Regarding investments, we also carried out a process improvement similar to what I described in my previous post. The aim here was to always maximize the use of the available or unexpectedly appearing investment budget.
At the beginning things were quite random. In September we sat down and made some brainstorming, what should be included in the next year's budget, and made rough estimates of how much these might cost. The budget was finalized in November, and we started working with full force on the approved projects. It usually became clear quickly that either they cost more than we estimated or the technical content and quotation process took so long that by the time it was done, the international Capex budget had been exhausted, and although we had a budget approval, we couldn't implement what we wanted. Or what increased the confusion further, around October we would have had an opportunity for further investment, but only for projects achievable by the end of the year, and we had no idea what to do, let alone to implement.
The factory’s building and technology have already seen a few decades, so we couldn't simply miss out on any opportunity for development, so we rearranged the process. We gathered the investments due in the next 3 years and classified them according to importance/urgency. In May, we decided to include the top sixteen items on the list in the budget plan, and since usually only the first eight would have a budget, my colleagues started working on these, requesting quotations. By September, exact data had been put into the budget (at least for realistically achievable projects :-)), in November the contracts were ready to sign, and we waited for budget approval, and in January, implementation began.
The strategy was that once a contract was signed, items ordered and delivered, they couldn't be undone, so these investments were sure, regardless of changes in the current investment policy at the corporate level. When projects were completed, we began to work with the next ones on the list, ensuring that if any unexpected resource appeared, there would always be a ready, submittable project. At the same time, engineering resources were not overloaded in certain months but spread out the work, there was no need to rush, the process went smoothly year after year, at a relaxed pace. There was always something being implemented, something ready to submit, and something planned for two years ahead.
This is the advanced level because not only our daily affairs are running smoothly, but we're also planning ahead to be able to utilize all possible opportunities, we have time to think ahead and focus on the future.
The goal of this series was to show through the phenomenon “time”, specifically through wasted time, how an organization can be transformed, made transparent, organized, and how we can significantly reduce stress and time spent on work. I chose time as the starting point because that's what really hurts. It hurt me too, that's why I started this Sisyphean, perseverance and learning-demanding process back then, from which I learned a lot.
I hope I was able to provide something useful to those who are in similar shoes, and I am happy to help those who would like to rethink how to simplify their days in a similar way.
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