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Quick Look Course Summary:Operations Management Course (2 days)
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Next Public Course Date:
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Length: 2 day(s)
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Price (at your venue): 1 Person R 10,326 EX VAT 3 Person R 7,594 EX VAT 10 Person R 5,537 EX VAT
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Certification Type:Non-Accredited
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Locations & Venues: Off-site or in-house. We train in all major city centres throughout South Africa.
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Operations Management Course (2 days)
Supervisors and managers run their area on a clear system – mapped processes, capacity matched to demand, realistic schedules and a few KPIs reviewed every day – so work goes out on time, at the right quality and cost.
Most operations problems show up as the same daily symptoms: orders and applications that run late, overtime that never ends, queues at the counter, people or machines standing idle while others are overloaded, and quality that depends on who is on shift. Supervisors and managers are usually promoted for being good at the work, not for running the system the work flows through. This practical operations management course gives them the tools to do that – on a production line, in a warehouse, a branch, a contact centre, a hospital or a government service point.
Day one builds the foundations: what operations management covers, the input-process-output model, mapping and redesigning a process, matching capacity to demand, and scheduling work so that people and equipment are neither idle nor overloaded. Day two turns to control and improvement: the basics of inventory and quality, a short set of operations KPIs – throughput, cycle time, on-time delivery, utilisation and cost per unit – on a one-page dashboard, daily huddles, continuous improvement routines and contingency plans for breakdowns, supplier failures, absenteeism and load-shedding.
Delegates bring one process from their own area. They map it on day one, then measure and redesign it on day two, and leave with a process map, a KPI board and a 30-day improvement plan for their own operation.
Why this course
For your organisation
- Work that flows to plan, with fewer late orders, backlogs and queues
- Staffing and equipment matched to real demand, with less overtime and idle time
- The same short set of operations KPIs reviewed the same way in every team
- Supervisors who solve problems at the daily huddle instead of escalating them
- Contingency plans in place before the next breakdown, outage or supplier failure
For your delegates
- A clear picture of how your operation turns inputs into outputs
- Process mapping and capacity tools you can use the next morning
- A KPI board and huddle routine ready for your own team
- A redesigned process and a 30-day improvement plan from the workshop
What delegates will be able to do
- Explain what operations management covers and where your role fits in it
- Describe your operation using the input-process-output (transformation) model
- Map a process, find its bottleneck and redesign it to remove delays and handoffs
- Calculate capacity and compare it with demand to plan staff, shifts and equipment
- Build a schedule that balances the workload across people and equipment
- Apply basic stock and quality controls that protect flow and the customer
- Choose and calculate operations KPIs such as throughput, cycle time, on-time delivery, utilisation and cost per unit
- Run a short daily huddle around a visual KPI board and track actions to close-out
- Identify operational risks and draw up a practical contingency plan
Who should attend
Supervisors, team leaders, shift and production managers, operations and branch managers, and process owners in manufacturing, mining, logistics and warehousing, retail, financial services, healthcare, contact centres and the public sector. It suits people newly promoted into running an operation and experienced managers who learned on the job and want a structured method. No technical or statistics background is needed.
