# Presentation: 135731

## An IDEA SYSTEM for QMO

_**Idea System Team**_

| C. Schaefer, Leader | J. Labas |
| --- | --- |
| C. Ennis | G. Flett |
| C. Johnson | D. King |
| R. Lee | T. Maugeri |
|  |  |

## BACKGROUND

- Dr. Alan Robinson, author of “Ideas Are Free”, conducted management training for over 40 Operations management personnel that included implementing effective idea systems.
- After the second round of training, 3 teams were formed to develop and implement the concepts:
**Ideas System**
- Hedgehog Principle
- People Process

## AN IDEA SYSTEM:THE OPPORTUNITY

- Front-line workers see a great many problems and opportunities that their managers don't.
- Today, most managers either don't realize the full power of employee ideas or have never learned how to tap them effectively.
- To be truly excellent, and **effective at execution**, you have to be able to capture and implement large numbers of employee ideas.

## EXAMPLES OF GOOD IDEA SYSTEMS

***Boardroom Inc. ******	******	***104 ideas per person per year
***Wainwright Industries ******	***65 ideas per person per year;       						90 percent implemented
***Dana Corporation ******	******	***24 ideas per employee per year
- 					95 percent implemented
***Richer Sounds ******	******	***20 ideas per employee per year
***Milliken Corporation ******	******	***110 ideas per employee per year
***Toyota Lexus ******	******	***100 ideas per employee per year
***Google******	***		**“20% Time”, Ideas eBoard (rating & buzz level),****	****	****	****	****	****white boards in hallways, game room,                                          ****	****	****	****	****snack bars with creativity centers**

## WHY IDEAS ARE IMPORTANT?

-  “The greatest source of competitive advantage is not really **cost **or **quality, **but ***creativity.”***
*John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge*
- Business editors of the *Economist*
- “The quickest and easiest way to launch improvement activities is through ***employee ideas***.”
*Norman Bodek*
- Founder and CEO
- Productivity Inc./Productivity Press

## THE GOAL

- Develop and run a good idea system, to enable **everyone **in QMO to act on the ***problems ***_*and*_* ****opportunities***** **they see.
**Once rolled out – Ideas will be logged, tracked and reported to upper management.**

## IDEAS = INNOVATIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS

- When people come up with new **ideas**, they are either:
***Improvements****** ***- changes to what is already done or already exists...
- 				**OR**
***Innovations****** ***- entirely new activities for the group
*(“The Deep Dive”).*
***Note: ******All improvements require change, ***_***but***_*** not all    changes are improvements!***

## The Deep Dive Summary

- Who has the best ideas?
- Employees/workers – those doing the work
- The process:
- 1 conversation; focused
- encourage wild/silly ideas; build on them...
- defer judgment
- team votes/decides
- “Fail often in order to:
- succeed sooner”
- “Enlightened trial & error succeeds over the:
- planning of the lone genius”

## WHY THE NEED FOR A SYSTEM?

- To know that what is **supposed **to be happening is happening (e.g. Reporting, Rules & Guidelines).
- To create a **time and** **place **where people know their ideas will be taken seriously.
- Handling ideas **ad-hoc** makes them more of a **nuisance (disruption) **than a help over time.
- A system "**S**aves **Y**ourself **S**tress, **T**ime, **E**nergy and **M**oney“ ; instills discipline

## HOW TO IMPLEMENT A GOOD IDEA SYSTEM

**Step 1.** Training/education of management and design/ implementation 	team
**Step 2.** 	Design of system.  Need to figure out:
*How to handle the issue of recognition & rewards*
*How people will be held accountable*
*What the idea process will look like*
*How ideas will be handled, metrics, how process will be reviewed etc*
*What resources will be needed to make the system a success*
*Staff, budgets, training for workforce, further development training*
**Step 3.** Pilot program
**Step 4.** Training of workforce
**Step 5.** System launch

## 5 KEY POINTS

**POINT 1: GO AFTER SMALL IDEAS -** It is impossible to improve performance past a certain point without getting the little things right.
**POINT 2: MAKE IDEAS PART OF EVERYONE'S JOB** - Document ideas and track them. Expect ideas from all employees.
**POINT 3: DESIGN AN EFFICIENT IDEA-HANDLING PROCESS**
**POINT 4: FOCUS IDEAS IF NECESSARY - **Ask your people directly for the kinds of ideas you need; e.g. productivity, _***safety***_ and efficiency improvements.
**POINT 5: HELP PEOPLE COME UP WITH MORE AND BETTER IDEAS – **share ideas/make visible, put people in places with “most potential” (e.g. job rotation); ASK FOR “PROBLEMS: THAT CAN BECOME OPPORTUNITIES...

