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Overview of Operational Excellence
Today’s businesses are constantly looking for ways to make their processes resilient and adaptable to change. This global economic upheaval that the world is witnessing presently has brought the importance of Operational Excellence to the forefront.
Operational Excellence is a journey that organizations undertake to make their business processes future-proof. It helps businesses achieve their objectives productively and profitably.
To understand the impact of Operational Excellence in driving business growth, we need to understand what it is and why it is required. Then we will discuss how Operational Excellence can benefit organizations and individuals aiming to start their careers in Quality Management.
According to Business Dictionary, Operational Excellence can be defined as –
“A philosophy of the workplace where problem-solving, teamwork, and leadership results in the ongoing improvement in an organization. The process involves focusing on the customers’ needs, keeping the employees positive and empowered, and continually improving the current activities in the workplace.”
Thus according to the above definition of Operational Excellence or OPEX as it is popularly known, aims to achieve organizational goals by empowering the workforce while meeting customers’ requirements and surpassing their competition.
In simple words, OPEX can be explained as the culture of continuous improvement adopted by organizations for sustainable business growth and fulfills the end customers’ requirements efficiently.
Operational Excellence in an organization aims to achieve a default state of Operational Efficiency.
Operational Excellence Training helps businesses and their leadership improve at every stage of the business process, from decision-making to target customers.
Why Operational Excellence?
Here are some reasons why a business should adopt OPEX to their business process:
- Lower costs and increased revenue: Organizations adopting Operational Excellence to their business processes will benefit from its data-driven analysis and evaluation approach. This assessment and measuring steps at every stage of the business process help lower costs and increase revenue.
- Reduced wastes and sustainable profits: Operational Excellence helps eliminate unnecessary steps in the business process that affects overall productivity. This includes the identification and elimination of waste. Thus organizations can achieve success and meet their objectives sustainably.
- Higher Quality and productivity: OPEX helps streamline the business process to enable continuous improvement in the organization. This ensures organizations have good productivity and deliver high-quality products and services to their customers.
- Greater customer satisfaction: The main objective of Operational Excellence is to add value to the business process that helps the organization attain its vision and mission. OPEX ensures that every function in the business adds value and fulfills the customers’ needs.
- Better partnership with stakeholders: Operational Excellence emphasizes transparency and effective communication among stakeholders and business partners. This ultimately leads to a smooth business environment and drives growth.
- Empowered and efficient workforce: Empowering employees is one of the key features of OPEX. Involving every member of the organization and making them aware of the steps that need to be taken ensures optimum productivity.
- Resilient and adaptable organization: Achieving OPEX to the business process makes the organization future-proof. Thus any disruptive events or episodes will not affect the business goals. Operational Excellence ensures that businesses are resilient and adaptable.
Steps to achieve Operational Excellence
Operational Excellence can be achieved by organizations that follow the ten core principles set by the Shingo Model, which are as follows:
- Respect every individual
- Lead with humility
- Seek perfection
- Assure Quality at the source
- Flow and pull value
- Embrace scientific thinking
- Focus on process
- Think systematically
- Create constancy of purpose
- Create value for the customer
Through Operational Excellence, organizations and individuals who want to pursue a career in Quality Management can improve the culture and productivity that leads to sustainable growth for a long period.
Leaders and entrepreneurs across several industries, like manufacturing, marketing, healthcare, hospitality, banking, finance, IT, etc., depend on Operational Excellence to become more resilient and adaptable to disruptions in the business process.
There is an ongoing need for quality Operational Excellence professionals (OEPs) across major industries. Training and certification in OPEX will help individuals interested in starting their careers in the quality management sector of any industry.
Organizations hire certified and trained OEPs (Operational Excellence Professionals) to drive their objectives and achieve sustainable results.
