Operational Excellence for Business Excellence

Kaizen/Lean concepts & methodologies have changed the landscape of manufacturing/service

organizations who have adopted it. KAIZEN is globally proven approach to drive and sustain an

operational excellence culture within any organization. Kaizen helps organizations to improve its

processes, quality, reduce waste and thus costs. Kaizen improves employee participation in daily

problem identification and solving. Kaizen is a culture that drives continual improvement.

Business environment is getting competitive day by day and if organization continues to do what they

have done in past, organizations may not survive! Organizations must manage their operations with

greater efficiency in order to continue to provide high level of service to their customers. Companies

have started preparing for this year which is unknown for the business community. Some companies

are taking drastic changes as to reduce their overall costs & some are taking planned measures. Most

of the companies have put operational excellence on their agenda this year and are going to be

successful or improve their performance in the longer run.

Improve or Perish is the harsh reality!

Operational Excellence for Business Excellence

The way Plan is to Strategy, Do is to Operations. Although Operational Excellence for Business

Excellence is a strategy but it has to do with Operations. Operational Excellence cannot be achieved

by sitting in the conference room and planning for it. Companies will have to focus on Gemba (English

world for Shop floor). Gemba is the real place where companies can identify real problem, meet real

people & offer real solutions. It helps organizations to unlock high business performance in difficult

times. The best way going ahead is to be operationally fit all the time.

What is Operational Excellence?

Operational Excellence…it is DOING your DO Well! Infact in the PDCA cycle, Operational Excellence

covers DCA, while P is the typical strategy part. We have innumerable examples of great strategies

failing due to poor execution (of course the reverse happens too!). Irrespective of the size of the

business or the industry it belongs to, OE is mission critical.

Often times, it is a pity that Operations is given a step motherly treatment. Strategy is the leader’s

domain! It is seen as enriching, something that nourishes the visionary instincts inside the CEO or

senior managers. As soon the strategy is set; operations is often left to the ‘boys’ below to tackle! In

other words operations are seen as trivial, not so engaging or inspiring! But success lies in the details,

it lies in ‘doing’ your plans well! I am of the firm opinion that an even simple plan, executed with

minimum waste delivers excellence!

Operational Excellence is not rocket science. It is about identifying undesirable elements from across

the processes…which manifest as Waste and Variation. Waste in the form on rework, over processing,

waiting, unnecessary motion and such others, results in broken processes. Broken processes can’t

deliver products or services on time or in full. On the other hand processes variations results in costly

errors or at times in total failure!

OE is our challenge and opportunity! We often know what to do, we often have great policies and

plans, but we fail when it is time to put plans into action.

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How can an organization achieve Operational Excellence?

True organizational transformation happen when the very bones…the skeletal structure is challenged

and changed. When old paradigms and structures are questioned and replaced when needed. One

can’t fool oneself or others by mere ‘dressing up’! Sadly, often time, this is the case within many

organizations who adopt LEAN/ 6 Sigma or any other transformation approach. Especially this applies

to manufacturing or transformation related to operations as in LEAN/ LEAN Sigma or similar

implementation.

Often organizations get started with tools like 5s, SMED, AM, Cellular Layouts etc, these are tools that

are launched and implemented with encouraging results, but many a times the efforts start and end

with these tools. These tools are a means to an end. The end being Sustainable Growth and Profits!

NEVER ever can these disjointed, tool focused approach cannot be considered as organizational

transformation! We do get enthused by book like The Toyota Way, which does offer more than a peep

into Toyota’s culture transformation under way since some many decades (they say it is still work in

progress! Kaizen!). But not many of us are not able to appreciate the deeper organization cultural/

habits/ beliefs which drive everything else. Our chairman Sensei Imai san says – true Kaizen

is…Everyday, Everyone, Everywhere Kaizen ….continual improvement. It is not few people, few days,

and few places ….driving Kaizen!

While tools drive improvements, it is how one builds the underlying cultural transformation that is

the key. From the Kaizen Management System perspective, culture is an outcome that comes by

staying focused on three key elements: (a) system & model for change within the organization (b)

building skills / capability across the board to learn & drive change (c) coupled with setting clear

goals, an audit mechanism linked to performance management. It is this judicious combination of

these three elements that powers true transformation, which in turn, powers sustenance of a Kaizen

culture within any organization.

As one perfects the tools of change, one should not lose sight on the cultural aspects as mentioned

above. There is no meaning in fooling ourselves or other stake holders, by calling a ‘dressed up’ chimp

as Homo sapiens! The message is clear….apply tools, but address the culture!

In Imai san’s words….LEAN or 6 Sigma is the outcome, whereas Kaizen is the process that drives these

outcomes!

Why OE?

This will results in two benefits:

- Business Benefit – Better Flow of production, thus Less Inventories, and On Time In Full

Error Free Deliveries.

- Impact on Culture – Improved Discipline and higher Engagement of People in Company

Wide Efficiency Improvements

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