Scoping Meeting
One to two Technical Assistance Program (TAP) team members will lead an initial project scoping meeting at the participating facility to review the assessment process and provide facility representatives background information so that they can determine which team members will participate in the two-day assessment. The TAP team members will also tour the facility to better understand the manufacturing processes and layout of the facility. The TAP team members will then work with facility representatives to identify which processes will be evaluated during the comprehensive assessment.
Once the particular process line or area of the facility to be assessed is identified assessment dates are scheduled for the entire comprehensive assessment team to meet with facility representatives over the course of two days. The TAP comprehensive assessment team consists of 4-6 technical experts.
Pre-assessment Data Collection
A pre-assessment questionnaire will be provided to the facility that must be completed and submitted to the team in advance of the assessment. The questionnaire collects important facility details such as annual water usage, energy usage, waste volumes, etc. At the same time, if required by the facility, confidentiality agreements are secured.
Two-day Comprehensive Assessment
The first step of the two-day assessment is to provide a brief training on the assessment process and to review preliminary data collected from the facility. Then the group develops a process map that identifies the current state of inputs and outputs for each step of the process being reviewed.
The team then breaks up into groups and conducts a physical walk-through and assessment of the process to verify what was discussed during the process mapping exercise, gather additional data, and begin to identify opportunities for improvements. The team then discusses and reviews what they learned, adjusts the process map as necessary, and then develops an initial comprehensive list of recommendations and ideas. These are later discussed, the list of projects is refined and facility representatives select the projects that they are interested in pursuing. Selected projects are then prioritized with inputs from facility representatives.
Report
Next, the selected projects are reviewed by the team to assemble detailed steps for change, costs, payback, etc. This information is then compiled into a report that is then presented to the client followed by a discussion to develop an implementation plan and determine if additional assistance is needed from the comprehensive assessment team to help implement select projects.
Program Results & Outcome Metrics
The facility is then responsible for tracking and documenting activities and outcomes of the comprehensive assessment. Data on implementation and improvements will be collected at 3, 6, and 12-month intervals by the assessment team. With agreement from the facility, the assessment team will prepare a case study/journal article summarizing the benefits and positive outcomes gained.