Responsibility for optimization of business processes. Express method for optimizing business processes. Separating a task into a separate project

Back in 1993, in the monograph “Business process reengineering” by M. Hammer and J. Ciampi, it was described that one of the most effective methods of increasing labor productivity is company restructuring. Subsequently, researchers such as B.Z. Milner, A.V. Boychenko, E.N. Filipov and others were able to extend this optimization approach, but the scientific literature has not paid enough attention to the full scope of the methods. In addition to the famous reengineering, there are other methods of business process management, such as:

• 1. Business process optimization methods:
  • - engineering;
  • - reengineering;
  • - redesign;
  • - continuous improvement (CPI);
  • - benchmarking;
  • - ABC method (Activity Based Costing);
  • - functional cost analysis (FCA).
• 2. Method based on the process approach:
  • - TQM (total quality management);

Let's look at each method in more detail.

Continuous Process Improvement is the long-term development of business processes from the bottom up. Development occurs at the expense of business process performers, that is, at the expense of the employees themselves, whose small proposals do not lead to tangible results, but accumulate and, as a result, lead to an increase in quality, cost reduction and a decrease in the duration of the business process cycle. Continuous improvement can be achieved through the abandonment of low-effective activities and delegation of authority. CPI can also be classified as a quality management methodology, since this approach is largely aimed at achieving results in the field of improving product quality by ensuring the quality of processes. In general, CPI is an approach to business process restructuring, however, its distinguishing feature from traditional reengineering is the idea of ​​​​the need to support the entire life cycle of the process. Thus, CPI-based reengineering is called “evolutionary reengineering.” This type of reengineering is most consistent with the philosophy of the process approach.

The advantage of this approach is the absence of strong resistance from staff and social upheavals in the company.

The disadvantage of this approach is that the improvement process can take a long time; there is no prompt decision-making; Initiative and responsible personnel are required.

Engineering is a complex of information technologies for optimizing a business process, based on modeling the existing organizational structure of a company and building new business processes integrated with the environment. Engineering emerged as a result of the transition from unified production to taking into account individual customer needs. As a result of this, the business process includes the goals and objectives of clients, their external and internal needs, their place and role in the company system, and the implementation mechanism.

The weak point is the work on creating a business process. This is quite a complex and time-consuming task; the resulting business process cannot always be implemented in a company or it will not be effective enough.

Reengineering is an approach based on the complete abandonment of old business processes, rules and methods and the transition from the functional principle of managing an organization to the process principle. A process organization is characterized by a process management structure focused on performing specific tasks. Reengineering allows you to attract investment, create new technologies, improve technical means of production and, as a result, technological progress grows and innovations appear. To optimize a business process, reengineering uses various methods of unnecessary and long work flows, gaps and blind spots, resource reduction, combining several works into one, simplifying work.

The main strength of this method is the huge increase in efficiency and productivity; gaining a serious competitive advantage.

The weakness is high financial investments; high risk of failure; staff resistance to innovations; large expenditure of resources.

Business process redesign allows you to improve an existing system by modeling optimal parameters. According to J. Harrington, K.S. Esseling, “process redesign usually reduces costs, cycle times, and errors by 30-60%.” System optimization occurs through the construction of a simulation model, its analysis, and the search for optimization options. The system removes unnecessary business functions and duplications; business functions are simplified; resource costs for performing work are reduced; new business functions are introduced. The last point is to compare new and old business processes to ensure that the innovations will be sufficiently effective.

Strengths - the method is based on the existing experience, methods and technologies of the enterprise, thus achieving a competitive advantage.

Weaknesses - optimization is based on an old business process, which can lead to low efficiency.

Benchmarking is a systematic activity whose purpose is to search, evaluate, adapt and implement best business practices. Benchmarking involves not only comparing business processes, but also clients, products, and costs. J. Harrington, H. Van Nimwegen believe that “usually process benchmarking reduces costs, cycle times and error rates by 20-50%” and “this approach makes sense to use for 5-20% of the organization’s main processes.” Benchmarking involves diagnosing a company, search for a benchmarking object, analysis of the features of competitors’ business processes, elaboration of the implementation of other people’s business processes, implementation taking into account the characteristics of one’s own company, evaluation of the effectiveness of the results.

Strengths - the ability to use the experience of different companies from other fields of activity; optimization is based not on previous experience, but on current information.

Weaknesses: difficult access to information; low efficiency is possible due to the nature of the industry.

The method of functional cost analysis helps determine the cost and other characteristics of a product, services, clients, allowing you to optimize consumer properties and costs. The main idea of ​​the approach is that the more favorable the ratio of satisfied needs and used opportunities, the higher the price of the product.

By assigning each business process function its cost, the following types of analysis can be carried out:

• - study of the distribution of costs by function, as well as identification of the most expensive functions for the purpose of their priority optimization;
• - identification of business processes, the implementation of which is advisable to carry out independently or, conversely, to transfer to third-party organizations, or in a certain way to combine both methods;
• - carrying out cost modeling of business processes with subsequent determination of the optimal process structure with the lowest cost.

Strengths - it is based on real business process data and allows you to model a new system with previously known indicators of efficiency and usefulness for the consumer.

Weaknesses - it requires a lot of resources when used systematically.

The ABC (Activity Based Costing) method is a method of process determination and cost accounting. Using ABC, you can determine the methodology for allocating costs, distinguish between the costs of a business process and business functions, and collect data on the cost of each business function, business process and subprocess. Optimization occurs through distribution and accounting of costs.

Strengths - allows you to identify and eliminate high-cost business processes.

Weaknesses - problems arise with obtaining complete and reliable information for using this method.

Total Quality Management requires a system for creating and modernizing the company's products in accordance with market trends. The idea of ​​TQM is that all employees of the company are involved in process management. This should improve the efficiency of the organization and increase the level of responsibility of employees. TQM refers to activities and activities that pay close attention to the incremental improvement of work processes and the release of products in a limited period of time.

Strengths - the company creates a favorable climate for self-expression and manifestation of staff abilities; maximum customer satisfaction is achieved; continuous improvement of the enterprise's activities.

Weaknesses - investments in personnel may not justify themselves, then the return from employees may not correspond to the efforts expended.

Companies can use these methods in various combinations. For example, the FSA method provides enough data to optimize a business process using TQM methods, reengineering, etc.

Ultimately, we can say that business process optimization methods should be used by managers who have set themselves the goal of immaculately following the path of process management of the company. Most methods are mutually exclusive and cannot be used simultaneously. Some methods are used not only to manage a business process, for example, benchmarking helps to compare products and services with competitors, the FSA method helps to optimize the company’s assortment, and not the cost of individual business processes. The decision to use these methods depends on the company's goals and objectives.

Production optimization means the introduction of innovative technologies and improvement of the work process. As a rule, such a modification is carried out in order to increase operational efficiency and reduce enterprise costs.

What is the optimization of production processes?

Production optimization is the elimination of shortcomings of an enterprise, focusing on the advantages of technology. The procedure involves going through three stages: planning, approval and implementation. It helps to reduce the number of management errors and shortcomings, reduce production costs, increase enterprise profits and operational efficiency. In addition, production optimization can be introduced in order to overcome the financial crisis. Its effectiveness will become faster and more obvious if it is aimed at the main technological processes.

Optimization of production management must be carried out in accordance with the approved plan, which indicates all stages and sequence of implementation. It is best to start by adjusting narrow functional aspects, then the risks of the enterprise are reduced and the possibility of returning to the previous course remains. As a rule, appropriate activities are carried out as soon as possible.

