Review of overhead allocation methods and accounting and reporting issues 7 Overheads and product costing Activity-based costing (ABC) - the principles Where and how the ABC approach may be helpful Know the 'true' cost of a product or a project Should you be in business? Will you stay in business? Identifying weaknesses in a traditional overhead allocation How ABC will help improve product or service costing Identifying which products and activities should be developed and which abandoned 8 Cost reduction culture The need for cost reports What measures can be used to identify over-spends as early as possible Cost control performance measures and ratios 9 Design of cost control reports Reports should lead to action and deliver Selecting cost control measures which can be acted upon Practice in designing action reports 10 Course summary - developing your own cost action plan Group and individual action plans will be prepared with a view to participants identifying their cost risks areas and the techniques which can be immediately applied to improve costing and reduce costs

What do engineers and project managers need to know of finance? 'Nothing - leave it to the accountants!' No, no, no! Engineers must be conversant with the terminology and statements that accountants use. Technical expertise in projects, service delivery, production or other areas can only really be harnessed if the managers understand the accounting and reporting that drives businesses. This course gives the necessary understanding to project, production and technical managers. It develops their skills in understanding financial and management accounting. Accountants may not always like it but a major part of their work is to be the 'servants of business' and to gather, compile and present your figures. So you must understand the figures - they belong to you, your processes or projects. There are many reasons for maintaining accurate accounts. This course focuses on the strategic issues (those over-used words) - what figures reveal about the drivers of business and what they reveal about the day-to-day issues that accountants bother you with. The course will enhance your understanding of finance and of the accounting issues which affect your projects, production and technical areas of business. This course will help you: Understand the business world in figures - make sense of what the accountants are telling you Appreciate what drives business - and how this affects your role in your part of the business Relate your activities to the success of the business - through figures Gain the skills to advance in management - financial awareness is a 'must have' if you are to progress in your career 1 What do accountants do? The finance function, types of accountant, financial v management accounting and the treasury function Understanding the role of the finance function and how the information you provide may be used 2 The basic financial statements Balance sheets and income statements (P&L accounts) What they are, what they contain and above all what they can reveal - how to read them The accounting process - from transactions to financial statements What underpins the statements - accounting systems and internal controls 3 Why be in business - from a financial perspective The driving forces behind financial information Performance measures - profitability, asset utilisation, sales and throughput, managing capital expenditure 4 Accounting rules - accounting standards Accounting concepts and the accounting rules: accruals, 'going concern' - substance over form and other 'desirable qualities' Accruals - why the timing of a transaction is so important to the finance function Depreciation and amortisation - the concepts and practice Accounting standards - the role of International Financial Reporting Standards 5 Cash The importance of cash flow - working capital management Cash flow statements - monitoring overall cash flows Raising cash - levels of borrowing, gearing Spending cash - an outline of capital expenditure appraisal 6 Budgeting Why budget? - good and bad practice Determining why budgets play a key role and should not be simply an annual ritual Justifying your budgets - the link between the strategic plan and day-to-day budgeting - alignment of company culture Budgets as motivators - the importance of the right culture Techniques to improve budgeting - whether day-to-day or capital budgeting 7 Costing The type and detail of costing very much depends on your business - eg, manufacturing piston rings is quite different from the construction of a power plant Issues with overhead allocation Accounting for R&D 8 Reading financial statements Annual financial statements - why they are produced, what's in them and what you should look for Learning what a set of accounts reveals about a company's current situation, profitability and future prospects 9 Performance measurement - analytical reviews and ratio analysis ROI/ROCE Profitability, margins and cost control Sales - asset turnover Efficiency (asset / stock turnover, debtor / creditor days) 'City' measures Investment (interest / dividend cover, earnings per share, dividend yield)

Explore the key concepts of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) with our expert-led course designed for professionals. Learn how to seamlessly incorporate sustainable practices into your business strategy and enhance your corporate responsibility. Gain the tools and insights necessary to effectively implement ESG initiatives within your organisation. Join now and lead the change towards a more sustainable future!

