newsdigest
by Dirk Dusharme
DIRECTORY
Automotive Quality Requirements Update
Web Site Addresses Labor-Management Team Bill
$aving a Mint
Baldrige Award Pioneer Retires
Federal Agency Seeks Out Customers
Share Your Knowledge
Are You Listening?
Baldrige Criteria Revamps Company
WMX Doesn't Waste Time
Employees Care
Downsizing Drains Creativity
Automotive Quality
Requirements Update
In case you've lost track, and who could blame you, here is the latest on
what's happening with Quality Systems Requirements QS-9000 and related standards.
QS-9000 Sub-Tier Deployment
The Automotive Industry Action Group is working to push QS-9000 down the
supply chain to tier-two suppliers and beyond. Their proposal would require
tier-two suppliers to meet QS-9000 section I (ISO 9001-based requirements)
and section II (sector-specific requirements). It would also require tier-two
suppliers to develop selected tier-three suppliers using applicable elements
of QS-9000, sections I and II.
Third-party registration will not be required, according to Judy Kilpatrick,
program manager/quality for the AIAG.
"Vendors will require tier-two and lower suppliers to undergo a self-assessment
and a second-party assessment," says Kilpatrick.
To avoid multiple audits from different customers, the AIAG is looking to
set up a database that customers could use to verify whether a supplier
had already been assessed, says Dave Lalain, an AIAG associate director
on loan from PPG Industries.
"First-tier suppliers would honor one another's audits as long as they
lived by the rules of the program, which meant that they used a qualified
auditor and the same assessment tool," says Lalain.
Tooling and Equipment Supplement
It depends on whom you talk to as to when the tooling and equipment supplement
(formerly known as TE-9000) to QS-9000 will roll out. The official word
from the AIAG is that there is no deadline for the roll-out. Insiders guess
that we will see the document, currently in final draft, sometime this year.
Sources say that 1,000 TE supplement manuals will be shipped to selected
suppliers before or as part of the roll-out.
Because compliance is voluntary, third-party registration will not be required,
says Kilpatrick. Compliance verification will probably come in the form
of self-assessment or second-party assessment.
Semiconductor Supplement
The semiconductor supplement to QS-9000 has been out for about a year. It
affects internal and external suppliers of semiconductor parts and materials
to members of the Automotive Electronics Council. The AEC consists of parts
or components engineering groups from Chrysler, Delco (GM) and Ford.
Materials Management Standard
This standard affects all Ford production parts suppliers, warehouses that
store or ship product, assembly plants and any affiliates that ship parts
or materials to a Ford Automotive Operations customer worldwide.
The standard outlines a more in-depth handling of how suppliers deal with
their materials-paperwork, communication, supplier management-throughout
the entire supply chain.
Currently this is only a Ford standard.
A copy of the standard may be ordered from Edcor at (810) 626-3077.
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Web Site Addresses
Labor-Management
Team Bill
U.S. workers concerned by the recent legal challenges to labor-management
teams (see "News Digest," February 1996) can now turn to the Internet
for information and action. A Web site sponsored by the TEAMwork for America
Initiative provides updated information on the TEAM Act in Congress, the
latest news releases and case studies of companies affected by Section 8(a)(2)
of the National Labor Relations Act. It also provides automatic e-mail for
contacting your U.S. senator.
The Web site can be reached at http://www.teamwork.org.
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$aving a Mint
Three years ago, the U.S. Mint in Denver was in trouble. Teamwork didn't
exist, customer focus was hazy, and labor-management relations had completely
broken down. Litigation on more than 200 outstanding labor-management disputes
and equal-opportunity complaints at the 300-person site was costing a fortune-about
$10 million per year, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
Not surprisingly, the problem stemmed from poor management implemented by
an "anachronistic political-spoils system," says U.S. Mint Director
Philip Diehl.
"The problem was that Mint superintendents-heads of production facilities-have
traditionally been appointed by the President," explains Diehl. "We
had a management team out there who didn't have experience in manufacturing
or in the kind of team-building philosophy needed in that kind of setting."
The Mint needed to get rid of the appointees and hire career civil servants
who knew what they were doing, says Diehl. These managers would have the
expertise to build teamwork and lead the four mints in Denver, San Francisco,
Philadelphia and West Point, New York, to achieve a better customer focus.
Under President Clinton, the Treasury Department succeeded in getting the
White House to give up the political appointees. For the Denver Mint, that
move caused changes almost overnight. New Denver Mint Superintendent Jack
DeBroekert forged a relationship with Greg Wikberg, president of the local
American Federation of Government Employees union, and the two began rebuilding
teamwork within the Mint.
First they brought in an outside consultant to conduct team building between
union and management leaders. Then, as part of a Mintwide project, Denver
set up a partnership council made up of union, nonunion and management employees
to address workplace issues. Throughout the process, they have placed little
if any emphasis on union affiliation.
