Performanceby Design™
We establish the management standards, develop the people, and implement the systems that turn business strategy into performance by design.
COPEX is not a conventional consulting firm that leaves slide decks behind. We lead hands-on shopfloor installation alongside your leadership, transferring internal capability that sustains performance permanently.
The Three Pillars
Operational excellence is not an accident. It requires three interdependent elements working together.
1. Standards
Define the best known way to perform the work today so that abnormal conditions become immediately visible to anyone without asking.
2. People
Develop supervisors and frontline operators who know how to solve problems, coach routines, and improve the work every single day.
3. Systems
Connect business strategy to daily tiered routines and digital shopfloor tools so performance is managed continuously, not by surprise.
The 6 Core Services
Each capability addresses a specific failure point in manufacturing management. We do not sell abstract advice; we install working operational solutions.
Operational Excellence System
Turn strategy, performance management, and improvement into one coherent operating architecture.
Most manufacturing operations suffer from fragmented initiatives. Leadership launches disconnected Lean events or digital tools that quickly decay because there is no governing management system to hold standards in place. Daily results depend on heroic firefighting and individual supervisor tenure.
We design and install the complete operational management architecture on your shopfloor. We establish the governing operating standard, align leadership cadences, install tiered daily management (DMS Tier 1–3), and embed living standard work directly into shift routines.
- Auditable facility operating standard with clear SQDCM boundary metrics
- Synchronized 15-minute tiered standups that surface line abnormalities in 60 seconds
- Living standard work sheets that guarantee consistent cycle times regardless of operator turnover
- Shift Hour-Boards tracking hourly throughput, scrap, and downtime minutes
Strategy Deployment (Hoshin Kanri)
Connect annual business breakthroughs to the work people do every shift.
Corporate strategic plans and financial targets get trapped in executive PowerPoint decks. Frontline supervisors and shift teams have no clear line-of-sight to the 3 to 5 business priorities, resulting in conflicting departmental agendas and wasted improvement effort.
We run structured Catchball alignment sessions across your management tiers to translate executive EBITDA and operational goals into 3 to 5 clear breakthrough priorities. We cascade these into explicit plant targets and shift-level bowling charts with weekly gap-closure reviews.
- Facility Hoshin Kanri X-Matrix linking corporate priorities to plant-floor targets
- Bi-directional Catchball negotiation process between directors, managers, and line supervisors
- Weekly gap-closure review rhythm replacing end-of-month financial autopsies
- True North facility charter balancing Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and Morale
Daily Improvement (Toyota Kata)
Build the daily habit of scientific problem-solving into frontline management routines.
Supervisors spend 80% of their working hours chasing hot parts and reacting to equipment stoppages. Improvement only happens when outside consultants or continuous improvement engineers show up, leaving frontline operators passive and disengaged.
We install the 4-step Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata routines directly into your supervisors’ daily shift checklists. We teach supervisors how to conduct 15-minute coaching conversations at targeted workstations, guiding operators through rapid scientific experiments toward target conditions.
- Frontline Kata experiment boards installed at critical production workstations
- 5-Question supervisory coaching routine embedded in daily floor management walks
- Active obstacle parking lot and rapid countermeasure testing logs
- Frontline supervisors transformed from reactive firefighters into deliberate coaches of flow
Process Improvement (Kaizen & DMAIC)
Use the right level of improvement for the problem: stabilize first, then optimize.
Chronic defect spikes, long changeover bottlenecks, and yield volatility persist because teams either apply superficial quick fixes to deep technical problems, or over-complicate simple flow problems with months of unnecessary statistical software analysis.
We deploy structured problem-solving calibrated to the problem type. For flow and changeover waste, we lead rapid 5-day Kaizen and SMED events. When process variation or complex multi-variable defects are present, we deploy Six Sigma DMAIC with statistical rigor (Gage R&R, ANOVA, SPC) to eliminate root causes permanently.
- Rapid SMED changeover reductions cutting machine setup downtime by 30% to 60%
- Measurement System Analysis (Gage R&R) isolating measurement error from process spread
- Root-cause countermeasure validation proving zero defect recurrence over 30 days
- A3 problem-solving charters and permanent operating standard revisions
Capability Development
Develop internal practitioners who can lead continuous improvement without perpetual consulting fees.
Companies invest heavily in classroom training and superficial certifications, only to find that employees return to the shopfloor unable to build an actual line balance, run a statistical capability study, or coach an operator through a breakdown.
We conduct hands-on, shopfloor-centered capability transfer. Senior Master Black Belt Tom Dunn (Creator & Architect of MyGemba) works directly on your production line alongside your engineers, supervisors, and operations managers, teaching practical tool application on real plant problems.
- Internal leaders capable of calculating takt time, line balancing (Yamazumi), and buffer sizing
- Frontline supervisors certified in the 5-Question Kata coaching routine
- Engineers skilled in practical SPC control charts and variable process capability (Cp/Cpk)
- Verified CPD hours logged into the permanent COPEX Institutional Ledger
Digital Management System (MyGemba)
Replace fragile spreadsheets and decaying whiteboards with live shift telemetry.
Shopfloor data is buried in static clipboards, outdated whiteboards, and fragmented spreadsheets. When a key supervisor or engineer leaves, their tribal knowledge and calculation sheets vanish with them.
We configure and deploy MyGemba across your plant lines. We install live digital hour-boards, automated OEE loss telemetry, and 35+ specialized operational engineering calculators (Takt, SMED, Gage R&R, ANOVA, SPC) directly onto shopfloor tablets and monitors.
- Full MyGemba plant deployment configured to your exact production cells and shift schedules
- Live Shift Hour-Boards with automated hourly pace tracking and scrap categorization
- MyToolbox suite with 35+ verified Lean and statistical engineering tools
- Digital daily management architecture that stays institutionalized even through staff turnover
90-Day Operational Excellence Deployment
Single Manufacturing Facility · Led on-site by Senior Master Black Belt Tom Dunn
Organizations that start with our 2-Hour Live Workshop ($$295 Individual / $$750 Team) receive a 100% credit applied directly toward their full 90-day facility deployment if they proceed within 30 days. Test the methodology and team alignment with zero financial risk.
On-site gemba diagnostics, custom tier board architectures, supervisory Kata coaching routines, line balancing, and full MyGemba plant software configuration.
For multi-plant operations and corporate networks (starting at $40,000+), we co-design corporate Hoshin alignment, standard governance, and multi-site telemetry.
Ready to Build Your System?
Explore MyGemba to see the digital operating environment, or reserve your seat in the next live working session.