Optimization of production implies improvement of its structures, revision of their relationships and interactions (the functions of one division can be assigned to another). Typically, the result of such actions is: increased competitiveness, increased sales and profits of the enterprise, the formation of its positive image, but more on that later.

Remember that before carrying out reforms, it is necessary to analyze the features of the technology, formulate tasks, and create a business process diagram.

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What does optimization of production at an enterprise lead to?

Manufacturing companies optimize to increase their competitiveness and, using various tools, reduce costs. However, it is not always possible to achieve the set goals. Sometimes it is worth reviewing the approach, methods and implementation methods in order to increase production efficiency and achieve the desired result. This conclusion was made by BCG (Boston Consulting Group) specialists after studying the experience of many industrial enterprises (including Russian ones).

The need to study the practice of increasing production efficiency arose when the competitiveness of Russian companies began to fall due to the fact that at the beginning of 2010, wage growth rates for personnel employed in industry did not correspond to the rate of increase in labor productivity.

The scale of the problem is shown by illustrating the dynamics of remuneration for enterprise specialists and the efficiency of their production. In China, the increase in staff compensation was twice as high as productivity, and in Russia - eight times. This indicates that the relative competitiveness of Russian industrial enterprises has decreased significantly (compared to similar companies in China). The decline was also influenced by the fact that the rate of decline in production exceeded the reduction in the number of employees.

In 2014, production costs for our industrialists reached American levels. A decade ago, one hour of work cost $7 in Russia and $18 in the USA, and today this ratio looks like this: in Russia - $21.9, in the USA - $22.32. The Boston consulting group cites data showing that Russian companies are unable to produce goods cheaper than American ones due to rising wages and energy costs. Only competent optimization of production can change the situation.

Industrial companies are implementing various efficiency improvement programs using various methods and forms. Many have achieved success in this process: they have reduced costs and increased profits, improved the quality of their goods, reduced delivery times, and increased employee engagement. Due to insufficiently streamlined optimization measures, a number of enterprises received local advantages. Companies that have achieved tangible results gradually lose their “fighting fire” without achieving the main goal - the integration of the entire business process or the application of the necessary techniques in all structural divisions.

After analyzing methods for successfully implementing optimization, experts concluded that an unsuccessful outcome can occur if:

• the specificity of departments and workshops is not taken into account;
• production optimization has not been fully calculated, that is, there is no clear sequence of using tools and the consequences have not been thought through;
• the focus is only on implementation methods;
• Instructions have not been developed for department heads on the basis of which they could manage the reorganization.

Practical experience suggests that by changing the approach to an efficiency improvement program, it can be intensified.

Let's look at an example. The industrial enterprise optimized production and achieved very high levels of productivity and product quality. However, after some time (3–4 years), the performance first stopped and then completely declined. Optimizing the production of this company involved measures that were not systematized, but were aimed at individual workshops. Following the analytical work, the possibility of a holistic approach was considered. The company gave the program a “second life.” A comparative analysis showed the need to prioritize plants, develop and implement a number of activities. Optimization of production costs allowed us to reduce costs by up to 15%:

• quickly redistributed enterprise resources and introduced opportunities to create maximum value;
• improved interaction between plants and identified deviations from norms, for example, indicators of efficiency factor (COP) and product yield were adjusted and began to be used to achieve effectiveness;
• identified the innovative methods used at the enterprise and systematized their implementation relative to the entire technological chain;
• production optimization was coordinated on a top-down basis, which made it possible to more efficiently distribute material resources.

• involve in work the most important factors influencing labor productivity;
• strive to achieve quick results;
• strictly follow a certain course, taking into account the capabilities of the enterprise.

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How to set production optimization tasks

Production optimization involves solving problems associated with competing properties of the technological process, such as:

• volume of production – consumption of raw materials;
• volume of production – quality of goods.

An effective solution lies in the process of finding a compromise for such properties.

To define reorganization tasks, you need to organize the following parameters.

1. Availability of an object and optimization goal. Objectives must be formulated separately for each reform object, that is, the system should not include more than one criterion, because the extreme values ​​of one parameter will not coincide with the marginal indicators of another.

An example of an incorrectly formulated task: “Achieve the highest possible productivity at the lowest possible cost of production.”

The mistake is that the problem is aimed at optimizing two quantities that, in fact, contradict one another.

The following formulation may be correct:

1. Achieve the highest possible productivity at the established cost of production.
2. Achieve minimum production costs with planned productivity.

In the first option, the reorganization is aimed at productivity, and in the second - at cost.

2. Availability of optimization resources. By resources it is meant that the selected object must have control influences, that is, a certain degree of freedom.

3. Possibility of quantitative analysis of the optimized value. It is possible to evaluate the effectiveness of optimization and compare the effectiveness of one or another control action only when there are specific quantitative indicators.

What are the methods for optimizing production?

At the present stage, optimization of production costs is possible using a variety of techniques and strategies. All of them are more or less successfully applied in practice and are divided into three main categories:

1. Bottom-up method.
2. Reengineering method.
3. Directive approach method.

Bottom-up approach carried out in relation to many processes in the enterprise by improving methodology and technology. Moreover, the company structure and main production stages are not affected; optimization concerns ordinary departments. Reengineering is based on fundamental changes introduced into the business process, technology and organization of production in order to achieve a qualitatively new level. The directive approach method involves reducing the funding of enterprise divisions by a certain amount.

Bottom-up cost reduction is the ideal technique for achieving long-term cost advantages without requiring large investments or risks. The implementation of the program is based on the principle of involving the maximum number of enterprise employees in the reorganization at all stages of implementation (development and implementation of proposals to increase labor productivity and improve the efficiency of technological processes, increase quality indicators at all stages of product production).

For example, production cost optimization was carried out by implementing the idea of ​​sealing rolling mill roller table bearings to eliminate oil washout and extend service life. The result of this modernization was a savings of about 20-30 thousand dollars. But if there are a hundred similar ideas, then in annual terms the effect will amount to more than one million dollars. As a rule, such rationalization proposals are on the surface; you just have to pay attention to them.

Almost all companies can optimize costs and increase production efficiency. So why don't they do it? Most likely, the reason is the organizational complexity of the process.

Several decades ago, a number of companies faced a similar problem when working with clients. The result of solving the issue was the development of methods for organizing and implementing large projects at enterprises aimed at reducing costs from the bottom up. The program was called “TOP” - total production optimization. It is based on the experience of the world's leading companies and is constantly being improved. The results of an analysis of the effectiveness of the implementation of TOP show that optimization of production costs led to a 16 percent reduction in total costs at metallurgical, mining and pulp and paper enterprises.

Reengineering– one of the most effective methods aimed at increasing competitiveness and reducing enterprise costs. This method requires a significant investment and takes a lot of time, which may cancel the expected effect. In addition, key processes and technologies used in basic manufacturing industries have already exhausted their resources and cannot be radically optimized. All this suggests that an enterprise contemplating reengineering needs to think about reducing a number of operating costs in order to remain competitive while carrying out serious measures aimed at increasing production efficiency.

Directive approach is often the most effective and fastest. Despite the effectiveness of this method, it very often suffers from a lack of strategic priorities. Reducing the budget of departments can lead to the fact that the enterprise will not make a profit, its income will stop growing, and its place in the market will be lost. The directive approach should be applied selectively in relation to those structures that show their inefficiency (for example, in comparison with competitors, a large staff of HR employees).

