Best Practice in Operational Excellence

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In theory, Operational Excellence sounds quite simple: namely, when every individual employee recognizes the value created for the customer and can ensure this value even in case of disruptions. But what does practice look like? The answer is often quite hesitant.

On October 4th, the Swiss Chemical Society will present at ILMAC LAUSANNE, using five Best Practice examples from companies in the chemical and life sciences industries, how OpEx can be implemented.

Operational Excellence (OpEx) is a component of organizational management and competence. It aims to meet customer expectations while simultaneously focusing on the application of various principles, systems, and tools that are intended to sustainably improve key performance indicators. Operational Excellence is based on data-driven metrics, derived either from algorithms, machine learning, or artificial intelligence.1 As simple as this may sound, the implementation of OE in our daily lives is often unclear. When asked what it specifically entails, the response is usually hesitant. Common answers include "It has something to do with process quality (producing consistently perfect parts)," or "It means applying lean tools everywhere to counteract waste." The concept cannot be easily quantified, and it is difficult to explain to production employees in simple practical terms how to bring about and maintain Operational Excellence.2

Explanation of the term Operational Excellence

Operational Excellence is achieved when every individual employee can see the value generated for the customer and can restore this value in case of disruptions. It's that simple. This means that every employee knows that the product moves in a specific quantity, at a certain time, and at a specific location from process A to process B; if this is not the case, a disruption is present. Additionally, the staff knows how to fix disruptions if they occur (and they will), without needing to contact supervisors, inform management, or hold meetings. This also applies to office staff, who can view the order process of a customer based on multiple business processes and can also "repair" it if it is disrupted. Imagine orders flowing through a pipe — starting from order receipt, through the manufacturing process, to delivery. At some point (in the office or in production), the pipe gets clogged, and the flow stalls. The responsible personnel now know without involving management what needs to be done to clear the clog so that flow can continue. The staff thus ensures smooth throughput and maintains a disruption-free overall process, while management can focus on the company's growth.2

Examples of Best Practice at ILMAC LAUSANNE 2017

Five OpEx experts from chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing will share their experiences in process development and explain how OpEx was implemented in their daily work and how OpEx influences workflows for operating personnel, process managers, and executives.

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_excellence
2 http://www.industryweek.com/companies-amp-executives/operational-excellence-defined