The Basic Concepts Model - Analysis of a Single Product or Service

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Do you have any Results of Transforming Organisations ?

Calling all Management Consultants, Organisational Experts, University Professors, Lean Professionals, CEOs and UK NHS Health Transformation Managers. Especially World Leaders from Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, etc.

Please could you publish the results of some of your work ?. ie – Results of transforming organisations, reducing throughput time, improving service levels, reducing cost and improving employee morale, etc. For example, results of applying your knowledge and methods in organisations (Manufacturing, Services of Health). In particular there is a lot of discussion surrounding digital transformation. Do you have any results? Names and the identities of the organisations can be obscured.

Note – By Organisational transformation results I refer to transforming both supply chains and internal value adding capability including employee morale. An improvement in a single department or island of efficiency is not really considered an end-to-end transformation. As most readers already know the average value adding time in organisations is less than 15% (When a product is tracked) and I have recorded figures as low as 4% in UK Local Government so there is a lot of waste. I attach some results of applying Time Based Analysis below as an example of the magnitude of change expected.

The Importance of a Time Based Analysis Synchronisation Point.

This post discusses the importance of including a synchronisation point in my time-based analysis framework. The most important first objective within Production and Operations management is the synchronisation of information, people, materials and equipment. When this has been achieved fine tuning of processes such as the control of variation can begin.

Synchronisation of all the elements needed to add value within the shortest time frame is a very old problem, but it still exists today in most organisations. Good early examples of success can be found in the Japanese automotive industry but outside automotive, synchronisation of people, equipment, materials and information is poor and costs plus non-value adding time increase as a result. In my time-based analysis framework, I use a synchronisation point to force a reduction in throughput time. A powerful synchronisation point often used is the supply chain/first value adding operation date, this includes adopting pull type control and removing large amounts of non-value adding time. It can also be the time/date when a customer requests a product or service.

Once a synchronisation point becomes a measurement target a whole new World of focus and energy appears to radically improve performance.

Transforming Organisations – Time Based Analysis versus Lean.

If you had started to use time-based analysis to measure and transform your existing value adding capability and supply chain synchronisation in January 2022 you will now be seeing benefits like those listed below.

Time Based Analysis is really simple and powerful yet highly structured, track a product, service or health patient through the total inputs to outputs conversation system in your organisation and visually display the results. You will normally find very low value adding touch time, 4% to 15% is typical. Use my time based framework to display the results. Data is gathered by your value adding employees. More examples at www.drbobbarker.co.uk in the Forum section.

The analysis usually takes less than half a day per product or service. Expect to find a lot of waste and untapped potential even in so called Lean organisations. Also supply chains have been found to be very unsynchronised, typically when they are controlled by push methods, moving to pull type control can reduce inventory by up to 60%.

The Time Based Organisation: Recreating and Transforming Existing Organisations: Amazon.co.uk: Barker, Dr Robert C: 9798653501593: Books https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08B4YCNLF

When organisations contain so much waste, why is more action not being taken to remove it?

We often see reports, especially in the UK, that an organisation or health department will need more funding because their services are failing to meet demand. However, when time based analysis is used in these organisations the typical results usually reveal that value is being added to products or services in less than 15% of the calendar time consumed. In local government services it has been found to be as low as 4%. (ie - 4 weeks of value adding work in 104 weeks of Calendar time consumed).

Time based analysis is simple to apply and provides a powerful and visual display of the existing organisations ability to add value to products or services, whilst at the same time measuring the synchronisation of supply chain inputs in relation to the actual need date. It is applied and used by teams of employees.

A lot of people might think they do not need to use time based analysis because they already use a range of Lean tools. However, they could be wrong because a lot of the organisations where poor value adding capability exists were already considered to be Lean.

Time Based Analysis and the Age of Self Development.

Very few managers and employees realise that by using their in-depth knowledge of value adding systems within an organisation (Production, Services or Health) as a basis for learning, they can transform both their own performance and the value adding capability within their area of work. Link all the areas together and you have transformed an entire organisation.

Self-learning and improvement are obtained when the end-to-end processes are visualised and recorded (Value adding time and the non-value adding gaps). Mapping the process on a calendar time line on CAD plotter paper is quite adequate. Viewing an organisation in this way usually reveals and identifies high amounts of NVA time and waste. Employees can then use their knowledge to remove large amounts of non-value adding time and waste.

Common reasons for poor operating performance and long throughput times are usually poor design, no design at all, over control, lack of respect for time and ERP/MRP push type control. Please carry out some self-development as soon as possible, you will be surprised by what you find. My findings are that when a single product or service is tracked – value adding time is between 4 and 15%.

Total Organisation Rough Cut Analysis is a Transformation Priority.

When a product or service is tracked through an organisation the value adding touch time is often very low. Large amounts of queuing and waiting time along with associated inventory have a big impact on costs and service delivery, yet total system analysis is often ignored.

In contrast to a structured global analysis that would identify weak areas, it can be seen that many people continue to opt for an isolated focus in a department or island of efficiency. Unfortunately, the results of applying these ad hoc methods for the last 40 years has not resulted in total company improvement. If you are in doubt, attach yourself to a product or service and measure the value adding time, it’s likely to be under 15%.

The reasons why total organisational analysis is ignored might be because there are few managers who have the authority or knowledge to span the supply chain and end to end processes. This is indeed a lot more difficult that doing work in a single department. Another weakness surrounds financial reporting, this does include the whole system but it cannot see the non value adding time and only measures outcomes from the exiting systems in place.

Time Based Analysis of Existing Operations Identifies Areas for Improvement and Removes Non Value Adding Time.

Time based analysis is a visually powerful transformation methodology that is used by value adding employees to reduce waste and non-value adding time in a wide range of organisations. It never fails to identify waste in all its forms. In sharp contrast to many “off the shelf - let’s try this or that” tools which a user tries to match to a problem, the basic concept of a time-based approach is “Analysis and identification of problems prior to corrective actions”.

Since most organisations add value to products or services in less than 15% of the time, they spend in the so-called value adding process, it is not difficult to make rapid improvements. It is true that results can be embarrassing good, but this should not deter you from taking action.

TBA has been applied in a wide range of industrial organisations, local and central government, health, housing, services, universities, etc. Size ranges extend from £500,000 to £28 Billion groups. Experience has shown that larger organisations always hold more waste. Ironically so-called Lean organisations also contain a lot of waste. More details and results at www.drbobbarker.co.uk in forum, basic concepts.

Research Supply Chain Update

About 15 years ago I was talking to a sales representative who worked for a global company that was a major national health service UK supplier. I was telling her about all the changes we were making in improving our supply chains within industry with pull type control and direct cell feeds, I asked her how they supplied the NHS. She replied by saying, don't mention Pull type control to the NHS Bob. We make a lot of money replacing out of date items.

In February 2022 I wondered if this was still the case and made some enquires and constructed a NHS supply model, I asked NHS Managers for clarification but there were no official replies.

There was however some feedback from NHS users. In the past bar codes expiries were only ever checked just before the patient received them so lots of expired product. GS1 barcoding is now used and we have a global standard, before that it was impossible to track product. The NHS didn’t like writing things off as it looked bad so it tended to go unrecorded

The question remains, has Push type control waste now been eliminated. Please advise via LinkedIn or drbobbarker.co.uk@gmail.com

Time Based Analysis – A Post for deeper thinking about transforming organisations.

Let’s assume you have been using Lean or numerous other tools and techniques for the last 40 years. Let’s assume you work in a multinational blue-chip org with a lot of analysists and accountants, there is always pressure to do better, but you can hide behind the figures.

All seems fine, but is it. Along comes Time Based Analysis that measures how well you add value in the time products or services spend in the organisation, measurement of the value adding touch time is between 4 and 15%, what has gone wrong? You suddenly think, what have we been doing for the last 40 years. We have been carrying out improvement projects in a department or around an island of efficiency and not the whole value adding process.

Suddenly you realise why Time Based Analysis always provides much better results, it measures the entire inputs to outputs process, including supply chain synchronisation. It is visually powerful and driven by the very people at each value adding stage. Now you have three options - 1. Do nothing, 2. Carry on looking at islands of efficiency, or 3. Use Time Based Analysis and really transform your organisation.

Transforming Organisations – Actions not Debates.

If your new Year 2022 resolution was to use time-based analysis to measure your existing value adding capability and supply chain synchronisation you will be seeing some benefits by now.