"We worry more about what it will take and who best represents the
group that can get a problem resolved," says DeBroekert. "It could
be all management or all union or any combination in between."
Wikberg, who is also president of the National Mint Council, agrees: "I
don't believe this bit that you have to be a member of the union to play
the game. If someone has the talent and the desire to be involved in positive
change, I want them to be involved."
Wikberg and DeBroekert's partnership has paid off. Almost all-98 percent-of
employee complaints have been resolved, saving the Mint more than $10 million.
Efficiency has increased 100-fold, according to Wikberg. And in 1995, the
Denver Mint set a world record by pressing 10.3 billion circulating coins.
In February, President Clinton's National Partnership Council presented
the U.S. Mint at Denver one of four nationwide awards honoring federal agencies
that have dramatically improved relationships among employees, managers
and unions.
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Baldrige Award Pioneer Retires
CURT REIMANN, first director of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award,
retired from federal service at the beginning of the year.
Reimann is credited with piloting the Baldrige Quality Award Program into
a system whose impact has been felt around the world. Thousands of state,
county, city, private and international organizations use the Baldrige criteria
as a means to benchmark the quality of their organization. The Baldrige
Award is still the most coveted quality award a U.S. organization can receive.
Former Baldrige Award Deputy Director Harry Hertz succeeded Reimann.
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Federal Agency Seeks Out Customers
Personal service isn't always the first thing that comes to mind when you
think about dealing with the federal government. But one government agency
is changing that perception by hanging out in shopping malls.
The Greensburg, Pennsylvania, office of the U.S. Department of Labor's Division
of Coal Mine Worker's Compensation administers the Black Lung Program, which
handles claims and benefits from former coal miners afflicted with the disease,
and their beneficiaries.
In the past, claimants with questions had to visit a Social Security office
or one of DCMWC's nine district offices. They often couldn't meet face to
face with the personnel who decided their claims. By early 1995, the gap
between DCMWC and its customers had widened considerably.
The Greensburg office set out to turn the situation around. During a brainstorming
session, a member of the DCMWC staff suggested that because most claimants
are elderly and tend to use the shopping malls as a social center, periodic
visits to malls would greatly increase the office's visibility to its customers.
The idea worked out so well that the first time the agency showed up at
a mall with only two claims examiners, they were swamped and had to quickly
add two more, recalls John Ciszek, district director at the Greensburg office.
Results of the outreach program have been two-fold, he notes. Not only has
the number of claimants increased dramatically, but claimants get to meet
face to face with a claims examiner. Those whose claims have been denied
and are in the appeal process especially appreciate the personal contact.
"They have the opportunity to talk to someone to see what they need
to do to strengthen their case," says Ciszek. "This is so much
better than just getting a letter that says we've looked at your case and
the medical evidence doesn't indicate a disability."
The Black Lung Program currently monitors payments to more than 115,000
beneficiaries, more than 10,000 of which are handled by the Greensburg office.
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Share Your Knowledge
Business leaders recognize the power of managing organizational knowledge,
but doing it effectively remains an enigma for many, according to initial
findings from a benchmarking study conducted by accounting and business
advisory firm Arthur Andersen.
Seventy-nine percent of participating organizations said that managing organizational
knowledge should be an essential or important component of their business
strategy. However, 59 percent said they are doing this poorly or not at
all.
While knowledge management is credited for savings in research-and-development
costs, shorter production times, productivity boosts and enhanced employee
satisfaction, 91 percent of those who completed the survey said their companies
have not yet linked knowledge management to financial results.
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Are You
Listening?
The next time someone says to you in frustration, "You're not listening!"
consider the possibility that you aren't. Poor listening skills aren't just
an irritation to others, they can hamper productivity and destroy teamwork.
Selective hearing is one of the most common barriers to listening, according
to an essay issued by onpurpose inc., a Brookline, New Hampshire-based consulting
company. We do it automatically, like people who live near an airport and
no longer "hear" the noise. Unfortunately, the authors say this
automatic fine-tuning works just as well on people as it does on planes.
Have you ever noticed how children can't hear you call them to dinner but
hear every word you whisper to someone else that you don't want them to
hear?
When you are around the same people a lot of the time, it's very easy to
anticipate what they will say, the authors assert. So, instead of fine-tuning
your listening to the speaker, you may be formulating your own response,
without giving the speaker a chance to say something different.
In some ways, you have tuned this person out, just like the noise from an
airport. Even though you listen, you don't actually hear what is being said.
If you notice this happening, tune back into the speaker and actually hear
the thoughts that are being contributed, say the authors.
Source: "Making the Workplace Work," available free from onpurpose
inc., telephone (800) 526-2245, fax (603) 672-8256 or e-mail coach@onpurpose.com.
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Baldrige Criteria Revamps Company
If your company is looking to reengineer, consider using the Malcolm Baldrige
National Quality Award criteria as a guide.
