Operational Excellence
Organizations are in the midst of a quality revolution -- again. Six Sigma, Lean, Quality Function Deployment, Statistical Process Control and Design of Experiments -- these are some of the methods that are producing unprecedented results for organizations.
For example, Honeywell (Allied Signal) has reported over $800 million in savings since the initiation of their Six Sigma program. GE claims savings of some $12 billion. Honeywell claims over $800 million in savings over 5 years.
Lean Enterprise at Toyota has produced what is generally regarded as the best production system in the world, capable of producing vehicles of higher quality and at lower cost than any existing competitor. Nokia, Sony, American Express and Toshiba are reporting similar results, as are organizations in health care, government services and industries ranging from mining to banking and from manufacturing to utilities.
There is no more proof of concept required -- the methods of Operational Excellence represent best practice in seeking improvement to operations.
Six Core Technologies
Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a disciplined approach to improvement designed to achieve near perfection in product and service quality through variation, error and defect reduction.
Lean
Lean is the evolution of the Toyota Production system and its application to improving processes through the vigorous elimination of waste.
Performance Measurement
Organizations are rediscovering the value in measuring their performance and the performance of their business and production processes.
Policy Deployment
The best practice in business, operational and strategic planning that produces explicit alignment (clear line-of-sight) across organizational units and levels.
Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
Either by itself or linked with Design for Six Sigma, QFD is the best way to ensure the Voice of the Customer is embedded into the product or service redesign.
Experimental Design
The most advanced technology available for optimizing production processes is also one of the most effective at generating productive change across the organization.
