NEWSJune 2014 / ARGO news Nr. 21

Engaging the Head, the Heart and the Hands to deliver sustainable „Operational Excellence“

The traditional work of operational excellence (optimizing processes, improving the speed of turna-round, reducing inventory, etc.) is definitely not easy, but it is straightforward: there are clear engineering methods and tools to apply, such as Lean, Six Sigma, VA/VE, and others.

What is not so straightforward is developing the culture – the “soft” stuff – that is necessary to sus-tain the “hard” changes. And the harsh truth is, wi-thout a culture of continuous improvement, those hard-won gains in efficiency and quality (and the resulting cash savings) will start to unravel as soon as the consultants walk out the door. As one Toyota sensei put it, trying to sustain operational excel-lence without developing a culture of continuous improvement is like “pulling the weeds but leaving the roots.”

Getting the weeds and the roots

Which is why Argo, Inc. (our partners, experts in operational excellence) and ARGO Performance & Deve-lopment (experts in leader-ship, cultural development and change) have joined forces: to support clients with an integrated approach to enhancing the client’s operations and the culture and behaviors that underpin excellence – sustainably.

The Solvay North America case study is a good example of how this collaboration delivers results for the client.

The Solvay Supply Chain Excellence deliverables and approach

With the goal of supporting Solvay to achieve best-in-class levels of quality and efficiency in its supply chain, Argo, Inc. discovered during analysis – among other opportunities – that asset utilization (how efficiently Solvay manages its fleet of rail cars that deliver the product from the mining and pro-duction to the customer), and especially the dwell time of these valuable assets (how long the cars sit, not carrying product), afforded ample opportunity for removing waste and generating immediate and long-term savings. While there were obviously other deliverables, let us focus for the purposes of this article on the dwell time issue.

ARGO Performance & Development and Argo, Inc. join forces to support Solvay North America in achieving Supply Chain Excellence.

As with all ARGO change initiatives, we took a holistic, systemic approach, pursuing among numerous interventions the following:

Feedback on the integrated approach from the client was universally positive, with leaders and team members using such expressions as “unique”, “powerful”, “engaging”. Leaders enthused that they were very much engaged in their development and that of their team, because the learning was imme-diately applicable to a real and urgent deliverable.

More importantly, we left an engaged, motivated and inspired organization, keen to sustain the momentum they had achieved and the behaviors and culture that were delivering that change. Not to mention the fact that we delivered well in excess of the savings and ROI that we had committed to deliver!

How we supported the path to Supply Chain Excellence – and the reduction in dwell

What were the results, and what did the client have to say?

Alignment • Gettingmanagementconsensusandalignmentaround a shared visionfortheSupplyChainExcellencechange (Whatwouldexcellencelooklike,feellike; whatwouldpeoplebedoing,andwhatwasexpectedofthem?)

• Cascading that vision down through the organization – andgettingfeedbackandinput(gettingbuy-infromtheteams,throughtheir helping to shape the vision, and improving communication)

• Identifyingandgettingmanagementagreement on the values and non-negotiable behaviors needed in the organization toachievethevision • Interface workshopsbetweenfunctions (e.g.,reducingdwellrequiredaconcerted effortbetweencommercial, logistics,supplychaincustomerserviceandproduction.)

• Identifyingandremoving barriers to engagement and pursuit of the vision

Understanding • Helpingtheorganizationrecognizetheurgencybehindthechange, andwhytheyshouldcare

• Ensuringunderstanding of the mindset, methods and approaches of operationalexcellence(e.g.,helpingstaffandmanagementunderstand whytheintensefocusonmetricsandvisualmanagement, with daily meetings to review. For the curious reader: in continuous improvement, metrics are feedback on your pursuit of excellence – not control – analogous to, for example, the speedometer in your car. If you don’t like what the metric says, do something to change it!)

• Facilitatingleadershipunderstandingofthefundamentaldifference betweenthetypicalproductionculture(commandandcontrol)andtheculture neededforsustainableoperationalexcellence(a learning and problem-solving organization,continuouslyexperimenting,supported by a leadership that fosters continuous development).

Development • Trainingandcoachingtheleadershipinleading change

• Developingtheleaders’repertoireofleadership styles, fostering the use of, especially,thosestylesneededforcontinuousimprovementandoperational excellence(visionary,participative,especiallycoaching)

• Fosteringandcoachingtheleaders’abilitytobringthebestout oftheirpeople:identifyingthebehaviors(forexample,accountability) thatdeliverperformance,anddevelopingavarietyoftools (e.g.,rewardandrecognition)todrivethesenewbehaviors intotheculture.

June 2014 / ARGO news Nr. 21

Argo,Inc.discoveredduringanalysis– among other opportunities – that assetutilization(howefficientlySolvaymanagesitsfleetofrailcarsthatde-livertheproductfromtheminingandproductiontothecustomer), andespeciallythedwelltimeofthesevaluableassets(howlongthecarssit,notcarryingproduct),affordedampleopportunity for removing waste and generating immediate and long-termsavings.

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socials

outlook• This year’s ARGO talktime will take place at Baumschlagerberg in Vorderstoder on September 4-5, 2014.Inadditiontoworkingoncurrenttopicsraisedbytheparticipants,wewillfocusonthefollowingissues:•HRtrends:Whatwillcome,whatwillstay,whatwillloseimportance?WhichapproachesthatarerevolutionizingHRinAmericaarerelevantforEurope?HowwilltheroleofHRdevelopthefuture?•Changingbehavior–howexactlydoesthatwork?Neurophysiologicalfindingsserveasapragmatic implementation guide.

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BarbaraThomaARGOPersonalentwicklungGmbHHeiligenstädterstraße31/Stiege1/Top6021190 Wientel+43-1-3697700mail: b.thoma@argo.at

Ilookforwardtoyourfeedback!

ARGO zagreb opens new office

April29th,2014markedabigdayforARGOza-greb: this was the day when the doors of their

newofficeopened.Increasingbusinessandprojectswithcustomersinrecentyears have brought growth to our Zagreb office,whichinturnhasrequiredgrowthininfrastructure, starting with a new office.Itwasagoodopportunity to gather clients,friendsandbusiness partners at thenewlocationandtocelebratesharedsuccesses.Almost50peoplecelebrated

that day with the ARGOnauts, enjoying a glass ofgoodCroatianMalvazijaandPlavac,andhavinggreattimediscussingvarioustopics.ThenewofficewillprovidenewtailwindforCroatian ARGOnauts to sail more

strongly into newprojects all over southern Europe.

WearepleasedtowelcometwonewARGOnautsonboard:Christian Gruber,whowillsupportKeyAccount Management, and Petra Obenaus, who will provide support in ourprojectsasaJuniorConsultant. Learnmoreaboutournewcolleaguesatwww.argo.at/ARGO/ARGOnauten

Claudia AttarcompletedhertimeasaJuniorConsultantonboardatARGOattheendofMay.Hergoalistoapplytheexperienceshehasgainedwithusandhercreativityinthemediaindustry.

Wewishheralotofsuccessonherfutureprojects!