Eliminate Bottlenecks for Process Improvements

Bottlenecks are easy to identify in manufacturing and production environments, but challenging to correct. Automation alone will not eliminate bottlenecks to achieve optimum performance. Addressing every step in the process and the contributing factors enables real process improvements to occur. In office environments the bottlenecks are often a result of bad habits that arise from good intentions. How do we create bottlenecks and adjust delays that result from too much dependence on authorizations, approvals, and assignments to top performers?

Once upon a time . . .

A manufacturer invested millions of dollars to purchase and install state of the art automated robotic equipment on an assembly line. The upgrades included new conveyor belts to move material quickly down the line and cameras to capture movement with electronic eyes. Computer controlled robotic arms replaced workers who had been with the company for many years. Mechanical arms hummed with life, capable of moving five times faster than the human counterparts that they replaced. The mechanical arms were intended to deliver consistent quality, precision, and performance. The manufacturer spent hundreds of thousands of dollars per machine to replace personnel. The machines would work longer hours and take fewer breaks, even with the faster pace.

After installation was complete, the manufacturer hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony with champagne for the local reporters. The company shareholders were ecstatic about the new projections. Longer hours of operation coupled with the speed of the new equipment gave rise to promising revenue projections. The machines would run for twelve hour shifts, a contrast to the typical eight hour shifts that the factory workers had maintained with manual labor. To increase production with manual labor the factory ran a second shift, and in extreme circumstances, a third shift. With the new equipment the factory would operate twelve hour shifts as standard procedure and could nearly double that for a full twenty four hour day when necessary. The equipment needed only a few engineers to keep it company whenever extra shifts would be necessary. The executives and the shareholders bubbled with enthusiasm.

Six Months Later . . .

The production numbers at the end of the first month after installation showed minor improvement. In the second month after installation the production numbers again made minor gains, but were not rising rapidly enough to meet the expectations of management. At the end of three months the production increases seemed to plateau and did not improve beyond the achievements of the second month. As the numbers rolled in for the fourth, fifth, and sixth months the factory management became increasingly concerned. The automated production processes were running at one and one half times the rate of the manual production processes. The fifty percent gains showed improvement to slowly pay back the significant investment in technology, but considerably less than the projected amount or pace. At twelve hours per shift and five times the capacity, it was presumed that the new equipment would empower the factory to deliver much greater numbers.

The management team initiated an immediate investigation to determine the cause of the unimpressive performance and to make plans for improvement. After much research, the management team hired a retired factory foreman as a consultant. The foreman had been with the company for almost twenty years and responsible for designing many previous process improvements. The foreman had voiced many concerns when the factory announced automation, but his concerns were dismissed at the time as comments from a disgruntled employee. Despite the experts, the engineers, and the blueprints, the foreman had predicted only moderate improvements in productivity. When the factory management was dismayed to discover the incredible accuracy of the former foreman's predictions, they were compelled to hire him to help them address the dire situation.

The factory management tensely detailed the production numbers and soured over reports for the former foreman. The management produced charts, checklists, and financial projections. Engineers pointed to the capabilities of the equipment operating at less than peak potential. The former foreman listened politely to the presentations and then asked to walk the factory floor. Armed with only a pad of paper, a pencil, and a stopwatch, the foreman strolled to front of the line. Shaking hands with his former colleagues, the foreman watched them load materials on the line. The employees carefully coordinated the complicated dance of moving materials from loading docks and inventory to the production line. The foreman studied the process for less than twenty minutes with took nearly as many notes.

Having briefly monitored the front of the process, the former foreman walked to the end of the line. Product came swiftly to the end of the line, where it was staged for inspection and packaging. Robotic arms hummed and carried completed product from one station to another with speed and dexterity. The equipment sped product to packaging and then slowed to a stop as it waited for the packaging process to complete. The automated processes shuffled, sorted, and separated the product into lines for packaging. Employees rushed to keep up with the productivity of the equipment, but inevitably, the conveyors would slow as product became backlogged in the packaging process. The packaging process moved at the same pace that the foreman recognized for many previous years. The former foreman thanked each of the dedicated employees as he patted them on the back as he made his final notes.

