Implementation of daily visual management at five small and medium sized enterprises in Produktionslyftet compared to six larger Swedish companies

Paper in proceeding, 2016

This paper compares the implementation of daily visual management (DVM) in five SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises), with practice in six large Swedish companies, considering the challenge to include sustainability aspects. With method definition from Produktionslyftet (PL), a Swedish development programme, DVM includes daily meetings around key performance indices (KPIs) and visualised information on boards. The SMEs were studied within PL while the large companies were studied in the research project SuReBPMS (Sustainable and resource efficient Business Performance Measurement Systems).
The empirical result from SMEs shows that KPIs often cover few areas (most common: delivery, safety and quality) while the larger companies have wider range of areas. In some SMEs the meeting agendas, KPIs and pulse-boards are standardised while in others there are differences between teams or operations. The larger companies were mainly standardised. Both SMEs and larger companies mostly include all employees in DVM, in line with PL-DVM methodology. The general tendency is to focus on short term rather than follow-up of strategic challenges in the DVM. Furthermore, environmental issues, such as climate impact, are rarely found on boards, while often reflected in company policy. However, many KPIs have a strong, indirect, connection to sustainability and environment.