What High Reliability Group does

High Reliability Group (HRG) is a boutique management consulting firm founded in 2016 by Bob Koonce, a former U.S. Submarine Force Commanding Officer (USS KEY WEST, SSN 722), that translates High Reliability Organization (HRO) principles from the Rickover-era U.S. Nuclear Navy into consulting services for civilian high-risk industries. The firm's core offerings are HRO Culture Transformation, the 72-hour Rapid Operational Assessment (ROA), Human Factors Leadership Coaching, Operational Excellence Management Systems (OEMS) design and embedding, and Maritime Quality Assurance Services. Delivery is built on a proprietary CARE framework (Communication, Accountability, Responsibility, Engagement) plus tiered daily management, leader standard work, PDCA problem-solving, pre-task briefs, after-action review cadence, and just-culture responses, complemented by modular training programs (High Reliability Leadership Mastery Program, CARE Foundations, Single Skill Modules with a 30-day Flex Pass) and keynote speaking.

HRG targets enterprise buyers — CEOs, VPs, and General Managers — in Energy (oil & gas, nuclear, renewables), Maritime & Shipbuilding, Utilities & Critical Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Mining, and Aerospace & Defense. The named client roster includes Cenovus Energy, BP, Phillips 66, Edison International, LyondellBasell, Baker Hughes, Enbridge, Irving Oil, Husky Energy, APA Corp, Keyera, Arcosa, Pantheon Resources, and Nine Energy Service. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales executed through direct outreach, phone/email, website contact forms, executive testimonials, and thought leadership (blog, book, keynote speaking, LinkedIn). Revenue is generated entirely from professional services on a custom engagement basis with multi-year contracts; no pricing is published.

HRG is a privately held LLC headquartered in Illinois, founder-led, with no disclosed external funding, no subsidiaries, and no M&A activity. The senior team is composed of former U.S. Nuclear Navy commanding officers, Naval Reactors senior enlisted, and industry executives from Chevron, Irving Shipbuilding, and General Dynamics NASSCO. The firm operates from Illinois (headquarters) and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Canadian operations).

Name

High Reliability Group

Legal name

High Reliability Group LLC

Website

https://highrelgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

High Reliability Group is a boutique consultancy that applies U.S. Nuclear Navy High Reliability Organization principles to civilian high-risk industries. It serves enterprise clients in energy, maritime, manufacturing, and critical infrastructure with culture transformation, leadership coaching, and operational excellence services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Operational Excellence Consulting

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Factors Engineering, Safety Culture & Organizational Effectiveness (EUAKAEAJ)

Keywords

• Operational excellence consulting
• High reliability organization
• Safety culture transformation
• Leadership development coaching
• Maritime quality assurance

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Charles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Project-based consulting engagements including culture transformation, leadership development, Rapid Operational Assessments, and OEMS design and support. Engagements are tailored to client needs with combinations of on-site intensives, virtual coaching, and sustained embedding support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

High Reliability Group is a boutique consultancy that translates High Reliability Organization principles from the U.S. Nuclear Navy into culture transformation, leadership development, and operational excellence engagements for civilian high-risk industries. Its deliverable portfolio includes a 72-hour Rapid Operational Assessment, HRO culture transformation programs, human-factors leadership coaching, and Operational Excellence Management System design and embedding, all delivered by former submarine commanding officers and nuclear-trained practitioners.

