Course Description

There is not a business that cannot reduce its costs. The urgency for doing so is greater in times of recession. Everyone wants to reduce costs, but knowing how to do so without adversely affecting quality or client satisfaction can be difficult. This course will help you identify the cost reduction opportunities in your business and devise implementation strategies that allow you to go about reducing costs in just the right way.

We will organize the cost reduction effort into six general areas: labor, material, design, process, overhead, and maintaining cost reduction momentum. Each area contains many cost reduction opportunities, and we will learn the ways to find and act on them. You will learn real-world cost reduction and implementation techniques proven in hundreds of companies. We will undertake an in depth discussion of the risks and risk-mitigation actions necessary for all cost reduction actions. That last point is critical because cost reduction involves change, and wherever change is present, so are risks. As part of the course, you will receive valuable MS Excel templates that will save your organization time by accelerating the analysis, implementation, and management of each cost reduction technique.

Course Objective

Learn How To

·         Work together in an effective multi-disciplinary team environment to reduce costs.

·         Objectively identify and evaluate all existing costs.

·         Prioritize the cost reduction effort to focus on high-return opportunities.

·         Identify and manage cost reduction implementation risks.

·         Implement and sustain a cost reduction program.

·         Tap into and incentivize your employees to help reduce costs.

Who Should attend?

This course is aimed at project managers, program managers, supervisors, managers, engineers, project engineers, design engineers, process engineers, and others responsible for reducing and controlling costs.

Course Outline

Introduction and Program Overview

Optimizing Labor Costs

·         Defining Headcount and Controlling Staff Growth

·         Developing and Implementing Time Standards

·         Measuring and Using Efficiency

·         Assessing Machine Utilization

·         Controlling Overtime

·         Making Multiple Shifts Productive

·         Finding and Reducing Lost Time

·         Using the Learning Curve to Drive Costs Down

·         Risks and Risk Reduction Strategies

Reducing Material Costs

·         Make-versus-Buy Determinations

·         Inventory Minimization

·         Material Utilization

·         Minimizing Supplier Costs

·         Supplier Negotiation

·         Supplier Competition

·         Risks and Risk Reduction Strategies

 Process Improvement

·         Workflow Optimization

·         Setup Time Reduction

·         Material-Handling Improvements

·         Scrap and Rework Reduction

·         Work Center Cleanliness

·         Risks and Risk Reduction Strategies

Design Cost Reduction

·         The Design Approach

·         Requirements Relaxation

·         Tolerance Relaxation

·         Materials Substitution

·         Packaging

·         Risks and Risk Reduction Strategies

Controlling Overhead Costs

·         General Overhead Expenses

·         Sales Expenses

·         Travel

·         Inspection

·         Risks and Risk Reduction Strategies

Gaining Disciples, Measuring Progress, and Sustaining the Effort

·         Suggestion Programs

·         Measuring Progress

·         Risks and Risk Reduction Strategies

·         Course Summary and Wrap Up