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> The Manufacturing Solutions Difference! > Newsletter > The Coaches Corner
The Coaches Corner
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The Fundamentals:
In this world of ever-changing customer demands and increasing customer expectations the competitive advantage that equated to success in the nineties, has become a minimum requirement for survival in the new millenium. The radical swings that define today’s technology driven marketplace dictate agility in the manufacturing world now more than ever, with the spoils going to the first and the fastest.
Not unlike the winners in a sporting event, if you’re going to be first you’d better be the fastest, and you better be sound fundamentally! The winners aren’t the ones with the biggest dreams, they’re the ones with dreams, that run, block, and tackle better than the competition. The old addage “Preparation Wins” was never more appropriate than in today’s business climate. The roadside is littered with stories of great dreams, of great products, of revolutionary concepts that failed, not because of a substandard product, but because of substandard execution of the fundamentals.
What does it take to be first and fastest, what are the fundamentals that need to be adhered to every day? First off, the customer is King, he has always been the King, and he will always be the King. Accept it, deal with it, do whatever you have to do, but embrace it. It’s also a good idea to remind everyone in your organization of this simple fact on a regular basis. Your customer is fickle, never satisfied, can’t decide what he wants, but he wants it right now, and you’d better give it to him because he’s the one with the money and if you don’t spoil him, someone else will.
How can we possibly satisfy the insatiable appetite of this beast? Again, adherence to the fundamentals wins every time. Once you’ve established a focus on the customer, your attention should be turned to your infrastructure, particularly the shop floor, where the key words are flexibility, agility and velocity. Flexible equipment, a cross-trained work force and a contemptuous attitude toward non-value added activities are the keys to a winning game plan. Set-up reduction, a strong planning and scheduling function, managed capacity and an empowered and involved work-force are the all-stars of a successful manufacturing line-up.
Measure, measure, measure. After you have successfully established your infrastructure and established agile processes on your shop floor, measure for success. Determine the seven or eight key metrics that drive your business, measure them monthly as a minimum, identify the department head that is accountable for their performance, and put a vehicle in place to insure the identification of conditions where performance is not up to expectations. Form there, be deligent about corrective action, to insure successful achievement of the organizations goals.
Lastly, a word about leadership. Success means being bold enough to admit the errors of your past ways. The time has come to drag those skeletons out of the closet. Having the courage to identify problems means having the courage to face opportunities. Problems after all are nothing more than opportunities to improve. It has been said “If we always do what we always did, we’ll always get what we always got”. Set an expectation to get a little better every day and make it part of your daily agenda. Think like a champion, prepare like a champion and you’ll play like a champion, every day.
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