Operational Excellence Interview (Part 1 of 2)
nTuitive nGen would like to thank Walter Swindell of Optimization Solutions Consulting for contributing to this month's theme of Operational Excellence. Optimization Solutions Consulting is a provider of helping organizations achieve improved results by identifying those things that are out of alignment with their strategic plan and therefore working against the success of the organization. Optimization Solutions Consulting is on the cusp of improving small business operations. Take a look..
1) There are many definitions of Operational Excellence, ranging from the purely theoretical to the completely practical. What is your definition of Operational Excellence and what school of thought is your definition based upon?
A: Operational Excellence is when all aspects of the organization are aligned and working towards the achievement of the vision and mission of the organization. My Operational Excellence school of thought comes from the belief that if an organization does not create and communicate a vision that incorporates its core ideology and envisioned future, it is highly unlikely that the organization will achieve Operational Excellence.
2) What are some critical factors in reaching Operational Excellence? Does this change for companies that are in manufacturing versus non-manufacturers.
A: Key factors in achieving Operational Excellence are having clear and establish goals, objectives, and standards for performance. To achieve Operational Excellence it is essential that each individual in the organization has a clear understanding of how Operational Excellence is defined for their accountabilities. It is as equally important l that each functional area of the organization clearly understands the strategic objectives of the organization and the cross functional dependency of the organization. Operational Excellence will never be achieved if functional areas perform their duties and responsibilities in isolation. These principles hold true for all organization whether or not they are a manufacturing or non-manufacturers company.
3) How can a small business establish a baseline in order to implement measures that will increase Operational Excellence?
A: Step 1- Establish a clear understanding of the critical success factors that are essential to achieving organization goals. An organization that does not establish performance metrics will never know if it is on a pathway to success.
Step 2-Establish standards for measuring each critical success factor.Standards of performance must be established for each operational function that is linked to the critical success factors. Achieving Operational Excellence will not occur unless it is managed
Step 3- Implement management information systems to capture data to report on each critical success factor. The organizations that achieve Operational Excellence have a disciplined process for capturing, reporting, and analyzing results.