Optimizing Processes

OEM’s have generally a lot of embedded expenses that no one is relay looking at in order to improve the bottom line of their business.

You heard the term “Mean and Lean” but to you really put it in practice, the answer may be yes, but in reality it is surely NO.

OEM that are large enough have probably a planning department, which task, is to make sure the work is planned and parts are there when the task starts.

But are the tasks optimized? And that is really where the wholly grail resides.

Optimizing tasks may require patience, dedication and temporary confusion within the entire factory but the results can be extraordinary.

Take the example of a mechanical assembler that needs to drill holes on a mounting panel. There are all kind of holes sizes to be drilled and tapped. Each assembler has its own way of doing his work and without proper training you may find that there are more non-added value steps than actual added value.

The more complicated the task, the more non added values are found. Without proper training the only difference between a small and a large company is more non-added values.

A company that does not understand the need to get processes optimized at an early stage in its development is a boat lost at seas and the larger the company the more complicated the task.

Just like you wouldn’t wait that you child reaches sixteen years of age to start training him, good habits within a company are developed at an early stage.

To ensure constant quality throughout all processes, some companies have adopted ISO procedures but quality is controlled to the detriment of efficiency. It slows down the operations to the point where there is no gain.

Planning Activities

Another component of excellent manufacturing is the planning of activities.

For those who remember “In Search of Excellence” the book written by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr. where order entries are followed from reception to completion at a large corporation, describes very much what happens when companies do not do activities planning. Remember that humans with different levels of motivation work for your enterprise, which need to be told what is accepted and what is non-acceptable within your company.

Employees selected for their expertise, common sense and self-motivation, proper planning of activities, and optimization of processes generate happiness, comfort, motivation, enthusiasm, dedication and success.