What is Lean?

Manufacturing Measurements
& KPI's
It is important to have meaningful measurements in place within a
business, in order to monitor performance. By assigning numbers, it can
help us to understand what is happening and communicate this to others.
It can also help us to set targets and take appropriate action to make
improvements. Measurements are useful at all levels throughout an
organisation but it is important that the connections between the various
measurements are understood and that we measure to take action - not
just to record history.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the measurements which are

selected by a company to give an overall indication of the health of the
business. Traditionally, KPIs are dominated by historical, financial
measurements but are more meaningful if they also include operational
measurements.

The Balanced Scorecard approach considers four aspects: Financial,

Customer (or externally) oriented, Business Process (or internally)
oriented and "Learning and Growth", as illustrated in the diagram above.

Company Objectives are usually produced as part of the annual

planning process. These objectives often relate to increasing turnover,
increasing productivity, improving quality, reducing costs and improving
delivery performance.

Policy Deployment is the process of ensuring that the company

objectives are effectively deployed throughout the whole organisation.
Company objectives should be cascaded and translated into: departmental
objectives … team objectives … individual objectives. Thus enabling an
individual to see how his or her contribution can make a difference to the
business.

To find out more contact your local regional MAS office.