This programme provides an intensive, two-day overview of the key elements of operations management, including an array of practical tips and tools to help managers be more proactive and effective in the operations management environment - whether that's in an industrial manufacturing context or in operational leadership in the service sectors. At the end of the programme, participants will: Understand the 6Cs approach to operations management Be able to apply a range of practical tools and techniques to improve their personal effectiveness towards being a more effective operations manager Be able to prepare an action plan for the critical first (or next) 100 days in their operational leadership role 1 Introduction What is Operations Management and where does it fit in? What makes a successful Operations Manager? Introducing the 6Cs of Operations Management 2 Context Link to business strategy Making a year plan Performance measurement 3 Controls Governance Reputational controls Costs and budgets Quality Operational 4 Customers Internal External Stakeholder management 5 Communication Planning Meetings Reporting Emails Notices Networking Walking the talk 6 Care People Safety, Health, Environment & Security Assets 7 Continuous improvement Process Product Proactivity Link to KPIs and Year Plan 8 Putting it all together Action planning for the first (or next) 100 days Conclusions

This course covers all relevant legislation affecting safe working in the building, construction...

Conflict within a workplace can appear in many forms, from personality conflicts between employees to employee and supervisor issues. This course will equip you with the knowledge of conflict management strategies and the practical skills to take steps to help to resolve situations of conflict.

