Production managers and staff are constantly faced with two areas of tension:

• Daily business versus continuous improvement in the short term
• Stability in the production process versus innovation in the medium and long term

The success of a business, which is generally defined by decreasing costs and increasing revenues, is strongly influenced by a skilful balancing out of these aspects. Production managers constantly have to answer two questions in particul

First: How can continuous improvement be achieved when increased demands are constantly made on daily business?

Prioritisation and delegation are the two key elements here. Priorities are based on decisions requiring a clear framework and simple course of action. The production strategy – developed by production managers and carried through to production by the company’s leaders – is the cornerstone here. Additional support is offered  by working principles – such as safety, quality, delivery, productive capacity, and flexibility – that are introduced into and affect all areas of production day-to-day. The second element, delegation, requires not only competence, but also trust and willingness. Production managers have to learn how to delegate responsibility, and production staff must learn how to take on this responsibility. A “common production language” is needed here, to prevent misunderstandings and to explain requirements and decisions.

Second: How can production remain stable under increasing pressure to innovate?

As vital as stable processes are for the manufacture of high-quality products, innovation is equally important for the future health of companies and production facilities, even though innovation initially tends to be considered disruptive to stability. Production managers can decide whether to “co-create” innovation, or just to “put up with it”. Being an active part of innovation ranges from the construction and industrialising of products, to technological development and optimisation of production processes and working methods. The more active this co-creation is, the more likely it is that new production processes can be implemented in a better and more stable way.

This means that we consider it our task to support companies in facing these two central themes. This support focuses on daily issues such as quality, on-time delivery and costs – along with the configuration of internal environments that are important to successful production – without, however, neglecting the realities presented by markets and customers. Research and development provide the basis here by translating ideas into new products and solutions. Production management ensures that the connection to customers and suppliers remains aligned with the company’s positioning and strategy. Products and solutions are realised with the aid of industrialising processes, and lean production allows continuous improvement in quality and costs throughout the production life cycle. Optimisation and performance improvements in production require these environments to be embraced and integrated both at the strategic and the operational levels of production.