Operational Excellence (OE) is often, and inaccurately, used in the industry to refer to a variety of desirable attributes. Some executives use it to speak about high levels of operational integrity or safety, others to being top quartile in costs or efficiency, and yet others to the ability of continuously improving over time. All these attributes can be outcomes of achieving OE but hardly define it. Operational Excellence is a structured way of working that translates clear aspirations into systems that are repeatedly applied to achieve ever improving performance. Anything short of a systematic way of working cannot translate into sustainable top results, period.

Some companies already have years of experience in applying systematic ways of working to different degrees of success. Furthermore, many companies run parts of their operations in this way, but have not managed to transfer these skills to other places. Others have tried to apply what works well in one place to another without recognizing that some practices are just not transferrable or that there is more than practices and procedures to changing ways of working. Whatever the starting point, chances are that there is still significant room to get better; to reach Operational Excellence.

 In this session, Pedro Caruso, a partner at Bain & Company, will share experiences across the industry on improving performance and building system to reach OE.