Its really simple and powerful, track a product, service or health patient through the total inputs to outputs conversation system in your organisation. You will normally find very low value adding touch time, 4% to 15% is typical. Use my time based framework to display the results. A wall chart (CAD plotter paper 1 metre high x 5 metres long) is adequate at this point. Data is gathered by your value adding (Coal face) employees.

The analysis usually takes less than half a day per product, etc. As the team are displaying the data ask them “What stops you doing the best days work you can” Expect to find a lot of waste and untapped potential even in so called Lean organisations. Also supply chains have been found to be very unsynchronised, typically if they are controlled by push methods, moving to pull can reduce inventory by up to 60%.

Its almost March 2022, so if you are using TBA, you will be seeing a lot of improvements.

Identifying Non-Value Adding Time and Poor Supply Chain Synchronisation.

Linking Problems to Solutions via Empowered Employees with In-depth Process Knowledge.

As most of us already know, a lot of waste exists in most organisations (All types in the £500,000 to £28 Billion range). Poor supply chain synchronization is common in ERP/MRP type push-controlled organisations, in addition if you attach yourself to a product, component part or service the value adding touch time is rarely above 15%.

These weaknesses can be removed and value adding capability improved by using a time-based analysis framework to identify problem areas visually and thus guiding value adding employees to systematically remove them. No consultants or software are needed because this powerful transformation methodology is wall map (Paper) based. Some knowledge of time-based mapping is needed but this can be easily understood by looking at examples and characteristics at www.drbobbarker.co.uk in Forum, Basic concepts and in the book.

Key words – Analysis prior to attempting corrective actions. Empowered employees. Visualisation of the total inputs to outputs process is very powerful. Time based analysis never fails to identify waste and untapped potential, even in so called Lean organisations. I would urge readers to carry out some analysis

Time based analysis - Measuring value adding capability and supply chain synchronisation.

Feedback suggests that some people are still unclear how my time based analysis framework is applied in organisations, this post is intended to provide further guidance.

The main characteristics of the method are –

1. Centre out analysis, a central synchronisation point in most organisations or (multiple points in the auto industry) supply chain and value adding operations are compressed towards the points. The synchronisation point is usually the date/time when a customer requests something or places an order. Analysing a product or service group usually takes less than a day.

2. Recording of value adding time and costs in relation to the amount of calendar time consumed.

3. A Line of value adding capability is used at the micro and macro stages, steeper is better. This is used at each process and later extends from the supply chain to the date of completion. An important measure of how much value is being added in a certain amount of time.

4. Division of (+) (Positive) value adding activity above the calendar time axis, and (-) (Negative) non value adding costs below the axis. If the negatives outweigh the positives, the organisation is in trouble.

Looking back at 60 years of organisational development – Prescriptive versus Analytical approaches.

Historical attempts to improve organisations have largely been prescriptive, indeed prescriptive off the shelf solutions are still discussed every day by consultants and CEOs.

The prescriptive approach follows along the lines of let’s try one of the 20 or so lean tools, or let’s try some scientific management, systems thinking, data mining or digital or maybe we need team building. We can see that this approach attempts to get a proposed tool or technique to solve a yet unidentified problem. History shows us this has not really been a good way to improve organisations since in 2022 value adding capability is still very low (outside of automotive).

Surprisingly, analysis (that is very powerful) prior to unclear or blurred implementations, is mostly ignored.

Results of analysis provides knowledge and guidance. The analytical approach v the prescriptive identifies non value adding time, weaknesses and constraints that need attention. This approach is far more structured, in my experience, time-based analysis always identifies waste and untapped potential and is better than guesswork.

It remains a mystery why so many still attempt to use off the shelf solutions without any prior analysis of needs when success is limited.

@Hi Bob.

Do you use a specific software or are these diagrams made in PowerPoint only based on experience?

Etienne

StratImPro

stratimpro@outlook.com

How can Time Based Analysis identify so much waste in Lean organisations? Part 2.

When I asked this question in late 2021 there was very little feedback, no resistance or even answers. I suspect it is quite embarrassing to suddenly find that your organisation contains huge amounts of waste and untapped potential. Even more so when you are a Multi-billion dollar corporation.

The problem is that most organisations depend too much on financial performance measurement that cannot measure waste and untapped potential. Value adding capability and time are largely ignored. My results across a wide range of organisations (£500,000 to £28 Billion groups) reveal that value adding touch time per product or component part is usually under 15%.

To really find out if your ERP/MRP systems or Lean Tools and Techniques or your Digitisation or Cloud Based systems really did anything to improve value adding capability and supply chain synchronisation, please attach yourself to a product and carry out some time-based analysis. I think you will get a big shock, but if you don’t, please let me know. Any inputs or explanations from Professors and Researchers in Universities would be welcome. www.drbobbarker.co.uk

If you are serious about transforming value adding capability in organisations.

What is the value adding capability in your manufacturing, health or service operation? The plain fact is, few people know. Unless you track a product, service or health patient, how will you know. At this stage many people will say we don’t need to do that because we just installed the latest ERP system, we use a lot of lean tools, or ?

I myself listened to these arguments for a long time, but then I began to use time-based analysis to measure what all this software and lean tools had really achieved, this is when I got a shock. Value adding touch time in UK local government as low as 4% (ie it took 104 weeks to do just 4 weeks of value adding work), in aircraft component production, figures as low as 6%, indeed across all the organisations (£500,000 to £28 Billion groups) I never found hardly anybody above 15%, except in automotive.

In might be hard to accept but in 2022 you could go on talking about shall we try this or that new improvement fad, or should we simply analyse what is happening in our organisation and fix it.

Is there a value adding capability failure in UK Public Sector Organisations ?

There is a worrying trend in many UK public sector organisations (Schools, Health, Local government) that is akin to the elephant in the room syndrome, but it’s going unaddressed or unanswered. I call the trend, employee detachment from the value adding process. It appears from my conversations, discussions and national news that a lot of staff in these organisations don’t want to work in them any longer and indeed there are large numbers of vacancies.

Now in the short space available I shall go to my research findings. I have found that value adding capability in many UK public sector organisations is very low (4% in some cases) Staff and the value adding process appear to have become detached, yet management are not addressing the issue.

I have asked UK Government Ministers, MPs, CEOs, EPSRC and the NHS etc what they think (For example is 4 weeks of value adding work in 104 weeks of elapsed calendar time acceptable) and the response to date is zero. Yet in my experience I know that if people are involved in improvement, they can transform organisations using time-based frameworks. Please advise.

Clarification of the logical stages required when transforming organisations.

There appears to be a lot of confusion when attempts are made to transform the performance of organisations. In particular attention is given to fine tuning random islands of efficiency before rough cut analysis of the end-to-end global processes is complete. Measurement of existing value adding capability is therefore often overlooked.

In this post I will use analogies to help explain time-based stages of analysis that have worked very well in all types of situations.

1. Time based analysis is both a large scale and small-scale map. A product or service is tracked through the entire organisation to measure value adding capability. This is usually very low -ie less than 15%. Once large areas of non-value adding time are removed, fine tuning can commence.

2. If you have a car engine and the fuel or air filters are blocked, there is no point in putting the car on a computerised fine-tuning machine. Fuel and air flows will first need attention. With this in mind attempting statistical process improvement focused around islands of efficiency as a first action has little overall impact. ie – It is something to be completed at a much later stage.

Public Sector Transformation Objectives 2022 – Time Based ?

Given the very low value adding capability that exists across a lot of UK Local Government services, I ask myself if any transformation will be championed by CEOs in 2022.

Obviously, transformation should include improved speed and quality of services to council tax payers.

Three areas of concern are -

1. Historically, big cuts to budgets without much analysis prior to action, appear widely used. This is done in the hope that things will get better – However without any analysis, in most cases the waste (Low value adding capability) still remains in what is left.

2. Digitisation is a much-used term, many leaders feel it has a modern and up to date aura that impresses a lot of citizens. The problem is – digitisation of what? if you digitise a poor value adding system, it’s still a poor value adding system. ie - If the value adding capability is 4%, it’s still a digitised 4%.

3. Question – Will UK Public Sector staff be allowed to drive the transformation needed when equipped with a time based analysis framework? (Important because transforming organisations relies on empowered employees).

Any thoughts would be appreciated. www.drbobbarker.co.uk for much more information.

The question remains unanswered - Why can Time Based Analysis identify so much waste in organisations after 60 years of Lean ?

