Jul
21
Although a ‘sales and operations planning process’ sounds incredibly complicated, it is in fact quite a straightforward process, often abbreviated to S&OP. At heart it is very much an integrated business process used by the leaders or executive managers of an organisation to help achieve a sense of focus, of working together and when done correctly it also helps the supply chain to operate very effectively, so there is much to be said for S&OP.
The process itself requires a plan to be drawn up (after all it is a planning process). The plan is actually an umbrella plan that takes various other plans such as sales, production, stock, customer lead time, research and development as well as financial and strategic initiative plans. In other words the plan looks at all aspects of the business and what is being done and then plans for improvement.
Obviously businesses that are involved in producing goods or supplies that may have a short life or are subject to extreme variances in terms of demand, will require a very tight S&OP process because the plans will soon be out of date. Products that have a steady consumption rate can be allowed to be subject to a more relaxed S&OP process.
As part of the S&OP process demand needs to be constantly reviewed and the resources required to supply the demand need to be planned and constantly ‘re-planned’ which will help focus on the changes to any agreed goals or aspirations of the company. In a sense it is a process of learning from what has happened in the past, but simultaneously focussing on the future and what can be done, how it will be done and what the end results will be.
It is also a means whereby management of a company can see how well its strategic aims have been achieved and what action they need to take to improve the strategic performance of the company.
There are various types of S&OP approaches, from a phased approach to an outside in approach, but they basically share the same philosophy, with the nuances of how the process is implemented varying only slightly. In addition all the different approaches require data that is current and exceptionally accurate. Without accurate information any S&OP process will not be able to succeed simply because it is based on inaccurate foundations, so there has to be some good software available to ensure that the information provided is right up to date and error free.
The Benefits of S&OP
Advocates of S&OP are passionate about the benefits that the process can bring. Because it ‘unites’ a workforce into a common goal and they are all singing from the same song sheet, it is often seen as a way of ensuring that the company’s strategies are adopted throughout an organisation.
Due to its focus on the customer and customer demand, it is a means of ensuring that the customer’s needs are met and that as such customer service is improved, often quite dramatically.
In addition it assists the supply chain because it will ensure, through careful planning, that stock levels are kept to their optimum level and from a management point of view it will ensure that the planning both in terms of strategic and operational planning is fully in line with the financial aims and goals of the company.
Typically a Sales and Operational Planning process will have the output of a business plan. In many cases this will take the guise of a Master Production Schedule which will then be loaded in the company MRP system. In others it may become a documented plan that co-ordinates activity. The key thing is that the output will drive the production plan for the business until the next review (typically monthly).
So the moral of the tale is that S&OP is indeed a powerful tool that can really help to influence a company for the better and although all the planning is undoubtedly time consuming, it can leave companies in a much better position to compete in an ever competitive environment.
Jul
21
What Is Total Productive Maintenance?
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Total Productive Maintenance, which is often referred to as TPM initially surfaced within the Japanese motor industry some 50 years ago and is a very standard means of maintenance in heavy manufacturing and automotive.
In a sense it is very different to western methods of maintenance, which is roughly divided into cyclical maintenance, where equipment is tested every 6 months or every year and then serviced to keep it in good shape. Then we use routine maintenance where something is mended when it is not working properly. Usually these tasks are undertaken by experts in their field; we would not expect them to be done by a machine operator or person involved in production.
However, within TPM this is the base line; operators are trained up so that they can perform a whole host of fault finding activities and they can perform maintenance on their equipment, even before it breaks down fully. The machine or piece of equipment becomes the sole responsibility of just one person or even one team. In a sense the machine is their ‘baby’ and they have to look after it, nurture it etc.
They work on the principle of ‘Zero Fails’ so that the machine should never actually fail, that is the overriding desire. If they are trained appropriately and carry out their tasks well, then there will be no breakdowns and more to the point, there is no need to take the machine out of operation for long periods for servicing etc. This improves uptime ie the amount of time that machinery is productive and as such will ensure that productivity is maximised.
TPM and Lean
TPM is very much intertwined with Lean manufacturing and there is an emphasis on getting it right first time, which requires staff to be trained to a very high level in terms of how they can maintain the equipment, because before they can maintain it they will have to understand how it works and be competent to carry out repairs. This can be a lengthy process because many of the items of equipment or machinery are extremely complex and sophisticated; this is not about giving operators a screwdriver and getting them to give machinery a knock. This is about highly skilled maintenance.
TPM is very much a proactive form of maintenance. It is completely contrary to the old saying ‘If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’. TPM does not wait until something is broken, but makes sure it never breaks in the first place. One of the fundamental principles of TPM is that there should be: zero error (errors should not happen that could affect the productivity of the machinery or equipment), zero work related accidents and zero loss (the loss refers to loss of working time and the loss of any productivity time).
TPM requires something of a culture shift within organizations, simply because operators are no longer seen as having one role, they cross the line from being ‘just’ an operator and become something of a technical expert as well. This can bring objections from those who previously carried out maintenance, whose role is obviously significantly diminished.
However advocates of TPM advise that through increasing the responsibility held by the operators, by ensuring that they are able further skilled and by trusting them to carry out the maintenance, equipment is kept almost continuously serviced and breaks down far less frequently than if traditional maintenance methods are used. This makes it a highly efficient and effective way of undertaking maintenance and it can help organizations save money at the same time.