OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE TO MAXIMIZE PERFORMANCE: THE STRATEGIC AND ORGANIZATIONAL APPROACH
Operational excellence is only the first step in the process of organizing a company. It is a methodical approach, which does not tolerate errors or approximations.
But what is the reality? How can you make these changes without jeopardizing your productivity and regaining the expected level of excellence?
A 3-step organizational process approach
The strategic and organizational approach, developed by Serge Darrieumerlou from a McKinsey matrix, consists of placing actions according to different time horizons, structured in distinct stages: operational excellence, the continuous improvement process and innovation.
Horizon 1: Operational excellence
This is the domain of operational excellence. In the immediate term, we must keep the company running, everyone at his post. We must not make any mistakes, we must deliver on time, at the expected level of quality and performance.
During this phase, no questioning, we act with the current organization and processes. Any deviation from a standard or a process is an ERROR, which must be CORRECTED.
Horizon 2: Continuous improvement
What could we do to improve the way we currently work?
Could we review our processes, our organization, to do better? This is the field of continuous improvement, well known to production teams in factories.
Here, a deviation from a reference system is a test which, in the end, by dint of experience, adjustments and optimization, makes it possible to obtain a process or an organization superior to the previous one.
Once validated, the new process passes into horizon 1, and becomes operational, thus excellent.
Horizon 3 : Innovation
Horizon 3 corresponds to innovation: we no longer work on improving processes, but on new processes, a new organization, and especially on new products.
Approximation, deviance and error are not only permitted, but encouraged.
An innovation approach is intended, after filtering on feasibility and expected ROI, to also reach horizon 1.