I often publish posts on LinkedIn showing the results of time-based analysis that reveal very low (Sub 15%) value adding capability in organisations. These posts raise a question that has remained unanswered, why is time-based analysis so good at identifying waste and untapped potential ? Of course, an important element of TBA is that all improvement efforts are guided by results of analysis instead of “Let’s try this or that”. In other word Analysis prior to action.

It would appear however that many transformation practitioners want to skip the analysis stage and simply apply something they think might work, or is promoted by a consultant or worked well in another company on the other side of the World.

Feedback to my TBA posts remains vague, ranging from “I can’t understand” to “Have you tried XYZ software” to “Nothing, its too risky to attempt any change”. Which all supports a view that few people carry out any analysis of the entire organisations VA capability or ever dare to use time-based analysis for fear of what they might find. Is 2022, analysis year ?

Why is value adding capability in the UK public sector so poor?

Time based analysis in local government services and central government agencies has revealed some very low figures, 4% value adding touch time in one case. Since a majority of services are office based and free of the constraints commonly encountered in industry where large items of equipment are often a barrier, this low capability remains a mystery. Within the public sector there also appears to be a dearth of case studies surrounding transformation.

A common characteristic in my experience is the separation of service tasks into many different stages, all separated by large non value adding time gaps. In the example shown below there were 28 task stages but only 4 professional skills needed, so it really makes a lot of sense to not only remove the non-value adding time, but also combine some tasks together. This would improve services and reduce costs. ie – There would be more output per employee.

Another fear is that poor process and value adding capability will be ignored and simply digitised. Roughly similar to entering bad data into a production control system. Let’s hope CEOs carry out some analysis and transform their services in 2022.

The value adding capability of organisations – Existing standards are low.

Most organisations contain a lot of waste and untapped potential when viewed through the lens of time (Time based analysis). Current value adding capability, measured by tracking a single product, customer order or service is usually less than 15% touch time. It can be as low as 4% in UK local government services.

Main questions, areas of weakness and concern are - 1. After 60 years of lean, why is value adding capability still so poor? 2. Push type control is still being used. 3. Employee empowerment is still not fully embraced. 4. There is very little analysis of existing organisations prior to attempts to improve performance, many teams are thus working in the dark. 5. The contribution from universities is not clear. 6. There is much debate and confusion regarding which tools to use. Please comment.

My sample range £500,000 to £28 Billion groups, All types of manufacturing (Switchgear to aircraft), UK, Germany, France, Poland, Austria, etc. UK Local government/central government agencies.

As an alternative to “If you always do what you have always done” I would urge readers to carry out some time-based analysis in 2022 in preparation for improvement and transformation.

Some thoughts on the subject of resistance to change in organisations.

Supporters of Lean say we have all the Lean Tools but analysis of the problems to be solved is often too weak in my opinion, this can cause confusion and lets stakeholders argue – Time Based Analysis is much clearer, a visual representation of the value adding process that reveals how well, or otherwise value is added. Indeed, help comes in the form of a time-based framework that is a blank representation onto which real live data is superimposed, data collected by tracking a product or service through the end-to-end process. This includes synchronising supply chains, identifying non value adding time, rough cut and fine-tuning stages with a division of Positive value adding activity and Negative non value adding costs. All very powerful, but also very revealing.

Because the results of TBA always reveal high amounts of waste and untapped potential, plus usually sub 15% value adding touch times (In non-automotive), CEOs, Directors, Managers often become defensive. TBA might therefore be too revealing because a main problem in organisations trying to transform their performance often surrounds, arguments, failures to agree and high amounts of waste found, these often reflect on management ability. Brave leaders required.

Until everyone can see and understand how their organisation adds value from customer order input to completion, untapped potential and waste will remain.

Imagine trying to get from Manchester to Birmingham at night without a map or satnav. Imagine going into an hospital and medics do not examine, Xray or measure anything and then say let’s try this or let’s try that. Events like this are never considered, yet few CEOs or Managers analyse or can visually see their entire organisations inputs to outputs processes. How many employees know what the global value adding capability is in their organisation? For example, when a customer order is tracked, what is the value adding time in relation to the calendar time consumed.

Now let’s assume a product has been tracked through the entire organisation and you created a visual record that finds value adding time is 12%. You and your colleagues are no longer working in the dark, your development actions to remove waste are now guided visually by real data and you can see the untapped potential. You have carried out some time-based analysis and can put results on a framework that synchronises supply chains to processes and systematically examines how you add value.

Elements of Value Adding Capability - More Detail and Context.

Measurement in organisations has become obscure and combinations of financial costs do nothing to indicate and identify where untapped potential exists.

Financial performance measurement cannot identify waste or untapped potential since it simply calculates the cost of the existing value adding system. My results of tracking a single product in a wide range of organisations using time-based analysis has revealed that value adding touch time is usually less than 15%. When I have compressed the throughput time and focused the entire inputs to outputs value adding system towards product or service flow, performance has improved and costs are reduced.

Some basics – employee empowerment is necessary, since value adding employees carry out the analysis and put data on the framework. Secondly analysis usually reveals supply chains are not very well synchronised because a majority of organisations use push type control, I always replace this with pull and inventory can be reduced by up to 60% in addition to other benefits.

Importantly – Analysis prior to attempts at corrective action is a must, otherwise you will be working in the dark and your efforts may not correct the weakest areas in the value adding chain.

Time Based Analysis – Basic Principles – Throughput Time Dependant Costs.

The majority of organisations, whether Manufacturing, Service or Health (but excluding automotive) have a common weakness, which can also be seen as an opportunity to transform performance. I call this weakness, poor value adding capability, because if you attach yourself to a single product, service or health patient and measure the value adding touch time, it is usually less than 15%.

That can’t be correct you might think, we employ a range of Lean tools and techniques, have the latest computerised control systems and measure a range of financial outcomes. Well, the question here is – Do you measure time, or to be precise value adding time versus calendar throughput time consumed. Usually this is not measured and it is unusual for a CEO to ask Managers to measure when events don’t happen in the process.

I have developed a range of time-based analysis frameworks; these are blank representations onto which real live data are superimposed. Results of analysis (Completed by value adding employees) always identifies waste and thus guide improvement. Please carry out some analysis to measure your VA capability. Guidance and examples at www.drbobbarker.co.uk in Forum, Basic concepts. Shared free to improve organisations.

Self-Doubt and Low Confidence in the World of Transforming Organisations.

In 2021 I can see that self-doubt and a perception that organisations are too complex is becoming a barrier to action when transformation is contemplated. This feeling of being overwhelmed and risk averse is purely a mindset problem and the actual work is not that difficult. However, you should note that action is required and you must get beyond “talking, having meetings and arguing”.

In my experience some transformation and step change managers tend to make things more difficult than they are to justify slow progress. When time-based analysis reveals it is not complex, funny things happen. Examples – A UK university admin dept TBA mapping reveals many weaknesses in a half day workshop, response go away, you made it look simple. Northern UK City council services TBA reveals 4% value adding capability, how can something that seemed so complex be visually so simple. Aircraft manufacture France, results (one day of mapping) revealed such a low VA capability, it cannot be published.

Summary – The fear of transforming organisations is a lot worse than the mechanics of getting the process mapped and empowered employees engaged. Time based analysis provides the linkage and a guiding framework.

Time based analysis offers a greater understanding when transforming organisations.

It is possible to combine a lot of the key components needed to transform organisations by adopting a time-based approach. Looking at organisations through the lens of time identifies waste so improving value adding capability and removing waste is not difficult.

1. Analysis prior to corrective action is critical to correctly align improvement actions to areas of waste. This is much more structured and stronger than “thoughts, beliefs, ideas or let’s try this or that”. Tracking a single product, service or health patient usually reveals value adding touch time is less than 15%, even in so called lean organisations.

2. Analysis is carried out by value adding employees who know the process better than anyone else. This creates empowerment and involvement. Analysis is visually displayed and hard to disagree with as a true representation of what is happening. This also includes standards of supply chain synchronisation.

3. Time and cost data can be displayed in the four sectors of the time-based framework. Analysis usually takes less than a day but results provide a basis for many months of development.

Attempting to transform organisations without seeing the results of time-based analysis is futile.

Time based organisations provide improved performance and lower operating costs.

Many organisations contain a lot of waste and untapped potential but struggle to improve their performance and transform their value adding capability. This is because of a number of historical barriers.

1. Financial measurement is dominant but is really very weak because it simply records output from a particular company and cannot measure untapped potential or waste. Some organisations have been closed when they really could have been transformed into successful entities.