Product overview

High Reliability Group is a boutique consulting firm offering a portfolio of services for high-risk, high-consequence industries. The core offering centers on High Reliability Organization (HRO) principles drawn from the U.S. Nuclear Navy. Services include HRO Culture Transformation, Rapid Operational Assessments (72h), Leadership Coaching & Training (Human Factors), and Operational Excellence Management Systems (OEMS) Design & Support. These are delivered through structured programs such as the High Reliability Leadership Mastery Program, CARE Foundations modules, and Single Skill Modules. Maritime-specific services include Rapid Compliance Assessments, Audit Recovery, and Continued Assurance. Delivery mechanisms include HRO Leadership Workshops, Decision-Making & Human Factors Workshops, Customized Workshops, and Keynote Speaking. The firm also publishes the book 'Extreme Operational Excellence' as a thought leadership companion to its consulting services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HRO Culture Transformation A strategic, phased culture transformation engagement for executive and operational leaders in high-risk, high-consequence industries, drawing on High Reliability Organization principles derived from the U.S. Nuclear Navy to deliver safety, leadership, and operational excellence outcomes through preliminary assessments, immediate gap-closure actions, and ongoing initiatives.
• Rapid Operational Assessment (ROA) A 72-hour on-site assessment conducted by former U.S. Nuclear Navy commanders and industry experts that gives senior leaders an unfiltered, observation-driven picture of their organization's reliability posture and uncovers hidden vulnerabilities and areas of excellence.
• Leadership Coaching & Training (Human Factors) A practical-skills coaching and training engagement covering pre-task briefs, error-trap spotting, speak-up behaviors, just-culture responses, and high-velocity After Action Reviews, delivered through micro-drills and real scenarios for leaders and teams in high-risk industries.
• High Reliability Leadership Mastery Program A comprehensive cohort-based leadership development program built on HRG's CARE framework (Communication, Accountability, Responsibility, Engagement), combining on-site intensives, live virtual modules, and field assignments for leaders in high-risk operations.
• CARE Foundations A foundational CARE framework training module covering Communication, Accountability, Responsibility, and Engagement principles, sold as a standalone program for building high-reliability leadership capabilities.
• Single Skill Modules (with 30-day Flex Pass) Individual leadership skill training modules available standalone with 30-day Flex Pass options, enabling flexible targeted capability development in specific HRO-related skills.
• Operational Excellence Management Systems (OEMS) Design & Support Design and embedding of Operational Excellence Management Systems including tiered daily management, leader standard work, PDCA problem-solving flow, escalation paths, and fit-for-purpose operations playbooks for high-risk organizations.
• Maritime Quality Assurance Services Quality assurance services for maritime and shipbuilding operations, integrating QA with production flow through Rapid Compliance Assessments, Audit Recovery, and Continued Assurance, including procurement controls, traceability, supplier oversight, and audit readiness.
• HRO Leadership Workshops Hands-on workshop sessions for executives and teams covering tiered daily management, leader standard work, incident learning, human factors (pre-task briefs, cross-checks, just-culture responses), and live drills in situ.
• Decision-Making & Human Factors Workshops Intensive, scenario-driven workshops applying pre-mortem, red teaming, OODA loops, error-trap spotting, and crisis communications frameworks to reduce cognitive overload and improve team coordination under pressure.
• Customized Workshops Tailored workshop modules built from a client's operating context and constraints, covering turnarounds, outage readiness, shift handover, MOC, supplier performance, and audit cadence, delivered onsite or virtually in half-day to multi-day formats.
• Keynote Speaking High-energy keynote presentations for leaders in high-risk, high-consequence operations that translate nuclear-submarine rigor into decision frameworks, human-factors habits, and management rhythms, available as 30-60 minute keynotes or longer workshops.
• Extreme Operational Excellence (Book) Book co-authored by Bob Koonce that applies U.S. Nuclear Submarine Culture to civilian organizations, distilling Rickover-era principles into practical tools for leaders, sold as a standalone retail product.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30% reduction in latent conditions within first 90 days of engagement
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• McKinsey & Company: Global management consultancy with Operations and Organization practices that cover culture transformation, safety performance and operational excellence. A broad incumbent against which HRG competes for senior executive attention and engagement mandates.
• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm with a leadership development and talent practice (including the Lominger competencies). Comparable to HRG on the executive coaching and leadership development side, though broader in scope and scale.
• Deloitte (Consulting): Global Big 4 consultancy with a large Human Capital and Operations Transformation practice covering safety culture, operational excellence and leadership development. Competes with HRG for enterprise transformation mandates, typically at much larger engagement sizes.

Direct peers

• FranklinCovey: Enterprise leadership development and execution consulting firm selling cohort-based programs (The 7 Habits, Execution, Unleashing Innovation). Comparable to HRG in leadership mastery programs, workshop-based delivery, and recurring cohort revenue model.
• VitalSmarts (Crucial Learning): Leadership and culture change consultancy known for Crucial Conversations and Crucial Influence training, serving safety-critical and enterprise clients. Overlaps with HRG's leadership coaching, speak-up behaviors, and human factors skill-building offerings.
• Behavioral Science Technology (BST): Safety culture and human performance consultancy using behavioral science to reduce incidents in energy, mining and manufacturing. Closely comparable in methodology (behavior-based safety, leadership coaching, culture transformation) and target buyer (operations executives in high-risk industries).
• DuPont Sustainable Solutions: Long-established safety culture and operational risk management consultancy that helped originate the operational excellence category in heavy industry. Directly comparable to HRG in offering culture transformation, leadership development, and process safety consulting to energy, chemical and manufacturing clients.
• The Arbinger Institute: Leadership and culture change consultancy focused on mindset, accountability and relationship-based execution. Comparable to HRG in culture transformation, leadership coaching and human factors work for enterprise and government clients.
• GOAL/QPC: Operational excellence and lean transformation consultancy serving manufacturing, energy and government. Overlaps with HRG's OEMS design, tiered daily management, and PDCA problem-solving methodologies for high-consequence operations.

Emerging players

• DEKRA: Global testing, inspection and certification firm expanding into safety culture and process safety consulting for industrial clients. Comparable in serving safety-critical industries with QA-style services that partially overlap with HRG's Maritime QA and Rapid Operational Assessment offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/high-reliability-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about High Reliability Group