Frequently asked questions

OPSA — Operational Process Solutions of America — is owned and led by Michael Smith. It is an independent, privately held Virginia business with no parent company and no external investors.

270 Magazine Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, United States. Visits are by appointment so that someone is free to sit with you properly.

Six people: the owner, two senior process consultants, a data analyst, a training facilitator and a client coordinator. We use no subcontractors without telling you in advance.

Since 2016. We have completed 118 engagements for United States clients as of June 2026.

Typically 8 to 250 employees, with annual revenue between roughly $1m and $60m. Larger organisations occasionally engage us for a single site or department.

Yes. On-site work is most practical across Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Delaware and Washington DC. Beyond that we work remotely, with scheduled travel weeks written into the proposal where the work genuinely requires presence.

Assessment work usually starts within two to three weeks of a signed proposal. Occasionally we have earlier availability; ask and we will tell you honestly rather than promise a date we cannot hold.

Yes, including second shift and weekend observation when that is where the interesting problems live. This is agreed at charter stage and does not carry a surcharge within a 90-mile radius of Richmond.

We tell you, invoice only the assessment, and where we can we point you to a firm or a resource that is a better fit. This happens perhaps twice a year and it has never cost us a referral.

Fixed fee per phase for projects, monthly for fractional support. The number in your proposal is the number on your invoice unless you request additional scope in writing.

An Operations Assessment starts at $2,400. Documentation and analytics projects start at $3,200. Supply and inventory work starts at $4,600. Training is from $1,450 per half-day, and fractional support from $2,900 per month.

Net 15 from invoice date for established clients, or 50% on signature for first engagements. We accept ACH transfer, business check and major credit cards. Full detail is in our Billing & Refunds policy.

No. Projects end when the deliverables are accepted. Retainers are rolling monthly with 30 days' written notice on either side.

Travel within 90 miles of Richmond is included. Beyond that, travel and accommodation are billed at cost with receipts, always estimated and approved before it is incurred.

No shutdown is required. Interviews run in 30 to 45 minute blocks scheduled around your workload, and observation is passive.

Not as a first resort, and never as a headline recommendation. In the overwhelming majority of our engagements the constraint is process and information flow, not headcount.

You do, on full payment. Process maps, procedures, spreadsheets and dashboards are delivered in editable formats with no licence fee and no restriction on internal reuse.

We sign your NDA or provide ours, limit access to the named delivery team, store working files on encrypted business accounts, and return or securely destroy them at closure on request. See our Privacy Policy.

Yes — professional liability and general liability. Certificates of insurance are issued within one business day of a written request.