Optimus - the total company intervention model designed by Faite Ireland to achieve business excellence in the hospitality and tourism industry was formally launched today by John O'Donoghue T.D., Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, at a reception in Faite Ireland, Amiens Street, Dublin.

Optimus has been developed by Faite Ireland to support industry in addressing the ongoing challenge of competitiveness, particularly at the level of the enterprise. It comprises a series of business interventions with three separate but progressive levels of continuous improvement focusing on the customer, the operation and, ultimately, the entire organisation. Optimus aims to support enterprises in their drive to become more profitable, more efficient and more competitive.

Speaking at the launch, Minister O'Donoghue noted that, in developing Optimus, Faite Ireland was responding to the report of the Tourism Policy Review Group which said that a relentless upgrading of standards was necessary if Ireland was to achieve a competitive advantage as a tourist destination. "The hospitality and tourism sector, like many other sectors of the economy, has to evolve and develop to meet new challenges and adapt to new working practices in order to remain competitive. Businesses which focus on customer service while aiming for continuous improvement in systems and operations are sure to be leaders in the industry and will stand out against their competitors," said the Minister.

Faite Ireland Chief Executive, Shaun Quinn said that Optimus had its foundation in many years of research into benchmarking international best practice in the hospitality and tourism industry. He said that the critical challenge facing the industry was the competitiveness of the enterprise. "The need to strive towards business excellence has never been greater. It is our intention that Optimus will play a major role in providing the tools and the frameworks necessary for individual enterprises to perform outstandingly and achieve world-class standards of excellence."

He went on to say that businesses participating in Optimus had the potential to achieve a range of benefits such as increased customer loyalty and repeat business, lower staff turnover, cost reductions, increased competitiveness and boosted productivity and profitability. "Optimus is all about supporting enterprises to develop a culture of continuous improvement. Businesses are encouraged to establish smarter systems, innovate on products and services and strive for higher standards across the board with the ultimate goal of considerably improved business performance," said Quinn.

The Optimus Programme drives a range of business solutions and support mechanisms for individual enterprises such as technology support, international benchmarking, specialist workshops, management development, mentoring, best practice site visits, support materials and consultancy. For further details, contact the Optimus team at 01-884-7700/051-350095 or email them at info@optimus.ie