A NORTH-EAST business information consultancy has become first PISO business centre.

PISO, which stands for Process Improvement for Strategic Objectives, is a method of restructuring business processes designed at the University of Sunderland.

It shows an organisation how to become more streamlined and user-friendly and has won international acclaim. It has been used by more than 400 organisations in the public and private sectors.

Feechan Consulting, at Doxford Park, Sunderland, will market and deliver PISO training courses, principally in the UK.

Glen Feechan, founder and principal consultant of Feechan Consulting, said: "PISO is, quite simply, the most effective method for an organisation to get rid of over-complicated procedures and bureaucracy I have come across."