## POINT 1: GO AFTER SMALL IDEAS

- It is impossible to improve performance past a certain point without getting the little things right.
- Most small ideas stay **proprietary **and create **sustainable **competitive advantage.
- Small ideas are the best source of big ideas. If you don't go after small ideas, you won't get many big ones either:
***What other ideas does this one suggest?***
***Where else might this idea be used?***
***Are there any patterns in the ideas that have come in?***

## POINT 2: MAKE IDEAS PART OF EVERYONE'S JOB

**Document **ideas and **track **them.
- Expect ideas from all** employees:**
***Value them based on the quantity and quality of their ideas. ***
- Teach **supervisors **and **managers **the value of ideas and their own four roles:
**Encouraging, Mentoring, Championing **and **Looking for larger implications **of ideas.
***Value them on how well they promote ideas.***

## POINT 3: DESIGN AN EFFICIENT IDEA-HANDLING PROCESS

- Make a **clear **and **visible **commitment to everyone that ideas will be taken seriously.
- Keep **turnaround times **low.
- Pay extra attention to those **early **ideas – ***e.g. Pilot***
- Drive down **decision-making **and **implementation **to **lowest possible levels.**
- Match **resources **to volume and types of ideas that come in, to avoid **bottlenecks.**
- Design forums into the process to **discuss **as many ideas as possible within workgroups.

## POINT 4: FOCUS IDEAS IF NECESSARY 

- Ask your people directly for the kinds of ideas you need; e.g. productivity, ***safety*** and efficiency improvements.
**Articulate **and **legitimize **what wasn't on the radar before. Ask for “problems”...
- Surprisingly, focusing people on particular topics leads to **more **ideas.

## POINT 5: HELP PEOPLE COME UP WITH MORE AND BETTER IDEAS

**Try **to expose your people to new experiences that will broaden their perspectives on, and deepen their knowledge of the company.
- Job rotation, benchmarking, contact with internal /external customers, reading groups, ongoing learning and development.
- Use idea activators, and hone their technique, both in "hard skills" and "soft skills“
- such as speaking, persuasion, negotiation, running meetings, and confrontation.
- Show them how to Improve their powers of observation.
- Teach and value problem-solving skills.
- 		(“Learning After Doing - After Action Review”)

## THE GOLDEN RULE

- As experience is gained with the process, always think about how to improve it.
- If things go well, it should **change (improve) **and **evolve **over time.
*(“Everyday Creativity”)*

## Everyday Creativity

- We all have the potential to be creative
- Creativity = look at the ordinary, see the extraordinary
- 	– find uncommon solutions to everyday challenges
- Like changing the lens on a camera; change your perspective/point of view
- There’s always more than 1 right answer
- Reframe problems into opportunities
- Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; learn from them...
- Train your technique – put yourself in the place of most potential; find other right answers...

## Example / Exercise

**Example / Exercise**

## Hint: Simple, quick to implement, relatively inexpensive

**Hint: Simple, quick to implement, relatively inexpensive**

## Slide 21

## Exercise

- _[http://csob.berry.edu/faculty/jgrout/15minexe/index.html](http://csob.berry.edu/faculty/jgrout/15minexe/index.html)_
- 	HINT: think “The Hierarchy of Controls”
- Best site for ideas:
- _[http://www.mistakeproofing.com](http://www.mistakeproofing.com/)_
- also:
- _[http://](http://elsmar.com/Error_Proofing/)__[elsmar.com/Error_Proofing](http://elsmar.com/Error_Proofing/)__[/](http://elsmar.com/Error_Proofing/)_

## Hierarchy of Controls – 4 Levels

**Elimination or Substitution:** This means to design the **error-potential** out of the process or to substitute an existing material or process with another that does not pose **contain the error-potential**. (think the familiar term: “...that’s a mistake waiting to happen...”)
**Engineering Controls:** If the **error-potential** cannot be eliminated entirely, engineering measures are added to the process in order to provide protection from the **error or minimize the error-potential**.
- Administrative Controls (e.g. Training & Warnings): The objective of training is to teach workers how to avoid **errors.** Warnings are means by which the existence of an **error **and how to avoid it are communicated to anyone who may be exposed / prone to that **error.**
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): This is apparatus worn on the exposed person's body that places a barrier between the person and the hazard.
- Just as the term hierarchy denotes, this is a top-down approach in which elimination of the **error-potential**, being the most effective, is at the top of the hierarchy.

## Step 1: SUBMITTING PROBLEMS / IDEAS 

- Establish a simple system, but one that is tracked & documented.
-  i.e. a centralized, visible place for posting problems AND ideas; e.g. cork boards, white boards, etc.
- Collection can vary to fit what works best for that group but overall system is same.
- as a guideline for participation: average 1 problem or idea per person per month
- All Problems/Ideas will be logged showing issue, submitter, disposition and responsibility
- Log is available for review (e.g. posted) by all workers and by next level supervision/management.

