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Saving Manufacturing Jobs

Written by: Jim Rose

Article Overview: Many manufacturing jobs in the US have been lost to other countries. This article will provide a means for having everyone in the organization focused on the common goal of making changes in their area of responsibility to ensure long range success of the organization.

Saving Manufacturing Jobs

This article describes an approach that leaders of manufacturing plants can take to prevent more jobs from leaving the US.

Leaders need to drive aggressive change and do so by involving all employees in the change process. Having all employees focused on doing what they can do to ensure long range success for the plant can produce radical improvements.

I have developed a model for Managing Change that is very effective with assisting leadership to drive change. This model provides a very structured approach to determine the small number of the most important changes needed to be successful and then how to drive those to completion. The plant leadership team would follow the steps in the model and the following is a brief description of each step:
Vision: Develop a Mission. Values and a Vivid Image describing what the plant could look like in three years.
Strategies: Identify high level guides to assist with achieving the Vision
Measurement: Select 4-7 Key Performance Indicators and goals for each that can be use to measure progress toward the Vision
Initiatives: Identify the three most important changes to focus on at this time
Implementation: Form teams for each Initiative and assigned them the task of accomplish their Initiative
Monitoring: Meeting monthly the leadership /team guides the entire process

Next, I would like to describe how all employees can become involved in the Managing Change Process. The model referenced above can be what I call “rolled out”. Employees throughout the plant can be organized as teams around processes for the purpose of Managing Change to their process in order to save jobs. Manufacturing processes are usually easy to see as production units (a press, furnace, assembly line, etc.). These teams would be made up of the people that actually do that work and with representatives from each shift. A member of the team would be selected to lead the team and it would not be the traditional supervisor. The model also works for all staff groups enabling everyone to be involved.

The model referenced with a couple of modifications works for these teams:
Vision: Their only document would be a Mission and it is typically built around working as teams to save jobs by lowering cost, improving quality, reducing injuries, etc.).
Strategies: None needed; only the Leadership Team needs to develop strategies for the plant.
Measurement: Same as above; all must “align” with those of the plant leadership team
Initiatives: Same as above
Implementation: Same as above
Monitoring: Same as above

This model has been in place for up to ten years at plants which indicates the process has withstood the test of time.

The team process is a very powerful means for improving performance. However, it is not simple or easy. I strongly suggest that anyone considering this approach start by finding an experienced resource to assist and this is typically a consultant. The consultant should be able to provide references that can verify their capabilities of utilizing the team approach to improve plant performance.

Jim Rose
EQ Consulting Services

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Article Tags: assembly line, brief description, furnace, initiative, initiatives, jobs, key performance indicators, leadership team, managing change, manufacturing plants, manufacturing processes, measurement, mission values, radical improvements, supervisor, time implementation, vivid image



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