Part 2 of a 2 part series

Warning Signs: SIGNS A PROCESS NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

• Falling profits with stable or growing sales, stable prices and costs.
• Net sales to total assets out of line with industry averages.
• Unnecessary duplication.
• Bottlenecks.
• Missing information.
• Missing resources.
• Poor morale.
• Rejects.
• Customer complaints.
• Absenteeism.

Steps to Improve: THE PROCESS

• Eliminate unneeded steps.
• Add value as the customer sees it.
• Eliminate error.
• Combine steps.
• Reduce hand offs.
• Eliminate bottlenecks.
• Reduce cycle time.
• Perform steps in parallel, not serial order.
• Study causes of rejects.
• Better match resources, information and employees.
• Improve use of technology.
• Improve internal communications.
• Improve morale.

Steps to Improve: RESULTS

• Study consumer complaints.
• Study customer feedback.
• Establish performance measurements.