You have reached a tipping point and have come to the realization that continuing down your current path will only yield greater pain and more of the same results. Change will bring benefits, you and the senior staff have identified what is in it for the key drivers, and management has committed to the changes required to move your company forward.
What’s next??? The pace of today’s business requires agility and the ability to change. But change for change’s sake is not the objective. You and your senior staff must set new goals. What are your objectives? Increased sales and market share, double digits profits, 100% on-time delivery, reduced design and production cycle time, cut labor % and/or cost of materials—any and all of these new goals must be communicated and a concrete plan must be documented as to how the company will support and accomplish each new goal.
Now you need to extend your vision, plan, and new goals to the company at large—the design, estimating, production, and delivery staff—and seek their input and buy-in. You need to identify actions to modify and processes to improve. For example, if a truss fabricator has developed an ingrained routine of hitting connector plates 6 to 8 times or taking 8+ steps to find and place a web or chord to assemble a truss, how do you break these habits?
WIIFT — “What’s In It For Them?”
To pursue new goals requires communication and buy-in at every level. How to achieve buy-in? Make these people part of the process, collaborate with those you wish to influence, and seek their input and understanding as to why these goals and challenge must be met. To break poor habits and drive change, what incentives can you put in place to change routine and behavior? Incentives could be financial, additional paid time off, or a rewards program. But whatever you, and your front line workers, choose and agree upon, the incentive must drive change and everyone must be held accountable to achieve the stated goal(s).
How and where do you start? What tools will you need to accomplish the task? Toyota changed from a poor quality manufacturer of automated sewing looms to a world class car manufacturer by embracing “Lean” methods of process improvement.
Next Month:
What is Lean and how to develop and define a critical path