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Operational excellence assessment template

An operational excellence assessment is a structured look at how far the principles of operational excellence show in the way a site works every day, judged from what people can see rather than from what the site intends. This template uses the ten principles in the order the operational excellence principles guide on this site lists them: respect every individual, lead with humility, seek perfection, embrace scientific thinking, focus on process, assure quality at the source, improve pull and flow value, think systematically, create consistency of purpose and create value for the customer. Each has three behaviors or practices you can observe, such as leaders asking questions where the work is done or production starting on a signal of real demand. Several people score every item from 1 (not seen) to 5 (seen everywhere and sustained) on their own and write the evidence. Page 1 is one assessor's sheet; page 2 has the summary across assessors (each principle's average, the lowest and highest assessor, the spread and a rank), the action plan for the three lowest principles and a worked example. The Excel version takes up to 8 assessors, works out the item and principle averages, the spread and the rank, finds each principle's weakest item, draws a radar chart and carries the three lowest principles into an action plan. The scale is an example made for this template, not an award model or a validated instrument.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the operational excellence assessment: fields for site, role, date and period, the 1 to 5 score key, and 30 items under the ten principles from respect every individual to create value for the customer, each with score circles, an evidence column and a gap or action column, and a principle average cell.
10 principles30 observable itemsScore 1 to 5Evidence columnPrinciple averagesSpread between assessorsThree lowest principlesAction plan

When to use it

When to use an operational excellence assessment

  • Before an operational excellence or lean program, to see which principle is weakest and where to start.
  • When improvement tools are in place but results fade, to check the leadership and daily behaviors behind them.
  • To compare how leaders, supervisors, operators and support staff see the same site, and talk about the differences.
  • Once or twice a year, scored the same way, to track whether the lowest principles have moved.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Choose the assessors

    Four to eight people from different levels and functions: site leadership, production supervisors, team leaders, operators, maintenance and quality. Include people who will see things differently.

  2. 2

    Score alone, from what you saw

    Each person scores the 30 items from 1 to 5 from what they have seen in the last few months, not from what the site plans, and writes the evidence. A blank is better than a guess.

  3. 3

    Work out the principle averages

    Each assessor's average per principle, then for each principle the average of all scores given, the lowest and highest assessor's average, the spread between them and a rank, where 1 is the lowest.

  4. 4

    Talk about the spread

    Where the spread reaches the example flag of 1.5, people see the principle very differently. Ask the lowest and highest scorers what they have seen before deciding anything.

  5. 5

    Act on the three lowest principles

    For each of the three lowest principles, start from its weakest item. Write what the evidence shows, one action, an owner and a date, and review them at a regular meeting.

  6. 6

    Assess again

    Score the same items again in 6 to 12 months with the same people where possible, and compare by principle and by item.

What's on the assessment

The 30 items, three for each of the ten principles

Each assessor scores every item on their own from 1 (not seen) to 5 (seen everywhere and sustained) and writes the evidence. The ten principles are the ones in the operational excellence principles guide on this site, in the same order.

Respect every individual

People's work and skills are valued, and they have a say

  1. 1Leaders thank people for specific work, by name, where the work is done
  2. 2People are asked for their input before changes to their own work
  3. 3Suggestions get an answer in an agreed time, and used ideas are recognized

Lead with humility

Leaders ask, listen and keep learning

  1. 4Leaders go to where the work is done and ask questions before giving answers
  2. 5Leaders ask for feedback on their own decisions and act on some of it
  3. 6People who disagree with a plan are heard out before it is decided

Seek perfection

Aim higher than the standard and keep improving

  1. 7Targets aim to improve on today's level, not only to meet the standard
  2. 8Small problems are recorded and worked on, not accepted as normal
  3. 9Each area can show an improvement it made in the last month

Embrace scientific thinking

Observe, experiment, record what was learned

  1. 10Problems are described with data and direct observation before a fix is chosen
  2. 11Changes are tried as small tests with an expected result, then checked
  3. 12What a test taught, even a failed one, is written down where others can find it

Focus on process

Look at the process before the person

  1. 13After a problem, people ask what in the process failed, not who did it
  2. 14The main jobs have standard work, and it is audited on a set schedule
  3. 15Where a person's error is involved, the fix changes the process or the training

Assure quality at the source

Right the first time, causes fixed right away

  1. 16Each step checks its own work before passing it on
  2. 17When a defect is found, work on its cause starts the same shift
  3. 18Parts and materials are confirmed right before they are used

Improve pull and flow value

Make only what is needed and keep it moving

  1. 19Production starts on a signal of real demand, not only on a forecast
  2. 20Work in process between steps has a limit that everyone can see
  3. 21Waiting, stoppages and shortages are recorded and reviewed for causes

Think systematically

Improve the whole system, not one department

  1. 22Improvement projects check the effect on the steps before and after
  2. 23Departments share measures and solve cross-department problems together
  3. 24People can explain how their work affects the next process and the customer

Create consistency of purpose

Everyone knows the mission, the goals and their part

  1. 25Leaders use the site's mission and long-term objectives when they decide
  2. 26People can say what operational excellence means here and what their part is
  3. 27Team goals link to the site's objectives and are reviewed in regular meetings

Create value for the customer

Know what the customer wants and needs

  1. 28Customer requirements, complaints and returns are reviewed on a set schedule
  2. 29People who make the product know what the customer values most about it
  3. 30Changes in what customers want reach the floor quickly and change the work

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: five assessors at a snack food packaging plant (plant manager, production manager, team leader, operator and maintenance technician) scored the 30 items on their own (illustrative numbers).

  • Embrace scientific thinking was the lowest principle: 27 points ÷ 15 scores = 1.80. Its weakest item, results of tests written down where others can find them, averaged 7 ÷ 5 = 1.40.
  • The next lowest were improve pull and flow value at 2.07 and think systematically at 2.13. Assure quality at the source was the highest at 3.40.
  • Lead with humility averaged 2.93, but the plant manager's average was 4.00 and the operator's 1.67, a spread of 2.33, so views differ. It was the only principle flagged.
  • Overall: 409 points ÷ 150 scores = 2.73.

The plant started a one-page PDCA record for every line change, read at the weekly meeting, sized a kanban loop between filling and packing for its two top products, and set up one downtime measure that maintenance and production review together each week.

Common mistakes

  • Scoring intentions instead of behavior

    A value on the wall is not a 4. Score what people do on an ordinary day, and if nobody can point to the evidence, score it lower.

  • Only leaders score it

    Leaders see their own behavior from the inside. Operators and support staff see it from where they work, and the gap between their scores is often the most useful finding.

  • Reading the total as a grade

    The 1 to 5 scale is an example made for this template, not an award score or a certification. Use it to compare principles, people and the next assessment.

  • Working on all ten principles at once

    Thirty items produce many gaps. Work the three lowest principles to a result, then assess again, rather than starting a long list that never finishes.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite operational excellence is supported by five tools: issue tags to log and resolve problems, Kaizen projects, the Document Builder for best practices, KPI dashboards and a suggestion platform.

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