EON Blog

EON often stress the importance of taking a so-called “comprehensive approach” to continuous improvement, which means addressing four major CI work streams that need to function in a highly integrated fashion to ensure that CI both serves the needs of, and generates value for, the business.  Those work streams include:

1. Strategy deployment
2. Improvement project execution
3. Best practices implementation
4. Performance analytics

The previous article titled CI Management Series – Two Critical Strategy Mistakes to Avoid addressed how to make strategy setting more efficient and strategy management more effective.  This second article in the CI Management series takes a closer look at project execution with a particular focus on two tactics to ensure that improvement projects are driven to completion and have real business impact.

In Part 1 of this series, I described the pros and cons of the Brute Force Model as one approach to deploying continuous improvement, with a particular focus on the dreaded “ROI Lag”.  Part 2 addressed the Incremental Model, which avoids many of the risks and challenges of the Brute Force Model, but is also highly unlikely to deliver a sustainable competitive advantage.  Here in Part 3 I’d like to propose a different-in-kind CI deployment model, one that bridges the tension that exists between the Brute Force Model, designed to drive rapid improvement but not without significant investment and organizational disruption, and the Incremental Model, which contains the investment but also places a ceiling on overall business impact.  We refer to this new approach as the Rapid, Scalable Model for deployment 

I live in a state that requires emissions inspections on all automobiles every 2 years.  Every time I get the reminder letter in the mail, my gut reaction is exasperation because I know that I’m going to have to take time out of my schedule to drive to the emissions station (which is never open at convenient hours), wait in a line of cars for 20-40 minutes, and pay my hard earned money to the state for them to perform the inspection and certify that my car meets the state’s emissions standards.  My reaction has nothing to do with my personal feelings on pollution or environmental care, mind you, and everything to do with my sense of frustration at the disruption that complying with the state’s emissions standards poses on my life.

My experience working in manufacturing is quite similar in many ways.  Certainly all manufacturers have to comply with a set of standards, whether imposed by a governmental organization such as OSHA, an international body of experts, such as ISO or the BRC, or internally developed by your company’s own subject-matter experts.  And I think it’s fair to say that many employees perceive compliance with these standards to be a hassle.  Take OSHA compliance for example.  I’ve never spoken to a single employee at a plant site who did not believe in the importance of workplace safety, but I’ve spoken to many who roll their eyes at the idea that they need to repeat the same safety training courses year after year.

The purpose of this article is certainly not to criticize any organization or governing body that issues these sorts of standards or suggest that companies should not take compliance seriously.  What I’m trying to point out is that something needs to be done to change employee mindsets such that they don’t see compliance to standards as a bad thing but as one mechanism for improving the overall performance of the operation.  Here are two recommendations.

As with any other planned program or function in your business, your investments in continuous improvement (CI) should be included in your operating budget. However, it can be difficult to properly budget for CI investments if you don’t have visibility into the current status of CI across the organization, which is often the case for companies that are using a piecemeal approach to CI management through some combination of Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint slides, and a file management system such as Sharepoint. A platform solution to CI management will provide the visibility required to make appropriate investment decisions.  In our experience, organizations should take into account the following when budgeting for CI.

Continuous improvement (CI) is a perpetual process (as the name indicates) that should be integrated into your company's daily workflow. Every employee should have a clear understanding of their improvement actions, how to achieve them, and the expected completion date. The organization also needs a system for tracking progress and measuring success.

“All we want to do is help our patients, but what they don’t teach us in medical school is that there are so many ways to do harm.” I picked up that bit of wisdom on The Resident, a new medical show on Fox. In fact, a 2012 study from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (a much more official source than any TV medical drama) reported: “More than one in four Medicare beneficiaries experience some degree of harm while hospitalized.” That’s a staggeringly large number.

The opioid crisis in America has heightened public awareness of the grave potential for health problems related to improper medication management. While the headlines speak of egregious over-prescription and gross negligence, any day-to-day process involving medications can be problematic if not managed well. 

