Operasyonel Excellence – OpEx

Operasyonel Excellence – OpEx


Operational Excellence; It is an inclusive management system that has the ability to use workforce, processes and technology effectively to achieve sustainable success, provides leadership at all levels and strengthens decision-making mechanisms.

The word “improvement”, which is frequently pronounced in businesses, has different meanings for different people. Naturally, we make sense of this concept according to our own activities. Therefore, when we say “improvement” in an enterprise, many different meanings occur such as reducing production costs, decreasing stocks, decreasing personnel circulation, and increasing customer satisfaction.

Of course, it is also possible to achieve operational success by setting targets for each process. However, the drawback of this form of management is that it ignores the effect of all processes on each other. Managing the interactions as well as the main effects of the processes requires having a number of skills such as visual management, leadership and effective communication.

Lean Management Systems aim to reach from point A to point B in the shortest and easiest way. For this, all non-value-added steps are reduced or eliminated by waste hunting. Process flows are visualized in their simplest form so that anyone can easily understand. In most ideal stage, anyone who is not has any information and skills about process should will soon solve the flow and learn to be a part of the process.

If the continuous flow becomes easily monitored, it becomes easily noticeable in situations that interrupt this flow and have the potential to interrupt it. Afterwards, the question to be asked in case of any malfunction in the flow should be “What is the standard job to do in this situation?” Autonomous management systems begin by knowing the answer to this question.

So how do we get to this level and beyond? In the Operational Excellence journey, businesses need a roadmap suitable for their own structures. The stages along the way to the goal must be defined, measured and known to all employees in some way.

We define this journey in 8 stages in the businesses we work with:

Step-1 – Standardization (Visual Workflow): Shop floor meetings with at least 1 participant of all relevant departments constitute the most important part of this stage. Meetings are carried out on a shift or daily output. The expected situation at this stage will be the visualization of the workflow;

    • Built-in-Quailty (BIQ) Meetings
    • Visual Management Standard,
    • Human Development,
    • Autonomous maintenance,
    • 5S,
    • H&S
    • Problem Solving Techniques

Step-2 – Systematic Approach (Visual management): After confirming by assessment that the first step has been applied successfully, to the second step is passed. At this Step, the problem-solving and leadership skills of field workers are developed and autonomous management structures are established. The targeted situation will be that the interruptions and deviations in the processes will become noticeable quickly.

    • Professional maintenance
    • Standart work
    • Lean leadership
    • BIQ standardization
    • PDCA

Step-3– Continuous Improvement: With the competence of operation teams reaching a sufficient level, the current situation capabilities can be measured. Standards are created that employees can respond to interruptions and deviations in processes without waiting for support. At this step, the structure for systematic improvements to be made is created, taking into account the differences (especially cost-based) between the targets and the realizations.

    • PB – OB  activities
    • PDCA meetings
    • Kobetsu Kaizen
    • Quick Kaizen
    • Kaizen Committee
    • SMED
    • Suggestion systems

Step-4 – Process optimization:Process capabilities and operating level are measured. Cost-based process improvements are performed using statistical methods.

    • 6 Sigma Green Belt
    • 6 Sigma Yellow Belt
    • SPC (Six Pack)
    • Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
    • Best Practices
    • Poka Yoke – QA Matrix

Step-5 – Just in Time: At this step of the Operational Excellence process, management now become to has the opportunity to use the time to grow the operation which used to maintain the operation before.

    • Kanban
    • Milkrun Practices
    • Spagetti Diagrams
    • Time Study – Ergonomy
    • SMED 2.Step
    • Yamazumi
    • Poka-Yoke / Error Proof 

Step-6 – Strategic Approach: Waste hunting becomes the skills of all employees, and management determines business strategies with the power of this capability. Layout Optimizations are performed at this stage.

    • SWOT
    • Risk Management
    • Change Management
    • TRIZ-ARIZ

Step-7- Mastering: Team become to able to use 6 Sigma tools to optimizations. Process parameters are determined according to models to be created with statistical applications.

    • 6 Sigma BB
    • 6 Sigma GB 2.Step
    • 6 Sigma YB 2.Step
    • MSA
    • Process modeling
    • DOE

Step-8- Foresight Level: High-capability processes are designed. Innovative approaches become company culture. At this stage, businesses have predictions that can make their medium and long-term plans.

    • Design for 6 Sigma
    • Optimizations
    • Long term plans