FREEDOM and Great Processes

Today is Independence Day, July 4, in the United States where I live. Freedom is on everyone’s mind and the subject of much discussion.

Freedom is defined (1 of 3 definitions) as: “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint”.

What kind of freedom can be created by the building of great processes? Let’s look at things from the Process Perspective.

First of all, we can build great processes by doing the following 3 steps:

Step 1: Create MANUFACTURABLE and scalable research concepts.

Step 2: Minimize time from first prototype to full-scale manufacturing.

Step 3: Engineer robust & trouble-free production processes.

Then, the outcomes of building great processes are predictable and very desirable, they include:

• Accelerated Commercialization Pipeline

• Fewer Headaches, More Predictability

• Improved Customer Satisfaction

• Improved Manufacturing Operations

• Increased Revenues

• More Successful Product Launches

• Reduced Down-Time

• Reduced Risk

Building great processes can create and generate freedom, because it reduces (or eliminates) certain types of hindrances and restraints, such as:

• Calls from the factory nights and weekends because their processes falter and the plant personnel cannot get the process working without outside assistance.

• Competitors taking market share from your company because they have superior processes.

• Disappointed customers who have been shipped product they (the customer) will have to involuntarily invest time and effort into because of poor manufacturing processes: this is a very undesirable situation.

• Low profits resulting in layoffs or factory closings or outsourcing of manufacturing processes.

• Wasted R&D efforts because serious commercialization was never systematically examined and the loop from R&D to commercialization is never developed through real experience.

• Unsuccessful launches of viable technology because the process building was never done or done poorly.

So, it is abundantly clear that all kinds of problems are avoided by building great processes.

HOWEVER…

Although building great processes can create freedom as we have discussed above, it is not simply or easily done. If it was simple and easily done, every process in every company would be a great process. That is clearly not the case.

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My main learning from this line of thinking is that great processes create all kinds of freedom for the people who build them and for the people who own them. The path to this freedom is through hard and focused work, using the principles of Process Stewardship and Process Excellence for guidance.

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CHALLENGE TO READERS

Please think about your own manufacturing processes and how well they run now…

• Have you been investing time and efforts to improve your processes over the past 18 months? What are the specific results?

• Can you create more freedom for yourself by permanently fixing some known and chronic process problem? What is needed to start this effort?

Please call me (508-410-8081) so we can compare notes and learnings, and discuss how MPES Consulting can dramatically accelerate your progress.

If you send us an email, we will get back to you promptly, thanks.

Happy 4th of July!

All the Best,

Marty

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