Resources in Operational Excellence (OPEX)

Deploy: to organize and send out (people or things) to be used for a particular purpose; to open up and spread out the parts of (something, such as a parachute).     Source: Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary

Organizations face many challenges when trying to deploy or redeploy an improvement program. So much of the success of any initiative depends on how it is implemented and used by the organization. To be successful, you must consider what is the correct method to use, what are the change management issues, and how it will be deployed. A one-size-fits-all mentality will not work in any of these three areas.

It all begins with culture

We must begin with self-examination of the current culture in your organization. Several questions must be answered:

Inside the four walls of most companies today, you will find Operational Excellence (OE) or Process Excellence (PE) programs aimed to accelerate the improvement activities of a business. The titles of the programs may or may accurately depict the actual work, as there are no universal definitions for OE or PE. In general, OE programs improve the scalability, reduce cost, increase flexibility, improve quality or adjust the strategic focus of the value creation engine. PE programs historically focus on similar goals, but using processes as the foundational improvement construct. Many consultants and process practitioners speak of the convergence of the realms of OE and PE. This is an important change in business improvement planning. Many of us have learned that processes are very effective tools to use as the basis for planning and executing strategic and operational improvements.

By its very name, Operational Excellence (OpEx) has held a traditional operations approach in most corporate visions and as a result been strongest in manufacturing operations/production sites or within department/functional operational lines of organizations.

Does the traditional operational approach create a “Separate From” business strategic linkage in corporate visions?

Historical Deployment and Engagement of OpEx

From OpEx early days as Six Sigma and Lean – the methodologies, tools and techniques were leveraged as a continuous improvement mindset with Cost Savings as King although it has evolved over the years at mature organizations to include waste elimination, improved process flow & efficiencies, enhanced capacity, and a quality/compliance driver.

Best in class companies understand that Operational Excellence (Op Ex) is the means to an end and not an end in itself. Yet, many organizations dedicated to Op Ex focus mostly on assuring that the core skills of Lean and Six Sigma are in place and that people understand work as a process. In some cases, companies choose to deploy Op Ex along departmental lines and fail to take full advantage of removing the non-value added steps residing in cross functional handoffs. While building the foundation for Op Ex is important, it’s not enough on its own. A company intent on taking Op Ex to the next level may wish to consider the following four tactics.