By: Dave Mills, Managing Partner, Columbus
Good news all around in this recent article from Businessweek. The article confirms what my colleagues and I have been seeing since December. Manufacturing is back and it’s better than ever. By better, I mean companies have done major re-visioning during the downturn and emerged far more flexible, productive and competitive, even when compared to overseas options.
What I like most about this article is that the writer recognized something that is central to our philosophy at Definity Partners. The key to success in this “manufacturing renaissance” is employee engagement. Workers who actively contribute to making processes better, are making manufacturing better. They are coming up with ideas that raise the bar on productivity, improve quality and increase customer satisfaction. They are no longer merely showing up for the paycheck. They are taking pride in what they produce. They are more skilled, more dedicated and they get more done. At Definity Partners we call it a Run-Improve Grow Transformation. Front line workers are empowered to make their jobs run smoother, freeing managers to focus on improvements, freeing leaders to focus on growth.
I hope you enjoy the article. Those of you who have been through our Lean Simulation training will enjoy the reference to the teamwork task involving LEGO vehicles. If you would like to see a video that shows employee engagement at work, click here for a video about our client Bilstein. The Hamilton, Ohio plant’s Transformation Eagle project is a great example.
(Enterprise Resource Planning) system. I recommend ERP systems to any growing business, but what made Nike’s effort so significant was its intention to combine ERP with supply chain optimization and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) functions. For those that are unfamiliar with the size and scope of this kind of project, trust me, it is a massive undertaking.
Systems and processes are an organization’s DNA; but unlike our own genetic makeup, we have the ability to strategize and select how we want our operations to function. I believe that every employee wants to succeed, but they need appropriate systems and processes that will allow them to do so.
he three above examples, you are setting a low standard. As our good friends at 
The same concept applies to metrics. Metrics are just another organizational tool that people use to make sense of data. So use them to your advantage. There is no hard and fast rule for what a metric should look like. We have grown so accustomed to the typical productivity, profitability and inventory metrics that we rarely think of coming up with new ones.
A good example of this comes from one of our good friends, Mark Hartings, the Plant Manager at PDi Communications in Springboro, Ohio. PDi is a growing company that produces adjustable television arms and consoles for a variety of industries including healthcare and fitness. Just six months ago, Hartings realized that despite his best intentions, he was a bottleneck for the company. The reason for this lay deep within his belief system.
confidence in his team and was making a more valuable contribution by focusing on the continuous improvement efforts of the company. It took some time to build that trust, but once he saw results such as an increase in on-time delivery from 30% to 84%, a lead time reduction from four weeks to four days and a productivity increase (as measured by televisions produced per hour) of 24%, he had the confidence to let the front-line leaders handle the operations. .
amount of time with the lowest performers. At Definity Partners, we call these employees “draggers.” They represent about only 10% of the workforce. The next employee tier is called “followers.” These individuals represent 80% of the workforce. Finally, the top-tier is called “performers” and they represent the final 10% of employees.
Leaders distinguish themselves from managers by inspiring performers to a higher level. By spending more time developing top performers rather than correcting draggers, leaders can raise the organizational standard. It’s a chain reaction. Performers improve, and as the name insinuates, the followers will move up the ladder to close the gap. It then becomes apparent to the draggers that if they don’t improve, they will be forced to leave.
