ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: The Excellence Journey: Pathways to Success
Paul G. Kuchuris Jr.
The journey to excellence is certainly a daunting task for any organization. That is especially true in the challenging economic environment organizations find themselves in today. They find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place, trying to cut costs while increasing business growth. Many questions arise and need answers. Where should I spend money to get the highest rate of return and growth? Does a journey to excellence really pay off in terms of profitability and growing my business?
The answer is, “Yes!” Done correctly, the journey will pay off extremely well. Thousands of organizations support this claim.
So where do you begin?
- Ensure that you have a continuous improvement environment practicing solid lean improvement activities throughout the organization.
- Benchmark your processes against other organizations by getting involved in variety of AME events across the country. Don't be hesitant to share your successes and challenges with other organizations. By sharing and learning together, we all grow and become stronger companies, and thus a stronger nation.
- To maximize your continuous improvement efforts, you must ensure that all your entities and/or functions are aligned to achieve your mission. This requires outside help. Various evaluation sources are available, including the AME Manufacturing Excellence Award. For beginning your journey, the most cost-effective, flexible tool is the network of state Baldrige Award-based programs. These programs cover all of the United States. They offer a tiered evaluation and recognition process patterned after the proven Baldrige framework of excellence.
After submitting your application using the Baldrige criteria, five to eight professionally trained examiners will individually evaluate your organization, documenting your strengths and improvement opportunities. Then they will jointly develop a consensus feedback report. They also may conduct a site visit and spend three to five days validating the information in your application and refining their feedback report. Your organization will receive the results of 140 hours of assessment from each of the examiners, for a minimal price. It is the cheapest, non-biased, non-prescriptive consulting you can get.
Receiving an award at any level indicates that you are well on your way in your journey to excellence. But it is secondary to the feedback report, worth its weight in gold. With a tiered system available in most states, you can continue to apply and receive professional feedback on your organization's progress. All the state programs are housed under an organization called The Alliance for Performance Excellence. You can seek information about your own state program on its website www.baldrigepe.org.
Explore this vehicle to assist you in your successful drive for performance excellence, and good luck.
Paul G. Kuchuris Jr. is president of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME).