## Step 2: PROCESSING IDEAS 

***First-line supervisors*** are the focal point and are accountable (part of their performance expectations)
- Supervisor can approve immediately **OR** defer to local peer team/committee
- Only local team/committee can refuse/reject
- If disagreement continues or potential contract violation, defer to the next level manager...
- Categorize Problems / Ideas:
- ES&H – Environment, Safety or Health improvement
- Q - Quality improvement
- P - Productivity improvement
- C - Cost reduction

## Step 3: EVALUATION / FEEDBACK

- Quick turn around on decision.
- Evaluation team/committee should meet at least **once every 2 weeks**.
- Decisions captured in **local idea logs**.
- Target for providing feedback to idea originator: 2 weeks max.

## Step 3B: CAN IDEAS BE USED ELSEWHERE?

- Local team / committee identifies ideas with sharing potential...
- Organizations should have a contact (POC) to share ideas, consider applicability of ideas from other organizations and handle ideas that are not local.
- Again see: _[www.mistakeproofing.com](http://www.mistakeproofing.com/)_

## Step 4: RECOGNITION / REWARD

- Recognition of accepted ideas encouraged at the local level, e.g. quarterly breakfast, lunch etc.
- Recognition of implemented ideas at the organization level, e.g. quarterly drawing by DDO for small prizes
- Use ideas as criteria for existing awards; e.g. Spotlight Awards.
- Tie to “Creativity” in Performance Appraisals: “Generates new ideas; is innovative, resourceful and versatile”.

## IDEA SYSTEM EFECTIVENESS

**IDEA SYSTEM EFECTIVENESS**

- Minimum level of stats pushed up the management chain to DDO, Monthly:
- Ideas submitted
- Ideas accepted
- Implemented
- awaiting implementation
- Training / Pilot
- Will start with first-line then deploy at all levels of Operations, up to the DDO!

## “THE BIG PICTURE”

- Keep it simple
- Keep it local
- Keep it inexpensive and quick/easy to implement; “SLIQ” test
- Not a “suggestion” system but ideas that can be implemented easily,** preferably** by the worker at the local level
- Focus on problems first then any idea that will make the worker’s job easier, improve safety, increase effectiveness and productivity and/or reduce cost
- Not a “program” or “flavor of the month” that will fade over time but a system that will be monitored and measured
- ALL problems/ ideas are welcome...!

## IDEA SYSTEM ELEMENTS FOROPERATIONS

- Posting of ideas should also include “problems” to spur/generate other ideas at meeting; keep it simple...e.g. use white boards or cork boards... want ideas that can be implemented by the submitter
- Be wary of a cumbersome approval process; need to let go of the “suggestion box” mentality
- Hold “Idea meetings” at local level - once a week or every 2 weeks at minimum (NOT monthly - too much delay) – either a separate meeting or part of existing meeting (e.g. Toolbox)
- All decisions on ideas can be made by the group at the meeting:
- 1) Do It! : implement ASAP
- 2) No/Can’t (Why Not); e.g. safety or health violation
- 3) Need More Info.; e.g. may be contract violation
- 4) Kick Upstairs : need decision by next level management; $?
- 	i.e. feedback comes automatically during the meeting

## IDEA SYSTEM ELEMENTS FORQMO

- Track only submitted & **implemented** ideas up the chain monthly (to DDO) Track quantity, location and speed at local level.
- Recognition should predominantly be through use and sharing of the idea, 90% with the other 10% a reward - local breakfast/lunch is ok but also use tangible items; e.g. result of a drawing...
- Sharing through POCs and Central POC / Central System (e.g. web page or a newsletter with picture of employee and his/her idea) –
- 	i.e. Show it off !
- Training is crucial at all levels
- Accountability at the supervisor level (maintaining, reporting) and worker level (problems/ideas submitted)

## Tracking Problems / Ideas

**PPM IDEAS/ISSUES LOG**

***** **Do It; No/Can’t; Needs More Info.; Kick Upstairs**

## Safety Example“SawStop” - DESIGN for Safety

- “SawStop” Saws are the most advanced saws in the world. Each saw is equipped with a safety system that detects when someone accidentally contacts the spinning saw blade, and then stops the blade in milliseconds:
- _[http://www.sawstop.com/how-it-works-videos.htm](http://www.sawstop.com/how-it-works-videos.htm)_
- In most cases, such an** accident** would result in just a nick on a SawStop saw, instead of the devastating injury which would likely occur on an ordinary saw.
**“****Longer-term” idea or solution:**
**Engineered Control**

## Slide 35

## Slide 36