Productivity

Purpose

Implementing continuous improvement (kaizen) to increase productivity in an organisation is more than merely drawing up action plans, and implementing them. To be successful and sustainable, it requires a transformation of the organisation’s culture. Just as with changing habits, it takes exceptional measures to make this transformation complete and successful. The Operations Excellence System aims at fulfilling this role; helping the organisation to make a successful transition to a culture of continuous improvement (kaizen). Only when continuous improvement has become an organisation culture, in other words,” the way we do things”, can one be assured that the initiative will be sustained.

Content

MODULE 1: Management System

The management system teaches us to plan, to implement according to plan, to review plans, to take corrective actions, to measure, and to celebrate. It also teaches us about consistent and regular communication, and to start off on the right foot, by having a purpose and a vision for the transformation of our workplaces.

MODULE 2: Goal Alignment

Every team is structured according to mini-businesses, and has its own set of internal and external customers with whom it builds relationships. In addition, every team has a set of key performance indicators (KPIs); measures that it influences directly, and for which it is directly responsible.

MODULE 3: Efficient Workplace Organisation

Explains how to create a visual, functional, organised workplace that improves productivity, highlights improvements, and eliminates the need for searching. It will also provide the necessary skills and knowledge to create a safer work environment. Benefits include:

• A safe working environment.
• Increased productivity and efficiency.
• Machines that last longer, and break down less often.
• Improved stock control, and reduced duplicate ordering.

MODULE 4: Teamwork

Small problem solving groups, comprised of people from all levels and functions of an organisation. It could be a group of three to five operators brainstorming about a specific issue that they faced on the previous shift, or it could be a small group of people from different levels thinking of a new way in which to care for the company’s machines. It is about implementing as many as possible improvements. A good system for generating ideas must be established, and an even better system for implementing ideas. People must be empowered to implement their own ideas, whether it means simply allowing them to try new things, or to give them the necessary training, material, and tools to implement their own ideas.

MODULE 5: Lean Workflow

Lean workflow helps to establish a smooth flow of product, information, and services. Like a boat flowing down a river is slowed down by dams holding up the flow of the river, so the different work-in-process stores (such as stockpiles and in-trays) hold up the flow of work through a system. Techniques such as Value Stream Mapping are used to help identify how and where value flows. Other techniques and methodologies used include Just-In-Time, Kanban, Re-order Levels, etc. Focus is placed on how to:

• Eliminate wasteful activities.
• Optimise necessary non-value adding activities.
• Maximise value adding activities.

MODULE 6: Skills Development

Without skills development, it is not possible to empower the front-line to participate in an improvement effort. As the business and environment change, skills must be adapted to meet these changes. Focus is placed on how to decide which skills are needed, and what training interventions are required to maximise efficiencies.

MODULE 7: Cost and Efficiency Control

It is about creating an organisation-wide conservation culture. Making people at all levels aware of how they can help to save energy and material – even in small ways – will contribute greatly towards helping an organisation to become a lean, competitive market player.

MODULE 8: Quality Assurance

It is about making processes capable to deliver what they need to deliver. This helps to prevent the need to rework or redo specific aspects of a process. Focus is placed on how to reduce the amount of variation in a process, as well as the amount of monitoring that must be done.

MODULE 9: Asset Care

The main focus is on improving the effectiveness of equipment. This is done by involving operators of equipment in daily and routine preventive maintenance, so that artisans and engineers can focus on implementing the rest of the asset care strategy. An important part of Asset Care is about establishing a partnership between production and engineering, and an important concept is to solve the root causes of problems.

Features

• Consists of one Management System Module, to create a common vision, and eight practical Modules, to make operations more competitive.
• Creates a common language for improvement.
• Utilises detailed checksheets, to depict the levels of improvement towards world class.
• Based on a proven methodology for sustainable business improvement.