How can you use metrics to improve plant performance and communicate results?

I believe select metrics aligned with your plant's goals and objectives. Consider factors like production output, cycle time, equipment reliability, energy consumption, and waste generation. Safety metrics, such as incident rates, are crucial. Additionally, financial metrics like cost per unit produced and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) provide valuable insights. Tailor your metrics to reflect both operational efficiency and broader organizational objectives.

In my experience, metrics should be choosen considering what really matters to the operation, not all of the standard metrics will help you to improve the performance. Current and future states are key to define what will make your operation move to the next level. Metrics needs to be relevant, clear, simple and technically robust so it can be used to drive changes on the right direction.

Apart from these matrics MTTR, MTBF and Customer satisfaction ratio can be also considered for better evaluation for down time and recovery. Also Defect ratio can be used for quality perspective.

Safety & People -Lost work day -Absentism rate -near misses Quality - PPM - Customer Official Complaints - Cost of Bad quality - warranty and scrap Volume - premium freight - arrears - inventory cycle Cost - profitability - mfg cost and headcount (direct) - inventory cost

One of the most important metrics is customer satisfaction. No matter your cost savings, flow time reduction or increased revenue, customer satisfaction ranks higher. Unhappy customers go elsewhere for business and in the end the other metrics become irrelevant.

Data collection and analyses by firms present before the digital age is still a challenge since they weren't inherently a data oriented company so the mindset of teams and the culture is more driven on gut feeling. Bringing this cultural mindset is the bigger part of the puzzle than just training the workforce on data analytics.

Speak the language of data and stop accepting opinions in meetings. Data speaks louder and clearer than experience and knowledge of individuals. Data driven defined problems have more chances to get fail safe solutions as compared to subjectively driven discussions.

Data is incredibly important! It doesn’t lie. And the cool thing is there are so many ways to present it in formats anyone can understand. I’m big on root cause analysis. Data helps uncover that!

My perspective is establish a systematic data collection process, utilizing sensors, logs, and relevant software. Regularly gather data on chosen metrics from various sources within the plant. Employ data analysis tools to identify patterns, trends, and anomalies. Conduct root cause analysis for any deviations from expected performance. Utilize statistical methods and visualization tools to interpret the data effectively. Continuous monitoring and analysis enable proactive decision-making for performance improvement.

Choosing the right metrics is as important as presenting them. We can use tools like Scrap per Standard hour to depict not only the cost of scrapped parts but also the total number of hours and resources that went into making it. Explaining the relevant metrics to all the team members helps to stay on the same page.

My experience is to enhance plant performance, implement key performance indicators (KPIs) like production efficiency, downtime, and resource utilization. Regularly monitor these metrics, analyze trends, and identify areas for improvement. Communicate results through clear reports and presentations, highlighting achievements and proposing action plans for areas needing attention. Regular team discussions and feedback sessions can foster a culture of continuous improvement.

In My experience Business score card is an important tool to define , track & sustain your performance. The deployment of the Business KPIs needs to be across the organization with primary & secondary KPIs.The primary KPI of a function is the resultant output of a factor KPI(Process KPIs).While the primary objective or lagging KPI directly connects to your Topline , the factor KPIs or process KPIs connect your Bottomline. In this way empowering each member with individual ownership accountability of factor KPIs would help achieve result KPIs of the function. Hence Enabling employees by respecting their skills and job is equally important in an inclusive atmosphere for the organization to thrive during headwinds and transformation phase.