Title: Chapter 12 Introduction
Course: Canvas Practice Course > Section: Week 3, 06 April to 09 April

KEY CONCEPTS

All work consists of a series of steps and these steps constitute a system. A system is (1) a group of equipment that works together to accomplish a task and/or (2) a collection of processes dependent upon each other to complete a task or product. A system can be viewed as a value chain in which each activity or step contributes to the end result. Some activities directly contribute value, while others may not. All activities consume enterprise resources, however. The challenge for managers is to eliminate steps that do not add value and to improve the efficiency of those that do.

In order to improve your process (system) you must begin by creating a line of sight to the external customer. In other words, you must understand where you fit in and how you contribute to the chain of customers and suppliers in your organization. Once the process unit or operatorhave identified their customers, the next step is to develop aclear understanding of their customer's expectations and translate these into agreed-upon requirements.