A clear example of production optimization

Today, large-scale optimization of the production process is carried out at some Russian metallurgical enterprises. For example, at the Vyskunsky Metallurgical Plant, as part of the program, 270 rationalization proposals were introduced, the effectiveness of which amounted to $30 million over two years.

The Porsche automobile company, as a result of the use of innovations, has significantly reduced the time of welding work (from six weeks to three days) and the number of defects (four times).

Optimization of Goodyear's tire production is carried out through the implementation of a program aimed at reducing production cycle time. Thus, the company strives to increase productivity by 135%. As a result of the implementation of measures, costs for inventories were reduced by half, and for raw materials - by 15%.

The Khortytsia company has optimized enterprise management using the Oracle J.D. ERP-class program. Edwards EnterpriseOne. Moreover, the implementation of this project at the distillery was carried out with the involvement of department specialists and external consultants. Further development of innovations in the company continued on its own.

McKinsey’s practice gives grounds to conclude that the “bottom-up” methodology can be effective, when in order to optimize production, company employees were motivated to rationalize their activities. Such a program can reduce enterprise costs by up to 40% within a year and a half.

Basic principles of optimizing production at an enterprise

It was said above that the most effective production optimization program is implemented according to the TOP scheme. Now we will look at this method in a little more detail.

The techniques of this program are absolutely different from other optimization methods. First of all, because when using it, changes concern not only production efficiency, but also the performance of the company’s employees and their motivation. Thus, the program is aimed at long-term application.

A complex approach

From the name it follows that the method implies a set of goals: reducing costs, increasing labor productivity and product quality. In this case, efficiency is achieved by expanding divisions with low production indicators and obtaining additional profits due to the fact that a high-quality product replaces a lower-quality predecessor. For example, at one metallurgical plant, during the implementation of TOP, a proposal was implemented to replace the lifting mechanisms that move sheet steel rolls. Optimization of foundry production was effective, as the edges of the rolls were better preserved (by 80%), and, naturally, the quality of the product increased. This gave the company the opportunity to attract new consumers, increase the number of products produced and increase the company's income.

Identify specific cost reduction goals

Specific goals are based on analysis of leading industry enterprises. At the stage of starting the implementation of TOP, structural divisions are given the task of reducing budgeted costs by 40%. Moreover, cost reduction calculations are made separately for each sector, taking into account its specifics. Metal raw materials are a quantity that cannot be reduced, but the production waste that is inevitable in the production of slabs can be reduced. When it is not possible to determine the volume of irreducible costs, then they focus on the indicators of companies that are successful in this industry. As a rule, 40% of expenses being cut equals 15–20% of total costs. Of course, such optimization of production costs is a tough method, especially since the process is carried out without any special additional investments. But achieving the goal is quite possible, since this has been practically confirmed by many foreign and domestic enterprises. If a division manages to achieve its objectives, then it stands head and shoulders above its competitors (even if they are considered more successful).

Use of existing know-how

Unit managers are mainly responsible for the organization and implementation of TOP. Typically, they are more competent in the specifics of the company's departments and know which of them have the greatest potential for increasing efficiency and which ways to optimize production are best to use. If you involve allied partners and clients of these structures in the process of implementing TOP, you can give a more accurate assessment of the effectiveness of the process. The fact that employees' ideas are used during the implementation of the program allows them to feel involved in the life of the company. And this has a beneficial effect on the corporate mentality and sets the stage for long-term fruitful cooperation.

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Using unconventional ideas

When the program is implemented, many common truths are called into question. As a rule, the experience of leading companies and the most successful production optimization models are used as a guide. For example, during an efficiency improvement program at a steel mill, a proposal was implemented to increase the number of tanks used for slag collection. It seemed impossible, but the number of containers used has increased 10 times thanks to the introduction of an unconventional technique of spraying with a heat-resistant composition. Performance was accurately tracked.

Clear results tracking

The conditions for optimizing production require that all proposals accepted for execution be applied strictly in accordance with the plan and have a specific result that can be measured (for example, reduce the budget of a structural unit for the purchase of consumables, raw materials, etc.).

To track the progress of the program and the implementation of plans, a controlling group is created. She is given broad powers and the opportunity to communicate with senior management. The group is faced with a number of tasks, the key of which is to determine the economic efficiency of the implementation of TOP, distinguishing it from all other changes in the budget that may be due to instability of the exchange rate, fluctuations in prices for raw materials and consumables and other factors.

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How many levels does a production optimization project have?

During the reorganization process, the company’s efficiency gradually increases, its qualifications develop, and it begins to use the accumulated advantages. Production optimization involves passing through three levels of maturity, and enterprises that have approached this process competently overcome them systematically, gradually moving from one stage to another.

Of course, each company implements the optimization process in its own way, being at its own stage of development (maturity level), having an individual improvement plan.

First level of production optimization

At this stage, the basis of the production optimization system is formed. The work is aimed at analyzing best practices, diagnosing the actual situation of technological processes, setting goals and formulating tasks for increasing efficiency. Moreover, a thorough study is carried out in relation to key indicators for several KPIs that underlie high productivity (these are, as a rule, equipment and production lines).

Experts are looking for alternative ways to reduce production losses by increasing efficiency and quality, reducing costs and the time required to complete the full production cycle. At this stage, it is very important to have not only theoretical knowledge, but also to be able to apply it in practice (set up equipment and maintain it in working order), so that it is possible to quickly improve the functioning of individual structural units (factories).

By streamlining the operation of key facilities and processes in the enterprise, such as equipment, logistics and management, you can quickly move from the first level of production optimization (basic) to the next more mature stage.

Second level of production optimization (more mature)

Production optimization moves to a new level if, after the implementation of basic methods and technological processes is completed, the modernization of individual workshops and the company as a whole begins. At this stage, specific standards are developed, favorable conditions are created, experts are attracted and the practical application of theoretical knowledge begins. All this is necessary in order not to lose the positive experience accumulated during the work process. Typically, a more mature stage takes longer, requires a systematic approach and better organization of employees.

At the second level, optimization of the production structure as a whole begins. As a result, the company achieves cost reductions that do not affect the value of the product itself, in other words, production costs are reduced by up to 15% (with the exception of raw materials and other components), material losses are reduced to almost zero.

Companies suffer due to a lack of specific skills, management experience, expert teams to support new product introductions, or a specific division of responsibilities. This conclusion can be made if we take into account the fact that enterprises often simply do not pay attention to the most important points related to the organization and management tools, labor resources, qualifications and professional competence of employees.

Measures to optimize production should include mandatory improvement of personnel skills, their specialized training, for example, in the field of loss analysis or waste control in the production process, in the field of technical support, etc. According to experts, in order to organize an effective commodity business, it will take at least three years (or even five).

If production optimization has yielded a small but significant result, and the complex has not been fully implemented, activities can be accelerated in order to move to the second (more mature) level. Experts believe that tangible effectiveness can be achieved only if the developed program is systematically and systematically implemented in the presence of professional management.

Third level of production optimization

Third level activities are carried out in companies that are able to evaluate the effectiveness obtained as a result of the work done, and do not stop there, but continue to act in the direction of improving the functionality of production: they are reviewing the supply and implementation system, the planning scheme, etc. Thus, enterprises move to the next stage, at which not only the optimization of the product production process occurs, but also more complex tools are used (comprehensive planning, management reorganization, specification of technological cycles, etc.).

