 |
| Quality - Who's Responsible |
This is an example of a Change Driver Process - Improved Quality
This example of a Leadership Process is focused on the
suggested activities to be undertaken by a person – designated as Vice
President, Processes. The person
needs to hold a senior management or executive management title to be effective
in resolving the current company quality crises on a short and long term basis.
This example is based on a corporate quality issue faced by a company in Ohio. It is the result of a three hour on-site consultation visit hosted by key corporate management personnel. The following is a preliminary outline of suggested action items for the business team. As you will see there are many, many focus areas that will need attention if there is any hope for a long term resolution of the problem. The underlying business operations are in need of immediate attention. These actions are based on limited information but will give the management team a preliminary road map for actions and will help prioritize the approach.
The company manufactures industrial and
commercial hardware products for the food industry containing large amounts of
welded product and control system hardware.
The company is well respected in the industry but its reputation is
rapidly slipping due to a wide range of quality issues experienced by their
customers. After a three
hour visit
to the company the following observations are made:
The factory is old and outdated
The IT (Information Technology) system is early 1980's
There are no formal sales to factory processes in place
Lots of verbal communications take place for the specifications for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment with only limited documentation formality
Communication channels are at 1960's business levels
They do not really know what the customer expectations are for the products
Sales is not well organized with clear processes in place for complaint resolution
The factory is only loosely and poorly supervised - again it is 1950's in technology and organization
The factory is dirty and cannot be used as a sales tool to present food industry products or bring in customers to see their custom built products under construction
With these observations in place a basic outline of action items can be established. The situation here is one of almost overwhelming proportions to the current business leaders. When you are reading this please keep in mind all of the areas for
potential failure in the change process. There are two major steps to take - one is to resolve the short-term customer concerns in order to buy time to implement the longer term process changes. Of course it goes without saying that the biggest problem for the Process Change Leader will be the: "We've always done it this way." The training and education of the work-force in modern business methods and customer requirements will be the most challenging.
The objectives are: Short Term - Eliminate the quality shortfalls seen by the customers.
Long Term - Re-establish the company's leadership status
The first observation is that QUALITY to the customer is not isolated to one business process. [The view by the management team is that it is a factory issue.] Today - quality must be inherent in everything the company does. Quality isn't something that is tacked on at the end of the manufacturing process or checked by inspectors. It is built into the process and becomes the 'normal' way business is conducted with the customer as the only reason for being in business.
 |
| Quality from the Customers Perspective |
Now we need to look at what should the new Process Leader do? Where should the focus be placed? One suggestion is to break the work into Focus Areas. I am suggesting five areas. These areas will be expanded into more detailed tasks during the initial ninety days of 'The Project'. As we will see later this 'quality issue' will turn out to be a "Portfolio of Projects" managed by a "Program Manager"(perhaps the Process Leader) with a number of Project Managers (may be exiting company personnel) working on individual projects. The five areas are shown in the following slide. One of the areas is the Process Leader's function- since it is a new position at the company - along with other business processes.
 |
| Focus Areas for a Quality Issue |
These areas can be broken down into three other groups: Company, Supplier, and Customer items. Since the major short-term issue that must be addressed is perceived quality by the customer there is a whole group of customer facing items that must be looked at.
 |
| Qualtiy Action Items |
Focus Area One is the initial action items for the "Vice President of Processes" or Process Leader.
Here it will be important for the person to get to know, understand, establish expectations, and define the job scope for their position.
·
“Get to Know”
o
Personnel
o
Processes
o
Customers
o
Products
·
“Understand”
o
Issues
o
Personnel
o
Company Vision
o
Relationships
·
“Establish Expectations” for…
o
Position
o
Facility
o
Goals
o
Training
·
“Define”
o
Approach/Style
o
Methodology
o
Initial plans
o
Job Requirements
o
Support Personnel
o
SCOPE of the task
o
Funding of
initiatives
Focus Area Two are The Customers.
What are those things that must be done immediately and what are areas for later development. Must establish the corporate customer image. Clearly determine the fundamental, current issues, and initiate plans to minimize the problems while long term solutions are implemented. Here are eleven suggested action items.
1.Define links to Quality issues
2.Establish current customer state of mind
(general for all customers)
3.Define Customer Base
4.Determine 80/20 issues
5.Review market
6.Look at sales process (for each channel
to market)
7.Determine Customer priorities
8.Establish desired state for every
customer (not individual customers);
satisfied, happy, delighted, business partner, sole supplier, etc.
9.Establish project approach and
methodology from initial customer contact to customer
acceptance
10.Establish short, medium, long term focus
11.Develop training program
Focus Area Three is Quality.
Again, the first step is to clarify the issues. What is the customer really saying? The Process Leader must meet with personnel from multiple customer sites and listen. No judging, no solution presentation, no excuses, just fact finding. Only assurance to customer is that all of their concerns will be addressed and they will be kept informed and be part of the solutions. There are ten suggested action items.
1.Clarify issue(s) as seen by Company
personnel.
2.Clarify issue(s) as seen by Customer
personnel – site visits required.
3.Clarify issue(s) with Suppliers – site
visits required.
4.Quantify issues
5.Initial Brainstorm session at Company – 2 hr. max.
6.Prioritize issues – 1 hr. max.
7.Create focus groups
8.Establish short, medium, and long term
priorities for items
9.Establish actionable items with
completion dates.
10.Develop Training Program
Focus Area Four is The Plant.
What is needed? How can it be turned into a competitive advantage? In my opinion it is a given that the plant must become a lean manufacturing process. There are so many safety, process steps, and other issues that a methodical 20 Keys approach will be needed over perhaps a three year period. The plant will need strong leadership and significant training to become an asset for future business development. Here, again, there are eleven suggested action items.
1.Establish reference point for factory
•Best
in class?
•Cleanest?
•Most
organized?
•Most
efficient?
•Best
Trained?
•Etc.
2.Establish Links to Quality Issues
3.Establish objectives for facility
(desired state) for example: facility becomes sales tool, facility is
competitive edge, becomes focused factory, etc.
4.Create a Vision for innovation
5.Develop Safety Program (OSHA?)
6.Housekeeping/Work Environment
7.In the “Food Business” shouldn’t the
factory look-the-part?
8.Move from “Old” manufacturing to “New”
manufacturing
9.Define Priorities
10.Establish short, medium, and long term focus areas
11.Develop Training Program
Focus Area Five is The IT Infrastructure and Systems.
The flow and availability of information is absolutely critical to the success of a business and any strategic programs undertaken. Instant communication with the customer, sales, plant personnel, and management is essential. Collaboration tools and knowledge management is critical in this business due to the market. Competitive advantage is knowledge based for this company. The IT system must support the business and be easy to use by EVERYONE. Here are eight potential action items.
1.Define current concerns
2.Establish links to Quality Issues
3.What would you like? ( for example:
customer, production, sales, financial, executive, welder, supplier,
receptionist, etc.
4.Determine “as-is” system
5.Establish “desired” system
6.Create plan to go from current to desired
over “24 month” period
7.Establish “check-points” or “gates” to
implementation
8.Develop Training Program
This is just a preliminary look at one possible path to follow to address a major customer issue that is threatening to undo years of leadership. However, as I have said in the intro to this blog: "Everything can change in the blink of an eye." The business processes must be ready and able to respond to internal or external threats to success.
