A strategy of operational excellence to support our customers in a sustainable and competitive manner
Operational excellence is a pillar of Daher’s culture and is employed daily at each of the sites for the company’s industrial, logistics and transport activities. The goal: to maximize performance in creating ever more value for customers, employees and shareholders.
To distinguish itself, and to remain a leader in its markets, Daher does not just innovate technologically: organizational innovation also is part of its DNA. The company’s SeeD program (Solution for Excellence and Empowerment by Daher) was launched in 2014 as the approach to operational excellence, and aims to improve costs, quality and timelines for all customers and across all services by leveraging:
- A structured step-by-step approach to identifying problems in achieving sustainable results;
- A collaborative culture of improvement and a mindset that fosters the mobilization and commitment of all employees around a goal of performance and progress that is shared and recognized by all as essential to the company’s development;
- An organization, expertise and tools that enable concrete and rapid results, relying on standards, 5S, 8D, visual management, Obeya, VRS, etc.
Evolution of key performance indicators between 2014 and 2018:
Frequency rate of accidents with work stoppages: -27%
Non-quality costs: -35%
Non-compliance (PPM) for Industry: -51%
Non-compliance (PPM) for Services: -49%
In four years, SeeD has enabled Daher to improve the way it works and operates by developing – among other things – the ability of teams to find solutions themselves. Building on the results already achieved, Daher now wants to go further. SeeD is entering a new phase that will allow for further maturity and actively contribute to the company’s strategic objectives by 2022. Called “SeeD Together,” the 2018-2022 operational excellence roadmap is based on four pillars:
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Performance
Operational excellence is a mindset that contributes to the company’s performance and transformation. Through the SeeD program, Daher strives to change behavior and support its teams by promoting teamwork, problem solving, autonomy, flexibility, skills development, motivation (recognition) and change.
With principles understood and now rooted in the Daher culture – and with digital as an accelerator – the company’s ultimate goal to operational excellence is to achieve the best performance with safety, quality, cost and timing for customers, within the company, and for all employees.
A set of indicators (“SeeD Routines” for operations, “Blue Sky” for projects) enable Daher to monitor the evolution of its performance on a day-to-day basis (OTD, PPM, CNQ etc.) and to define the construction sites and projects that will enable the company to improve performance in a sustainable manner by meeting customers’ expectations while eliminating unnecessary costs throughout the value chain.
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Empowerment
The accountability of Daher’s teams is at the heart of the SeeD approach and is an essential transformation force in achieving the company’s objectives of operational excellence: to produce better, faster and cheaper; and to improve satisfaction of the customers (internal and external). For Daher, empowerment is:
- Strengthening the skills and knowledge of operational staff through a dedicated training program (“SeeD Learning”); tools of operational excellence (“SeeD for managers”), etc.;
- An operations organization that increasingly involves operators, while also facilitating the work of the managerial structure (team managers, managers and plant managers);
- Empowerment tools: for the operators, who are on the front lines in improving the workstations (from an idea to its implementation at the workstation);
- Well-defined and applied (verified) standards at the workstations with a view toward continuous improvement: the manager, an actor of continuous improvement.
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Global excellence
- A global approach
This is based, first of all, on an extension of the SeeD approach to all functions within the company: IS, HR, commerce, purchasing, etc. - A maturity assessment system
In 2020, a single evaluation system will be deployed across the company’s sites (SeeD maturity audit). Each year, it will issue “awards” (gold, silver, bronze) for the sites most – and best – committed to the SeeD approach for operational excellence. - Local networks dedicated to operational excellence
Regional “SeeD Days” bring together representatives from all Daher sites in the same geographical area, with all activities combined (services, industry, transportation and projects). They allow the various entities to exchange results, discuss good practices, review improvement projects in progress, and promote the emergence of local networks dedicated to operational excellence. - Knowledge at the highest level
Once a year, the corporate-level “SeeD Days” bring together management and operational teams to present results and recognize improvement of the year. The gold, silver and bronze awards are presented on this occasion.
- Benchmarking
In order to further improve its approach to operational excellence, Daher decided to identify best practices in other industries via targeted benchmarks.
- A global approach
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Digitalization
The aim is to increase the use of digital tools to facilitate the work of operational staff. For example, they can now carry out, control and disseminate their QSE (Quality, Safety, Environment) audits with just a few clicks, thanks to the iAuditor application. A digitalization solution for the Obeya method of visual management, used by Daher as part of the SeeD approach, also is being deployed. Adopted by key players in the industry, it will allow for better information-sharing and facilitate inter-site collaboration.
