OUR PRIMARY OFFERING
Build capability
Training sessions for every level of your organisation — from a concise executive overview through to a two-day programme that gives your team the skills to lead improvements themselves.
FOR EXECUTIVES & LEADERS
Leadership sessions
Continuous improvement overview for leadership
Executive & senior leadership teams
A concise overview of continuous improvement: the benefits, the leader's vital role, and how AI can be leveraged to accelerate performance gains.
You leave with a clear understanding of what a culture of continuous improvement delivers, why leadership is the factor that makes it stick, and where AI can accelerate the gains.
1 hour
Deep dive for leaders
Leaders ready to embed continuous improvement
in their organisation
A rich exploration of the leader's role in embedding continuous improvement into your organisation's culture — including how to sponsor an improvement initiative and how AI accelerates results.
You leave able to sponsor continuous improvement with real understanding: the leadership behaviours that drive adoption, the measures that shape the right behaviours and how to give an improvement initiative the backing it needs to succeed.
Built on the methodology in Darcy Mellsop's book on continuous improvement.
or two 2-hour sessions
Half day
OUR APPROACH
Want to know how we do it?
Our approach blends proven continuous improvement principles with a live simulation, so every team applies what they learn straight away.
Want the full picture? Read the complete brochure →
For teams
Team sessions
2 hours
Mindset & quick start
Teams new to continuous improvement
We get your team focused on spotting problems and making improvements — fast.
Your team leaves seeing their everyday work differently: able to spot the problems worth solving, and carrying the mindset that improving the work is part of the work, not a distraction from it.
Session from $2,800 +GST
~$140 +GST per team member
1 day
Essential continuous improvement skills
Teams ready to participate in improvement work
A comprehensive session covering the mindset, steps, and tools of a continuous improvemment initiative — with a strong focus on customer thinking and clearly articulating problems to leaders.
Your team leaves understanding how an improvement runs end to end, from framing the real problem to fixing root causes rather than symptoms, and able to think from the customer's point of view, work from data rather than opinion, and put a problem to leaders clearly enough to win support for it.
Most impactful
Develop improvement leaders
Teams ready to lead improvements themselves
Comprehensive training that gives participants everything they need to lead and make improvements immediately after the programme ends.
Your team leaves able to lead improvements themselves. Having run the full cycle on the simulation, baselining performance, finding root causes, piloting solutions and proving the benefit, they finish with real opportunities identified in their own work and plans ready to take to their leaders.
or four 4-hour sessions
2 days
OUR APPROACH
Want to know how we do it?
Our approach blends proven continuous improvement principles with a live simulation, so every team applies what they learn straight away.
Want the full picture? Read the complete brochure →
All sessions are delivered by Darcy Mellsop and the ci lab team. Meet the people →
“
We had the good fortune to secure Darcy’s services to run a CI simulation for leaders within New Zealand Police. He was an outstanding coach, trainer, leader - he knows his stuff – and was able to present key continuous improvement concepts with clarity, brevity and humour.
​
Jonathan Routledge, Head of Continuous Improvement | New Zealand Police
ALSO AVAILABLE
Improve a process
A targeted, one-day analysis that maps what's really happening in a specific process or customer journey — and gives you a clear, prioritised set of options to act on.
FOR A SPECIFIC CHALLENGE
Process options
Process performance analysis
We map the process end-to-end, identify and quantify problems, and pinpoint exactly where they occur. You leave with a clear picture of what to fix and how — including where automation or AI genuinely adds value.
You leave with a fully mapped process, a prioritised list of problems to fix, and a clear view of where AI will genuinely help.
1 day
Customer journey analysis
We capture the full customer journey and analyse performance at every step — from the customer's perspective and from an operational one. You leave knowing exactly what needs to change and how you'll measure it.
You leave with a complete customer journey map, prioritised improvements ranked by impact, and the metrics you'll use to track them.
1 day
“
In just one day, we achieved more clarity, alignment, and actionable outcomes than we had in weeks. Darcy has a unique talent for unlocking team potential. His impact was both immediate and lasting - I can’t recommend Darcy highly enough.
Nic Pennington, Innovation Expert | R&D Commercialisation, Callaghan Innovation
OUR THIRD OFFERING — A NOTE ON AI
Before you automate, know what you're actually automating
A custom AI application built on a flawed process won't fix the process — it'll just do the wrong thing faster. At ci lab, we assess the health of your processes first, then identify exactly where intelligent automation will genuinely add value.
Map and assess the process
We examine your process end-to-end — identifying waste, variation, unclear ownership, and missing standards. You can't make good automation decisions without this picture first.
Identify prime candidates for AI
Not every manual step should be automated, but some absolutely should. We identify the specific steps where a custom-built AI application will reduce burden, increase consistency, and free your people for higher-value work.
Know what needs fixing first
Some steps look like automation candidates but are actually broken processes in disguise. We'll be straight with you about what needs to be sorted before any technology gets involved.
See what this approach delivers in practice. Our results →
Yes — all sessions are available in-house or online. Online sessions are structured to be just as interactive and practical as in-person ones. For online delivery, we find daily blocks of 2–4 hours over a week works best — it gives participants time to absorb and apply the material between sessions.
No prior knowledge is needed for any of our team sessions. The 2-hour and 1-day sessions are specifically helpful for organisations or teams who are new to continuous improvement or just getting started. The 2-day session builds on the fundamentals and prepares participants to lead improvements, covering everything your team needs from the ground up.
The process analysis sessions focus on a specific process or customer journey — with your team, we map it, find the problems, and develop a prioritised plan. The capability sessions are about your team: we build the mindset, skills, and tools so your people can identify and lead improvements themselves on an ongoing basis. Many organisations benefit from both.
We tailor sessions to your team's size. Get in touch and we'll work out the best approach for your group — we'll let you know if we recommend splitting a larger team across multiple sessions for the best outcome.
Yes — as we map your process, we highlight the steps and tasks where AI can do the job better — supporting your team and lifting overall performance. Where you choose to, we can also build those AI tools for you.
Most sessions can be scheduled within 2–4 weeks. If your timeline is tighter, get in touch — we'll do our best to make it work.
Yes — and this is often where we see the strongest results. A process analysis gives the team a real problem to work with, and combining it with a capability session means your team learns the skills in a practical context they can act on immediately. Get in touch and we'll help you determine the right balance.
Yes — every session is shaped around your organisation's context. We work with regulators, councils, infrastructure operators, and large commercial organisations, and we adapt examples, language, and case material so the training feels directly relevant to your team's day-to-day work. The continuous improvement principles are universal, but the way they show up in your sector is what makes the training stick.
Yes — we want the work to stick. After a session we can offer follow-up coaching for the team, sponsor support for leaders, or check-in conversations to keep momentum going. The right level of follow-up depends on what your team is taking on, and we'll suggest options as part of the initial conversation.
Yes — a significant portion of our work is with government agencies, regulators, and councils across New Zealand. We understand the specific constraints and context of public sector improvement work, including the importance of customer experience, compliance, and accountability.
Common questions