Rewriting the Playbook for Operational Excellence

How Digital Execution Systems Are Transforming Frontline Performance

In today’s industrial landscape, COOs are looking for value from their efforts to establish a culture of excellence that is central to the Operating Model, or the defined way of work at the company.

The legacy of failed Industry 4.0 efforts has stood in the way of fully integrating operational excellence into the daily work cycle. Siloed initiatives characterize that legacy, failed technology pilots, and poor change management have led to a lack of adoption of the Industry 4.0 initiative.

Traditional Operational Excellence initiatives have their own problems and failures, from siloed “SWAT” team approaches to a project-based approach to problem-solving that creates barriers to long-aspired-for frontline engagement to loss of focus as priorities shift. In our research, 75% of companies reported a loss of momentum in their traditional approaches to Op Ex (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Traditional Approach Loses Momentum

COOs are responding to these headwinds with a back-to-basics approach, focused mostly on lean management systems and on systems supporting doing the right things right. Cases in point that we see in Pathfinder companies, those bending the curve on declining industrial productivity, are General Electric Aviation's “Flight Deck”, the Mercedes-Benz Production System, and the Danaher Business System. All of these are based on the Toyota Production System, but have been adapted to meet the unique needs and culture of each company mentioned.

Digital tools in Operational Excellence used to be checklists and dashboards that served the siloed, project-based approach to OpEx. Those days are over. Today, there are a host of tools to enable the four key capabilities of Integrated Operational Excellence (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Integrated Operational Excellence Capabilities

• • • Operating Model Alignment: Supports the principles and strategy of the larger Operating Model across multiple pillars aligned to leadership, assets, customer value proposition, and others. Enables the 20-20-60 framework where:

      • • 20% - Doing the right things

        • 20% - Doing the right things right

        • 60% - Removing distractions to bring laser focus

• • • Decision Intelligence: The war for competitive advantage is won or lost on the speed and accuracy of decisions made up and down the value chain. Decision Intelligence supports informed, prescriptive closed-loop learning loops.

    • Value Chain Integration: Connectivity and orchestration between various industrial applications supporting value chain functions is essential to avoid optimizing one part while sub-optimizing others. This orchestration also supports informed decision intelligence.

    • Digital Process Definition and integrated tools: Virtual collaboration is essential in today’s lean manufacturing labor force. Integrating the defined OpEx process and toolset into the operational architecture embeds some of the special knowledge needed to sustain and democratize OpEx.

Recent briefings with solution providers, including Fabriq, Solvace, Oden Technologies, Innovapptive, and Braincube, reveal a common trajectory: a shift toward embedded intelligence, contextual data, and integrated execution systems that operate in real time. These innovations are central to sustainable Operational Excellence, a strategic pillar within LNS Research’s Operating Model framework.

From Paper to Platform: Embedding Digital Execution in the Flow of Work

Each of these providers contributes a unique strength to the emerging architecture of Integrated OpEx:

• • • Fabriq offers a digitally native Daily Management System (DMS) that unifies metrics across safety, quality, and productivity, directly connecting frontline teams with KPIs and action plans. Its seamless integrations with MES and CMMS platforms support Digital OpEx’s “start small, aim high” philosophy, enabling controlled scalability from pilot sites to enterprise deployments. Fabriq’s approach touches on Operating Model support with Lean Daily Management for operational leaders, and value chain integration swim lanes of the Integrated Operational Excellence framework above.

    • Solvace positions itself as a fully integrated Digital Operational Excellence platform, born from deep roots in global manufacturing and consulting. With over 30 modular apps that can be configurable to TPM, Lean, WCM, IWS, or any tailored OpEx model, covering everything from autonomous maintenance to skills matrices, root cause analysis, and tiered Daily Management team meetings, integrating with various industrial software products, including MES, ERP, and maintenance applications. Solvace strives to eliminate the “digital silos” created by built-for-purpose architectures accelerated with AI agents. Their differentiator lies in treating OpEx not as a toolkit of apps but as a holistic system embedded in the flow of work. Solvace’s approach ticks a few boxes across the framework, from Operating Model alignment to Digital Processes & Toolsets.

