Operational Excellence is the ongoing practice of enhancing business operations to achieve superior performance and efficiency. Here are the steps to guide you on your own path towards operational excellence:
- Define your objectives: Before initiating any improvement efforts, it’s important to establish your aims and objectives clearly. What do you want to accomplish? What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will evaluate success?
- Identify areas for improvement: With a clear understanding of your objectives, you need to pinpoint the aspects of your business that require enhancement. This may involve scrutinising your current processes and systems to identify inefficiencies or opportunities for optimisation.
- Develop a plan: After identifying areas for improvement, you must devise a plan to achieve your objectives. This plan should encompass specific goals, timelines, and metrics for monitoring progress.
- Implement the plan: With a plan in place, it is time to begin implementing it. This might involve altering your processes, systems or organisational structure.
Small incremental changes contribute to significant changes over time!
- Monitor progress: As you carry out your plan, it is essential to observe progress and evaluate results against your KPIs. This will enable you to identify areas that are functioning well and those that might need further enhancement.
- Continuous improvement: Operational Excellence is an ongoing process, with ample room for improvement. Ensure that you persistently monitor and analyse your processes and systems to identify additional optimisation opportunities.
- Trusted Partner: If your organisation lacks an Operational Excellence expert on staff, expedite your programme and significantly increase your likelihood of success by collaborating with a trusted partner who will guide you through this intricate cultural shift.
The Unilever Case
To understand how these steps plan out in reality, let’s take a look at how Unilever approached its journey to Operational Excellence.
Unilever’s OpEx success can be attributed to its implementation of the Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) methodology, which emphasises efficiency and effectiveness in manufacturing.
Unilever faced challenges in managing the complexity of its vast product portfolio and maintaining a competitive edge in the market. To overcome these hurdles and achieve operational excellence, the company embraced TPM as part of its broader continuous improvement strategy.
Unilever outlined specific objectives, such as reducing downtime, minimising waste, and increasing overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
The company then analysed its processes and systems to identify inefficiencies and areas requiring optimisation, such as equipment maintenance and production line workflows.
Unilever then created a comprehensive plan, including setting goals, timelines, and KPIs, to track the progress of its TPM implementation, before rolling out the TPM programme across its global manufacturing facilities, involving employees at all levels in problem-solving and improvement initiatives.
The company regularly monitored progress, evaluating results against KPIs, and adjusting the plan as needed to ensure continuous improvement. Unilever maintained its commitment to TPM, embedding a culture of continuous improvement throughout the organisation. This ongoing effort has resulted in further optimisation of processes and systems over time.
Not one to go it alone, Unilever collaborated with TPM consultants and experts, leveraging their expertise to facilitate the implementation process and ensure the successful adoption of TPM principles.
As a result of embracing TPM and operational excellence, Unilever has achieved significant improvements in efficiency, waste reduction, and overall productivity. This commitment to continuous improvement has enabled the company to remain competitive and maintain its position as a leading consumer goods manufacturer.
Key Takeaway
Remember that operational excellence is a journey, not a destination. It requires a commitment to continuous improvement and a willingness to adapt and evolve as your business grows and changes.
Project7 Consultancy are acknowledged experts in partnering with manufacturers to ensure they achieve sustainable success in their journey to Operational Excellence. Save time in achieving your success by speaking with us today.