objective
Training and advice to companies in the detection, quantification and prevention of the different types of waste that occur in the sectors and processes of organizations.
On average, an industrial or service company has between 20 and 30% waste on the total invoiced amount. It is worth asking how can such percentages of waste go undetected? This happens due to a cultural reason.
First, the processes and the ways of doing things are not questioned. If they did, and understand what waste means, they would realize how these end up increasing the cost of products and services. Nobody questions the inspections, nor the unnecessary internal transports, not even the reprocessings or times destined to the change of tools. The costs they generate, which are actually waste, happily end up in the cost calculations. For many, their products have quality because they do not register problems once delivered to customers, and there are no complaints from them, obviating the amount of resources consumed in reprocessing and making adjustments until achieving an optimal product.
It should be noted that such waste does not only occur in manufacturing processes, they also take place in offices, in sales processes, in credit and collections, and even in treasury. No sector or process is safe from waste.
Secondly, in the traditional management of organizations there is no vision of waste, nor of its magnitude, and how they affect their profitability.
Advice and training
The magnitude and significance of the waste for the company affects various activities, such as:
- Control and internal audit. Cost calculation and accounting. Continuous improvement as a process aimed at eliminating waste. Operational management.
Internal auditing cannot be limited to corroborating compliance with internal rules and controls, authorizations and verification of division of functions, control by opposition and safeguarding and recording of operations and patrimonial assets.
What is the use of everything being in order when there are high costs in the reprocessing of products, services or information.
What is the use of complying with all internal control provisions if the lack of order in factories and offices generates significant unproductivities and losses of resources and time.
What is the use of authorizing the expenses, if the repairs made by mistake and lack of information always point to the symptoms and not to the root causes, which generates heavy losses of resources.
When the losses due to waste are so high, the internal audit must concentrate its efforts on avoiding them, since they attempt not only against profitability but also with the assets of the company.
When calculating the costs of products or services, the waste content that has been detected must be perfectly taken into account. Knowing the level of waste allows, among other things, to evaluate the suitability of making different investments and expenses to eliminate and prevent each one of them.
When calculating the cost of a product or service, the real costs must be distinguished from those generated by the waste. This therefore has its effect on the inventory records and the results table.
The third activity, which is continuous improvement, starts from the detection and quantification of waste in order to plan and implement measures aimed at eliminating, reducing and preventing them.
Identification and quantification help to set priorities and objectives in planning measures for their elimination and prevention.
Regarding operational management, we refer to activities aimed at eliminating and preventing waste.
Raise awareness - Train - Advise - Manage
Companies first of all need to be aware of the waste generated in their processes and areas, emphasizing the way in which these harm the costs, results, profitability, flow of funds and the competitiveness of the company.
Productivity and costs are significantly affected by levels of waste. Both businessmen and managers and management levels must be clearly aware of this.
It is also essential to have the support of employees and operators in order to detect, eliminate and prevent waste.
Training managers, professionals, and employees in waste management and control involves providing knowledge and training around concepts and definitions, types of waste, ways to quantify them, and processes aimed at eliminating and preventing them.
Advice to both diagnostic and quantification of waste types and levels and their effects on costs, productivity, results, flow of funds, profitability and competitiveness.
The tasks of managing waste management and control projects, and the outsourced internal audit are other possible services aimed at the detection, quantification, elimination and prevention of waste.
