Operation Improvement Plan

Solution Preview

Introduction
The world is constantly changing. New technology brings new approaches to a working environment. Rockwell provides employees the ability to take advantage of coffee shop internet cafés, working from home or on the road by logging into the Internet and then through Rockwell's firewall using a two-factor authentication system for external computer entry. An employee who takes advantage of this opportunity must use a RSA SecurID®. Rockwell's current RSA SecurID® order process exemplifies poor demand management and is not supported by data analysis, ensuring the correct amount of inventory is on hand to support their customer's needs. Just as there is a cost to carry inventory, there is lost opportunity costs if an employee has to wait too long to connect back to the company. The process currently in use by the Identity (ID) Management group to order the secure identification is slow and inefficient. Applying the correct principles, methods, and tools will improve this situation. This operations improvement plan:
? Describes the current process
? Uses data collection and analysis to determine improvement opportunities
? Uses improvement techniques to determine alternatives
? Compares and contrasts the alternatives to arrive at the preferred solution
? Provides an implementation strategy which establishes a more effective ordering process.
Problem Statement
The ID Management Process for ordering and distributing RSA licenses and tokens is inefficient and causes delays in delivery.
RSA Licenses and iConnect Current Order Process
The Rockwell RSA License and iConnect token ordering and distribution process involves several internal checks and balances meant to prevent issuing licenses and tokens to unauthorized personnel and issuing without valid justification. The flowchart (Figure 1) below depicts the routine path of requests for licenses and tokens. This path contains process boundaries and constraints, which define the parameters of the process and show potential roadblocks to an efficient process.
Products
RSA licenses are issued to authorized personnel to access the Rockwell Company secure network and serve as the authority for users to enter a protected network, and do not expire. Accessing the network firewall requires a physical iConnect token. The RSA token is a small, key-shaped device, with a small screen displaying six-digits. Each token generates a new, unpredictable code every 60 seconds. The token code requires a combined user Personal Identification Number (PIN) to log into protected resources. The token has a limited life of five years.
Fishnet Security is the current suppler. The minimum order for licenses is 500 and for tokens 250. The cost for the tokens is $70.
Customer Remote Access
In the customer remote access order process, the customer submits a Web request for a token. An automatic routing system sends this request through email to the manager with instructions for sending the e-mail with their approval to the ID Management group. If the manager does not approve request, the automatic routing system does not forward the email to the ID Management group, but routes request to the monitored group account. When a request appears, there is a check to see if the customer has a license. If the customer needs a license, ...