Operational Excellence (OE) is a management philosophy based on the Toyota Production System (TPS). It is a systematic way of continuously improving an organization by focusing on customer needs, empowering employees and increasing value. OE is a goal of conducting business in a manner that improves product and service quality, speeds up business processes, and eliminates non-value added waste (things that contribute nothing of value inthe eyes of the customer.) With fewer man-hours, less inventory, the highest quality cars with the fewest defects of any competing manufacturer, Toyota is the best real world example of OE being implemented in the workplace. In factories around the globe, Toyota consistently raises the bar for manufacturing, product development, and process excellence. Toyota’s Lean production system started a global revolution in manufacturing and service businesses that many consider the next phase beyond mass production. Numerous companies in diverse industries are using Toyota’s methods to dramatically improve their performance.

OE at St. VincentCollege

The OE academic infusion into the management major began in the spring of 2002. At the first McKenna School Advisory Council meeting, the founding members noted that it was essential for jobs and internships to incorporate the Operational Excellence philosophy into the management curriculum. In the spring of 2003, the McKenna School graduate certificate in OE was approved by the EPC, Faculty, and the McKenna School Advisory Council.In the fall of 2004, a three-year “signature project” plan was put together to launch a minor, to advance the OE content of the management major, and to lay the ground work for a master’s degree in Management with a focus on Operational Excellence.

St. Vincent College is now one of three business schools in the U.S. to offer a MS in Management with an OE field (the other schools are the Universityof Michigan and Ohio State University). According to Dr. Gary Quinlivan, Dean of the McKenna School, the only colleges offering OE application courses are a small number of engineering schools. Numerous business schools have logistics programs, but none offer the depth of the OE application that SVC does. The reason for this is that it is difficult for colleges to find professors with an OE background available to teach.

The University of Michigan is fortunate to be in an area that is heavily dependent on manufacturing and thus the applied OE people are available. Being in western PA, we are also in an area heavily dependent on manufacturing. Another reason why OE is not offered at many other schools isthat a vast majority of the management PhD faculty does not have a background in OE. At best they have supply chain, total quality management, and/or six sigma training. Thus, there is a reluctance to vary their curriculum from a Human Resource base to a foundation built upon Operational Excellence. This works to SVC’s advantage. While other schools have stagnated, SVC is moving forward with the needs of the manufacturing and service industries.

KCOE Background

In June of 2003, the McKenna School formed the Center for Operational Excellence. Kennametal Inc. initially provided grant money to get the center up and running. The Kennametal Center for Operational Excellence began within the Small Business Development Center of the Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics and Government. KCOE is dedicated to empowering regional enterprises to achieve world class performance by providing training, education and networking on the strategies, tactics, and tools of Operational Excellence. Over the past several years, we have had the privilege of serving several hundred regional manufacturers with high quality services. The Center is a team that specializes in adapting initiatives like “Lean”, “Total Quality”, continuous improvement, strategic planning and value-centric leadership to your particular company culture. KCOE offers a co-op internship program for SVC students. Interested students can apply for it beginning sophomore year. The internship gives students hands on experience in Operational Excellence and offers excellent placement upon graduation.

The KCOE office is located on campus on the 1^st floor of Aurelius Hall.

Contact Information: Phone: 724.805.2142 Email: kcoe@email.stvincent.edu

Career Paths in OE

A few potential career paths in OE include manufacturing management, healthcare administration, and management consulting. There is plenty of opportunity in manufacturing in western PA. 100% of SVC’s OE students have been offered employment by large manufacturing firms. KCOE has over 150 firms thatare members of our networking group who are constantly looking for OE business students. Recent graduates of the McKenna School with minors in OE have had the highest starting salaries of any business major, most over $50,000. The top placement in the McKenna School in 2006 and 2007 were both co-op interns with KCOE, both majoring in Management with a minor in Operational Excellence.

So you are interested, where do you go from here?

Contact Dr. Richard Kunkle at 724.805.2201 or email at richard.kunkle@email.stvincent.edu

Also, pick up The Toyota Way by Jeffrey K. Liker. Reading through the first few chapters of the book will give you a good sense of the basics of Operational Excellence and will help you determine if you are interested in the field. The book is available to be signed out at the KCOE office on the 1^st Floor of Aurelius Hall. Fill out the change of major/minor form included within this folder and return it to the Office of the Registrar on the 1^st floor of Alfred Hall.

September 2009