Typically, companies that have moved to the third level of optimization have full knowledge of costs that do not affect the value of the product. By this time, technological processes had already been reorganized. The efficiency of structural divisions, plants and equipment meets the requirements of world quality standards, and the company’s development is possible through production, which has become the main source of income. By this stage, innovative technologies for product segmentation and management strategies have already been developed and implemented, planning of the main process and implementation has been improved.

Of course, moving to a new level is a complex procedure, but if production optimization is carried out consistently, the company will certainly increase its potential.

If an enterprise strives to achieve more significant results, then it begins to reorganize management and maintenance, because large expenses in this part of the activity can significantly reduce the profitability of the business as a whole. Experts note that to overcome the milestone of the first or second level of optimization, companies implement short targeted programs, and for the third they use a wide range of innovative technologies.

Return to the first level of production optimization

Modeling and optimization of production is unrealistic without overcoming a number of difficulties, but they cannot be a reason to give up on everything, because it is possible to achieve efficiency one way or another. To do this, you will need to go back to the basic level and implement shorter programs that cover a smaller range of tasks. If you use a controlling system, then with rapid optimization, efficiency can be achieved in the shortest possible time (up to several days). This technique is recommended by experts who have sufficient work experience and have seen this in practice.

The main thing is that production optimization is carried out using the most effective levers. It is necessary to carefully study everything and draw conclusions about which methods should be used at the moment and which ones - later. To do this you need:

• establish the predominant probability of obtaining efficiency in terms of time, resource size and material benefits;
• concentrate resources that may be in short supply on production areas selected for rapid optimization;
• prepare coordinated measures for the speedy implementation of innovative methods in departments within which production optimization is carried out;
• create conditions that motivate employees to work efficiently and justify certain risks.

As practice shows, the most successful rapid reorganization can be carried out in 5 areas:

1. Optimize the use of equipment by increasing its operating efficiency, improving the quality of service and reducing downtime.
2. Optimize the efficiency of workpieces by reducing losses that arise due to insufficient equipment capacity.
3. Reorganize logistics by increasing the activity of warehouses and reducing transport costs.
4. Optimize materials and materials by more accurately calculating production volumes, orienting them to projected demand, which will help streamline the movement and potential of raw materials.

The planned program will be successful if a small number of specific tools are introduced into the most effective segments of the enterprise. According to experts, rapid performance is observed in the following production areas:

• improving equipment performance;
• staff development;
• reducing the number of defective products.

All of the above areas can be analyzed and, as a rule, do not require large investments. In addition, in these areas there is always potential for optimization of the firm's production volumes to be effective.

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Total production optimization: 6 stages of implementation

Stage No. 1. Organization of the process

Organizing the TOP process is the most important stage. It is during this period of work that the areas of activity that will be targeted for production optimization are identified, the responsibilities of managers and team members are distributed, and participants in the process are trained.

The scope of reorganization can include both small structural divisions and larger segments of the enterprise. Typically, no more than 300 people are involved in the life support of the optimized unit. The process is usually led by managers or their deputies in these departments.

The key indicator for their selection is the desire to take part in optimization, respect of the team and, naturally, the professional preparedness and intellectual abilities of the candidate. It is worth motivating managers by providing them with the opportunity to implement ideas that have not previously been used due to various objective reasons.

In addition, it is necessary to give a chance to show their potential to team members (working group) and the head administration. Optimization of production costs becomes the responsibility of group leaders: development of proposals, efficiency calculations, approval by higher management. The organization of the TOP process, as a rule, has the following form:

Stage No. 2. Setting goals

The key task of this stage is to determine the cost reduction goal. It is recommended to start by calculating the budget per unit of production. This phase can be simplified: during the formation of units, one must focus on what organizational division is established in the enterprise and on the methodology for accounting finances. When the budget of the facility is determined, a scheme for optimizing production, receipt of raw materials and materials is drawn up. The costs of each production unit are divided among all operations and thus the approximate cost of an individual business process is found.

After this, all costs are divided into two groups: technical and operational (i.e., energy and raw materials), irreducible costs and costs not considered in the project (for example, depreciation) are identified. Typically, some portion of operational and technical costs falls into the category of non-reducible costs, the value of which is determined using theoretical calculations of the least needs. In other words, they calculate the minimum acceptable level of use of raw materials and energy, provided there is no waste, leakage, etc. All other costs of the enterprise belong to the group of those that can be reduced.

When all the necessary calculations have been made (the budget of departments and workshops has been established, irreducible costs have been determined), then a new goal is set for the production units - to reduce the remaining costs by 40%. To achieve it, the head of the department and his support team must develop economically sound rationalization proposals, the effectiveness of which will be at least 40% of the budget subject to reduction.

Stage No. 3. Development of proposals to reduce costs

Brainstorming is a key method that allows you to select an idea on the basis of which production will be optimized in terms of costs. The event is organized and conducted by the head of the structural unit with the participation of members of the initiative group, department employees, subcontractors and customers. As a rule, the result of this work is a large number of improvement proposals and ideas that are aimed at reducing enterprise costs, increasing production efficiency and improving the quality level of products. Please note that absolutely everything is taken into account, even the most fantastic statements, because the goal of the assault is to develop the largest number of ideas (the question of their quality is not raised).

All received proposals must be recorded, formalized and entered into the database, after which they undergo a procedure for testing for effectiveness (an assessment of the possible financial result is given, the level of risk, timing and degree of complexity of implementing the program are determined). If, as a result of the brainstorming, a solution has not been developed that will reduce production costs by 40%, then there is a need to conduct an additional survey of employees of the departments on the basis of which optimization is planned, attract experts and study the experience of leading companies - representatives of your industry.

Stage No. 4. Evaluation of submitted proposals

At this stage, an assessment is made of the complexity of implementing ideas for optimizing production: the volume of capital investments is clarified, the effectiveness of implementation (including economic) is determined, issues are agreed upon with suppliers, subcontractors and other participants in the process. As work progresses, sentences are replaced. In a word, there is a constant interweaving of the third and fourth stages.

The result of this phase should be a ready-made list of ideas, the implementation of which will make the production process and production optimization as efficient as possible. Moreover, the investment should pay off within two years of operation.

At present, when, on the one hand, strong competitors with well-established work schemes are entering the Semey market, and on the other hand, our enterprises are expanding their activities, it is important to restructure their work scheme in a timely and painless manner.

For example, if an enterprise needs to improve its work in a short time (no more than three months): reduce costs, accounts receivable, shorten the commodity production cycle, reduce the number of management errors, or take urgent measures to overcome the crisis, it can use the express method optimization of business processes.

On the one hand, this is a fairly simple method, but, on the other hand, it is very labor-intensive and energy-consuming (regardless of whether it is a commercial enterprise or a production-commercial one).

Stages of business process optimization using the express method:

1. Identification of key problems in business processes.

First of all, it is necessary to compile a list of all business processes existing in the enterprise and develop a functional diagram of the enterprise. Then an enlarged diagram is developed, which reflects all the main business processes occurring in the enterprise and the relationship between them, and then detailed diagrams of each business process.

2. Carrying out ABC analysis.

After the scheme has been developed, an ABC analysis is carried out, which makes it possible to identify a small number of the most significant business processes that need to be given primary attention. To do this, all business processes are divided into three groups - “A”, “B” and “C”.

