SQCDP: From basics to operational control
| Audience: | Manufacturing Managers, Healthcare Administrators, Operational Excellence and Lean Management Practitioners, HR Coordinators, Organizational Leaders |
| Last updated: | November 20, 2024 |
| Read time: | 7 mins |
- The five pillars of SQCDP (Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and People) are interconnected, ensuring improvements in one area don’t negatively impact others.
- SQCDP boards, often digitized, provide real-time visibility into performance, facilitating data-driven decision-making and early issue detection.
- Action lists on SQCDP boards translate identified issues into concrete solutions, driving corrective actions and continuous improvement.
One of the recurring challenges in manufacturing is balancing multiple priorities, all of which compete for attention. Striking the right balance is fundamental to achieving operational control and managing risk effectively. That’s where the SQCDP framework comes in.
What does SQCDP mean?
SQCDP boards are visual management boards used in various industries, particularly in manufacturing, to monitor and improve key performance indicators (KPIs) related to Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and People. These pillars are interconnected, and the overarching goal is to ensure that improvements in one area don’t come at the expense of another.
These boards are typically digitized and presented on large screens and mobile devices for easy access to information. They allow managers to improve operations holistically. The result is enhanced performance, cost efficiency, and employee engagement.
The five pillars of SQCDP
An SQCDP board is a type of Visual Management Board that helps tp visualize the five pillars (Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, People) of any successful and sustainable production environment. Digitized solutions draw data from various connected sources to facilitate closer collaboration and data-driven decision-making.
SQCDP boards typically include color-coded indicators determining your performance in a specific area, such as green for good, yellow for acceptable, and red for bad. It’s up to the organization to define specific targets and thresholds, and each day, the actual performance data for each indicator is compared against these predefined targets.
Let’s take a closer look at the five pillars of SQCDP:
Safety
Workers may face hazardous conditions on the shop floor. While prioritizing safety is primarily about preventing accidents, it also ties into the other pillars of SQCDP by reducing downtime and improving productivity.
Safety-related issues often stem from insufficient training or inconsistent practices, both of which stem from poor communication. Managers must implement regular safety audits and provide hands-on training to foster a culture where safety is everyone’s responsibility. As communication is essential to achieving those goals, visual management helps support efforts by providing real-time visibility into safety metrics and potential hazards.
Example:
Green
- No safety incidents or near misses, compliance with safety protocols
Red
- Any safety incidents, near misses, or violations of safety protocols
Quality
Customer satisfaction and retention depend heavily on the quality of goods delivered. Even minor deviations in quality can lead to product recalls or regulatory penalties, which can happen at any stage of the production process.
Quality issues often stem from inconsistent processes, a lack of standardization, or insufficient training. Given the complexities of the typical production environment, it’s often difficult to pin down the root cause of quality discrepancies too. However, incorporating SQCDP boards can help identify potential issues before they impact quality, thus helping managers ensure consistent outcomes.
Example:
Green
- Meeting or exceeding quality standards, low defect rates, positive feedback
Red
- High defect rates, customer complaints, non-conformance to quality standards
Cost
With the costs of raw materials and energy supplies rising constantly, cost management has become a significant priority for manufacturers. However, there’s a fine line between controlling costs and reducing costs.
If you prioritize cost reduction, you may risk undermining product quality and employee safety. Instead, it would help if you focused on maximizing value delivery by identifying and eliminating sources of waste during each stage of the production process. Digitized SQCDP boards that integrate seamlessly with your production lines can help you monitor resource allocation and stop cost-saving measures from negatively impacting quality and performance.
Example:
Green
- Operating within budget, effective cost-saving, good resource utilization
Red
- Exceeding budget, high expenses, inefficient resource allocation
Delivery
Manufacturers face constant pressure to reduce cycle times while meeting rising demand. However, delays can happen at any production stage due to bottlenecks, workflow inefficiencies, or a lack of clear coordination between teams and external suppliers.
You need to know immediately when and where those bottlenecks arise, hence the value of SQCDP boards in tracking cycle times and ensuring that each production stage flows into the next without problems. The best way to do that is by incorporating daily management and scheduling systems into your production processes and using real-time data to anticipate and address potential delays before they negatively impact your cycle time.