Factory Bottlenecks . . .

The factory management was only slightly relieved to know that the equipment was truly capable of achieving the predicted production estimates. Unfortunately, as the foreman explained, the equipment would not achieve full potential without considerable changes to the packaging processes at the end of the line. The foreman clearly identified bottlenecks in the process that limited the throughput. The robotic arms and the fast moving conveyors could not possible push product any faster than ability to take it off the end of the line. The engineering effort at each stage in the process remained limited by the packaging at the end of the process. Limited increases in production were the result of the longer hours of operation, not the speed of the equipment.

With the help of the experienced former foreman, the factory management adjusted the packaging processes and installed new lines to accommodate enhanced productivity. But the foreman cautioned the factory management and shareholders not to celebrate too quickly. Even as new processes were being implemented to improve packaging, the line would not move any faster than the ability to load materials at the front of the line. To keep up with the capacity of the automation, the supply of materials would need to be adjusted as well. Fixing a bottleneck at the end of the process would enable faster throughput and nearly double the current rate of production. Improving access to materials would overcome bottlenecks at the beginning of the process, resolving limitations and doubling capacity once again.

The factory management soon learned that adjusting processes to eliminate bottlenecks is a continuous process improvement. As each bottleneck was discovered and adjusted, new bottlenecks became evident. Identifying and improving the slowest part of any process is not the result of manual or automated processes. Eliminating bottlenecks requires understanding the capacity of every step and every person in the process.

Office Bottlenecks . . .

Bottlenecks are not limited to factory production but also occur in other processes. For example, processes that rely on teams, departments, and individuals are ripe grounds for bottlenecks. If a process requires a group of people to rely on the results of another group, individual, or system then there is potential for a bottleneck to occur. Any step in the process that is limited by the output or results from another contributor is a potential for bottleneck. In every business and process there are dependencies, and such dependencies do not mandate bottlenecks, but these are the places to look for them. If a job does not start because documentation is not complete, that is a bottleneck. If an action cannot be processed because it is waiting for input, that is a bottleneck. If functions cannot be performed because they are dependent upon authorization, review, approval, or other response, that is a bottleneck.

Some bottlenecks are inserted by design as a check and balance to assure quality. That is a mistake. If the assurance of quality is dependent upon stopping the progress of your productivity then you have some other serious problems. To assume that a bottleneck is required as a stopgap measure to inspect, approve, or otherwise control the process means that the designer of the process has allowed and accepted inferior performance. Rather than stop or slow the process, why not speed up the inspection, authorization, or approval processes? Powerfully productive organizations do not allow inferior performance and do not allow excuses for bottlenecks to justify lower productivity. If the capacity of many is dictated by the capacity or even the controls of a few, then you have not only allowed but also inherently designed additional costs and competitive weakness into your process. If inspections, authorizations, and approvals are slowing your response time, then do something about it!

Good intentions often lead to bad habits. This is evident when bottlenecks occur from relying too heavily on highly productive individuals or systems. It is common practice to place more responsibility on an individual if that person consistently demonstrates the capacity for it. This is not intended to imply a judgment on any individual talents because each person has a unique combination of strengths and experience. It is inevitable that some individuals are more adept at certain tasks than other individuals. The natural tendency is to continually rely on the top performers. This can quickly become a dangerous habit as the workload for the top performers continues to increase disproportionately. So what should you do about it? Workload should be consciously and intentionally proportioned to encourage the development of all performers and to give top performers some time to expand capabilities or work on urgent priorities. Do not overload top performers with the intention to just get the job done because this short-sighted approach creates the risk of burning out the top performers, and it means that your resources will be limited in the event of an emergency. Let's be honest, you do have top performers as demonstrated by yearly performance reviews. It is inevitable that your organization will have some emergencies, big or small, from time to time. Make sure that your top performers have the bandwidth to address your biggest issues or unexpected emergencies. Who do you want to give a little extra time to for creativity? Who do you want to be available in case of emergency? How are you structuring workload and bottlenecks to create good habits?

