We're all concerned about how to improve on a continuous basis. And we hear folks
in-the-know talking about it as "a journey." Apparently that means there's no magic
pill. We know it takes time to get there, but equally as improtant, it takes
change. Change in terms of how we think...a thought process different
than we've used before. And the change can manifest itself in the form of people,
processes, equipment, materials, etc.
"Why improve when we're doing well now?" Great question! One of the best reasons
is competition. Most businesses compete in a global economy. Doing well today is
no quarantee that we'll be doing well tomorrow. How many companies do you know that
were "doing well", but are no longer around?
So what does continuous improvement really mean? Let's start with the most important
focus of a business: satisfying the customer. To be successful, we need to define
our very existence in terms of customer satisfaction! In other words, everything
should be driven by our customer's needs.
How do we satisfy our customer and stay profitable at the same time? If we take
a look at Value-Added
and define it in terms of those things that the customer is willing to pay for,
we'll have a starting place.
Just what is our customer willing to pay for?
The material in our product?
The container that surrounds our product?
The labels on our product?
The processes to create our product?
The answer, in all cases, is YES!
Now let's ask: What will the customer not pay for?
Re-work?
The time the fork trucks are moving the product around the plant?
Defects?
Downtime?
Obviously, the answer here is NO! These are all Non-Value Added items.
So, if we focus on the things the customer is willing to pay for, and eliminate/reduce
that which the customer is not willing to pay for, we'll be more competitive than
we were in the past. Or, increase the value, and eliminate the waste.
Waste - an interesting topic. What is it?
Defects - Producing a product that can't be shipped to the customer
Overproduction - producing more than the customer wants
Waiting - due to downtime, material delivery, etc.
Not Utilizing Employees' - Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Transportation - Moving materials from point A to B
Inventory - More than the customer wants
Motion - Tool not in the right location, etc.
Excess Processing - More than the customer requires, etc.
So "The Journey" is an on-going activity during which you increase the value being
added to the product, and reduce/eliminate the non-value-added activities (waste).
The end result: you'll be more competitive, your costs will be more manageable,
lead times shorter, productivity will increase, and employee satisfaction will be
enhanced.