What have you done lately to bring change?
Where do you lag behind compared to your peers?
Do you know what changes are required?
Is your company more receptive to innovation now than it was a year ago?
Are your truly satisfied with your answers?
You are not alone!
‘There are not enough hours in a day to do all the work,’ is one answer I often get when I ask people why they don’t consider change.
Why do you not have enough time?
There is never enough time. Get used to it. You just need to make time.
As a consultant, I see this a lot. Companies know what to do. They know how to do it and they have the skill set in their team to do it. But the improvement has to wait because they need to get a specific order shipped – they work ‘in- the-business.’ So they plan to deal with this when it ‘quiets down’ at the end of the day. On Friday, after they have produced and shipped all orders, they plan to sit down and work ‘on-the-business.’
Of course on Friday the team is too exhausted to switch them from the tactical ‘firefighting mode’ to a productive strategic thinking mode. Next they plan for a Saturday, or hope next week will be better. But next week and next month are usually not any better either.
Other people say they work on those projects in the slow months.
Most of us have been in a long period of ‘slow months,’ and if the above statement were true, all of us would have planned for and implemented important changes by now.
But why haven’t we? Because when business slows down, finding new business becomes the highest priority. When business slows down, resources are cut and the remaining staff has to work double duty.
Again, I am telling you nothing new. What I am telling you is that in the end it is the management commitment, the unwavering decision that change has to come, that will make the difference.
Even with management commitment you will have more than enough roadblocks.
It worked well for so long - why change now?
If your order books are full and you have sufficient capacity, excellent productivity and making money – stop reading this article now and call me. I would like to know your secret. For the rest of us, we will have to live with pressure.
If there is no pressure, change is difficult to come by. You need to communicate what these pressures are and why change is required. If your team accepts these challenges the resistance to change will be reduced. Use a crisis to push the change.
No money to invest
Having no capital to invest in modern technology is another reason to delay improvements. But there are many changes and improvements you can achieve with modest means. Of course, continuous improvement projects, quality system implementation, safety programs and lean manufacturing will require some investments, but you can do a lot in-house and you can stretch and prioritize the implementation according to your needs.
Get started
The important part is that you get started. In every project I have seen, the culture change is the most difficult one to achieve. Culture change cannot be a project by itself. It is the result of doing things differently. You can start with many different methods/projects.
Investing into order
My favorite starter project is cleaning up. The lean manufacturing toolbox has the 5S program. It is a methodical approach for a clean, safe and productive work place. The strategic impulse comes from management, but the implementation is shop floor driven. This is one major reason why it is a great way to bring change.
The other reason, and in my opinion the key reason, is the following: What you need for a successful implementation is management commitment, a plan and relatively little money. If it fails what could have caused it? Unlike in other projects it is not capital, technology or skill levels. If you fail in 5S it was lack of management commitment or the wrong plan. The implementation plans can be scaled to your needs and help is easily available. Only management commitment, or better the lack of commitment remains as the major reason for failure. I like to call 5S the exercise field for implementing a change culture. Why would you start any other, more complex project if you cannot succeed on this one? The stakes are much higher than just having a clean plant. Is your team ready to take on a big project?
Rome was not built in one day
Change takes time. Doing a cleanup blitz is done in days; however implementing good and sustainable practices can take 1-2 years.
Benefits
Imagine if you need to start a new project and you do not have to look for materials, tools, carts and instructions. You don’t need to make space to transport material to your workstation nor spend time to find a place to move the product next. Everything has its place and a place for everything. And this approach is not limited to the shop floor; it applies to the office as well.
Don’t you hate it when you have to look for the stapler in the copier room? And when you find it, is it out of staples, which require you to look for them as well? All of these little things add up, they waste time and over days, weeks, months and years they have a major impact on productivity.
I can tell you that once companies have gone through the process, they do not want to go back.
Sepp Gmeiner is partner with Lignum Consulting. For feedback, questions and/or suggestions he can be contacted at s.gmeiner@ lignum-consulting.com.