2. Analysing the existing value adding capability, areas of weakness and constraints is rarely undertaken prior to applying tools and techniques which may be totally unsuitable. “Let’s try this or that” is typical.

3. Even organisations that have implemented a lot of Lean tools still have very low value adding capability and unsynchronised supply chains. Analysis (Tracking a single product, service or health patient) often reveals a sub 15% value adding capability.

A time based approach can radically improve transformation and solve the above weaknesses. It is used by empowered employees that are guided by a framework to analyse weaknesses prior to development actions. The amount of improvement possible can be seen in the example below. See www.drbobbarker.co.uk for examples.

The costs of developing and transforming organisations – Time based analysis v Others

The cost of improving organisations and removing waste is an important factor that CEOs and Directors must consider. Expensive off site training courses, consultant fees and software can cost many £100,000s, also the additional impact of employees training off site during long periods of disruption is often a major issue.

Such high costs and disruption however are not a worry for those who choose to use time-based analysis. See examples at www.drbobbarker.co.uk all free.

The TBA cost advantage –

1. Value adding employees stay focused upon improving the total input /output end to end processes because they will be asked to track a single product or service and record the value adding time. Putting this data on the time-based framework identifies visually where waste and non-value adding time exists.

2. There is no need for software, consultants or off the job training either, since employees collect data themselves and put it on a calendar timeline on paper based wall maps.

3. All the assets needed to identify and remove waste are already in place and a time-based analysis framework directs and guides everybody to design a much improved structure.

A lack of analysis in organisations and too much “Lets try this or that”

Doing things in the wrong order, or as we say “Putting the cart before the horse” seems to have become common in organisations during the last 20 years. Very few CEOs, Director or Managers seem to consider analysing what’s wrong with their value adding systems before opting for what they think will be a ready-made off the shelf solution.

Is this because of a fear of getting involved in the value adding process? Or perhaps a fear of having to talk to employees at the coal face? (Your best consultants). How can any leader improve the value adding capability of their unique organisation without being able to see the process, constraints and weaknesses? Surely in 2021 the notion of “let’s try this or that” has got to stop.

Why? - Attach yourself to a product or service and you will be lucky if the value adding touch time is better than 15% of the calendar time consumed. Financial reporting cannot see this waste and simply records the existing costs. The combined weakness of poor value adding capability and financial performance measurement make time-based analysis vital.

Modifications and simplification of an existing ERP/MRP Push system in conversion to Pull type triggering.

Select a product group, ask the IT dept to mark the MRP action sheets with the words “Under Pull Type Control” so items don’t get ordered twice. Install lineside or in cell bins (locations) for the parts, starting point = one week’s stock. The supplier receives weekly electronic triggers of demand or visits the cells to swipe barcodes and fills bins. A “fill from the back take from the front rule” is introduced. To begin with a three-bin rotation can be used until the system is stable. Refine as required and then include more product groups. Automotive will be fulfil in hours. The above provides both an accelerator and brake pedal.

Objectives – Reducing the amount of time between knowing an item is required and providing the supplier with that information. Reducing inventory, fast reaction to demand change. Expect up to 60% reduction in inventory levels. All suppliers can be included, travel time will be added for those overseas.

Details discussed in The Time Based Organisation – Recreating and Transforming Existing Organisations by Robert Barker, available on Amazon.com, Amazon UK, etc as an e-book, also in paperback ISBN 9798653501593

Why do so many organisations still use Push type control in 2021 ?

A few Months ago, I asked a lot of my contacts on LinkedIn who was still using push type ERP/MRP type control systems and who used pull, alarmingly about 75% came back and said ERP/MRP or one of its many trade named cousins. The question is why ?.

As many of you already know, about 60 years ago we started to use ERP/MRP systems which were supposed to measure actual orders, historical demand, lead times, stock, most economical batch size, etc. But the computer could not keep up with demand changes, batch sizes were too high and throughput time went out of the window. To cure this problem a new £5 million replacement was seen as the answer, but this was no better. That was decades ago. So why in 2021 do people still use these systems when in my experience removal and minimisation can slash throughput time and reduce inventory by up to 60%.

If you carry out some time-based analysis and track a product or component part you will quickly see that push type control is a big driver of non value adding time.

Improving value adding capability and reducing waste in public sector services.

Tracking services and mapping how work is undertaken in UK Local and Central government using the lens of time (Time based analysis) has revealed very low value adding capability. In some cases, it took 104 weeks of calendar time to complete just 4 weeks work. Given the pressure being placed on Government to reduce costs and maintain service levels I would have expected to see more results of developments being publicised, but they appear few and far between.

Time based analysis can be undertaken and driven by empowered staff and does not require management consultants or expensive computer software, yet little work appears to be underway.

I would urge all Local Government CEO’s, heads of department and NHS managers to attach themselves to a service, contract or health patient to measure the value adding capability of their systems and remove non value adding time. More guidance and examples at www.drbobbarker.co.uk Look in Forum, then Basic concepts (All free access).

Organisational waste and a lack of action – Three possible reasons

I think that we must now admit that after some 60 years of so-called operations management improvement we have barely touched the surface. I base this statement on my own findings from a very wide range of organisations in manufacturing, local and central government. Attach yourself to a product or service and the value adding touch time is hardly ever above 15%. Also, in most organisations the critical time-based analysis stage is sadly missing.

A weakness also exists in that some of the Managers, Directors and CEO’s who control these organisations do not seem to understand or even care about the waste and untapped potential, even when presented with the facts.

In my opinion there are three possible reasons –

1. A lack of education or understanding within senior management. The evidence here emerges from the questions asked on sites like LinkedIn.

2. Senior management are risk averse. The existing wasteful culture within the organisation is stronger than any person wanting to improve it

3. Financial performance measurement, that only records results from the existing processes and cannot measure untapped potential is still used in isolation because it’s easier to understand and manipulate.

Value adding employees are the key to transforming organisations.

Many management consultants often say that value adding employees cannot contribute when transforming organisations because they don’t know, what they don’t know. All this changes however when a time-based analysis framework is used.

Let’s look at this in the context of a typical rapid transformation programme.

Number of employees 650, results of analysis reveal a 15% value adding time capability when products are tracked through the inputs to outputs processes. In such situations, isolated islands of improvement driven by a team of say 4 to 6 consultants, using whatever methods they employ will have very little overall company wide impact.

Alternatively, my results from a wide range of transformations using time-based frameworks have shown that when all employees are trained in time-based analysis for just a matter of hours, they can map out the existing capability of their departments and begin to remove a lot of waste in every area of the organisation. In practice the time-based framework guides them to identify and remove all non-value adding waste and then measure and illustrate their progress visually. www.drbobbarker.co.uk

Does your organisation contain a lot of time barriers ?

Most organisations simply evolved, some have had a lot of lean treatments, some have even been designed, but the most important element, time, is often ignored.

Organisations develop in a haphazard, ad hoc way, they get a new production control or customer service system, a new machine, maybe new robots are added. In all these development actions the amount of calendar time consumed (Throughput time) is usually never ever given any consideration. The result – attach yourself to a product or service and the value adding touch time is typically less than 15% of the calendar time consumed.

Multiple time barriers exist in almost every organisation. Looking through the eyes of the product, the service or health patient there are frequent stoppages, queues or re-visits at every value adding stage of the process. The weaknesses in the haphazard way we have developed organisations are highly visible, even after 60 years of Lean, 5S, VOC, CTQ, KCs, PDCA, OEE, etc. Hence there is little point in endless discussions of whether it is 5S or 7S, Gemba or Genba.

If you want to really transform your manufacturing, service or health organisation, become time based.

Some Organisational Improvement Errors.

1. The greater the cost of the proposal, the better, the result. Not true

2. More complex proposals provide better results. Not true.

3. Adding more computer based proposals is the right way forward. Not true.

4. Applying proposed solutions without first analysing the problem is OK. Not true.

5. Financial performance measurement can identify waste and untapped potential, if the figures don’t look good, close the company. Very not true.

6. Your value adding employees are not your best consultants, ignore them, they know nothing. Very, very not true.

7. Keep quoting what lots of famous people said who were talking about something completely different or a different organisation, it always helps. Not true. The question still remains, what do I do now.

As a (free) alternative and a good starting point to the above please ask your value adding employees to track a single product or service through the entire organisation and record value adding time (This will be about 15% or less) and by default record non value adding time.