If you want your hospital to operate effectively, standardization is one of the most important tools at your disposal. In fact, over 10 years ago, Dr. Peter Pronovost conducted a test across the state of Michigan of a revolutionary change in hospital I.C.U.s that dramatically reduced line infections. The high frequency and potential severity of line infections—possibly leading to fatality—gives them major importance. 

At EON, we’re privileged to work with OpEx Leaders and teams at a wide variety of organizations, which gives us broad exposure to the latest trends and most pressing challenges that our clients face.  Some of our clients are new to formal OpEx and are just getting their “sea legs” so to speak.  Others have been at it for some time and are trying to take their efforts to the next level.  The third category of client is one that has been on the journey for some time and has been able to implement a structured approach to OpEx within most or all of the organization.

At EON, we’re privileged to work with OpEx Leaders and teams at a wide variety of organizations, which gives us broad exposure to the latest trends and most pressing challenges that our clients face.  Some of our clients are new to formal OpEx and are just getting their “sea legs” so to speak.  Others have been at it for some time and are trying to take their efforts to the next level.  The third category of client is one that has been on the journey for some time and has been able to implement a structured approach to OpEx within most or all of the organization.

As we reflect on our work with clients across the OpEx maturity spectrum, we’ve identified 3 key challenges that every OpEx Leader will eventually need to address at some point in order to drive an approach to operational excellence that stands above the rest.  We sometimes refer to these as the 3S’s on the OpEx journey. Read on to learn about challenge #2, 'How to Scale Your Efforts'.

At EON, we’re privileged to work with OpEx Leaders and teams at a wide variety of organizations, which gives us broad exposure to the latest trends and most pressing challenges that our clients face.  Some of our clients are new to formal OpEx and are just getting their “sea legs” so to speak.  Others have been at it for some time and are trying to take their efforts to the next level.  The third category of client is one that has been on the journey for some time and has been able to implement a structured approach to OpEx within most or all of the organization.

Inventory management seems like a simple concept. Any organization wants to have “what you want where you want it when you need it.” If it’s there, everything goes smoothly. If it’s not, things start to fall apart.

Your company’s lean assessment model helps the business to run smoothly and be more predictable…unless, of course, it doesn’t. A model that’s poorly designed and deployed can create waves of problems across your company.

How do you know if you’re doing it correctly? Start with this list of do’s and don’ts, so your company will be poised for an easy transition.

There is certainly no shortage of content on operational excellence (OpEx) and continuous improvement (CI). Unfortunately, many companies that seek improvement never get far enough in their efforts to experience sustainable change.

Is your company's OpEx efforts stuck in neutral? Are you tired of trying to implement meaningful improvements and failing to make them stick?

If so, it's time to assess the health of your company's lean management system (LMS).

The typical emergency department (ED) is a case study in dealing with catastrophe and chaos…at least on television. Even in the real world, 24/7 ED operations have tremendous flux and uncertainty. During the busiest times, staff members may struggle to stay ahead of patient problems, leading to slow throughput in the process, translating to long waiting times for patients.

Ask many ED visitors if they feel their issues received “emergency treatment” and they will say no. When patient waiting time is longer than expected, overall patient satisfaction declines. Most emergency departments have plenty of opportunity to improve.

Using the right operational excellence solution will make a dramatic difference in the way you do business. From the moment you implement EON, you’ll see the benefits reverberating across your company to create positive change.

Here’s the kind of excellence you’ll encounter every day.

The path of continuous improvement can be long and difficult, especially if it’s just one of many important efforts your organization is pursuing. Often staffers and even internal operational excellence practitioners don’t have the time to sit back and evaluate whether they’re even on the right path.

You contemplate the open sky before you. Below, an unobstructed seemingly bottomless expanse beckons. Fear wracks your mind and body as you hold the rail, precariously perched almost five-hundred feet above the Colorado River. An elevated heartbeat and heavy breathing are undulating reminders of your apprehension. And then … you jump.

Each year we hold hundreds of amazing conversations with Decision Makers, Key Influencers, and Thought Leaders in the business improvement space, and like most companies, we take every interaction with clients and prospective clients as an opportunity to learn and improve.  One area where we will continue to evolve is in helping clients to successfully embed EON’s valuable tools and features into their normal workflow.