Last year, Diversified Investment Advisors conducted a self-assessment based
on the Baldrige criteria. The retirement advisory firm had lost market momentum
due to its acquisition by a larger company and the introduction of a large
variety of new products and services. The assessment helped Diversified
enhance customer satisfaction and boost market share.
"By 1995, the company was poised to grow rapidly," explains Wynne
Van Thoen, director of quality management/training and development at the
520-employee Purchase, New York, firm. "But first we needed to see
what shape we were in ."
As a first step, Diversified hired an outside consulting firm, The Pacesetter
Group, to familiarize employees with the Baldrige criteria and train team
members to conduct employee focus groups. Next, the team brought in a Baldrige
examiner to validate its findings and provide additional recommendations
for improvements.
The self-assessment pointed out four major opportunities for improvement:
leadership systems, client-relationship management, use of data and information
systems, and people development.
For instance, the self-assessment team recommended the company implement
a client-relationship system, the necessary support technology, client-relationship
training and client focus groups.
Based on data related to these areas and others, the team made several recommendations
that led to a major reorganization. This helped Diversified focus more on
its core processes than on a particular product or function.
Although it's a little too early for hard data, there has been a significant
increase in sales proposals that the company attributes, in part, to the
self-assessment and the changes that followed, says Van Thoen.
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WMX Doesn't
Waste Time
By involving front-line employees in fast-cycle improvement projects, an
international waste-handling company hopes to save more than $10 million
in 1996.
Waste Management, a 70,000-employee company, has long had process improvement
teams, says Mike Pecoraro, business improvement manager for the Chicago-based
company. But these teams were involved in six- to nine-month strategic breakthrough
projects.
"We needed an effort focused on our front-line people," recalls
Pecoraro. "We wanted to get them involved, not on strategic breakthrough
projects, but on everyday problems that needed to be solved and fixed quickly
without a major investment in time and training."
WMX worked with management consulting firm Leap Technologies to implement
Workout, a fast-cycle process improvement program that involves front-line
employees in six- to eight-week projects. The program works by briefing
management personnel at a particular WMX division, identifying short-term
projects and then assembling and training the teams. The teams are then
let loose to tackle the problems.
One team identified that the company wasted money by swapping out commercial
dumpsters every time a wheel broke off. Instead, suggested team members,
the truck drivers who emptied the dumpsters could do the repairs themselves.
The idea could save a division about $1,000 per week, says Pecoraro.
In 1995, when the teams began, WMX created 69 teams and realized about $1.3
million in savings. They have created more than 70 teams so far this year
and expect a total of between 200 to 300 teams and a total savings of about
$5 million.
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Employees Care
If you're worried that downsizing and restructuring are leaving your employees
burnt out and with no interest in maintaining a customer focus, take heart.
Most of the employees responding to a recent Towers Perrin survey indicated
that they concentrate on pleasing the customer. Furthermore, most employees
want to work for organizations that have a customer-centered focus, according
to the survey of more than 3,300 employees.
The results are included in Towers Perrin's 1995 Workplace Index, which
includes four separate survey categories: career security, business alignment,
management effectiveness and customer focus. Of these, business alignment
and customer focus received the highest scores-70 and 69 out of 100 respectively.
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Downsizing Drains Creativity
Maintaining work-group stability is a key factor in maintaining employee
innovation and creativity during downsizing, according to a study conducted
by Harvard business professor Teresa Amabile and Colgate University assistant
professor of psychology Regina Conti.
"We found the degree of stability that people felt in their immediate
environment correlated very strongly with their reported behaviors in their
work," explains Amabile. "This included how creative they felt
they were being and their degree of risk taking and entrepreneurship."
The study focused on a high-tech Fortune 500 company with 30,000 employees.
Amabile measured employee's perceptions of their work environment known
to relate to innovation and creativity. They first took a baseline measurement
before employees knew of the downsizing. Then they recorded three more measurements:
Wave 1-when the downsizing was 70-percent complete; Wave 2-when it was 100-percent
complete; and Wave 3-four months after the downsizing was over.
The surveys revealed a dramatic decline in the work environment from baseline
to Wave 1, notes Amabile. And although there was some recovery from Wave
1 to Wave 3, it did not compensate for the original loss.
She also points out that the number of invention disclosures dropped disproportionately
during the downsizing. Although the downsizing resulted in a 15-percent
decrease in employees, the number of inventions dropped by 24 percent.
The teams that fared best during downsizing were those that experienced
the least amount of disruption to their team (loss or change of personnel),
says Amabile.
What does all this indicate for managers in a company that is being downsized?
"One thing we focused on a lot is the importance of trying to engage
in team building with groups that have been re-formed during downsizing,"
says Amabile.
If it isn't possible to keep the team intact, Amabile suggests using team-building
exercises to help restore innovation and creativity.
