Efficient and stable processes are needed for a Strong Rail system
The start of 2017 saw the launch of the OPEX (Operational Excellence) program with the overarching themes of maintenance, jointly coordinated construction and skills development. OPEX supports the goal of sustainably changing the performance culture at DB Group. Through OPEX, we are advancing the transformation that has already begun – for quality that persuades and performance that delights our customers.
A further 15 maintenance sites have started the OPEX transformation since November 2019 as part of wave six of the program. The locations involved in phases one to five will continue to be appraised by way of regular maturity assessments to determine the progress of the program and will also receive ongoing implementation support.
However, in order to achieve the goals we have set and successfully make Group-wide improvements, the OPEX approach needs to be developed further, applied to all processes and organizational units and transformed into a holistic approach for the organization (end-to-end processes). With this in mind, we created our Group-wide DB production system: the DB Excellence System.
The DB Excellence System builds on OPEX as a broader and more streamlined extension of the concept. The lean management methodology was developed further for DB Group and was supplemented by digitalization and change management components, for example. The DB Excellence System enables us to have a Group-wide methodology and a tool-kit for improving processes. This should help us to create standardized Group-wide norms, reduce losses at interfaces and boost DB Group’s performance. The DB Excellence System is an integral part of our Strong Rail strategy, and its application in particular should help to become more powerful by establishing stable processes.
The DB Excellence System consists of a standardized approach to optimizing and transforming processes and/or organizations. It includes principles, which set out a clear understanding of excellence, and application standards to help meet these principles, as well as the DB Excellence Assessment for analyzing and assessing processes and organizational units on the basis of the excellence maturity levels they have achieved. During its development phase, the DB Excellence System was piloted in two joint process transformations: major disruption management and PlanStart/provisioning in Frankfurt. The experience gained from the two pilot projects was incorporated when creating the system. Other joint process transformations were initiated: PlanStart/provisioning in Berlin and vehicle maintenance.
