Model to identify key aspects for implementing operational excellence in organizations

SUMMARY

Operational Excellence is a term coined by internationally recognized companies such as DuPont, ExxonMobil, and Shell. These companies are renowned for their excellent safety, productivity, and innovation indices. They have embarked on the path toward Operational Excellence, starting by identifying those key repeatable practices that ensure expected results are not only met but also improved according to need, operational context, and economic factors. Companies face a volatile economy due to intense competition, rising energy costs, raw material fluctuations, and market uncertainty; this leads firms to focus on improving their operations (loss reduction) and long-term sustainable success. Furthermore, cost optimization, quality improvement, and productivity have become key factors for obtaining a competitive advantage. Many companies have shifted their focus toward aspects such as the search for or definition of best practices, “world-class” indicators, innovation, and resilience.

Innovation goes far beyond just generating ideas, which is why it is important to invest in the full process of actions that companies carry out. These processes must be performed in the best possible way, optimizing all their components to achieve excellence. The first phase of this study aims to recommend specific steps to lead the organization toward Operational Excellence, based on an analysis of the results regarding the level of knowledge and application by companies of tools such as: Design Thinking, Asset Management, Lean Management, Six Sigma, and the approach currently applied to demonstrate the implementation of an Operational Excellence model.

Keywords: Asset Management, Operational Excellence, Indicators, Models.