OPEX Methodologies
Operational Excellence can be achieved by following three essential methodologies:
- Lean Manufacturing: The main objective of Lean Manufacturing is to eliminate wasteful steps in the business process, which in turn results in reduced costs in storage, transportation, and overproduction. Thus, operational Excellence can be achieved by implementing Lean Manufacturing tools to the business process and adding value to the end product.
- Six Sigma: The core principles of Six Sigma focus on improving the business processes at every stage in the organizational hierarchy. Operational Excellence combines Lean and Six Sigma principles to promote a culture of value addition in the organization. Lean Six Sigma methodology is the most popular and widely used process improvement tool adopted by businesses across all industries for quality management. The DMAIC methodology of Lean Six Sigma helps Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control steps that ultimately lead to a sustainable and productive business.
- Kaizen: Kaizen is a Japanese term meaning “change for the better.” In quality management, Kaizen is a tool that collects data and evaluates them to help create a culture of continuous improvement in an organization’s business processes. This ultimately helps organizations achieve operational Excellence.
These three essential methodologies require an in-depth understanding of Lean, Six Sigma, and Lean Six Sigma tools. Organizations constantly seek certified and trained OEPs to produce sustainable business results. Operational Excellence Professionals can identify, analyze, evaluate, and rectify problems in the business process. They thoroughly understand Lean Six Sigma principles, DMAIC, and KAIZEN. OEPs can identify the various steps that require improvement and formulate solutions that help achieve the optimum result. Professionals with training and certification in operational Excellence have huge career-building potential and are one of the most sought-after professionals in the industry.
Training and Certification in OPEX
As discussed above, Operational Excellence has become a vital part of attaining the objectives of an organization sustainably and productively. To achieve Operational Excellence, businesses hire trained and certified professionals knowledgeable in all Lean and Six Sigma methodologies.
Along with being skilled in Lean tools and Six Sigma principles, Operational Excellence Professionals must have excellent communication skills. Operational Excellence involves every employee of an organization working efficiently to fulfill the end customer’s requirements. The role of OEP is to effectively communicate the decisions and strategies that will ultimately lead to achieving the desired organizational objectives.
Training and certification in Operational Excellence will help professionals starting in the quality management sector of any industry gain a detailed understanding of core OPEX principles and essential methodologies.
There are no prerequisites to register for training and certification in OPEX. So any individual or professional can enroll in the training course and get certified in Operational Excellence.
If you want to improve your organization’s business process and attain sustainable results, enroll in Unichrone’s Operational Excellence Training and Certification course.
Job Opportunity and Salary Expectation for OEPs
Operational Excellence is essential in deriving sustainable profits from businesses that emphasize the end consumers’ needs. Every organization needs trained and certified Operational Excellence professionals skilled in using Lean Six Sigma tools and methodologies to drive business growth.
OEPs can identify problems in the business process and formulate effective solutions to produce the desired results. They are a vital addition to any organization which strives for Operational Efficiency.
Certified and trained Operational Excellence Professionals are in huge demand across many industries like IT, HR, Banking, Finance, Healthcare, Marketing, Manufacturing, etc.
Program and Project Managers, Data Analysts, Service Excellence Managers, and Customer Relationship Managers are some of the Operational Excellence Professions which require an in-depth understanding of Lean Six Sigma methodologies and tools.
Certification and training in Operational Excellence will allow professionals in the quality management field to have good career growth and demand a better salary. On average, an OEP can earn a salary of about $100,000 annually around the globe.
The salary of an Operational Excellence professional may vary depending on the location, years of experience working in the field, skills gained, and certifications obtained in a related field.
Operational Excellence Professionals are usually the most in-demand quality management professionals and rank among the highest-paid professionals in the industry.
Conclusion
So we can conclude that Operational Excellence is the most important aspect of quality management. Every enterprise, big or small, can benefit tremendously by adopting the principles of OPEX in its business process.
Individuals and professionals interested in starting their careers in the quality management sector in any industry can also benefit from the training and certification in Operational Excellence.
Operational Excellence is very relevant for businesses today as it makes them efficient in facing future economic disruptions.
