|
|
| Business Management Information |
|
|
|
|
Involving People Gave Us the Improvements We Needed
We had a problem with handling materials in a production department. Our process required raw materials to enter the department, be processed, and leave the department. The raw material was placed on pods, delivered for production, removed from the pods, placed on a staging fixture, removed from the fixture and process materials were then placed on another pod and delivered to an internal customer. Internal customer had to place on still another pod. Someone suggested placing the material from the fixture onto the customer's internal pod to reduce handling, errors, etc. Room was tight (because two different style pods were used, one for raw material and one for processing) and someone long ago suggested moving a wall to create more space for easier movement of the pods. After we realized that involving people would give us the improvements we wanted, someone suggested modifying the pods into a cart that could hold more material and reduce our need for more space. Others became involved; Martin developed possible designs for the cart while speaking with his coworkers to find out their ideas. A cross-functional team designed and built a new cart. It held more raw materials, eliminated the need for the staging fixture, and allowed raw material and processed material to be transported on the same cart, eliminating the need for the second pod. The cart was built by reusing materials from the old pods. Immediate benefits included less movement and less contamination of materials, also the new cart was more ergonomically friendly. After using the new cart, others came up with more ideas. All together 20 people contributed improvements to eliminate unnecessary equipment, combine processes, and reduce cost. Fourteen process steps were reduced to seven, operator motion was reduced, material was moved less, quality improved, and the job of the operator was made easier. Recently someone had the idea of using the cart in a different area, so more improvements are to come. Copyright © 2005 Chuck Yorke - All Rights Reserved Chuck Yorke is an organizational development and performance improvement specialist, trainer, consultant and speaker. He is co-author of "All You Gotta Do Is Ask," a book which explains how to promote large numbers of ideas from employees. Chuck may be reached at ChuckYorke@yahoo.com
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Well-Defined Processes ? How to Create Interested in learning how to reduce development time, save money and stay in control? Business professionals can learn how to create well-defined processes with the easy-to-manage Process Approach of Plan-Do-Check-Act. Effective Meetings: Why Most Meetings are a Waste of Time Whether your company holds one meeting a week or dozens of meetings a day it is essential that this time is used efficiently and effectively. Most meetings are less effective than they could be not because they are poorly managed, but because meeting managers spend all of their time focusing on the one or two hours when people will be gathered around the conference table or video screen. Smart meeting managers know that it is the actions you take during the three days immediately before the meeting which are much more important than the meeting itself. Write Winning Proposals For Venture Capitalists You need to secure money for your project. You visit venture capitalists to see if you can get that money. A venture capitalist views your project as a pure investment. A venture capitalist has no emotional attachment unlike you. You need to write a proposal that is structured around a venture capitalists needs, not yours. What may interest you may have no relevance to your potential funder. You need a business plan that is 'investor-focused'. Productive Meetings: How to Make Your Meetings More Productive There's one simple secret to effective meetings: set an agenda and stick to it. The agenda drives the content and outcomes of the meeting and, where appropriate, should reflect the needs of all attendees so everyone has a buy-in and an interest in the outcomes. Follow these simple steps for planning and running meetings and you'll be amazed at what you can achieve. And, just in case not everyone in your organisation is following these steps to great meetings, I've included some key questions you should ask before you accept any meeting invitation?yes, you do have an option and you can say no if joining in the meeting is not the most effective use of your time. Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Finding The Perfect Balance This article relates to the Work/Life Balance competency, which investigates how your staff feels with regard to the balance between work and personal life. It explores issues such as priority of family and hours on the job, also covered in this competency. Organizations that enjoy a high satisfaction level in this area will normally exhibit a low rate of absenteeism and experience higher employee retention. Evaluating this competency is helpful in understanding issues relating to a workforce that is commonly tardy or absent from work. Why and How to Work with a Consultant A good consultant provides specialist abilities and experience, innovative ideas, second opinions (reality checks), unbiased appraisals, and new approaches. The DNA of Motivation It really is about motivation. After all, what impels someone to climb a mountain, or go to college, or save for a car, or learn a new language or anything of a thousand things? What is it that moves someone to action from a position of comfortable stasis? The answer is motivation. Motivation is the process of stimulating you to action. It takes a need, desire or some other impulse and incites a response. Motivation is the high-octane fuel of success and, as such, it's vital that individuals and teams capitalize on its power. Often motivation seems to occur spontaneously -- the result of apparently random events. But random motivation isn't the stuff