Advantages of Benchmarking

A benchmarking study results in valuable data that can stimulate thought-provoking discus­sions with key stakeholders. The results provide answers to the following key questions for the company: How well are we performing compared to other companies? What are best practices? What improvement opportunities should we focus on? Establishing operating targets based on the best

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Types of Benchmarking

Benchmarking is a versatile tool that can be applied in a variety of ways to meet a range of requirements. Different terms are used to distinguish the various ways of applying bench­marking procedures to existing practices. The first word in each term relates to either the type of partner or the purpose of benchmarking.

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Designing the Benchmarking Process

Benchmarking can be applied to virtually any business or production process. Improve­ments to the best-in-the-class levels in some areas will contribute greatly to market and financial success, whereas improvements in other areas will not have a significant impact. Organizations that benchmark adapt the process to best fit their own needs and culture. The logical

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Prerequisites for Benchmarking

Benchmarking will not improve performance if the proper infrastructure for a total quality programme is not in place. Unless a corporate culture of quality and the basic components of TQM such as information systems, process control and human resource programmes are in place, trying to imitate the best-in-the-class may very well disrupt operations. The

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BPR at Mahindra & Mahindra Limited

In the early 1990s, the concept of Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) was popularized by Michael Hammer and James Champy in their bestselling book, Re-engineering the Corporation. The authors state that radical redesign and reorganization of an enterprise with informa­tion technology as the key enabler was necessary to bring radical change to lower costs and

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Introduction to Business Process Re-engineering

1. When Is BPR Used? BPR is resorted to when: The competition outperforms the company. There are conflicts in the re-engineer. There is an extremely high frequency of meetings. There is an excessive use of non-structured communication (e-mails and memos). A more continuous approach of incremental improvement is not possible. 2. Key Concepts of

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Re-engineering Process for quality management

Re-engineering requires a massive change in the re-engineer involving lay-offs and huge investments in automation and information technology. However, proper re-engineering of business processes will bring big benefits to the company. Re-engineering should start with a clean state approach. It requires selection and focus on critical business processes, process analysis, cross-functional teams, support from

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Business Process Re-engineering Methodologies

The selection of the right methodology that meets the needs of the project and is supported by the right project team is important. A BPR methodology sets the framework for the understanding of a BPR effort. BPR methodology offers support to re-engineering related activities such as the definition of project boundaries, selection of the

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Consolidated Methodology of BPR

A consolidated methodology was developed in 1999 by Subramanian Muthu, Larry Whitman and S. Hossein Cheraghi based on the five methodologies given below: 5 Methodology 1: Underdown (1997) Methodology 2: Harrison and Pratt (1993) Methodology 3: Furey (1993) Methodology 4: Mayer and Dewitte (1998) Methodology 5: Manganelli and Klien (1994) The five sets of

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Implementation of BPR

Thomas H. Davenport prescribes a five-step approach to the BPR model. This model can be applied to any business process. The five steps in the process are: Develop the business vision and process objectives: This step involves prioritizing objec­tives and setting targets for the future. A BPR vision statement describes the ideal state of

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Re-engineering in the Service and Manufacturing Industry

Re-engineering in the Service Sector In the service sector, despite speed and courtesy in addressing issues, a customer’s hostility persists due to the inability of the service provider to maintain consistency in delivery and service. According to Janson, the concept of re-engineering holds a significant promise for the service sector. The enablers of BPR

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Re-engineering Structure

The usual re-engineering structure6 consists of the BPR leader, process owner, re-engineering teams and other employees involved in the re-engineering process and are displayed in Figure 12.3. 1. BPR Leader A BPR leader is a person who holds one of the top positions in the re-engineering process. The outcome of the BPR experiment depends

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Limitations and Issues in Business Process Re-engineering

Resistance to BPR usually occurs at the levels of the junior and middle management. Person­nel in these levels have an unfounded fear that process-oriented thinking will result in the loss of power, control and authority. There are a number of common pitfalls that companies fall into while re-engineering key business processes such as: Re-engineering

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The Relationship between BPR and TQM

BPR is closely related to TQM because it is one of the best tools to achieve total quality and to improve a company’s performance significantly. Both TQM and BPR primarily focus on cus­tomers, both are process-oriented and both involve cross-functional activities. While TQM aims at process improvement, BPR aims at drastic changes to improve

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TPM at Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts Private Limited

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is a unique Japanese philosophy, which was developed based on productive maintenance concepts and methodologies. This concept was first introduced by M/s Nippon Denso Company Ltd., of Japan, a supplier of M/s Toyota Motor Company, Japan in 1971. TPM is an innovative approach to maintenance that optimizes equipment effectiveness, eliminates

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Reliability of Total Productive Maintenance

The quality and reliability of a product reflects the image of an organization and its market potential. In a competitive world, each organization has to strive hard to boost the quality and reliability of its products. Therefore, there is a strong need to develop a workforce that is proficient in the principles and practices

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Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA)

Customers are placing increasing demands on companies for high quality reliable products. The increasing capabilities and functionality of many products are making it more difficult for manufacturers to maintain quality and reliability. Traditionally, reliability has been achieved through extensive testing and the use of techniques such as probabilistic reliability modeling. These are techniques done

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Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

Total productive maintenance (TPM) is a concept developed by the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM) Tokyo in the late 1960s. TPM is the key for the operational excellence of many Japanese companies. TPM is a maintenance programme that involves a newly-defined concept for maintaining plants and equipment. The goal of the TPM programme

Eight Pillars of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

The eight pillars of TPM (Figure 14.3) are: Jishu Hozen Kobetsu Kaizen Planned maintenance Hinshitsu Hozen Education and training Development management Safety, health and environment Pillar 8—Office TPM 1. Pillar 1-Jishu Hozen (Autonomous Maintenance) The first pillar of TPM is Jishu Hozen (JH), which in Japanese means autonomous mainte­nance. This pillar is geared towards

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Customer-driven Quality at Wal-Mart Inc.

Quality begins and ends with customers. An organization’s success depends on the number of customers it has, the quantity they buy, and the frequency of their purchases. Customer- driven quality represents a proactive approach to satisfying customer needs that is based on gathering data about customers to learn their needs and preferences and providing

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