Since its inception, the Eaton Business System (EBS) has increased profitability and helped Eaton achieve higher levels of performance companywide. EBS permeates everything that Eaton does. Our success can be directly attributed to EBS encompassing the core values, policies and processes used to conduct business and continually measure, assess and improve performance.
EBS provides the framework for achieving operational excellence.
EBS links Eaton's worldwide businesses and employees by providing a common set of values, philosophies, management tools and measures. It enables us to systematically manage our businesses while capturing the benefits of diversity, scale and rapid transfer of best practices. EBS positively impacts our results by improving working capital and operating margins and reducing costs through these elements: Corporate Goals, Planning, Growth, Execution, Assessment and Tools.
Corporate Goals
We achieve our business goals by adhering to Eaton's core values. The Eaton Philosophy states that our success depends on the superior performance of each employee in support of our customers. When employees commit themselves to the goals of the organization, sustained high performance will follow. This level of commitment does not just happen; it is created when employees, managers and the company all share certain key beliefs about their mutual responsibilities to one another. The Eaton Philosophy sets out these shared beliefs, describing a culture in which employees can achieve their full potential to make exceptional contributions, confident that these will be welcomed and rewarded. The key elements of Eaton's core values include:
- Making our customers the focus of everything we do
- Recognizing our people as our greatest asset
- Treating each other with respect
- Being fair, honest and open
- Being considerate of the environment and our communities
- Keeping our commitments
- Striving for excellence
Planning
The planning element of EBS centers on three processes: strategic planning, leadership and organizational resource planning, and profit planning. These have been linked to ensure continuity and streamlined to eliminate duplication and shorten planning processes.
Execution
We subscribe to the maxim that if you want to focus on a subject you should measure it. However, the process of setting performance targets, measuring year-to-year progress, and assessing relative performance against key competitors and benchmark companies cannot be accomplished by using just one metric.
Growth
The Growth model provides the tools necessary for all of Eaton to attain optimal progress and change, including expansion of markets through Market Growth and Market Outgrowth, harnessing the power of innovation to increase its current share within dominant markets, and the acquisition of highly desirable companies and products.
At Eaton, in addition to our traditional financial measurements, we are interested in assessing performance in:
- Customer satisfaction
- Innovation
- Quality
- Cycle time reduction
- Supplier performance
- Employee satisfaction
Management practices used throughout Eaton to capture organizational leverage include:
- Balanced Scorecards
- Corporate Identity and Brand Management
- Cost-Out
- E-Business Initiatives
- Eaton Standard Program Management Process
- Geographic Shelter Program
- Global Account Management
Assessment
In assessing how well EBS is being deployed at each of our facilities, departments and businesses, we’ve initiated two levels of achievement and recognition:
Eaton Business Excellence Certification - all Eaton facilities are assessed against a Malcolm Baldrige-based criteria to drive implementation of the Eaton Business Excellence criteria and continuous improvement.
Eaton Business Excellence Award (EBEA) - candidates employ excellence programs and robust business processes that work for them. Best practices are shared and put to work for other Eaton groups.
Tools
Eaton’s business units have elected to use this common set of tools to achieve operational excellence:
- Eaton Lean Six Sigma – combining Lean System methodology and Six Sigma quantitative analysis to create a powerful methodology that unleashes the true potential of continuous improvement throughout Eaton. ELSS eliminates waste, simplifies processes, reduces cycle times and enables us to more effectively deploy resources within quality-intensive systems and achieve exceptional profits and performance.
- PROLaunch – a set of integrated processes designed to guide our program and project management processes, including product development from concept through production launch.
- Supply Chain Management – a comprehensive set of tactics to strengthen and diversify supplier relationships worldwide while achieving maximum value in commodity management, global logistics and sourcing.