Group “A” includes processes that require the highest costs. As a rule, this is 5-10% of all processes occurring in the enterprise, which account for 75-80% of all costs.
Group “B” includes approximately 20% of business processes, which include approximately 10-20% of costs. And finally, group “C” consists of the remaining 60-75% of processes, which “eat up” only 5-10% of the enterprise’s costs.

There is a standard set of parameters that must be constantly analyzed regardless of the type of enterprise. This:

Reliability of information flows;

Scheme of making and validity of a business decision;

Efficiency of existing business processes of the enterprise;

Adequacy of management to the assigned tasks;

Adequacy of the personnel motivation system;

Modernity of the technological process;

Adequacy of time spent.

The basis for conducting ABC analysis is operational data obtained through a survey of all employees on problems and proposals, as well as timing of working time in a cross-section for each link of the business process.

The main attention is paid to problems arising in interstructural connections.

3. Analysis of the state of liquid assets

Simultaneously with ABC analysis, an analysis of the state of the most liquid assets is usually carried out. As practice shows, “putting things in order” in accounting and control over the use of liquid assets in a short time (up to three months) gives the greatest effect.

The importance of accounting for such assets is due to several factors. Firstly, it is these assets that are of the greatest material interest to unscrupulous employees. Secondly, the ability to manage them depends on the correct organization of control over the use of liquid assets. If the information received by management does not reflect the true state of liquid assets, this can lead to a crisis for the enterprise, including bankruptcy, especially in an increasingly competitive environment.

The analysis of accounting for liquid assets should begin with a check of banking and cash transactions. Particular attention must be paid to the status of settlements with suppliers and customers and to inventory management.

4. Optimization of business processes

After the analysis, you can begin to optimize business processes, that is, directly to the improvement stage. Any actions to improve the operation of an enterprise should begin with optimizing the processes of group “A”. It must be emphasized that when using the express method, only those processes are selected that can be improved in three months. It should be noted that the improvement stage is direct changes in the company. But resistance to change, as you and I understand, is always high among employees.

Therefore, each change must be discussed by employees involved in a specific business process. And only a decision should be made that suits representatives of each link of the business process. Then, within two to three days, the solution is tested and adjusted. Only after this we move on to developing the next business process.

5. A daily reporting system is being created, reflecting information on the consumption of all types of resources (including working time). Increased control is established over the most expensive and scarce resources.

Reporting forms are developed, which are also tested in working order, and then agreed upon with the managers of the departments where these forms will be used, and approved by the management of the enterprise. Thanks to the introduction of daily management reporting and streamlining of document flow, the enterprise immediately receives a number of benefits:

The management of the enterprise can at any time determine the direction and time of expenditure of any monetary and material resources. Even if these resources continue to be wasted, an information base is created from which methods for more optimal resource management can subsequently be developed.

Thanks to the introduction of a clear procedure for processing requests for resources, costs are reduced. Because spending any resource requires multiple paperwork and approvals, the employee stops making “just in case” resource purchases. Thus, requests are made only for resources that are truly needed.

Labor productivity increases because people always work more intensely if they report on their work every day.

Based on the analysis of daily reports from employees (primarily the highest paid) on the work done, important tasks for which they do not have enough time are identified, and tasks that can be delegated to lower paid employees. Optimal redistribution of tasks between employees allows enterprise management to achieve more efficient staff performance without increasing wage costs.

As information accumulates, costs are analyzed in detail and, on this basis, measures are developed to reduce them. One of these measures could be the introduction of a more rational procurement planning system, which will reduce the amount of raw materials in the warehouse and reduce the costs of their transportation and storage.

Thus, there is a transition from cost accounting to cost management.

6. The company’s document flow is adjusted.

All adopted and working decisions are made by adjustments to the document flow system: “Regulations on the organizational structure”, the system of job descriptions, “Regulations on wages”, “Internal regulations”.

7. Result

The result of using the express method for optimizing business processes at the end of a three-month period can be a reduction in costs by 5-15%, a reduction in the production cycle and an improvement in the state of the enterprise’s accounts.

After the stage of business process optimization, an effective personnel management system is developed, a personnel assessment and certification system is introduced, which includes:

Stages of the assessment process: preparation, implementation, maintenance and monitoring, analysis and use of results;

Regulatory support for the assessment process: correct execution of job descriptions, employment contracts, work standards, etc.;

The assessment process and system of procedures, documenting the process;

Training managers in the basics of personnel assessment technology;

Analysis and use of personnel assessment results to make personnel decisions;

Planning of company personnel management activities based on the results of the assessment process.

We have come to the concept of business process reengineering (BPR), i.e. creating completely new and more efficient business processes without taking into account what came before. BPO uses a large number of tools and techniques within a conventional framework. The previous issue described one of them - an express method for optimizing enterprise business processes. Let us consider in more detail each of the stages of implementing this method in an enterprise.

Processes are streams of work, and they have their boundaries, in other words, a beginning and an end. For example, business processes are: inventory management, DS management, marketing management, HR management. The subprocesses of inventory management are: supply planning, accepting orders for inventory items from the client, selling inventory items, storing inventory items, writing off inventory items, etc.

Procedures- guidance, a documented regulatory procedure in which the sequence of actions should be prescribed. For example, control over returns is already a clearly defined procedure (by whom, how and when it should be carried out). Procedures are reflected in procedure cards.

Strictly speaking, in the functional structure it is also possible to reengineer any detail and even appoint “process owners” along with the existing department heads. To make this mechanism work, it is necessary to preserve the principle of unity of command and clearly describe in the “Regulations on the Organizational Structure”, as well as in other fundamental documents of the company, the areas of responsibility, powers and interaction procedures for each department head, process owner and each joint of the responsibility matrix.
Then the efficiency of the structure will not fall as low as it does in most firms.

So, the sequence of our actions with you:

1. Identification of key problems in business processes.

2. Carrying out ABC analysis. Distribution of areas of responsibility.

4. Creation of a daily reporting system.

5. Adjustment of document flow.

6. Result.

1). All information available at the enterprise is subject to diagnostics:

Material or explicit information is data and knowledge that can be found in organizational documents in the form of messages, instructions, contracts, Regulations, letters, articles, reference books, patents, drawings, video and audio recordings, software, etc.

Personal or hidden information is personal knowledge that is inextricably linked to individual experience. They can be transmitted through direct contact (“face to face”), using questionnaires. It is believed that it is hidden practical knowledge that is key to identifying problems in an enterprise. This information is also interesting because it indirectly reveals the degree of employees’ readiness to contribute to the development of the company. Therefore, questionnaires are a simple and convenient tool for diagnosing key problems of an enterprise.

Each employee is given a questionnaire asking him to describe the duties (daily, weekly, monthly, annual) that the employee performs, the problems that the employee encounters in the course of work, and also, of course, specific proposals that he would like to implement at the enterprise. TOP managers (commercial director, chief accountant) usually have the entire range of responsibilities; line managers (accountant-coordinator, supervisors, warehouse manager) have a monthly range of responsibilities; ordinary employees (sales representatives, forwarders, operators) have daily and weekly responsibilities. I would like to note that the company always has employees who care not only about themselves, but also about the company. Such employees are usually quite specific in their ability to describe their responsibilities, clearly identify the problems they face, and propose specific solutions to eliminate these problems. I personally consider such employees as the golden fund of the enterprise, which needs to be given maximum attention by the company's management.

Through the analysis of questionnaires, key problems are identified. The key problem (category A) is precisely the one that “cuts through” the employees of different departments.