To provide guidance and visually powerful understanding of existing value adding capability use a time based analysis framework. www,drbobbarker.co.uk. Look in forum, basic concepts.

Time-based analysis concepts.

In this post I explain some of the design concepts of my time-based analysis frameworks which are blank representations onto which real live process data is superimposed.

Analysis from a very wide range of organisations including all types of manufacturing, local/central government services and health, etc reveals that when a single product, service or health patient is tracked through the entire inputs to outputs process, the value adding touch time is low. UK local government services had the lowest result at 4%, but even aircraft component manufacture and large organisations were often less than 10%. (Size range £500,000 to £28 Billion).

The time-based framework also measures supply chain synchronisation and this was found to be poor. Parts, materials and information often arrived early or too late. A major cause in many organisations was Push Type control in the form of ERP/MRP or its trade named cousins. As a general rule I find that replacing push with pull reduces inventory by around 60%.

I would urge all readers to conduct some analysis. This can be completed by value adding employees and it will reveal many weaknesses and wastes within an organisation. www.drbobbarker.co.uk Book describes more.

Time based analysis explained –

Time based analysis is a visual representation of an organisations value adding capability, look upon it as an organisational fingerprint. It measures the existing capability of any organisation. See examples of “before and after” below.

A time based framework is a blank representation upon which real live data, the result of tracking a product, service or health patient is superimposed.

Supply chain synchronisation standards are also measured, this is the time/date when materials or information arrive at point of use in relation to the need time/date.

All organisations have a certain value adding capability, this pulses slightly but the fingerprint will not change without transforming actions.

My results of time based analysis across a wide range of organisations in the £500,000 to £28 Billion group range reveal very low value adding capability and poor supply chain synchronisation. Attach yourself to a product or service and the value adding touch time in relation to calendar time consumed is often less than 15%. Standard cost accounting, financial performance measurement and many other metrics only measure the output from an organisation and not untapped potential or waste.

Resistance to analysis is often high because results invariably reveal large amounts of waste.

Employee untapped potential – Organisational untapped potential, the great divide.

A strange situation exists in most organisations, they are full of untapped potential and waste, yet in parallel they also contain employees with knowledge who could dramatically improve value adding capability with the help and guidance of a time-based analysis framework.

Look at any organisation through the lens of time, ask yourself why it exists. The answer in most cases is – We convert inputs to outputs, (Materials, health patients, services) we add value. The next logical step following acceptance that adding value is a major objective, is to measure how well that happens. This is where a time-based analysis framework helps. Don’t worry it’s not complicated and it can be accomplished by your best consultants – yes, your value adding employees.

Method = Attach yourself to a product, a component part, a health patient or a service in local government and measure the value adding touch time versus the non-value adding time gaps. This is when you might get a big shock. I say a big shock because most of my results of analysis reveal that value adding touch time is less than 15%. Action = Remove all the non-value adding time gaps.

Absolutely agree with this methodology.

1- Get the worker input.

2- Draw the "Actual" map on a big piece of paper.

3- Think and discuss. See the opportunities.

4- Draw the "Futur" map.

5- Implement.

6- Start over.

Fragmented continuous improvement that is not guided by time-based analysis will never be successful.

For the last 60 years we have implemented a mixture of CI and development tools that ranged through Lean to Six sigma to OEE to digital, etc in a blind and fragmented way. Arguments then take place on a daily basis in forums, board rooms and the shop floor to debate the merits of one tool or the other or the (irrelevant) true meaning of Japanese words.

The question we must now ask ourselves is - How effective and successful has this fragmented approach been ? I would argue that success has been limited in non-automotive companies. This is based on the fact that if a product or service is tracked through an organisation (The total inputs to outputs process) the value adding touch time is often less than 15%. In fact, time-based analysis usually reveals huge amounts of waste and untapped potential.

During the last 60 years, application of isolated improvements without prior analysis to identify areas of needs has had a very limited impact on transforming entire organisations and lot of waste remains. Analysis prior to action is critical and this could be completed within a day.

Value Stream Mapping versus Time Based Analysis

The characteristics of my time-based analysis framework are –

1. Centre out analysis, a central synchronisation point for the supply chain and value adding actions. The synchronisation point is usually the point in time when a customer requests something or places an order. In the case of services, the supply chain will include information or data and not necessarily materials.

2. Line of value adding capability, steeper is better. This extends from the supply chain to the point of delivery. An important measure of how much value has been added.

3. Analysis of each value adding profile to minimise time consumed and maximise value added.

4. Division of (+) (Positive) value adding activity above the calendar time axis, and (-) (Negative) non value adding activity below the time axis. If the negatives outweigh the positives, the organisation is in trouble.

5. The ability to visually identify bottlenecks and constraints.

Looking through the lens of time - Results of tracking a single product or service through the inputs to outputs processes usually reveal that value adding touch time is less than 15%.

See www.drbobbarker.co.uk in forum, basic concepts for examples and animations.

Results of Time Based Analysis – Make to Order Products.

Significant improvements can be made in make to order manufacturing organisations by removing non value time and synchronising supply chains. I have listed below the development stages needed.

1. Products are tracked through the existing total inputs to outputs process using my time-based method of analysis, see www.drbobbarker.co.uk for more information and design characteristics (All free access).

2. Results usually reveal high amounts of non-value adding time, unsynchronised supply chains, poor synchronisation within internal production and sub-assembly depts, plus poor linkages of data between design, purchasing and manufacturing, etc.

3. Results of time-based analysis are visibly powerful as can be seen in the example below. This global view of inputs to outputs guides development actions and areas can be improved in order of priority and best rate of return.

4. Key words and concepts are – employee empowerment, kitting of materials, direct delivery of all materials and component parts to assembly cell kitting lanes (Flags show % in place), pull type control (Avoid push), kitting lanes in component supply depts (Visual flags).

Readers attempting this type of transformation will see reductions in throughput time, inventory and costs.

Increasing productivity and reducing waste in organisations is not highly complex.

Can I remind everybody (CEO’s, Directors, Business Schools, Governments, etc) that the best way to increase our national value adding capability is simply to track a product, service or health patient through an organisation and then remove all the non-value adding time gaps that often account for up to 85% of the calendar time consumed and a lot of cost.

A bold statement you might think, but my results of implementing time-based analysis to date reveal that value adding touch time in industry is usually less than 15% and in UK local government I have recorded figures as low as 4%.

When it comes to transforming organisations, analysis prior to applying improvements is paramount. This analysis can be conducted by the existing value adding employees or students in a day per product or service. I attach an example below.

It makes a lot of sense to look at removing existing waste time and costs before embarking on expensive capital expenditure projects or in the case of governments, injecting another £10 billion into a service. Sounds simple, yes, it is, but the results of analysis will be very revealing.

Where, Who and What should we transform in Organisations to obtain the best results ?

I have had a lot of discussions with people in various parts of the World and it appears there are a wide range of starting points when it comes to attempting to transform an organisations capability to add value, be it in manufacturing or services.

People attempting to improve an organisation come from a variety of backgrounds such as Blackbelt, Lean, ERP/MRP, JIT, Systems, Software, etc and how they attempt improvements varies greatly. In my experience there is always another major starting point, this is a focus upon when events occur (The islands of efficiency) and not all the non-value adding time gaps. A combination of the above two constraints can lead to isolated minimum gains rather than global larger improvements.

If all the above appears familiar I suggest that some visual time-based analysis of the total inputs to outputs system could resolve conflicts and offer guidance. Analysing the value adding capability of an organisation prior to action identifies non value adding time gaps, bottleneck, constraints and poor supply chain synchronisation, etc. More information at www.drbobbarker.co.uk

GKN Birmingham Erdington Plant Closure About three months ago I asked if anyone (Directors, Managers, Operators, Trade Union Representatives, local politicians) could carry out some time based analysis to measure the value adding capability in this plant. I have not received any response or results of analysis. Background - All organisation contain huge amounts of waste and untapped potential when viewed through the lens of time. The average UK value adding capability is under 15%. (ie Track a single product through your organisation and the value adding touch time will be under 15 days in 100 days of elapsed Calendar time). Automotive tends to be better but there is still waste. Analysis is quite simple, please see www.drbobbarker.co.uk in the forums section, basic concepts for animations and guidance. Thousands of UK companies have closed or been moved abroad when they still held huge amounts of untapped potential, don't let GKN Erdington be another if it is not necessary. Financial performance measurement cannot identify untapped potential and waste, please use my time based analysis framework to identify the true status of the plant. drbobbarker.co.uk@gmail.com

If you want to transform your organisation, transform your mindset.

