Festering

12/5/13...I need to take a moment and capture a kernel of enlightenment. This hit me in a team meeting on Tuesday. My day had already been long. The meeting started at 6pm. And within minutes, complaining started. I thought to myself, oh no, not again. Here I am as a coach thinking I just want to abandon ship. In this case however, the complaint is a legitimate issue. Part of the problem is an ongoing issue with a support department communicating effectively with the team regarding an improvement status. For three years, I have fought this battle, mostly because the person in charge is finding difficulty in embracing teaming. So anyway, one of the operators talked about a problem with a roller in the machine. Work orders were put in, and no response. None. The poor operator is exasperated. His shoulders slump. The team's body language responds in the same manner. This is a major problem on a machine creating substantial downtime and scrap.

 

And then the thought hits me. Come to the Tier 3 meeting and explain the problem. The Tier 3 is a Plant Leadership meeting everyday at 9am. With standing room only, updates and problems are escalated to this group. The Plant Manager then decides if someone needs to work on the problem, resources it, and documents the problem on a kaizen newspaper. Every day this paper is reviewed until the item is complete.

 

Since the entire group is there, the person representing the team with the problem is heard by all.

 

In the past, the hands of team coaches were somewhat tied because at our plant they do not all have the authority or ability to resource. So now I am going to encourage coaches to determine if an item is out of scope. If it is, then ask someone on the team to come to the Tier 3 to discuss the problem. This is big! I have no doubt this will prevent problems from festering...and maybe help me retain some of my sanity.