Operational excellence for better results

Operational Excellence is designed to further improve products and processes, internally translated into the three S’s: Smarter, Cleaner and Sharper (slimmer, schoner en scherper). Ultimately, this results in higher customer and employee satisfaction, more efficient productivity, a safer working environment, or a higher‑quality product.

The philosophy of continuous improvement was once initiated by Geert Smits, who introduced Green Belt training at MIFA during his time there. As a result, MIFA had several Green and Black Belts. However, these initiatives were then approached as individual projects and later faded into the background.
“To address this in a structural way and ensure it would not be let go within the organization, we decided to breathe new life into it. Because in a time when it is becoming increasingly difficult to compete on speed and price, it is also necessary to work internally to organize everything as well and efficiently as possible.”

Operational Excellence is built on a number of core principles as its foundation, such as putting customer value at the center, standardization (including 7S), eliminating waste, and continuous improvement (Kaizens & projects). This foundation is intended to actively engage people in improvement. With 7S, you can not only see that everything is tidy, but also more easily identify deviations.
“We therefore work from applying methods, to improving, and ultimately to standardization. Over time, this should become routine and thus part of our MIFA culture.”

How does operational excellence work?

In 2023, the executive management gave the starting signal for further professionalization of the organization. Within the management team, it was subsequently determined that there is significant internal potential for improving processes and products. For this reason, Operational Excellence was chosen as the strategic approach.

“Together with department management and employees, we started in production. Although OE was a new concept, we were pleased that it was embraced and that improvements and collaborations were quickly established. Unconsciously, many people are already working on continuous improvement. For many, it is simply in their nature.”

“Often we observe, have a chat, and ask: what do you think yourself? Then we turn it into a Quick & Easy.”
Ad has been working at MIFA for more than 40 years and can therefore apply his expertise optimally in production. “It’s not only about standardizing or implementing new ideas, but also about passing on existing (technical) working methods to the new generation. It is a combination of development and improvement.”

“Operational Excellence means working smarter, cleaner, and sharper in products and processes in order to increase our customer value.”

The result of operational excellence

The results are not always immediately measurable, but ultimately the time and resources invested should lead to improved productivity, safety, or quality.

“As an example, we track Quick & Easy initiatives by measuring percentages in order to monitor progress per department. By now, all production departments together have submitted and completed 75 Kaizens—making a significant contribution to making products and processes smarter, cleaner, and sharper. Quantifying results is great, but it is also important to celebrate these successes.”

“One of the most important personal results is motivating our colleagues and strengthening collaboration between departments. We receive feedback that colleagues see how this makes their work more enjoyable and delivers real results. In line with our core value ‘share and learn,’ we see that colleagues share their successes with other departments and are themselves encouraged to come up with new initiatives.”

A practical example

“One of the most important successes of the past year was the new way of working for a MIFA customer: Kongsberg. Last year, they aimed to increase the volume of defense frames by 60%. However, the 3D measuring bench and the assembly process were a bottleneck (i.e., a constraint in a process that limits flow). To deliver a higher number of frames, it was essential to resolve these bottlenecks and reduce process time.”

We resolved this bottleneck through an improvement initiative by the Finishing team.
“To reduce repetitive (inspection) activities, we installed welding tables and filmed the new process. This allowed us to clearly see where the layout needed to be changed to optimize the process. We can now deliver frames of the same quality without using the 3D measuring bench.”

Collaboration with Aalberts

As part of the Aalberts Group, MIFA participates in a network group with other Aalberts companies. Within this group, we can contribute to the Operational Excellence approach and further improve our results by sharing experiences.
“The great thing is that experiences and expertise—wherever there is synergy—can be shared,” Rick concludes.