of greatness - to say the least of profitability, innovation and success. It's imperative that team makers and leaders cultivate and nurture motivation throughout the life of a project. Fortunately, motivation is relatively easy to create. In fact, it can be reduced to a formula: M = (D+ A)U. That is, motivation equals dissonance plus accountability, multiplied by urgency. This is the DNA of motivation. It's the essence of what will fire individual imagination and resiliently drive action. Contained within this simple formula are the seeds of phenomenal success. Business Fit I have been an entrepreneur for over twenty years and have absolutely embraced information that would help maintain a well managed and profitable business. We have been a part of the information era for sometime now. As business owners, we have access to more information than ever in this generation of technology. But how can we use this technology to aid our business? Driving of work trucks Each time you or one of your work crews cruises down the road, people see the vehicle. It is logo'ed and that advertising is there to be noticed. If you cut some one off, believe me they will know who did it. They'll tell their friends and you'll be sorry. If you see a lady trying to pull out into bumper-to-bumper traffic, let her cut in. If you see a mom in her minivan with kids at a traffic signal, be courteous. Signal her with a pleasant hand motion to 'please go ahead of me.' Mouth the words also and as they pass salute her and wave at the kids or flash your head lights. You are such a nice guy or gal they'll think. With every one in such a hurry, it's refreshing to know the crews in your company vehicles still care. If you work in a big city with a population of 100,000 or more, your gesture will be remembered, recognized and appreciated even more. You see in a big city, you will be outside the norm. They will think you are from a far away city where people are still friendly. Stopping The Brain Drain: How To Capture Key Business Knowledge Before It Walks Out The Door The verdict is in: More and more baby boomers will be leaving the workplace sooner, rather than later. Many industries are predicting that between 25 and 45% of their more senior employees will soon be departing their organizations. And as they leave, they will be taking vast amounts of accumulated business knowledge with them. The Paradox of Job Enrichment Ellen was a clerk working for a large insurance company. One day, she spotted a glaring discrepancy in a form she was typing. Indiscretion Can Kill Your Business The quickest way to cancel out all the thought, work, energy, time and expense you've poured into promoting your business is with indiscretions. I'm not talking about giving your clients' confidential materials to their competitors, though that certainly will kill your business I'm talking about the indiscretions that leak out of your mouth, such as: Assertiveness Helps Accomplish Everything When trying to get something accomplished, assertive behavior is the most effective. Although other methods may accomplish the intended ends, the alternatives imperil our own rights or those of others, creating conflict and building mistrust into relationships. One of the keys to effectiveness is learning how to communicate thoughts and feelings without jeopardizing yourself or others, and this ability elevates both morale and productivity in the workplace. Managing Client Relationships Managing Client Relationships: Even the best run organizations occasionally run into difficult situations with clients, consultants, and vendors. Often times it is not just a business process that has gone a-rye, it is the relationship of the people managing the situation. So how is it that we manage difficult problems and how is it that we coach all the members of our organization to manage crisis to their (and their company's) advantage. Here are some helpful tips: Unlock the Hidden Creativity of Your Employees To release creativity in employees, managers must get involved in their employees' work. Look at each employee as if he or she is the expert on the job and tap into their creative energy. Conflict at 36,000 ft This was supposed to be one of those sleepy flights that leaves late, crosses two time zones, and arrives at 11:00 p.m. But it wasn't. Temporary Employees and Operational Problems; Your Use of Temps Might Reveal Warning Signs A recent Washington Post article, described the life of temporary employees working at an automobile plant in Kentucky. Working at a fraction of what permanent employees make at the plant, some employees had been working as temps for extended periods, as long as three or four years, when early indications had been they would be permanent within six to 12 months. Forget The Sandwich Technique Do you remember being told to use the "sandwich" technique when you needed to reprimand someone? Let me give you an example: How to do SWOT Analysis for your Business SWOT analysis is needed for all business to understand how to improve their business. Four Steps to Better Performance Reviews Direct reports-people who need direction and leadership-rely on their leaders to give them feedback and mentoring, not just management and evaluations. However, these people who most need their boss's help frequently lack the guidance that would enable them move to the next levels of success-theirs, their team's and the company's. Too often leaders are not prepared or trained to conduct an appraisal that stretches performance and ensures their direct reports' development. Instead, the appraisals become confrontational and judgmental; goals are not clear; neither person is prepared; and the discussion occurs when it's too late to do anything about the problem. Today's organizations demand more from their leaders. Therefore, a well thought out performance appraisal system, clear expectations, reviews that inspire, and action plans are critical to the individual's and organization's success.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2005 |