Achieving Maximum Efficiency with Operational Assessments

Whether there’s an obvious problem that needs to be solved or the overall health of an organization needs to be gauged, operational assessments are a great way to identify gaps. Often times, it’s manufacturing organizations that use these assessments, but the reality is all organizations can benefit from the exercise. After all, every organization is looking for the most efficient way to improve performance.

In my last blog, I discussed why operational assessments are essential to organizations today. Here, I will take it a step further and outline a few things to focus on when conducting operational assessments to gain insight on how an organization is currently performing and what needs to change to achieve desired performance.

Know the Flow

Both material and process flow in their current state need to be taken into account as they contribute to current performance. A complete flow should be comprised of the actions, inputs and outputs, decisions that must be made, stakeholders or people involved, and time associated with each step.

Evaluate Leadership Structure

The cadence in any organization is largely influenced by the actions of leaders. This is why it’s so important to closely monitor leader standard work (what leaders are doing, when their doing it, and whether or not it was completed), their ability to solve problems, and their involvement in the tier meeting structure. To keep up with the business cadence in most organizations, tier meetings should happen on a daily basis, if not multiple times a day.

Take Exceptions into Account

Everything that impacts current performance needs to be evaluated when completing an operational assessment, including the mistakes. This is why things like scrap, rework, and the time spent “putting out fires” need to be accounted for.

Know the Impact of the Supply Chain

Without a thorough understanding of supply chain performance, strategy, design, and costs, it’s impossible to gauge an organization’s success. Properly assessing these factors also allows for steps to be taken to mitigate risk and maximize efficiency.

By taking a step back to properly evaluate the daily operations within an organization, the flaws can be identified, and more efficient solutions can be found. Stay tuned for my next blog that will uncover how to conduct operational assessments.