Example:
Green
- On-time delivery, meeting delivery expectations, consistent lead times
Red
- Late deliveries, missed deadlines, inconsistent lead times
People
Employees are your most valuable asset, and a well-trained and motivated workforce is vital for sustaining improvements in all the other pillars of SQCDP. Also, don’t forget that happier employees perform better, leading to higher retention rates and content customers.
Manufacturers have often struggled with high turnover rates due to problems like poor training, lack of engagement, and insufficient financial compensation. Operations managers must invest in employee development to keep morale and productivity high. SQCDP boards help in that endeavor by supporting clear communication and making it easy for managers to track team performance, set goals, and engage workers directly in problem-solving activities.
Example:
Green
- High throughput, efficient use of resources, minimal downtime
Red
- Low throughput, high cycle times, underutilization of resources
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Implementing corrective actions with SQCDP boards
SQCDP Boards use action lists to detail required corrective actions, assign responsible team members, and set realistic deadlines. Metrics provide the data to make informed decisions, and action lists ensure these decisions are translated into practical steps.
Displaying Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and People metrics offers a transparent overview of operational performance. This early issue detection is necessary for timely interventions before problems escalate. The board is a central discussion hub.
Specifically, the SQCDP board:
• Identifies Issues: The board pinpoints areas needing corrective action by monitoring KPIs.
• Facilitates Discussion: The board is a central point for team meetings where issues are discussed, root causes analyzed, and potential solutions brainstormed. This collaborative approach ensures practical corrective actions.
The SQCDP Board combines metrics and action tracking to drive continuous improvement through data-driven insights and collaborative problem-solving.
Role of action lists on an SQCDP board
Action lists turn identified issues into concrete solutions on an SQCDP board. They detail specific corrective steps, assign responsible individuals, set deadlines, and outline required resources.
Regular progress updates provide transparency, allowing teams to track advancements and adjust strategies if outcomes aren’t as expected.
In short, action lists on an SQCDP Board facilitate:
- Tracking of corrective actions: They document the precise steps to address issues, assign responsibilities, set deadlines, and detail resource needs.
- Prioritization of actions: By listing actions, teams can prioritize based on urgency, impact, and available resources.
Tervene: Your partner for proactive operational control
Thanks to technology, such as connected sensors and daily management systems, SQCDP boards offer vastly more potential than old manual methods.
For a start, most are cloud-hosted and accessible on mobile devices. They can also integrate with a wide range of data sources to minimize the burden of manual monitoring and audits. This, in turn, helps with real-time data collection and informed decision-making.
Once you have the proper infrastructure, you can establish consistent processes and standardized operating procedures throughout the organization. The result is a fully connected environment where everyone—whether working on the shop floor or the back office—can access the data-driven insight they need to become more agile and responsive. That means a more engaged workforce and, ultimately, superior value to your customers.
Tervene is a highly configurable software solution with custom-built SQCDP boards. Our specialists and implementation team are your dependable partners in achieving operational excellence for years to come.
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FAQ: SQCDP
SQCDP stands for Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and People. It’s a comprehensive framework and visual management tool that helps organizations monitor and improve key performance indicators in these five crucial areas.
The five pillars—Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and People—represent the interconnected aspects vital for sustainable success. Prioritizing safety prevents accidents and boosts productivity. Maintaining high quality ensures customer satisfaction. Managing costs efficiently leads to profitability. Timely delivery meets customer demand. And valuing and developing your people fosters a motivated and productive workforce.
An SQCDP board visually represents your organizational goals related to the five pillars. It often uses color-coded indicators to show performance against predefined targets. Many modern SQCDP boards are digitized and connected to various data sources, providing real-time information and fostering collaboration.
Using an SQCDP board can lead to enhanced operational performance, improved cost efficiency, and increased employee engagement. It enables early identification of issues, facilitating timely interventions and data-driven decision-making. The collaborative nature of the board also promotes continuous improvement.
Action lists translate identified issues into concrete solutions. They detail specific corrective actions, assign responsibilities, set deadlines, and outline resource requirements. This allows teams to track progress and adjust strategies as needed.
Technology plays a key role in modernizing SQCDP boards. Cloud-based solutions and mobile accessibility allow for real-time information sharing. Integration with various data sources automates manual monitoring and audits. This creates a connected environment that fosters agility and responsiveness.
Tervene provides a configurable software solution with custom-built SQCDP boards. Their team of specialists offers support and guidance in achieving operational excellence through the effective implementation of SQCDP principles.
