Process Improvement:
Any business operation is a collection of
processes which transform input (raw materials, information,
components) into useful output (product, services etc.) whilst
using some of the businesses resources (labour, cash,
facilities etc). These processes are the natural business
activities that produce value, serve customers and generate
income. Managing these processes to maximise the effectiveness
and minimise waste is the key to the success of the
organization.
Most businesses grow over an extended period of time and the
underlying processes evolve without necessarily ever being
designed or even reviewed. The effect of inefficient processes
being operated by departments that have their foundations in
history can often be highly comical, unfortunately the effects
on the bottom-line are usually no laughing matter.
Over the last few years re-engineering efforts have swept the
country as companies pursue the promise of lower costs, higher
productivity, higher profits and improved quality. In reality
most of these efforts have been based around the statement...
"We need to reduce the workforce by 10% across the board,
having done that what can we do to fill the gap". It is not
unusual for there to be little understanding of how the
business actually operates such that when cuts are made and
changes are forced through the resulting "Re-engineered"
business is unlikely to operate any more effectively than
before.
Our approach ensures that the "as is" situation is fully
documented and understood before moving onto any ideas for
improvements.
Process mapping is the first step of process management.
Although there are a large number of methods which differ in
detail, the fundamental approach is always the same, using
these tools it is possible to document, analyse, improve,
rationalize and ultimately redesign the way a business
operates. In essence, using this approach it is possible to:
- Identify all of the
existing processes
- Understand how these
interact in to form the business system
- Locate process flaws that
create systematic problems
- Evaluate value-adding and
non-value adding activities
Rationalize the existing processes and improve flow
- Identify processes that
need to be re-engineered
- Improve effectiveness and
efficiency
- Reduce employee
frustration and improve customer satisfaction
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All of the points above sound very
attractive, as always, there is a catch. The process of
process re-engineering needs careful application. The
following key questions must be answered,
If your not careful you can spend hundreds of
man-hours micro-mapping processes and never reach the stage
where you have an overall view of the business. By clearly
identifying the objective we can determine the appropriate
level of mapping and review.
Our approach is to tackle the problem in
stages, delving deeper into processes only if it is apparent
that they will yield useful results, in this way we can
produce initial "as is" results in days rather than weeks.
The level of effort required to subsequently re-engineer these
processes is highly dependent on the state of the business
itself, it must be said that re-engineering a business can be
challenging and require real management commitment, however if
done properly the effect on a business can be truly amazing.
Give us a call to find out how we can help you. |