The way we transform and improve organisations is completely at odds with the way other professions work. For example – If you were sick and went to a Doctor and the Doctor without any examination started to prescribe every type of medication available, you would be horrified. The main message here is that – Analysis of needs prior to proposing corrective actions is critical, otherwise there might not be any improvement and even some damage.

Why do we throw what we think are the best solutions at organisations in the hope that something will improve, without any global system analysis?

A time based analysis framework is a method of collecting and visually displaying complex organisations in a highly powerful yet simplified format. Data is gathered by the value adding employees (Operators, engineers, nurses, office workers, etc) who track a product, service or health patient through the entire inputs/outputs process, recording value adding time and the non value adding time voids. Results of analysis usually reveal value adding touch time is less than 15% and supply chain synchronisation is poor.

Please ensure you conduct some analysis so development efforts are not wasted.

What will CEO’s, Directors and Managers do today to improve their organisations ?

The answer to this question is –

90% will do nothing. Why should they, its risky, if anything goes wrong, its better to keep your head down. Wait for a development meeting, then everybody can blame each other if it goes wrong.

Result = Organisations full of waste and untapped potential with non-engaged/non-empowered employees.

5% will try to apply something that sounds technically advanced without really knowing the benefit. How about internet of things, something digital, some new control software, a robot here or there.

Result = Little or no benefit, an impact on one or two islands of efficiency. Very little employee involvement.

5% will analyse their existing value adding capability and supply chain synchronisation using time based analysis. This will be completed by value adding employees, those people that understand the process better than anyone else, not consultants.

Result. They will find that the existing value adding capability is less than 15% and the supply chain is not synchronised. They will identify areas of waste and non value adding time, when this is removed the organisation will be transformed and there will be company wide employee empowerment.

That being said, experiencing it is one thing, but capturing the true essence of it is a whole new chapter. Astrophotography requires patience, skill, and most importantly, equipment to capture the truly wide shots or deep-sky marvels.

So, keeping that in mind, I ventured into the path to find the best tripod for Astrophotography and came up with a list of top-rated ones. Furthermore, I also delivered answers to some frequent queries such as “heavy duty tripod for astrophotography on dopeguides”

Most organisations hold large amounts of waste because non value adding time is often ignored.

Historically all CEO’s and Directors have measured the performance of an organisation using financially based procedures and accounting controls. Banks, investors and the stock market love this common and universal measure but it hides a lot of untapped potential and waste. Another major weakness is that many organisations that have adopted a wide range of lean six sigma methods still contain a lot of non-value adding time and still rely solely on financial performance measurement.

At this point it is important to distinguish between measuring outputs from a set of processes and attempting to measure the untapped potential that exists. When we look at an organisation through the lens of time things get interesting because we begin to see a lot of waste. This results from two time loss areas – 1. The interprocess non value adding time gaps and - 2. The interdepartmental non value adding time.

When a product or service is tracked through an organisation, the average value adding touch time is often less than 15%. This analysis can be undertaken by value adding employees, examples at www.drbobbarker.co.uk

Which Improvement Options Offer the Best Results in an Organisation.

In the World of improving organisations to obtain better performance from existing assets, identifying areas of untapped potential is key. Historically, a wide range of vendors have always stated that their solutions offer the best results, these might range from lean tools, improved leadership, a new production control system or statistical process control. Results however are not impressive, despite 60 years of improvement activity, value adding time versus calendar time consumed is often less than 15%.

How can we improve our attempts at transformation you might ask ?

Well, analysis of the organisations existing value adding system prior to applying improvement actions is a good place to start. (Analyse the patient before prescribing the medicine). Simply throwing a wide range of proposed solutions at an organisation can sometimes do more harm than good.

Secondly, since most organisations I have analysed using a time-based framework in the £500,000 to £28 Billion group range reveal large amounts of non-value adding time, time compression offers large costs savings in a range of areas. Two things to note – employee empowerment is vital and don’t underestimate the power of highly structured visual frameworks.

Time Based Analysis – Aircraft Components.

Results of time-based analysis in the attached jpg file below illustrate the result of tracking an aircraft part through a manufacturing process, this reveals a 22% value adding capability. Experience in aircraft manufactures provides evidence of some very good and innovative processes where flow methods have been introduced. However, in contrast some very low value adding figures have been found. In all it would appear that Aircraft manufacturers have put a huge amount of effort into control of processes with a lot of blackbelt training and statistical process control work along with voice of the customer, critical to quality and key characteristics, etc. Much less work however has gone into removing the non value adding time gaps, indeed I can never remember a manager asking someone to study when things are not happening.

It is also a little bit strange that although aircraft manufacturers employ a range of specialists to manage supply chains, warehouses are still being used in most cases as buffers instead of pure lineside feed systems. This may have its roots in national security and supply chain protection. In summary a lot has been achieved but much more could be done.

The way we look at organisations and measure them is critical to improving their value adding capability and ensuring sustainability.

Here are four options – In my opinion the time-based organisation is the future.

1. Financial Performance Measurement – Needed to comply with regulatory standards but can hide a lot of waste and untapped potential. Measures what exists, rather than what could exist.

2. Leadership – Hard to measure because of a huge number of variables. Comparing great leaders is very subjective.

3. Control Systems and other management tools – ERP/MRP, ERP, MRP, TOC, Lean, Agile, VSM, Systems Thinking, SMED, VOC, CTQ’s, KC’s, 5S, Gemba, Jidoka, JIT, ANDON, Hoshin Kanri, Poka-Yoke, Scientific Management, Takt Time, 5 Why’s, PDCA, Benchmarking, Cloud, AI, Digital, OEE, Smart Goals, Heijunka, Takt-Time, Flow, Kaizen, Analytics, Six Sigma, Blockchain. Despite all these the average value adding capability is still less than 15%.

4. Time Based Analysis – Analysis of existing organisations prior to development. Identification of non-value adding time, untapped potential and waste. Visually powerful, a blank representation onto which real live data, the result of tracking a product, service or health patient can be superimposed.

The Efficiency and Effectiveness of Transformation Methods in Organisations.

A common mistake throughout the last 40 years has been the increasing complexity of improvement and transformation methods used in organisations. Complexity and deep learning high tech solutions are often favoured by academics and consultants but they do not usually achieve the best outcomes. Quite often the sheer amount of learning associated with the tool or technique moves the user further away from the core value adding tasks that need attention.

To keep this message simple, I would advocate the following vital parts required in attempts at transforming organisations 1. Employee engagement (Many brains are better than one). 2. Visualisation is always better than a spread sheet or financial reports. 3. A calendar time line is a must. (Most orgs add value to products or service in less that 15% of the calendar time consumed). 4. Analysis prior to action, otherwise you will be working in the dark. 5. Rough cut analysis prior to fine tuning the islands of efficiency. The major costs of waste and untapped potential lie in the non value adding time gap areas. 6. Stop making excuses and saying “That would never work here”. All organisations are full of untapped potential.

Transforming Organisations – CEO, Director and Manager Mindsets Hold the Key.

We are now in July 2021 and faced with the sad fact that after 60 or some years of discussing all manner of tools and techniques in organisations, value adding capability remains very poor. Attach yourself to a product or service and track it through the inputs to outputs processes, you will be lucky if value adding process touch time is better than 15%. What went wrong you might ask, well first of all we can acknowledge that the value adding capability in automotive is excellent, but this has not been the case in general industry or UK local Government, etc.

In my opinion and experience the controlling CEO’s, Directors and Managers always hold the key to identifying untapped potential. The majority however are risk averse and often ignore or cannot see the waste. Fortunately, we now have a tool called time-based analysis that is extremely good at identifying all the non-value adding gaps.

But in practice we are left with a thorny problem, if leaders will not take action, what do we do? More tax payer’s money in public services, more closures in manufacturing, more offshore production are all consequences of a failure to change.

Are Directors who rely upon Financial Measurement working blind ?

A common weakness in organisations of any size (Manufacturing or Services) is the over reliance by Directors and CEOs upon financial performance measurement. Standard cost accounting typically records the results and outcomes from a particular process or service, but fails to measure untapped potential. We can combine this weakness to another characteristic that exists in all organisations, this is the comparisons of year-on-year results. Slight improvements on annual results are often the basis for rewarding Directors and measuring overall success.