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Words of Wisdom

"You may delay, but time will not."- Benjamin Franklin

"Delay always breeds danger; and to protract a great design is often to ruin it."- Miguel de Cervantes

"Good intentions often lead to bad habits.”- John Mehrmann
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The Trusted Advocate by John Mehrmann is On Sale Now in the United Kingdom

The award winning book, The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity, is available now from many fine booksellers in the United Kingdom.

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Winning Strategies for a Tough Economy

Challenges create opportunities, and this is particularly relevant during tough economic conditions. It is not enough to review your own internal cost cutting measures. A global economic crisis demands attention to the needs of clients, consumers, and your strategic partners. To look out for your future means looking outside your company and adjusting your internal strategy to accommodate future growth.

Summing It Up in Two Statistics

A survey by Harris Interactive revealed that 52% of customers responded that Outstanding Service is the number one reason for doing business with a company. 38% responded that Lowest Price is the number one reason to do business with a company. What does overwhelming statistic mean in a strategic sense? It is simple, while striving to reduce cost and offer a competitively priced product or solution, do not sacrifice your customer service or you will be the one ultimately paying the price.

Top Tips

Cost cutting cannot make up for economic challenges if the reductions impact your ability to generate revenue. When revenue and consumer spending is scarce, it is even more important to leverage your organization's ability to create new opportunities and to satisfy existing customers. Consider new services from within your organization and from innovative partners to stimulate your own economic recovery by offering outsourcing and cost cutting opportunities to your clients. Clients and consumers are willing to investigate low cost customer satisfying options that they may have ignored during better conditions. Helping customers cut costs may create new service revenues for your company.

Don't discontinue any existing customer initiatives during uncertain economic times. If necessary, adjust the scope or the schedule of your initiatives to accommodate your budget or your client's budget. Demonstrate your commitment to your clients and your willingness to persevere.

Proactively communicate with your customers. Maintain a strong relationship and do not allow an opportunity for your competition to steal your clients. Furthermore, make sure that you are aware of the financial conditions of your clients. Help your customer to deal with economic challenges, and be aware of how the profitability of your customers will impact your own business trends.

Organizations and consumers are much more deliberate about purchasing decisions during uncertain economic times. Provide adequate information for your customers to make informed decisions, and provide economic comparisons to demonstrate your competitive virtues. Make it easy for your customers to recognize the financial benefits of your products or services in comparison to competition, alternatives, or lack of action. Sometimes a lack of purchase, or lack of investment, can have detrimental fiscal impact on your clients, Make it easy for your customers to justify the decision to invest in you.

When budgets and pocketbooks are tight, purchasing decisions are often delayed. During these conditions, it is even more important to nurture your pipeline and to maintain a stream of communications with prospects and the market. Many organizations reduce marketing and communications budgets to cut expenses when time are tough. There may be discounts available for advertising. Look for opportunities to convey your message, especially for the gaps created by suddenly absent competitors.

Monitor the return on your marketing and service investments. Identify those opportunities that have the highest yield for both short term and long term profitability. Shift your investments to the areas with the highest returns and lowest risk.

Invest in innovation and technology. Improving your infrastructure should improve internal efficiency with applicable automation, and investments should also improve customer satisfaction. Some IT investments directly impact your customers, and some improvements enable the internal resources to better monitor and be responsive to the needs of customers. Before slashing a program from your IT budget, consider how it will impact the ability to take care of customers, and how that reflects on your ability to sustain the revenue that comes from loyal customers. Customers will remember your actions long after the economic hardships have receded. Your communications and your commitments to your customers will be remembered long after the pains of the uncertain economic turmoil if forgotten.

IT Investments

TechWeb Research asked the question, "How important are each of the following business imperatives in terms of priorities that your IT organization must support?" The results of this survey were published as "The State of Business".

Improving Customer Responsiveness: 64% High Importance, 30% Medium Importance, 6% Low Importance

Reducing Costs: 63% High Importance, 32% Medium Importance, 5% Low Importance

Speeding Product Delivery to Market: 57% High Importance, 33% Medium Importance, 10% Low Importance

More Agile and Streamlined Integrated Supply Chains: 41% High Importance, 48% Medium Importance, 23% Low Importance

Global / International Expansion: 38% High Importance, 27% Medium Importance, 35% Low Importance

Integration due to Mergers and Acquisitions: 24% High Importance, 40% Medium Importance, 36% Low Importance

How would you rate each of these areas with regards to importance?