For example, an operator (accounting) writes: “a large number of returns, sales representatives accept applications poorly”; storekeeper (warehouse, accounting): “reduce the number of returns, sales agents do not know how to work with clients”; forwarder: “I’m ashamed in front of my clients, every time you hear that we’re a mess, we’re always bringing other people’s orders, we need to immediately reduce returns”; sales representative (commercial department): “they are deprived of allowances for returns, although it is not us, but the storekeeper who allows “re-sorting”, and the operator generally fills in invoices incorrectly.”

Thus, we are faced with a problem that we have defined as “return”, which we highlight as independent and pay special attention to. Our personal experience suggests that you shouldn’t pay attention to everything right away. It is enough to initially identify no more than 3-4 key problems, which you can then work on. It’s okay if you still allowed other problems to “breathe.” I dare say that some of them will disappear on their own, after working out the key ones.

Next, the participants who are involved in this problem are identified. The “return” problem: sales representative, operator, forwarder, storekeeper. The timing of their working time (implicit information) is carried out according to a characteristic section and the documentation they fill out (explicit information) is analyzed.

Sales Representative (TS). Responsible for returns in the form of surcharge. A sample of applications (explicit information) filled out by sales representatives suggests that they are filled out carefully, but are submitted as soon as the sales representative arrives at the office (after 7 p.m.). However, the trainees confuse the names of the stores, and there are many corrections in the applications.

The operator's main load begins at 16:00 in the afternoon and continues until 21-20:00 in the evening, until the entire volume of applications is completed. Although he needs to be at his workplace at 8-00. Physical overload on the face. Analysis of the generated documents (explicit information) showed that the standard for typing documents by the operator is not observed, although the operator’s typing speed is high - 230 characters per minute. The reason is that the 1C program is not adapted to the needs of the enterprise and additional time is required to generate the necessary documents.

Before 19:00 there are no errors in the generated documents, the operator works quickly and is not distracted by external noises, but after 19:00 the number of errors increases, the operator gets confused, is distracted by external noises, and the specialist cannot concentrate. After 20-30, when all the strangers leave, the operator again begins to work efficiently, but the dialing speed decreases by 2.5 times. Thus, the number of operator errors occurs between 19-00 and 20-30. The bonus is given when the plan is fulfilled. There is no surcharge for no returns.

Forwarder. Works well with the client. Attentive. Knows the product well. The route is designed optimally. He knows the route and clients well. He gets very worried when a client refuses a product, but doesn’t tell anyone about it, experiencing it within himself. Not present when the goods are shipped. There is no surcharge for no returns.

Storekeeper. Works inattentively with documents (explicit information). The location of the goods and the goods themselves are poorly known. Instead of one position (for example, 130 tenge) he places another (360 tenge), completely not understanding the difference between them. Maybe instead of the ordered 59 pieces. put 69 pcs. The order is assembled only by him and the loader. He doesn't care what he shipped. Does not bear financial responsibility. A salary increase is received when the company fulfills the plan. There is no surcharge for no returns.

2). Carrying out ABC analysis. Distribution of areas of responsibility. The key problem identified is “return control”.

Analysis of the proposed
events:

A). A supervisor is appointed as the “master” of the “returns control” procedure. He bears primary responsibility for returns because... It is he who is given the authority to investigate and identify the reasons for the return and determine the guilty party. Why the supervisor? Because he is subordinate to sales representatives responsible for the quality of communications with clients. Any failures in working with the client (in our case, the frequency of returns), to which employees pay attention, are reflected, first of all, in communications and the image of the company.

B). A responsibility matrix has been introduced through the “For No Returns” allowance, which makes it possible to clearly delineate areas of responsibility between employees and determine the moment when the responsibility of each employee arises. Thus, it is easy to identify the guilty party and punish. From a psychological point of view, a clearly defined responsibility matrix does not allow an employee to shift his blame onto others, restoring the principle of fairness and impartiality in the company. The “transparency” of this procedure will not allow some employees (in our example, the storekeeper) to sit back and receive a salary for being a good person, but not an employee.

IN). The load on each employee has been optimized (in our example, the operator is unloaded in the evening, but on the other hand, submitting applications before 17-00 mobilizes technical support staff, forcing them to work better in self-organization mode, so as not to lose volumes).

3. Reengineering (optimization) of business processes.

In order not to encounter resistance from employees who would not want to change anything, a set of proposed measures is submitted for their discussion. The director gathers representatives from all areas of the process, identifies the problem and, together with employees, outlines ways to solve it. But before introducing the proposed mechanisms, it is necessary to test the proposed set of measures. Over the course of a week, the decision made is worked out in real time, adjusted, and only then is a decision made to introduce changes, and only then can we begin to implement the process description.

Thus, business process reengineering allows, on the one hand, to obtain an optimization effect without radically disrupting the current business model of the enterprise, and on the other hand, to actually improve the current business model.

In many ways, the success of any company depends on the quality of work performed by each employee of the enterprise. The larger the company, the more difficult it is for the manager to control the operation of the enterprise, and the more often he is faced with insufficient productivity in the workplace. A business process optimization system can breathe new energy into a company’s work, reduce the burden on employees and, as a result, improve key indicators. But it should be remembered that the optimization process in an enterprise should be launched only after studying all the nuances and stages of business processes.

Many employees are sure that “optimization” and “downsizing” in an enterprise are the same thing. It is from this belief that fear of specialists studying the current state of affairs in the organization is born. In fact, business process optimization is the improvement of actions aimed at achieving company goals by choosing the best execution path. The best option is considered to be the one that best satisfies the requirements of the optimization goal, which can be formulated as follows:

• Reducing the time spent on performing an operation;
• Reducing the cost of a product or service;
• Improving the quality of final goods and customer satisfaction;
• Achieving transparency of the company’s business processes, distribution of resources or strengthening control over its activities;
• Freeing up resources for company development;
• Improving controllability and planning.

Determining the goal of optimizing business processes depends on the company’s strategy and its positioning in the market of goods or services. For example, grocery supermarkets in the economy segment rely on price dumping (promotions, discounts, low-price products), while elite stores rely on freshness, quality and exclusivity.

Optimizing an organization’s business processes requires the participation of all employees, concentrating their efforts and attention, so it is expensive and troublesome to carry out regularly. But it is important not to miss the moment when optimization will take the organization’s activities to a new level of efficiency. There are certain signs and symptoms that indicate that the company is overdue for changes in established processes:

1. Too much time is spent on making decisions, and their implementation is delayed;
2. There is no control over key operations;
3. The work is performed at an insufficient level of quality;
4. Lack of clear delineation of areas of responsibility at different levels;
5. Communication between departments regularly fails, which results in misinterpretation or failure to complete part of the work;
6. The number of departments and employees has increased, but there is no increase in work results.

At the first appearance of such symptoms, you should at least start thinking about conducting an audit and subsequent optimization of business processes. The reason may also be significant changes in the structure of the organization or the introduction of a modern information system. The latter will also make it possible to automate certain jobs, freeing up the workforce (which previously took part in routine processes and manual operations) to grow production or develop new areas.

But there are also situations where optimization, most likely, will not bring the expected benefit. First of all, we are talking about small companies, where conclusions about the efficiency of work can be made without expensive time-consuming work. In opposite situations, when the number of employees exceeds a certain level (different sources give a starting point of one hundred to two hundred people), it makes sense to study and optimize individual areas of activity.

