Key 6 of the 20 Keys system for operations improvement is all about Kaizen of Operations.
With Key 6, processes and procedures are analysed, with the objective of improving productivity. Processes and procedures are studied for improvement by means of process flow diagrams like activity flow diagrams and physical flow diagrams, and operations improvement sheets.
The key concepts of Key 6 of the 20 Keys system for operations improvement are:
- Improve productivity through ongoing analysis and improvement of processes, procedures and tasks, in production and supporting functions
- Levels of Kaizen (spot, line, area, volumetric); from a very narrow, to a holistic focus
- Value analysis of processes, procedures and tasks; eliminating/reducing non-value adding activities
- Ongoing improvement of procedures, with the standard operating procedure (SOP) as basis
- Focus on productivity improvement in all production and supporting functions
Recently, an online Zoom session was held for the first time with all Astral Key 6 champions. Delegates were spread across the country, while participating in this session. Johan Benadie (Director at ODI) did coaching on Key 6 with all the delegates, with input from Nikki Moodley (Astral Operations Improvement Executive). Nikki commented afterwards that it was an awesome session.
A WhatsApp group has also been created for all these delegates, to assist them with their Key 6 studies. Everyone will work their way through the Key 6 workbook, and submit a document of a practical implementation online, to be assessed. This is a big effort to ensure sustainability of improvements in the workplace.
Author: Huibie Jones – MD at ODI
To read more about ODI’s Continuous Operations Improvement System, click here.
ODI’s operations improvement system provides a tool to benchmark an organisation against international best practices. It describes the steps towards improvement through 5 levels in each Key, with the use of practical, easy to use checksheets and picture-based maps.