Operations · Manufacturing
Walk the floor first
The Operations Survey finds what breaks first when volume doubles, from a plant walk and structured interviews. It needs no data extract, so it can start before any data changes hands. That matters at a defense supplier, where federal rules limit who may see controlled customer data.
What it is
The Operations Survey reads what breaks first when volume doubles. We walk the floor with the people who run it as well as the people who manage it, and read safety, quality, on-time delivery and turnover the way the business already measures them. The Profit Survey starts from a transaction extract. This one starts from people and the floor. Both end with a ranked read of what to fix first.
What you receive
- 01
The plant walk
We walk the floor with the people who run it. The org chart shows who is responsible. It rarely shows where the trouble is, and a walk with the right person often finds it in the first hour.
- 02
Structured interviews
We run structured interviews with your team on what works today, as well as what is broken. The fix often exists already, in a process one shift runs well and another has never seen. We find it and write it down before we recommend anything new.
- 03
Capacity and quality, read plainly
We read where volume would give way first: which line, which shift, which handoff and which work is using the hours there. We also read what a defect costs once it is caught, rather than what it costs on paper. Together the two numbers usually point somewhere the production report and the last consultant's report did not.
- 04
Basic operating measures
We measure employee retention and turnover, safety, on-time delivery and customer concerns in parts per million, the same way at every site you run. When each site measures differently, nobody can compare them. One definition, used everywhere, makes the comparison fair.
We present the findings to you in person and propose a Blueprint in writing only where the evidence supports one. The findings are yours whether or not you go further.
What it needs from you
- Access to the people who run the floor as well as those who manage it
- Time on the floor, with a walk-through of where the trouble is
- Structured interview time with your team on what already works
- No transaction extract
How it ends
The Operations Survey ends with an in-person presentation of the ranked findings and a written proposal. You keep the findings whatever you decide. If a Manufacturing Blueprint is warranted, the proposal follows the evidence.
Where it fits
The Operations Survey is the Survey for the Manufacturing and Delivery lanes in Operations. It comes before the Manufacturing Blueprint. See the three stages for the full sequence.
Where to go from here
One hour of your time, no charge: fifteen minutes on the Growth Check, then a forty-five-minute video call. We read every answer before the call.