The productivity potential assessment method : Assessing and benchmarking the improvement potential in manufacturing systems at shop‐floor level

Purpose – The paper's aim is to focus on the productivity potential assessment (PPA) method which has been developed to measure and assess the productivity potentials at shop‐floor level in Swedish manufacturing industry. Design/methodology/approach – A study was carried out in one day by two certified analysts using a highly standardised work process. The focus is on a selected bottleneck area of a factory. Measurement from the selected area is combined with a broad data collection to make an assessment of the potential for increasing the productivity in the factory. The results were fed back to the factory management orally on the same day and in a written report. Findings – The paper shows that the PPA method was not designed to be a research method. It is a practical method that is based on a systems perspective where as many factors affecting the productivity and productivity development are gathered in one day. Research limitations/implications – A consecutive article will present the result from the studies. Practical implications – The method has been applied in over 70 cases and has had an impact on all these cases for the factories studied. Social implications – Productivity is of utmost importance for society. Productivity development has been neglected in many companies during recent decades. Originality/value – The PPA method is unique in its combination of scope, analysis methods, and public availability. There are similar methods but no others found that make this combination.