Archive for April, 2010

Getting Staff And Management On Board With Lean Strategy Thinking: Part 1

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

This down economy has everyone thinking about tightening up procedures and implementing or reinforcing their lean business practices.  But how is this communicated?  Is everyone on board with the changes made and do they understand it? While this may be the case for many manufacturing environments, this issue is a critical component especially for us in the roll forming business.  Often processes break down due to the lack of follow-up and knowledge given to employees resulting in productivity decline adding unneRoll Forming Machine, Rollforming Equipmentcessary impact to the bottom line.

So we’ve implemented the lean principles and now what? Survival of the fittest as they say… However, let’s not put the horse before the cart and realize this does not happen overnight.  Strategic communication methods need to take place to ensure viability of this process. 

Here are a few principles to consider when implementing lean strategies with your team that every roll former should know about it:

Change to Employee Culture

This by far, is the most challenging component, especially with tenured, long-time staff who are used to doing things the way they have been for years.  Everyone should understand the bigger picture and what steps are necessary to get there. Organizing information employee sessions like town hall meetings encourages positive change amongst staff and shows how change is good and necessary for the company to move forward. Establishing Relationships And Trust Between Management and Employees

Company leaders should look to their employees for ideas on efficiency, productivity and  profitability. Management should encourage staff to be key contributors within their team and foster an environment where everyone has the opportunity to shine and be recognized.  By showing employees how they can positively impact the bottom line, this will help create employee understanding and ownership.  By engaging team members to attend regular workshops or specialty training ie industrial machinery course,  this helps to invest in your employee and help them shine and instill the sense of self-worth and value for everyone on the team.

Stay tuned for Part II…

We’d like to hear from you.  For more information visit www.samco-machinery.com.