Can You Quantify Your Improvements?

I was recalling a past conversation to one of my clients today; it was based on the idea that 'all decisions are financial'.

The conversation that I was recalling was between me and a talented Engineer who was frustrated by his boss' lack of enthusiasm to an improvement he had identified.

I asked him to explain the improvement to me. It sounded good, so I asked him a further question.

"Why doesn't your boss seem interested?"

"He doesn't understand this stuff" was the Engineer's reply.

As I probed a little further I asked the Engineer about how he had approached his boss with the improvement.

It turned out that he had posed the improvement purely on its technical merits (which, as an Engineer, looked good to me).

He had failed to speak to his boss in a common language - money.

I accept that there are many ways to justify an improvement, but putting things into financial terms (or even just putting a hard number against the benefits) can be all that separates the good ideas that don't get implemented and the ones that do.

The Engineer's improvement would have cost about £1500.00 to implement and would save the business downtime in the region of £8000.00 each month going forward. Getting the numbers wasn't difficult, but it did paint the improvement in a different light!

So, if you are struggling to get your bosses to sign off your improvement plans and you haven't put some numbers against the benefits (and costs where applicable) maybe it is time to rethink your strategy.

Have fun with the calculator!

Giles Johnston
Author of Business Process Re-Engineering

Kamishibai Boards

Available to purchase here. Some tools are incredibly simple to use, and also deliver some amazing results. Kamishibai boards are a great example and are superb when you want some visual control over routine tasks. By the way Kamishibai is pronounced "come-e-she-bye" in case you were wondering! As simple as you could want it, a Kamishibai board is a T-card system that has red cards glued to green cards (so that each T-card has a red side and a green side). The red cards are for the incomplete tasks, where as the green cards symbolise that the work has been done. See the photo below of a board in use. On the red side of the card you write the name of the task that needs to be completed, and if appropriate you can include details of how the task is to be completed. This is not expected to replace standard operating procedures, but can be a good opportunity for an aide memoire. The boards can be organised for daily, weekly and even monthly cycles. They are g

Kamishibai Boards: A Visual Management Tool to Improve Discipline and Workplace Habits

If you need to increase your effectiveness in the workplace and need a visual tool to help with day to day task management then this short guide is for you. Giles Johnston, a business improvement consultant for small to medium sized businesses, takes you through the steps needed to implement a low / no cost solution to your day to day management problems - a 'Kamishibai' board. A Kamishibai board can help to improve discipline within the workplace and ensure that the working days / weeks / months are more effective. Common within businesses that use 'lean' methods to improve efficiency and performance (and very effective to use when implementing 5S), a Kamishibai board can be used in its own right, in any kind of business, whether you are going through a lean transformation or not. Click here to view on Amazon.com. Smartspeed Consulting Limited Taking the frustration out of on time delivery.

What is 5S and how does it help to improve the performance of my business?

Many businesses have heard of 5S; it is a simple workplace organisation system that is designed to make workplaces more effective and more efficient, as well as safer. Many businesses also try and fail at implementing 5S . It might be simple, but as you will know, anything that involves changing the behaviours of your staff isn’t always straightforward. If you haven’t heard of 5S before there are five basic steps, all beginning with ‘S’. They are: Sort – clearing out the clutter and re-distributing other people’s belongings. Set in order – optimising the workplace so that everything you need frequently is close at hand. Shine – cleaning the workplace to an appropriate level. Standards – defining what good looks like and how you will keep it that way. Sustain – forming the habits to retain the benefits of an organised and disciplined workplace. So, how does 5S improve the performance of your business? From a safety perspective, fewer accidents means less downtime.

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