01

Service

Operations Excellence
Assessment

A structured, data-driven diagnostic that maps your full waste picture in weeks — not months. You leave knowing exactly where the money is and what it will take to capture it.

Most manufacturers know they're leaving money on the floor. They just don't know where — or how much. The Nextep Operations Excellence Assessment answers both questions with precision, using real plant data, not assumptions.

The output isn't a generic report. It's a quantified waste map with dollar figures attached, prioritized by impact and effort — the exact foundation every effective improvement program needs.

2–4
Weeks to Complete
$247K+
Avg. Waste Identified
100%
Data-Driven Findings

What We Examine

Every Layer
Of Your Operation.

We don't review your processes from a conference room. A Nextep practitioner embeds on-site and works directly with your operators, supervisors, and data systems to get an accurate picture of what's actually happening — not what the reports say.

Every finding is tied to a financial figure. Every recommendation is ranked by its ROI potential against the effort required to capture it.

OEE & Availability Analysis
Machine utilization, planned vs. unplanned downtime, speed losses, and minor stoppages — mapped to dollar impact per shift.
Value Stream Mapping
Full current-state VSM from raw material to finished goods — cycle times, queue times, batch sizes, WIP levels, and flow interruptions.
Changeover & SMED Analysis
External vs. internal time breakdown, missed turns, setup complexity — and the capacity available if changeover is reduced.
Labour & Capacity Utilization
Direct vs. indirect labour ratios, walking waste, motion analysis, and shift-level productivity benchmarking.
Quality & Scrap Analysis
Defect rates, rework loops, first-pass yield, and the fully-loaded cost of poor quality across each product family.

Process

How the Assessment
Works.

01
Kickoff & Data Collection
We start with a structured kickoff to align on scope, access, and objectives. Production data, downtime logs, changeover records, and financial data are pulled before the on-site visit begins.
Week 1
02
On-Site Diagnostic
Nextep practitioner embeds on-site. Direct observation, operator interviews, time studies, and shadow analysis. We see what actually happens on the floor — not the sanitized version.
Weeks 1–2
03
Analysis & Quantification
Every waste source is translated into a dollar figure. OEE gaps, speed losses, changeover waste, labour inefficiency — all quantified, benchmarked, and ranked by impact.
Week 2–3
04
Prioritization Workshop
We run a structured session with your leadership team to review every finding, pressure-test the numbers, and build consensus on a prioritized improvement roadmap — sorted by ROI and implementation effort.
Week 3
05
Final Report & Roadmap Delivery
Full written assessment: waste map, financial quantification, root cause analysis, prioritized opportunity list, and an 90-day implementation roadmap. Everything your team needs to move from diagnosis to action.
Week 4

What You Receive

Your Deliverables.

Quantified Waste Map
Every identified waste source expressed in dollars per year, prioritized by magnitude and ease of capture.
Current-State VSM
Full value stream map of your operation from raw material to finished goods, with all waste, WIP, and flow interruptions documented.
OEE & Performance Report
Detailed OEE breakdown by machine, line, and shift — with benchmark comparisons and the revenue impact of each gap identified.
Prioritized Opportunity Roadmap
A ranked list of improvement initiatives sorted by ROI, effort, and speed to results — giving your team a clear implementation sequence.
90-Day Implementation Plan
A phased action plan with owners, timelines, and quick-win targets for the first 90 days of improvement work.
Executive Readout
A structured executive presentation of all findings, designed to build leadership alignment and secure resources for the improvement program.

Client Result — Packaging Manufacturer

$247K Identified in Q1
Alone. $988K+ Annual
Opportunity Mapped.

Within weeks of engagement, Nextep had mapped the full waste picture: speed losses, capacity gaps, and utilization failures that had been invisible to management for years. That clarity is the foundation every effective improvement program is built on.

Get Started

Ready to Know
Exactly Where
You're Losing?

A 30-minute call is enough to scope whether an Assessment is the right starting point for your operation.

Schedule a Discovery Call See Verified Results