    • Oden Technologies introduces a layer of AI-driven decision intelligence, using real-time process and contextual knowledge to detect anomalies, predict failure modes, and recommend corrective actions. Oden’s data labeling engine empowers manufacturers to scale AI deployments without data science bottlenecks — turning analytics into an embedded operational asset. Oden Technologies' approach is square in the definition of Decision Intelligence.

    • Innovapptive integrates maintenance, operations, safety, and knowledge workflows into a single execution platform. With AI-enhanced root cause analysis, digital permitting, and a domain-specific Small Language Model (SLM), Innovapptive provides frontline workers with real-time actionable insights, supporting Decision Intelligence and advancing the goal of embedding excellence into every operational role.

    • Braincube redefines performance intelligence by shifting from disconnected analytics to a continuous productivity management system. The platform supports real-time monitoring, contextual AI, and scenario planning, enabling manufacturers to align operational goals with strategic business outcomes. Braincube’s ability to support not only web-based continuous processing, but also heavy batch, complex continuous, and select discrete operations. That, combined with digital assistant functionality, sets it apart as a top-down and bottom-up solution for sustained productivity gains. Their system highlights improvement opportunities and empowers executives with data-backed ROI scenarios to drive change. These capabilities support the Operating Model Alignment and Decision Intelligence swim lanes of the Integrated Op Ex Framework.

Conclusion: The Digital Thread of Operational Excellence

Operational Excellence is no longer a siloed, project-based initiative; it’s the infrastructure of industrial excellence. As industries grapple with labor shortages and economic pressure, the need is clear: operational excellence that makes a difference is integrated into the daily rhythm of operations, not “another thing” we do, but rather, the way we work. Whether enabling smarter decisions through AI, digitizing critical frontline tasks, or contextualizing data for enterprise-wide productivity, these platforms are forging the backbone of Integrated OpEx.

Recommendations for Chief Operating Officers Looking to Deliver Sustained Value from their OpEx Efforts:

1. Reframe Operational Excellence as an Integrated Work Execution System
   Traditional, project-based Operational Excellence suffers from organizational entropy, the loss of momentum. Integrating Operational Excellence into the operational architecture and digitizing the tools and collaboration motions lowers the energy needed to sustain the effort, especially in periods of distraction.
   
   “Integrated OpEx should live in the flow of work, not just in workshops, kaizen teams, or dashboards.”

2. Unify the Front Edge with Intelligence
   From more frequent switch-tasking rooted in the flattening of organizations to shorter tenure to achieve mastery of the work, frontline workers and leaders today have trouble identifying priorities and actions. Empower frontline teams (workers and frontline leaders who are critical to executing the value proposition) with connected, intelligent tools that not only digitize tasks and close the loop on actions taken but also bring the ability to focus on doing the right things right within the context of the Operating Model.

   “Connected work means augmented performance — not just digital forms.”

3. Build the Culture Through the Platform
   Use your Integrated OpEx platform to codify, reinforce, and evolve your operating culture. Industrial transformation has long suffered very high failure rates. The lack of intentional change management is a significant contributor to that high failure rate. In our research, 40% of companies engaged in transformation have no plan of action to help the workforce adapt to the changing ways of work. Integrated Operational Excellence is the delivery vehicle of the way of work defined by an operating model (Figure 3). It goes a long way towards satisfying the needs of workers by understanding and adapting to change.
   
   “Culture doesn’t live in posters — it lives in systems. Design your platforms to reinforce it daily.”

   Figure 3: OpEx is core to the Operating Model

4. Build on a Common Data Backbone
   Siloed approaches lead to siloed architecture. Industrial DataOps is fundamental to your Integrated OpEx, regardless of your approach to operational architecture. If you have a centralized hub-and-spoke architecture, best-of-breed, or a vendor ecosystem architecture, Industrial DataOps is a must. Strive for a common data backbone that underlies Integrated OpEx and every aspect of success in manufacturing operations today.
   
   “Decision Intelligence is only as good as the context of that intelligence.”