A flexible, modular-based, programme to heighten participants' awareness of ways in which their operations can affect the environment, the principles of environmental management and the practical steps they need to take as individuals and as an organisation to improve environmental performance. Depending on the course modules selected, this programme will give participants: Increased awareness of relevant environmental issues A greater understanding of, and commitment to, the organisation's environmental management programme Preparation for any responsibilities they may have under an Environmental Management System Further benefits according to options chosen 1 Environmental awareness Definition of 'the environment' Key environmental issuesGlobal warmingOzone depletionAcid rainAir qualityWater pollutionContaminated landLand take and green belt shrinkageResource usageHabitat destruction and species extinctions. Option: This module can be used to explain the key environmental issues related to the activities of your own organisation. Diagrams, photos, pictures, examples and statistics relevant to your own organisation are used where possible to illustrate the points being made. 2 Environmental legislation Key elements of environmental legislation affecting the activities of your organisation - including international, European and UK legislation. Legislation of particular relevance to your organisation - how it affects the operations of your organisation Option: Legislation can be dealt with according to which aspect of the environment it protects (eg, air, water, waste) or which part of your organisation's activities it affects Consequences of breaching legislation 3 Environmental management systems Overview of what an environmental management system isHow is an Environmental Management System (EMS) designed and put together?Key elements (emphasising Plan - Do - Check - Review cycle)The need to continually improve Pros and consReasons for having an EMSBenefits of an EMSConsequences of not managing the environmentCosts of installing an EMS Explanation of ISO 14001 and EMAS standards and guidance as applicable to the EMSs of your organisationOverview of your organisation's EMSHow it was set up / is being developed / operatesWho is responsible for itKey parts of system (eg, environmental policy, objectives and targets) identified and discussedEMS documentation - what and where it is. Workshop option: Brainstorm 'Pros and cons' with the participants, come up with all their ideas for good and bad things about EMS and demonstrate that the 'good' list is longer than the 'bad' 4 Environmental consequences Define what an environmental impact is and discuss how they are determined, with reference to the EMS Identify why we want to determine the environmental consequences of operations and activities; how they are used in the EMS for planning, and reducing the impact on the environment Establish key environmental consequences of construction and operational activities on the site; discuss significance ranking and the control measures in place in your organisation. Workshop option: In small groups, participants are asked to identify the impact on the environment of your organisation's activities or a part of their activities. They are then asked to rank these impacts in terms of their significance, using guidelines provided to help them be aware of the contributing factors (eg, frequency, severity). For a selected number of the impacts, the participants are asked to identify what control measures there are and which of these they play a part in. All stages can be discussed with trainers as a whole group at various stages during the workshop. 5 Protected species, nature conservation and invasive weeds Nature conservation, landscape and visual issues in the planning process - overview of key nature UK wildlife legislation, EIA, appropriate timing of surveys, Hedgerow regulations and landscape and visual impact issues Ecological issues - ecological legislation, significant species, hedgerows Archaeology in the development process - why archaeology is important, organisation in the UK, legislation and planning guidance Construction phase issues and consents - major environmental issues during construction, including water resources and land drainage consents, discharges to land or water, water abstraction, public rights of way, tree protection, waste management, Special waste, noise, good practice pollution control and Environmental Audits Identification and management of invasive weeds - including legal position regarding management 6 Chemicals and fuels handling and storage How health and safety management is closely linked to environmental management of materials Planning - what mechanisms are in place for planning materials use; legislation, guidance and policies which define how to manage materials Materials storage - what are the considerations for storing materials, covering:Labels: what are the different types and what do they tell us?Storage facilities: what are the requirements for safe storage of materials (eg, signs, secondary containment, access, segregation, lids/covers)Handling: safe handling for protecting the environment, organisational procedures, high risk situations (eg, decanting, deliveries), how to reduce the risks (eg, use of funnels, proper supervision, training)COSHH and MSDS: brief explanation of legislation and its role in environmental control of hazardous materials, how to use the information provided by COSHH assessments Option: These sessions can be illustrated with photographs/pictures and examples of good and bad storage and handling practices Workshop Options: Labelling Quiz - quick-fire quiz on what different labels tell us; Build a Storage Facility - participants are asked to consider all the environmental requirements for building a safe storage facility for their organisation 7 On-site control measures Overview of the legislation associated with nuisance issues on site and mitigating problems when they arise Examples of bad practice, including fuel storage tanks and mobile equipment - costs involved with prosecution of fuel spills, remediation costs, management costs, legal fees, bad PR coverage Identification and management of contaminated land and relevant legislation Workshop option: Participants are provided with a site plan containing information on site features, environmental conditions and indications of potential issues 8 Waste management Why worry about waste? - a look at how waste disposal can impact on the environment, illustrated by examples of waste-related incidents, statistics on waste production on national, industry-wide and organisational levels, landfill site space, etc Legislation - overview of the relevant legislation, what the main requirements of the regulations are, what penalties there are, and the associated documentation (waste transfer notes) Waste classification - a more in-depth look at how waste is classified under legislation according to hazardous properties, referring to Environment Agency guidance Handling and storage requirements - what are the requirements of the applicable waste legislation and how are they covered by organisational procedures? Examples of good and bad environmental practice associated with handling and storing waste. Workshop option: 'Brown bag' exercise - participants pass round a bag containing tags each with a different waste printed on. They are asked to pick out a tag and identify the classification and the handling, storage and disposal requirements for the waste they select Waste minimisation - overview of the waste minimisation 'ladder' and its different options (elimination, reduction, reuse and recycling), benefits of waste minimisation, examples of waste minimisation techniques Workshop option: Participants are asked to identify opportunities that actually exist within the organisation for minimising production of waste that are not currently being taken advantage of 9 Auditing Requirements for environmental auditing of operations Auditing the EMS Types of internal and external audits Requirements EMS standards (ISO 14001 and EMAS) Carrying out internal audits and being prepared for external audits Workshop options:Mock audit 'Brown Bag' - can be used either for trainers to test participants as if they were in an audit situation, or for the participants to test each other and practice their auditing technique. The bag contains tags each with a different topic printed on (eg, waste skips); participants pass the bag round and select a tag; they are then questioned by the trainer or another participant about that topic as if they were in an audit situation. If the participants are auditing each other, they will be provided with a set of guidelines to keep in mind during the workshop.Virtual auditing - a more practical workshop where participants review photographs of situations/activities relevant to the organisation's operations. They are asked to identify all the good and bad environmental practices that are occurring in the situations. 10 Incident response What should you do when an incident does happen? What should be in a spill kit? When should you call in the experts? When should you inform the Environment Agency or Environmental Health Officer? Workshop option: The participants are provided with some incident scenarios and asked to develop a response to the incident 11 Monitoring and reporting Environmental monitoring programmes and procedures Monitoring and reporting as control measures for environmental consequences Monitoring and environmental 'STOP' card systems - personal and behavioural monitoring and reporting

This course is designed to provide delegates with awareness in the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) and how it may affect them, their colleagues, and their employer.