Course outline
Day 1 – How the operation works: processes, capacity and scheduling
What operations management covers
- Operations as the part of the organisation that delivers the product or service
- Manufacturing, service and public-sector operations: what is the same and what differs
- The five performance objectives: quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost
- Running the routine versus managing projects and change
- The supervisor's and manager's role in the operation
The transformation model: input, process, output
- Inputs: materials, information, customers, people, equipment and energy
- The transforming process and the outputs customers pay for
- Volume, variety, variation in demand and customer visibility, and what they mean for how you run the operation
- Feedback: using output information to adjust inputs and processes
- Exercise: describing your own operation on one page
Process mapping
- Choosing the process and fixing its start and end points
- Flowcharts and swimlane maps that show handoffs between teams
- Separating value-adding steps from waiting, rework and checking
- Measuring each step: time, volume and error rate
- Workshop: mapping a process from your own area
Process design and layout
- Process types: jobbing, batch, line and continuous production; professional services, service shops and mass services
- Layout options and how they affect flow, travel and waiting
- Standard work and clear instructions for repeatable tasks
- Removing unnecessary steps, approvals and handoffs
- Sketching an improved version of your mapped process
Capacity planning and demand
- Design capacity, effective capacity and actual output
- Finding the bottleneck and managing around it
- Forecasting demand from history, seasonal patterns and known events
- Level, chase and mixed strategies for matching capacity to demand
- Worked exercise: a capacity calculation for a shift or a service counter
Scheduling and workload
- Loading, sequencing and scheduling work
- Priority rules: first come first served, earliest due date and shortest job first
- Gantt charts and simple visual schedules
- Balancing workload across people, shifts and equipment
- Planning rosters around leave, training and absenteeism
Day 2 – Controlling and improving the operation
Inventory basics for operations
- Why operations hold stock: raw materials, work in progress, finished goods and consumables
- What too much and too little stock cost the operation
- Lead times, safety stock and reorder points in outline
- Queues and work in progress as the hidden inventory of service processes
- Where to go deeper: BOTI's Mastering Asset and Inventory Management course
Quality management basics
- What quality means to your customer and how it is specified
- Quality control, quality assurance and building quality into the process
- The cost of poor quality: rework, returns, complaints and lost customers
- Check sheets, Pareto charts and asking why until the cause is found
- When a problem needs Lean and Six Sigma methods, and where to learn them
Operations KPIs and dashboards
- Choosing a few measures linked to the customer and the budget
- Throughput, cycle time and lead time
- On-time delivery and service levels
- Utilisation and productivity – and why running at full utilisation makes queues longer
- Cost per unit and cost per transaction
- Building a one-page dashboard and a visual KPI board for the team
Daily huddles, teams and continuous improvement
- Setting daily targets and standards the team understands
- Running a ten-minute daily huddle around the KPI board
- Shift handovers that do not lose information
- Multi-skilling so the operation does not depend on one person
- Logging issues and tracking actions to close-out
- Plan-do-check-act for small, tested changes
- Collecting improvement ideas from the people who do the work
Risk and contingency in operations
- Operational risks: breakdowns, supplier failure, absenteeism, IT outages and load-shedding
- Rating risks by likelihood and impact
- Contingency plans, backup capacity and minimum service levels
- Preventive maintenance and critical spares
- Testing the plan and keeping it up to date
Workshop: improving your own operation
- Completing the redesign of the process mapped on day one
- Setting KPIs and targets for the redesigned process
- Presenting to the group for peer and facilitator feedback
- A 30-day improvement plan, evaluation and close
How it is delivered
Two days, 08:30-16:00. In person at your offices anywhere in South Africa, at a BOTI venue, or live online. One delegate or a group of up to 20; examples are drawn from manufacturing, services or the public sector to suit the group, and private groups work on their own processes. Workbook, process-mapping and capacity templates, a KPI board template and a 30-day improvement plan included; delegates need a calculator. We deliver it at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and anywhere else in South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online for teams in different places.
What our clients say
“The training was practical, engaging and relevant to our workplace environment, providing participants with valuable knowledge and practical skills that could be applied in their respective roles.”
“All training programmes were delivered in a highly professional manner, with effective coordination and strict adherence to our scheduling requirements. The facilitators demonstrated a commendable level of expertise, and the quality of delivery consistently met our expectations.”
“The facilitator was excellent and took time to ensure that the employee understood the content and was able to apply the learning in order to develop the portfolio of evidence.”
Frequently asked questions
Can you run this course at our offices?
Yes. Most groups are trained at the client's premises anywhere in South Africa. We can also host it at a BOTI venue or deliver it live online.
How many people can attend?
From one delegate to groups of about 20. The price per delegate drops as the group grows – see the price table, or ask us for a quote.
Is it accredited?
No – it is a non-accredited short course and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance.
Is it only for factories and production lines?
No. The same principles apply to warehouses, branches, contact centres, clinics, municipal service points and back offices. The facilitator uses examples from your sector and adapts the measures – cost per transaction instead of cost per unit, for example.
Can delegates work on their own processes?
Yes. Each delegate brings one process from their area, maps it on day one and redesigns and measures it on day two. On a private course the facilitator can build the whole workshop around your operation.
How does this fit with your Lean Six Sigma, inventory and new-venture courses?
This course gives a broad grounding in running an operation. Lean Process and Six Sigma Training goes deeper into waste and root-cause problem solving, Mastering Asset and Inventory Management covers stock control and fixed assets in detail, and Plan and Manage Production and Operations in a New Venture is for owners setting up the operation of a new business.