How do you think that you organization rates the importance of each of these areas?

How do you demonstrate the importance of these areas in your decisions, your budget, and your strategic initiatives? Customers will make their current and future purchasing decisions based on the communications and decisions that you demonstrate today.

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Words of Wisdom

"Technology is a way of organizing the universe so that man doesn't have to experience it."- Max Frisch

"For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three."- Alice Khan

"Letting your customers set your standards is a dangerous game, because the race to the bottom is pretty easy to win. Setting your own standards--and living up to them--is a better way to profit. Not to mention a better way to make your day worth all the effort you put into it.”- Seth Godin

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You are the Company

Do you sometimes feel disillusioned about your company, insecure about your career advancement, or distraught by economic challenges? Do you wonder if your contributions are perceived as valuable, or question your own sense of purpose? Do you think that the company is responsible and should be doing something about the situation? You are the company.

When the Going Gets Tough. . .

Downsizing, rightsizing, and reorganization are pleasant terms for lay-offs. Salary adjustments, benefits reductions, eliminating overtime, hiring freeze, and mandatory vacations are symptoms of cost containment measures. Sometimes tough decisions in the company can make global economic conditions a little too close to home. You may have lost friends and colleagues during reorganization, or your pay may have been adjusted, or you may wonder about the security of your career. A natural reaction is to blame the company, to feel fear in the stability of the company, or to feel that the company has let you down. The problem with blaming the company or holding the company responsible is that it belies the very nature of employment, because you are the company.

If you are part of an organization and you have felt the impact of losing friends and colleagues, then you have first-hand experience to appreciate the magnitude of the contributions that other people make to an organization. It hurts to see good friends lose their jobs, even the ones that complained about those jobs in the past. There is shared burden of the responsibilities that must be achieved, even when there are fewer people in the organization to do them. Tough times can make the environment challenging and sometimes threatening. You may be looking to other individuals for reassurance, solace, or inspiration. Most likely, there are many other people who are looking for the same things from you. You have the opportunity and the responsibility to have as much impact as those around you, and more than those who have gone before you. You are the company.

Regardless of the size of the company, or your tenure, or your position, you are an important part of the organization. If you are a sole proprietor or a consultant, then you may very well be the entire company. If you are part of a larger organization, no matter what you do, there are others counting on you. It does not matter if you have been in your position for six weeks, six months, or six years, your contributions are important to the success of the organization and thereby affect everyone in it. Your contributions are valuable, and your demeanor has a significant impact on everyone around you. People are counting on you, because you are the company.

You are the Handshake to Vendors and Partners. . .

Do you interact with current or potential vendors, partners, service providers? To the outside world, your commitments and your actions are inseparable from the company. Vendors and partners will form an opinion of everyone in the company based on the experiences of interacting with you personally. It is presumed that your attitude and your reliability are formed by the culture of the organization and are representative of the value instilled by company policy. Your attitude is synonymous with the demeanor of the organization. If you are trustworthy, compassionate, consistent, and fair, then vendors and partners will expect the same to be true of nearly everyone in the company. Moreover, your actions and attitude can even overcome inadequacies in other areas of the organization and renew confidence with vendors and partners, because you are the company.

No amount of advertising dollars, marketing, or branding will overcome personal interaction and experience. You can put perfume on a pig, but it is still a pig. No logo, slogan, or rhetoric can compensate for poor performance, dishonesty, or a negative personal experience. On the other hand, earning a reputation as a reputable individual, a knowledgeable resource, and a dedicated partner are individual qualities that are powerful endorsements for the organization. Quality individuals are necessary assets to an organization, and much more valuable than a good logo or slogan. Good partners build lasting and mutually beneficial relationships. Good personnel are able to identify mutually rewarding relationships with partners, and great personnel know how to identify and deal with unfair or unreasonable partnerships. Creating, managing, and nourishing mutually rewarding relationships requires skill, experience, talent, and determination. To those vendors and partners you are more than the handshake, you are the company.

