We’d always been content dipping our toes in the water with lean and CI.
That used to be fine when margins were high and we were a relaxed, family-owned business. Now, things have changed. Margins are being squeezed by low cost competitors and we were bought out by a private equity firm devoted to driving organisational efficiency.
So, I thought I’d come up with a clever little plan. I drafted a business proposal to hire a formal CI manager to the factory team. After all, we had only failed with lean in the past, because we ran out of enthusiasm, resource and know how following some early wins. Our lean effort was moving into the professional age.
I wrote in some conservative savings from scrap reductions and energy savings affiliated to the lean activity. The investors gave me a three hour grilling, any additional cost was bound to bring them out in a rash. But, I talked them around on the proviso that our CI manager show an ROI in six months.
I found the dream candidate for the role. They held an MSc in lean operations and industry experience. When I told them about the ROI, they joked: ‘that’s not possible. But I will do it in a month.’ Our new cocksure CI manager donned safety boots and hit the shopfloor. It began well. The operators bought in and valued the chance to give a view on processes and systems. Within weeks we had a pre-shift briefing in place and a ‘Go further’ branded CI scheme.
Our OEE went north and landfill bills went south. I was about to ring HQ and tell them we were already in the black. But, then the iceberg struck. The mood on the shopfloor changed, the figures stalled and my CI manager became irascible and distant. I’ve overheard a couple of locker room comments to the effect of: “Let him do that. That’s a CI person job, not mine.’
Have I made a mistake in appointing a dedicated CI function? Has this created a barrier with the shopfloor? And how do I solve it and fast before the private equity firm demand heads?
CI Solution: James Ahern, director, Renault Nissan Consulting
In principle it’s not a mistake to appoint a dedicated CI function. Look at the positives; by launching some logical tactics, improvements in landfill bills and OEE have been demonstrated as possible.
The problem is one of sustainability; something very common within organisations seeking to embrace a Lean way of working. The key to addressing this is the well-worn concept of ‘team engagement’.
Moving forward, it’s important to be clear about the objectives. Are you seeking short-term gains to satisfy PE investors or to truly embed a culture of CI? This will depend on many factors that are specific to your organisation.
If short-term gains are the primary objective, you should select a number of influential people from around the business and equip them with the tools, and time, to deliver tactical improvement projects. You might consider a form of a lean Six Sigma programme for this; people charged with managing improvement projects would become 'Belts' or 'Lean Practitioners'. Establish a steering group who meet regularly to review projects, unblock problems and maintain and allocate a hopper of new projects to the practitioners as and when their capacity permits. Your incumbent CI Manager may be the right person to lead this.
Expect the first results within a few months but beware that this probably won’t overcome the "let the CI people do that; it's not my job" attitude from people not directly involved. However, this approach is a natural evolution of the creation of a CI function and thus may be more palatable to investors than something more drastic.
If a true culture change is the aspiration then it’s a longer journey but, ultimately, delivering better and more sustainable results. For success, you must win the commitment of the frontline supervisors and managers. This is done by considering and managing the change that they will go through and involve them early on. Recognise that past successes have stalled but spin this to create belief of what could be possible – i.e. create a compelling vision for the future that people will believe.
From this vision statement, define some key business objectives for Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and People. Then develop some business strategies necessary to deliver the objectives. A good way to do this is via a focused workshop involving the management team. These objectives and strategies should then be cascaded through the company and become the 'true north' towards which all activity is aimed. Daily shift meetings, problem solving activity, and initiatives such as kaizen events are all geared towards achieving this true north.
In many cases, this is a 12-18 month programme of change that will set the organisation up to be continuously improving, sustainably.
