Daily Management is GPS for operations
Operational excellence depends on setting an expectation, tracking progress toward that goal, and adjusting along the way. Daily Management is an operations tool for doing the same. Much like a global positioning system for a car, daily management can; set the expectation, track progress along the journey, and help course adjust when necessary.
Daily Management Sets the Expectation
Daily management at successful organizations set the expectations for the overall organization’s goals at each level of the operation. It establishes the business objectives at the plant level with goal for safety, quality, delivery, and cost. It translates those objectives into shift by shift goals at the department level and further translates those goals in hour by hour tracking at the process level. It is very similar to a GPS system that finds an efficient route to a destination. The element of time is critical in both systems. For the GPS system the arrival time is estimated, quite accurately, down to the minute. Daily Management establishes the time as a 24-hour period.
GPS systems constantly ask- are we on pace to hit our desired arrival time? Daily Management does the same.
Daily Management Tracks Progress Along the Way
Daily Management asks every 24 hours at the plant level, every shift at the department level, and every hour at the process level- are we on pace to meet our goals? GPS looks at the speed you are traveling, the traffic and barriers ahead, the speed limit for roads ahead and every minute’s updates to ask- are you on pace?
Helps Course Adjust When Necessary
The newest GPS systems like Google Maps will recommend a new route when there is anticipated delays on the current route. It will say things like; “there is a 30-minute delay on your current route and there is an alternate route that will save 11 minutes. Do you want to take the alternate route?”
In the same way, a Daily Management system will show the team that the current pace does not meet the business objectives for the day, shift, or hour allowing the participants to choose a countermeasure to catch up.
Help your organization see daily management as a way to course correct, track process, and establish clear objectives for hitting business goals.
Learn more in Patrick’s book, “Facilitating Effective Change,” available online through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. He is also the founder of UTV Advisors, a business consulting firm based in Pittsburgh, PA.
Patrick Putorti
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