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| The use of improvement teams is described
in Chapter 11 as a very common approach to utilizing the work force
resource to its greatest potential. Most quality and
productivity improvement approaches utilize project teams as a way
to maximize results. Reengineering, like other improvement frameworks,
often incorporates project teams who seek process improvement with variety of tools and techniques. Quite often,
the teams focus on
processes that customers would never be exposed to, in order reduce costs and
increase competitiveness. Caterpillar chose just such a project
for their re-engineering team project. This video essay chronicles
their experience. |
VIDEOre1
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| The reengineering effort at Caterpillar required a merging of
operations and information technology to enhance timeliness and speed up
processes. This link between operations and information technology
is not at all unusual and it is frequently a way to speed up
processes. Information flow, in many cases, takes as much time
as any other activity. |
VIDEOre2
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| Reengineering strives to break down departmental
boundaries, making transitions between departments more effective.
Information transfer, in particular, is notoriously slow when it
must cross departmental boundaries. The ability of a project
team to attack this problem and finish with successful results is enhanced by the fact that team members come from different
departments. |
VIDEOre3
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| When incorporating project teams, selection of a project should be based on
several criteria, including the chances for a successful result.
This is particularly important for the first project a team is faced
with. Nothing creates more doubt about the approach than a failure. In addition to the likelihood of success, there should also be
a substantial benefit to the organization if the team is successful.
Team members need to understand what that benefit is. Team members should come from any department involved in the process being
improved. In order to work effectively, all team members must be skilled
in the tools and techniques being used by the team. |
VIDEOre4
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| The caterpillar team followed the traditional
business process reengineering steps discussed in. Following project selection,
their second step was to understand the current situation. They used a
tool called process mapping, which is a type of flow charting procedure,
to aid in their understanding of the process. |
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| In the third step, process improvement, they utilized techniques to break the large problem into smaller pieces. Using this approach, smaller
problems could be attacked. |
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| In the fourth step, process verification, the
proposed improvements were analyzed for potential problems. Once
verified, they were presented to management for approval. |
VIDEOre7
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| The final step, process implementation, required
that the changes be made and the results monitored. The evaluation is
based on initial goals and on customer evaluation. |
VIDEOre8
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| When compared to the goals, the outcomes can
often be far better than ever expected. |
VIDEOre9 |