In fact, all appears OK until we introduce Time Based Analysis to measure the way value is added to a product or service. Time based results paint a very different picture and can identify the non-value adding activity and inventory that increase operating costs. Indeed, value adding touch time is often less than 15% of the total calendar time consumed.

The bad news is that time measurement often reveals embarrassing amounts of waste and untapped potential. The good news is that analysis of value adding capability can be carried out by employees and staff because they know the process better than anyone else. See examples of frameworks onto which data can be superimposed at www.drbobbarker.co.uk

Are Performance Measurement Systems and Education in Organisations fit for Purpose?

An overwhelming focus upon measuring end results and outcomes in organisations rather than untapped potential is dangerous. On the surface all appears OK but, in my experience, value adding capability is usually very poor. This behaviour is re-enforced by a business environment that constantly states -

1. Our Business Schools are winning higher awards for their expertise in World Class education.

2. Our management control systems are digital, smart, lean, agile and better than ever.

3. Our accounting and financial control is fully computerised, activity based and accurate to a cent.

All looks well, but what is measuring the time consumed, waste and untapped potential? In fact, everything seems great until you track a product or service through an organisation, that’s when you get a big shock. The value adding touch time will probably be between around 5 and 15% of the total calendar time consumed. Doubtful readers should try some time based analysis. It’s not difficult, but it is different, so mindsets need to change from just measuring financial outcomes to measuring untapped potential. In other words, are your organisational results saying 60mpg when you are really only getting 35?

Developing Organisations and Improving Performance – What Really Happens.

Attempting to improve and transform organisations has a strange history. Usually, the senior management team and Directors sit around the board room table when they are faced with growing pressure from the market place, loss of order input or a need to merge group sites, etc. The senior team will often decide to make a decision based on either their past experience, influence from someone they know (A consultant or past colleague), cost cutting or “let’s try this or let’s try that”.

What action should be taken is often decided without any analysis of existing value adding operations or analysis of inputs to outputs conversion times (VA v NVA) or indeed any feedback from value adding employees.

In 2021 however there is a better alternative to working this way, it involves value adding employees tracking a product or service through the organisation and recording VA v NVA time using Time Based Analysis. Visually displaying the value adding time per product or service (which is usually less than 15%) and then driving focused improvements makes a great deal of sense. This analysis includes supply chain synchronisation standards, which are frequently poor.

Transforming Organisations – Focus on Core Value Adding Tasks and Remove as Much Non Value Adding Activity as Possible.

In the most severe cases of a need to transform and save the future of an organisation, a back to basics approach using a time based core value adding framework can help. This approach is not for the faint hearted but it is relatively easy to apply since it is visually based, very powerful and utilises the skills of all the value adding employees.

Managers, Directors or Consultants typically look at transforming organisations by changing what already exists but this is often not effective in removing waste and lowering the cost base. Reasons for failure are many, but a common element is high resistance from Managers that fear a loss of power or position. An alternative is to begin with a back to basics time line that builds around the core value adding processes. The power in this approach is that once a better value adding structure is in place with minimal time loss and no waste, a large proportion of costly non value adding management functions can be reduced in size or removed.

Transforming Organisations – Trying to get a proposed solution to cure an unknown problem !

The World of organisational transformation and performance improvement is often at odds with common sense and the medical profession in that there is very little analysis prior to action. Strange as it may seem, many Managers and Consultants still try to make their knowledge or background cure an unknown problem.

This can be explained when we compare transforming organisations to transforming sick medical patients. In the medical World an unwell patient who arrives in hospital has his/her bloods checked, heart rate measured and is scanned by X-ray, etc prior to prescribing the best treatment. In organisations however, there is a strange attraction to having a bag of tools (Lean, ERP, JIT, Leadership, Digital, etc) depending upon a consultant or managers background, that are thrown at the organisation without any prior analysis of value adding capability.

Time based analysis is a powerful way of visually displaying your organisation so it can be seen what corrective actions give the best results. The analysis (Tracking of a product through the VA processes) is undertaken by the value adding employees. It makes a lot more sense than working blind.

GKN Birmingham – Help and Advice – How to Measure your Value Adding Capability.

Before closing a manufacturing plant, it is always advisable to measure core value adding capability using time based analysis, this is the most severe test of performance and is far superior to financial performance measurement and standard cost accounting. Time based analysis will visually identify waste and untapped potential in the entire inputs to outputs processes (End to end process), analysis is undertaken by tracking a product (Driveshaft) and recording VA v NVA time, this can be completed by value adding employees.

I attach below my last 10 years average results from analysis and transformation in a wide range of organisations across Europe. Output increase per product range - Average 9.4%. Throughput time reductions per product range - Average 71%. Reduction in inventory (ERP/MRP to Pull) - Average 56%. Labour costs average reduction 14.5%. Other fixed costs per organisation - Typically as a percentage of sales - 3.6% lower over 3 years

I do hope that GKN Management allow some analysis of value adding capability at this plant to be undertaken before simply closing it down. When markets get increasingly competitive, improve your value adding capability and remove waste. Never give up.

Organisational Development – Results of Progress Made in the Years 1970 to 2020

Over the last fifty years a lot of different management control systems, tools and techniques have been installed in organisations to increase productivity and quality. The majority of these new ways of working all came with glowing reports from experts or a large consultancy. Some were good, some not so good, so the ultimate question is – Did these investments in new systems and ways of working result in World Class organisations? Perhaps not.

In looking at organisations through the lens of time we immediately see two big weaknesses. First of all, attach yourself to a product or service and value adding time is poor, typically less than 15%. As a result, there is non value adding activity, untapped potential and waste everywhere. Secondly, supply chain synchronisation is poor, high amounts of inventory and complexity exist.

A major weakness during the last 50 years has been a failure to analyse and identify needs prior to prescribing solutions. Using time based analysis avoids working blindly and provides the visibility needed to apply the correct solutions and see the results. Why would anyone do anything else ?

What is the Value Adding Capability in Your Organisation ?

A lot of organisations are using Lean and Six Sigma to improve business performance, but how successful has this been ? One way you can measure the results is by using time based analysis.

But beware, looking at organisations through the lens of time will usually reveal a lot of waste, untapped potential and poor supply chain synchronisation. To carry out the analysis simply attach yourself to a single product or service and measure value adding time on a calendar time line, this is usually less than 15% of the total time consumed, and might even be as low as 4%. See more results, animations at www.drbobbarker.co.uk in Forum, Basic concepts (All free access). Results are always welcome at dr.bobbarker.co.uk@gmail.com

In the analysis below, it can be seen how a product or service can be tracked through an organisation using a time based framework and the value adding operations recorded visually on a calendar time line. Also, since each value adding operation consumes materials and information, the arrival on site or production dates of these inputs can be recorded to measure standards of supply chain synchronisation.

Time Based Analysis – Removing Negative Costs and Improving Positive Value Adding Capability.

This is a more detailed example of how time based analysis can transform manufacturing, reducing costs and waste whilst improving output and supply chain synchronisation.

Objectives

1 Transformation of organisations to reduce waste, improving value adding capability and sustainability in a highly visible but structured manner. All the people, equipment, etc are already in place, but a new lens of time mindset is needed.

2 To further describe the framework’s Positive value adding and Negative characteristics with linkages to financial measurement. Basic, but powerful data, highly relevant cost and output benchmarks are identified.

3 To offer empowered employees a visibly powerful analysis of the end to end, inputs/outputs processes and how they can contribute to improvement.

4 To hopefully overcome the problems that arise when financial controllers cannot or will not support transformation because of the inherent weakness in standard cost accounting to see untapped potential.

Since most organisations hold huge amounts of waste and untapped potential, the “getting more from existing assets” argument and all the above are relevant in 2021. Please comment.

Towards the Time Based Organisation – Replacing Push Type Systems with Pull Type Control.

The question still remains – why would anyone still be using Push type control systems in 2021. It really is equivalent to a 4 litre diesel engine in an electric car era. The debate surrounding operational effectiveness, analytics, Industry 4 and sustainability, etc is also strangely devoid of any discussion surrounding the damage inflicted by push type control systems. It appears to be an elephant in the room situation.

In my experience there are two reasons why push type ERP/MRP systems continue to be used.

1. Group head office want to control plants with a common system, they buy packaged control systems (Usually everything in the shop window). They have not learnt yet how to remove push type control production and supply chain triggers and replace them with pull. Thus, a big mismatch exists. HQ say we want to reduce waste and empower employees, but the old command control culture is still in place.