Power BI is a powerful data visualisation program that allows businesses to monitor data, analyse trends, and make decisions. This course is designed to provide a solid understanding of the reporting side of Power BI, the dashboards, where administrators, and end users can interact with dynamic visuals that communicates information. This course focuses entirely on the creation and design of visualisations in dashboards, including a range of chart types, engaging maps, and different types of tables. Designing dashboards with KPI's (key performance indicators), heatmaps, flowcharts, sparklines, and compare multiple variables with trendlines. This one-day programme focuses entirely on creating dashboards, by using the many visualisation tools available in Power BI. You will learn to build dynamic, user-friendly interfaces in both Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service. 1 Introduction Power BI ecosystem Things to keep in mind Selecting dashboard colours Importing visuals into Power BI Data sources for your analysis Joining tables in Power BI 2 Working with data Utilising a report theme Table visuals Matrix visuals Drilling into hierarchies Applying static filters Group numbers with lists Group numbers with bins 3 Creating visuals Heatmaps in Power BI Visualising time-intelligence trends Ranking categorical totals Comparing proportions View trends with sparklines 4 Comparing variables Insert key performance indicators (KPI) Visualising trendlines as KPI Forecasting with trendlines Visualising flows with Sankey diagrams Creating a scatter plot 5 Mapping options Map visuals Using a filled map Mapping with latitude and longitude Mapping with ArcGIS or ESRI 6 Creating dashboards High-level dashboard Migration analysis dashboard Adding slicers for filtering Promote interaction with nudge prompts Searching the dashboard with a slicer Creating dynamic labels Highlighting key points on the dashboard Customised visualisation tooltips Syncing slicers across pages 7 Sharing dashboards Setting up and formatting phone views Exporting data Creating PDF files Uploading to the cloud Share dashboards in SharePoint online

Health and safety awareness training is mandatory for staff at all levels of an organisation. This is the ideal course to satisfy that requirement - a stimulating 'entry-level' programme explaining how health and safety should be managed in any working environment. The course outlines the basics of health and safety law and how organisations and individuals can become liable for health and safety offences. Roles and responsibilities for health and safety are discussed by reference to the key legislation and the expert trainer will explore with the delegates how these responsibilities are managed in practice in different types of organisation. The principles of risk assessment will be considered and their practical implementation discussed in relation to the management of the various hazards that are likely to be present in a typical workplace. This course will give staff: An understanding of health and safety law, liability and enforcement An explanation of the principles of health and safety management in the workplace and an understanding of who should be responsible for different aspects of health and safety A practical explanation of risk assessment and what constitutes a suitable and sufficient assessment A broad knowledge of the typical hazards in a workplace and how these should be managed 1 Overview of health and safety law Statute and civil law Liability and enforcement Statutory duties Contract law 2 Legislative framework The workplace - extent of responsibility / shared responsibility Relevant legislation 3 Management of Health and Safety Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 Accident Reporting (RIDDOR) Consultation with Employees and Safety Committees 4 Risk management within your organisation Business risk management Health and safety risk management The principles of risk assessment Transferring the risk to contractors and third parties 5 Risk assessment exercise - 'Challenge Anneka' 6 Managing the hazards in the workplace Work equipment Lifting equipment Display screens Manual handling Fire Chemicals (COSHH) Personal protective equipment (PPE) 7 Practical exercise - Workplace inspection 8 Questions, discussion and review