You are the Face and the Voice to Customers. . .

With customers and clients there are two primary activities during which you are the face of the voice of the company. You are the face and the voice of the company when you are asking the prospective customer to buy from you, or you are the face and voice of the company when you are asking the customer to buy from you again. Sales and marketing activities are intended to convince a prospect that purchasing goods or services from the company is not only a good idea, but the best idea. Sometimes the sales representative is the only face or voice that a customer will ever associate with a company on a personal level. This is a very big responsibility. Sometimes sales occur through a channel, which means that the company sales representative must effectively communicate, motivate, and enable a channel partner to sell goods or services on his or he behalf. This is a special talent, because the person and company acting on behalf of the sales representative must have complete confidence in the person that they are dealing with, so the channel partner can pass on this confidence through the channel and to the ultimate customer. Such confidence comes from relationships that established between people, not between buildings, logos, or contracts. To customers and channel partners, the face and the voice of the sales representative are the face and voice of the company.

Customer service and operations activities are intended to convince existing customers that the original investment commitment was the best idea, and that it would be a good idea to do it again. Customer Service and operations are responsible for protecting the company reputation, delivering on commitments, and enabling repeat sales. The sales, operations, and service departments must be synchronized and aligned in an organization to voice accurate expectations and commitment, and then to deliver them. In many cases, the only personal interaction that occurs with a company may be the result of a problem or a service event. The responsiveness, compassion, and resolution are representative of the entire organization. Empowering customer service demonstrates commitment to live up to expectations. Compassion demonstrates care, and cements a lasting relationship when reliable results are produced. To the customer, the customer service experience is the face and the voice of the company.

With Great Power comes Great Responsibility. . .

Your decisions, actions, and reactions have tremendous impact on your colleagues, partners, and customers. Your decisions may directly impact a partner today, or the performance of your responsibilities may influence the response of a colleague or customer tomorrow. It is important to recognize the value of your contributions. Your comments, optimism, and enthusiasm may be the motivation that someone else needs right at this very moment. Acting with determination and commitment demonstrates leadership and responsibility that both internal and external customers are actively searching for right now. You have the ability to influence relationships and reputation with and within your company. It does not matter how important or insignificant you may have thought your job duties to be. What matters is how much you personally can contribute to the success of your colleagues, your partners, and yourself, because you are the company.

Footnote to Job Hunters . . .

If you are in career transition and looking for your next company, remember that you are your own company. Treat your career transition with the same diligence and commitment that you would treat job responsibilities. Develop an active campaign to promote your capabilities, nurture communications with former colleagues, and maintain a rigorous and disciplined schedule to invest your time in locating an opportunity to advance your career. As with any job, there will be some setbacks and disappointments. Some tasks are not as enjoyable as others in the doing of them, but may be equally satisfying on the completion of them. When hunting for your next job, treat the transition as part of your career development. Learn to market yourself, sell your capabilities, and take care of prospective employers as your customers. The commitment and discipline that you put into the career transition is often reflected in the attributes of the organization that recognizes these qualities in you. If you want the next company to see the quality in you, then let them see that you are your company.

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Words of Wisdom

"Sometimes we think that we are holding bronze and only realize that it was Gold when we do not have it anymore. Treat everyone like Gold, and most often they will show you the Gold within them."- Samson Eshetu

"Customers don't distinguish between you and the organization you work for. Nor should they. To your customer's way of thinking, you are the company. Customers don't know how things get done behind doors marked 'employees only'. They don't know your areas of responsibility, your job description, or what you can and cannot personally do for them. And they don't care. To customers, those things are your business, not theirs."- Ron Zemke, author of 'Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service'

"You don't have to spend a jillion dollars on advertising to get your word out. What matters is that customers have a good experience with your product at every single point of contact. We completely obsess about execution. Doing good is good business.”- David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue Airlines

"Others can stop you temporarily - you are the only one who can do it permanently.”- Zig Ziglar, author of 'See You at the Top'

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