You need to start by appointing a project manager, on whom 90% of the success of optimization will depend. The person at the head of such a large-scale work must have not only the appropriate status and resources, but also the appropriate character. Most often, this role is played by the general director in small companies or his deputies in areas of large enterprises. When such authority is delegated to department heads, problems with communication and bureaucracy often occur.

The composition of the working group involved in optimizing business processes is also of great importance. The most effective situations are when both company specialists and external consultants work on the project. Most often, their employees are entrusted with studying and improving existing business processes, and third-party specialists who already have ready-made methods for optimizing business processes are trusted with training in optimization technologies.

It is worth taking great responsibility when choosing a third-party organization: pay attention to the experience and positive reviews of previous clients, do not agree to special offers with low prices, find out as much as possible about the potential partner, because we are talking about strategic business information that may fall “ in the wrong hands."

In addition to directly auditing and optimizing business processes, a consulting organization can help significantly improve the professional level of employees. Despite the fact that there are many good sources of information on the Internet, the wealth of experience of specialists will save your company from the blunders of self-taught people. Self-education is wonderful and necessary, but interaction with professionals will allow you to gain new experience several times faster. By training your employees, you will be able to save on future similar work by using your own specialists who have studied all the basic optimization methods.

During the optimization process, specialists use various tools:

• Exception. It is necessary to eliminate interference, unnecessary expenses, unnecessary iterations, and reduce transport routes if possible;
• Change. Introduction of new algorithms and volumes of work, improvement of technologies used in the enterprise;
• Simplification. Reducing the complexity of placing orders and organizing work;
• Acceleration. Automation of mechanical stages of work, use of modern technologies;
• Standardization. Study and application of the world's best work standards;
• Ensuring interaction. Improving communication between departments, introducing a unified information system in the enterprise;
• Addition. Inclusion of necessary components into new business processes.

The above tools will help not only improve the company’s business processes, but also delineate the areas of responsibility of each department. This is necessary to know, since the lack of a clear understanding of these boundaries is the first step to reducing the company’s efficiency. After preparing staff for the optimization project, the first steps can begin.

Before you begin to think through the best options for business processes, you need to understand what led to insufficient efficiency. To achieve this, most optimization methodologies use activities to study existing processes in the organization. If you abandon this stage, it will be impossible to talk about full-fledged optimization, since employees will have to not just change the usual algorithm of actions, leaving something useful, but simply work with a completely new one, albeit more effective, which is more like a revolution than optimization .

A thorough study of existing business processes in an enterprise will also help in classifying processes for optimization. After all, in any organization there are key processes, and there are auxiliary ones. Before starting a project, qualified specialists divide all processes into three groups:

1. Basic. Necessary for customer satisfaction and profit;
2. Auxiliary. They exist for the stable operation of the enterprise, but do not provide much value to customers;
3. Managerial. They allow you to effectively manage, set goals and objectives, and monitor the execution of orders.

When studying and classifying existing business processes, it is important that company employees are cooperative. As already noted, the attitude of enterprise personnel directly affects the effectiveness of optimization, so it is worth enlisting the support of employees in advance. You should explain to them that after the changes, their work will become easier, and some work responsibilities will be removed from them.

After the existing processes in the company have been studied, analysis and optimization will follow. A quick step-by-step guide to these processes would include five main steps:

1. Calculation of key performance indicators. Most often, this role is played by money and time spent on producing products or providing services. In addition, it is important to pay attention to employee reviews. If they are satisfied with these conditions, the process will go more efficiently;
2. Identification of redundant nodes. This category usually includes intermediate actions, which can be completely dispensed with or automated. For example, obtaining information about the balances in the warehouse, listing inventory numbers in an additional list by the storekeeper or obtaining an additional personal signature of the manager;
3. Modeling an ideal business process. It must take into account the needs of the enterprise and the employee, the available equipment and the ultimate goal of optimization;
4. Implementation of an updated algorithm. It is important to make the differences clear to employees and train them. It is necessary that staff understand the benefits that the employee and the enterprise will receive from the changes;
5. Analysis and recording of results. After observing the work of employees using the new algorithm and tracking and analyzing indicators, conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness of optimization.

The scale and speed of optimization depend on many factors - company resources, employee loyalty, management cohesion, correctly chosen strategy and goal. The main thing is to try to avoid serious mistakes that could ruin all your work.

Mistakes when optimizing business processes

If gross mistakes have been made, then no optimization systems will help improve employee efficiency. The experience of similar projects has revealed typical errors in optimization:

1. Impulsive decisions. Every change in the processes occurring in the organization must be based on the study and analysis of the current situation. It is important to fight the causes, not eliminate the consequences;
2. The work of incompetent specialists. To maximize the effect on the project, it is important to use modern technologies and take into account the experience of other companies. If people who are confused about concepts and don't use the best tools are responsible for developing an optimization plan, then the experience of the project in the vast majority of cases turns out to be negative. At best, this will take a lot of company time and resources;
3. The previous mistake often gives rise to another one - the wrong choice of tools for optimization. Despite the fact that the market for specialized software is quite wide, and the cost of programs can vary significantly, it is important to remember why the software is purchased, what functionality it should have, how it can be developed and supported;
4. Starting work without a detailed study of the company's work. The desire of managers to save money very often leads to this. Full optimization cannot be carried out without studying business processes;
5. The desire of managers is not to manage, but to take part in optimization. Without knowledge of technology, it is extremely difficult to calculate the elements without which the operation of the enterprise will not suffer. Leaders must thoroughly understand what is happening, but not stubbornly insist on their vision of the situation. Their direct participation is necessary when optimization of enterprise business process management begins;
6. Incorrect goal setting or interpretation. It is important at every moment of optimization to remember why specific work is being done and what the effect of the changes will be. It is also important that all changes are aimed at achieving the selected optimization goal. For example, if a company does not have enough income from sales, then it is more advisable to deal with the process of selling goods than with accounting;
7. Incorrect distribution of work group forces. It is important to understand the priority of each operation and allocate employees to important areas first.

By following the basic principles of optimizing business processes and avoiding serious mistakes, you can achieve very good results even on your own. In such projects, it is important to thoroughly understand all the nuances of the processes being changed. If you are guided by this principle and correctly “catch” the moment to start a project, then the efficiency of your business will significantly increase.

This article talks about 7 simple techniques that can be used to optimize both business processes as a whole and sub-processes and operations.

These techniques are not “know-how”, but have been actively used all over the world for a long time. The purpose of this article is to compile a simple and short “cheat sheet” describing the main optimization techniques.

Technique No. 1 - Taking the IFR (ideal end result) outside the scope of the process.

When optimizing any business processes, a clear description of the IFR is necessary. As the experienced reader guessed, this is the first step in the algorithm for solving inventive problems created by TRIZ developers. What would seem to be simpler than the formation of IFR when designing a business process? But a person’s consciousness plays a cruel joke on him, concluding the search for IFR exclusively within the framework of the process itself.

Example 1

The company, located in Moscow, produces products that are used by customers throughout the CIS. The company has a logistics center that delivers goods to the client using its own trucks. Recently, the costs of maintaining a logistics center have begun to increase. Those. Delivering products to customers using the old method becomes problematic. The wrong way to determine the IFR will look like this: “Reduce delivery costs by our logistics center by 10%.” In this case, a number of good solutions can be found:

a) replace trucks with more advanced ones that require less repair and maintenance costs

b) use cheaper fuel

c) negotiate with customers in order to convince them to pay more for delivery, etc.

