Project Description

 

 

 

CHALLENGE

A division of a $4B, publicly-traded Infrastructure and construction company was growing fast and struggling to maintain profit margins and quality. The processes and infrastructure had been built from the ground up and was struggling to keep pace with the new market demand. The culture was uncooperative and toxic with turnover pushing 50%, absenteeism at between 10-20% on any given day. Leadership was lacking and not inspiring or engaging with a workforce. Management support was light – not enough supervision to help the ever turning over workforce be successful. Toxic us versus them atmosphere, no teams resulting in rampant inefficiency.

 

SOLUTION

New vision, Management structure – roles and responsibilities, Develop Team-based infrastructure and Improve production processes

 

Reorient the Organizational Orientation

  • Develop a vision for the organization that could act as an anchor to realign behaviors and habits
  • Create alignment around key beliefs and behaviors
  • Engage the entire workforce in identifying everything wrong with the company and processes and developing an ideal state for the future

Process Standards

  • Re-designed new manufacturing lines to streamline the flow and process for builds
  • Standardized the process steps with roles and responsibilities for each operator to eliminate confusion and wasted time
  • Documented the process and developed standard training programs for key skills to reduce the training time and the time to proficiency
  • Aligned material replenishment processes to Just In Time to eliminate the downtime for lack of material and the overstocking
  • Established standards for production timings and output requirements so operators knew if they were on track

Bespoke Supply Chain Solutions

  • Managed outside vendors to develop improved technology, equipment, and processes to address manufacturing capability gaps
  • Oversaw the design, development, and implementation of bespoke equipment designed specifically for their unique manufacturing needs.

Leadership and Team Development

  • Developed a coaching and leadership training program for managers and supervisors
  • Created standard work for the leaders to facilitate new habits of connecting with the front lines, ensuring that their voices were heard on a regular basis and that they were well informed as to issues when they happened
  • Establish a supervisor to report the coaching model to ensure every employee could connect their work to the stated goals and vision
  • Establish a new management structure to better align decision-making responsibilities

 

RESULTS

  • Reduction in the turnover rate from 50% to 10%
  • Increased production rates by 75% without adding labor
  • Increased quality and job satisfaction for all employees
  • Establish standards for all process lines with clear and visible roles and responsibilities eliminating confusion and downtime
  • Improved the working conditions – cleaner, safer and easier
  • Established training programs and the ability to advance within the organization and ranks
  • Increased communication and dialogue between front lines and management and eliminated the us vs them environment