2. It would appear that the majority of organisations use ERP/MRP and managers cannot or do not want to replace it.

Result – Low value adding capability, high waste, high costs, high inventory and unsynchronised supply chains.

Converting from ERP/MRP to a Pull Type System of Control.

There still appears to be a lot of nervousness surrounding converting Push type ERP/MRP to the far simpler and superior Pull type system of control. In the video below, it can be seen how the modified system operates and links directly to the sales order processing system. The major change is to remove ERP/MRP Push type triggers and replace them with Pull, which is of course linked directly to customer demand.

Conversion is incremental, product by product, so there is no need for nervousness. During conversion existing ERP/MRP action reports are marked with a message by the IT department “Now under Pull type control” this avoids double ordering. In my experience the conversion will reduce inventory by around 60%, reduce the number of purchase orders, reduce floor area needed, kitting of parts should also be used, as should visual demand boards in component areas.

You will have already seen from my previous posts that when organisations are viewed through the Lens of Time, a lot of waste and untapped potential is revealed. In my opinion an organisation cannot become time based using Push Type control. www.drbobbarker.co.uk (All research is shared openly to improve organisations).

CEO’s and Senior Management Hold the Keys to the Gates of Change.

Time based analysis is a highly structured way of identifying waste and untapped potential in all organisations. Analysis prior to transformation ensures that improvement actions are targeted in the correct areas. Further audits using time can then measure if value adding capability is improving. Supply chain synchronisation standards are also included in this improvement programme. Since my research findings to date reveal that tracking a single product or service results in less than 15% value adding touch time, it is not unusual to find huge amounts of waste, in all its forms.

I have found however that some CEO’s and leaders who hold the keys to driving change are often unsupportive, even when results of analysis prove that change is needed. Given that I have now created a precise and structured way of removing waste from the end to end processes, it makes sense to stop working blind without any prior analysis. Why would we want to do anything else? Imagine the disastrous consequences if you went into an hospital and without any examination, medics said “let’s try this or let’s try that” it would be disastrous.

Using the Lens of Time to Identify Waste and Untapped Potential.

Transforming the performance of organisations is really quite simple providing your CEO and senior management will allow it to happen.

You don’t need endless leadership courses or a deep knowledge of the Japanese language, you basically just need value adding employees and a time based analysis framework. You might think that you have reached World Class Standards but think again. My research looking at organisations through the lens of time (£500,000 to £28 Billion Group range) reveals that many still hold huge amounts of waste and untapped potential. Attach yourself to a single product or service and you will find value adding capability (VA touch time) is very low, between 6 and 15% is typical. I would urge you to carry out some analysis, you may get a shook.

Transforming organisations is not difficult and can be undertaken by value adding employees, not consultants. A time-based framework is a blank representation onto which real live data is superimposed, this guides the team to identify non value adding activity and waste. See www.drbobbarker.co.uk for research results, animations and guidance. All free of cost.

As I gather more and more results from viewing organisations through the Lens of Time a big question arises, why is there so much waste ?

In the last 60 years, we have thrown Lean, Systems Thinking, Theory of Constraints, ERP/MRP, Analytics, Digital, Smart, Industry 4.0, and Cloud at our organisations plus our Business Schools are winning ever bigger awards. Yet, time based analysis reveals that manufacturing and service organisations in the (£500,000 to £28 Billion Group range) still hold huge amounts of untapped potential. Attach yourself to a product or service and you will find value adding capability is very low, between 6 and 15% value adding touch time is typical

The second big question, does anybody care ?. A lot of CEO’s Directors and even Government Departments seem very relaxed about the situation.

Transforming organisations is not difficult and can be undertaken by value adding employees, not consultants. A time-based framework is a blank representation onto which real live data is superimposed, this guides the team to identify non value adding activity and waste. See www.drbobbarker.co.uk for research results, animations and guidance. All free of cost.

Transforming Organisations – Lean and Time Based Analysis Compared.

In this post I attempt to use an analogy to explain two different approaches to transforming organisations, they are Lean and Time Based Analysis.

It is common for managers, staff and employees to be trained in 15 - 20 Lean tools or techniques and then asked to apply them in their place of work. The trained people then try to apply them. Some of the tools are appropriate to the problem, some are not. In most cases this approach has limited success.

In contrast the time based approach analyses the end to end, input/output processes so the areas of waste can be identified. A single product is tracked and data superimposed on the framework.

Analogy - If you are in poor health and go to a hospital, medics scan you, take measurements and readings to identify the problem. Once the problem is known, the most suitable treatment or medication and care plans are applied.

Time based analysis is like the example directly above, but it is designed to measure the health of organisations and the synchronisation of supply chains. Its objective is time compression and removing waste, followed by fine tuning value adding capability. www.drbobbarker.co.uk

Transforming Organisations – Lean and Time Based Analysis Compared.

In this post I attempt to use an analogy to explain two different approaches to transforming organisations, they are Lean and Time Based Analysis.

It is common for managers, staff and employees to be trained in 15 - 20 Lean tools or techniques and then asked to apply them in their place of work. The trained people then try to apply them. Some of the tools are appropriate to the problem, some are not. In most cases this approach has limited success.

In contrast the time based approach analyses the end to end, input/output processes so the areas of waste can be identified. A single product is tracked and data superimposed on the framework.

Analogy - If you are in poor health and go to a hospital, medics scan you, take measurements and readings to identify the problem. Once the problem is known, the most suitable treatment or medication and care plans are applied.

Time based analysis is like the example directly above, but it is designed to measure the health of organisations and the synchronisation of supply chains. Its objective is time compression and removing waste, followed by fine tuning value adding capability. www.drbobbarker.co.uk

Time Based Analysis Allows Every Employee to See How They Can Transform Their Organisation.

From applications in the (£500,000 to £28 Billion size range) Manufacturing and Services. UK, France, Germany, Austria, Poland, Finland, etc. Time Based Analysis has two important features.

1. Teams of value adding employees can analyse and measure the value adding capability of their production department or office by tracking a single product or service and recording value adding time and by default the non-value adding time gaps. When this is undertaken the value adding touch time is usually less than 15%.

2. Employees who are often unsure of how they contribute to the success of an organisation can see visually (Often for the first time) how they are adding value and their relationship to other employees and departments. This has been found to have a massive positive impact on morale and improves benchmarking, either within a group or with other offices or locations.

One problem. High amounts of waste are often found and CEO's/managers react differently, managers often fail to take action to remove waste.

Analysis by the value adding team usually takes 2-3 hours. More at www.drbobbarker.co.uk in Forum, Basic Concepts (All free access)

Time Based Analysis – Multiple Value Adding Cells with Direct Material Feeds.

In this video an example of a production line with multiple stations and direct cell feeds of material and components is shown. Time based analysis measures the arrival of materials in relation to the actual need time or date and the value adding capability of the production cells. Here the profile of each value adding process is important, some processes can add a lot of value very quickly whilst others consume more throughput time. The non-value adding gaps that often appear between the process islands are displayed, these need minimising where possible.

Quite obviously the type of value adding capability being displayed in this video is typical of automotive plants and far superior to general manufacturing where I quite often record value adding capability of less than 15% (ie = to 15 days of value adding touch time in 100 days of elapsed calendar time) results obtained by tracking a single product through the end to end inputs/outputs process. Sadly, this poor VA capability is often associated with poor supply synchronisation, parts arriving too early, too late and high inventory. More research results www.drbobbarker.co.uk

The most effective way to transform organisations = employees, evidence and time.

In the last 60 years, we have thrown Lean, MTM, Systems Thinking, Theory of Constraints, ERP/MRP, Analytics, Digital, Smart, Industry 4.0, and Cloud at our organisations. Yet, my research looking at organisations through the lens of time (£500,000 to £28 Billion Group range) reveals that many still hold huge amounts of waste and untapped potential. Attach yourself to a product or service and you will find value adding capability is very low, between 6 and 15% is typical (= to 6 to 15 days of value adding touch time in 100 days of elapsed calendar time).

As consultants continue to do battle and software companies propose more complexity, it would appear we need to get back to basics and base development upon the evidence gathered from each unique organisation.

Transforming organisations is not difficult and can be undertaken by value adding employees, not consultants. A time-based framework is a blank representation onto which real live data is superimposed, this guides the team to identify non value adding activity and waste. See www.drbobbarker.co.uk for research results, animations and guidance. All free of cost.