But at the same time, the author of process optimization closes for himself all other resources of this situation. What opportunities are being missed? To answer this question, let’s formulate the IFR differently, namely based on the understanding that the meaning of a business process should go beyond the scope of itself. Those. The meaning of the work of a logistics center is not in the work of the logistics center itself, not in the fact that loaders place the company’s product on a truck, and the driver takes it to the client, but in helping to implement a more global business process, namely the sale of the company’s products, through delivery goods to the company's customers. Therefore, in this case, the IFR, in my opinion, would sound better formulated as follows: “Make the receipt of the company’s product by customers no more expensive than N rubles per V km.” Thus, when searching for solutions to this problem, consciousness is no longer limited only within the framework of the work of the logistics center, but at the same time does not exclude the possibility of its use, and we add to the possible solutions already obtained those that in the first case we could not come to due to a narrower areas of search for solutions:

d) outsourcing delivery

e) the possibility of a discount for customers who pick up the products themselves

f) opening production in regions where large clients are present, etc.

How to use the technique?

Create an IFR that could be achieved not only through the implementation of the process, but also in all available ways, as was the case in the example.

Technique #2 - Eliminating unnecessary steps from the process.

When implementing this technique, it is necessary to consider the purpose of each step of the process, asking whether any steps can be eliminated or combined.

Example 2

At Technosila, when hiring a salesperson, he had to go through the following stages:

• Telephone interview with HR manager
• Face-to-face interview with the HR manager at the central office
• Interview with the store director
• Bring the documents necessary for employment to the central office

And only after going through all these stages could he start working in the store of his choice.

The tasks of the HR manager are to prevent random people from getting an interview with the store director, such as people who do not match their age, education, place of residence, etc. i.e. The role of the HR manager is a kind of filter, and the decision to hire is made by the store director. After analyzing the tasks of these stages, management came to the conclusion that stages 2 and 4 are redundant because Candidates who do not meet basic requirements can also be screened out during a telephone interview. The fourth stage, namely the registration of an employee, was transferred directly to the supermarket where the future employee will work.

How to use the technique?

• Are there stages that duplicate each other? Is it possible to remove one of them?
• Are all stages of the process necessary for the main purpose of the process, and if so, are there any that can be dispensed with?

Technique No. 3 - changing the sequence of process execution stages

Example 3

In his book “How to Clean Up Your Business,” Mikhail Rybakov describes an interesting example of the procedure for issuing a loan at a bank. The sequence of the described actions is such that first the bank manager prepares all the documents and only when 90% of the work is completed, a request is sent to the security service. If the security service does not approve the loan, 90% of the work turns out to be wasted man-hours, depreciation of equipment and other consumables, plus lost profits. It is clear that every business has its own risks, but the manager’s task is to reduce them in every possible way, and in this case this is extremely easy to do. To do this, you just need to make the operation of checking a potential client by the security service one of the first steps in the loan application procedure, this will allow you not to perform unnecessary operations in case of refusal.

How to use the technique?

Analyze the business process outlined step by step through questions.

Which of the process steps are most significant for the successful completion of the process?

Can these steps be moved closer to the beginning of the process?

Technique No. 4 - Splitting operations

I.L. Vikentyev repeatedly repeats at seminars that the more advanced business processes are, the fewer requirements they place on employee qualifications. The essence of this technique is precisely this division of processes and operations, which leads to simplification of the process as a whole. In essence, this is a conveyor operating principle known since ancient times. One of the most brilliant examples of how this principle can improve productivity is the case described by Adam Smith.

Example 4.

An English craftsman of the 17th century maintained a workshop in which pins were made. Each apprentice led the pin production process from start to finish. Due to the economic crisis, the owner was unable to pay the qualified employees of his workshop, so their cooperation was terminated (he fired them). As a result, it was decided to divide the production of pins into small sequential operations. Each of these operations could be mastered by any untrained person, or rather, they recruited 15-16 year old boys from the street. Thanks to this move, not only labor costs were reduced, but also production increased by more than 200 times! If earlier the workshop produced about 80 pins a day using the labor of qualified craftsmen, now the workshop produced 48,000 pins using the efforts of apprentices.

How to use the technique?

Which operations in the process require the greatest qualifications of the performer?

Is it possible to divide these operations into simpler operations so that the requirements for the performer are reduced?

Technique No. 5 - Taking operations outside the scope of the main process

Often in complex processes full of operations, the same performer performs all operations, which significantly delays the process and also significantly reduces its quality. Because as we know, generalist masters are very rare. We can be convinced of this by looking into a rural auto repair shop, where the same employee also repairs the chassis, and if necessary, he will also undertake carburetor repair, which is difficult to imagine in any professionally equipped workshop.

Example 5

In the Stolplit furniture holding, initially sellers were entirely involved in processing loans. In this regard, a lot of difficulties arose in the work of retail outlets:

• firstly, the registration process itself was greatly delayed, i.e. I have already said that you cannot be a pro in everything, both in sales and in preparing bank documentation.
• secondly, for obvious reasons, when applying for loans, the total number of clients served decreased, i.e. turnover was falling
• thirdly, sellers often made mistakes when preparing loan documentation, which again reduced the number of loans issued, etc. and so on.

In the described situation, it is clearly visible that issuing a loan is the anchor that slows down the sales process at retail outlets, but should, on the contrary, stimulate it. Because It is absolutely clear that today not a single point can do without providing the service of selling on credit. There is an obvious contradiction: the service of selling on credit should be present at the point of sale, but at the same time it should not drain resources.

The solution was simple: a remote loan processing center (LOC) was created, which worked with all Stolplit partner banks. The seller’s task was only to make a photocopy of the passport and send it to the UCC to indicate the type, amount and term of the loan.

How to use the technique?

Analyze the steps of a prescribed business process through questions

Which operations in this process are the most energy-intensive?

Can these operations be entrusted to other performers without compromising the process? Moreover, it is important to understand that operations can be entrusted not only to an employee of his own company, but also outsourced.

Technique No. 6 - Unification operation in time and (or) space

Example 6

Combining mining and production. The production of canned fish is often located directly on the vessels that fish. At the sites where minerals are extracted, their processing is often organized.

Example 7

In a beauty salon, several specialists can work with a client at the same time.

How to use the technique?

Analyze the business process outlined step by step using questions:

What if in a given process operations that would be more expedient to combine in time and (or) space?

Technique No. 7 - Automation, transferring part or all functions to a machine

This technique is used in a situation where a technical device can completely take over all operations to implement the process, and a person periodically maintains the device.

Example 8

The first vending machines to replace the salesperson appeared in the United States in the 1880s.

In 1946, the first coffee machines appeared, replacing not only the seller, but also the bartender, because... not only sold, but also prepared coffee from whole roasted beans.

How to use the technique?

Analyze the step-by-step business process using questions:

If at the moment there are technical devices (machines, programs) that can perform operations present in the process without loss of quality.

List of sources:

1. Electronic book “Introduction to TRIZ. Basic concepts and approaches" v. 3.0
2. Creative methodology: “Ideal final result (IFR)”
3. Rybakov M.Yu. “How to get your business in order. Workshop" Icarus 2011
4. Oleg Bezrukov “Is it possible to increase labor productivity by 10,000% within a year?”

Bondarenko Denis Alekseevich, business coach.

© D.A. Bondarenko, 2012
© Published with the kind permission of the author