How We Serve You : White Papers
From the Boardroom to the Shop Floor and Back:
A Framework for Achieving Organizational Alignment
The Review System
An important component of maintaining organizational alignment is the ability to develop and use a structured and consistent review system at each level. The frequency of the reviews will vary depending on what level of the organization is doing the review, and whether there are critical issues that need primary focus. For example, if a plant has a high reject rate, or may have a poor on time delivery performance, it may be necessary to review performance weekly.
In general, the review process at the management level should take place every two weeks or once per month. At the department level, reviews should be done once per week, while at the shop floor level it should take place daily.
The strategy for problem solving on the shop floor may be slightly different from those at higher levels of the company. At the shop floor, the review process is identifying anomalies, i.e. special causes of variation. For example, a dimension on a part might be out of the required specification because of tool-wear. The individuals on the shop floor may have the ability to immediately respond to tool wear. At other levels of the company, one might more easily identify basic causes of tool wear such as types of tools selected, and method of using the tools. This might require the need to perform tool studies to identify how long the tool should last and to use this information to change tools before they become a serious problem.
Through the review system, individuals or departments are continually held accountable for performance and the actions that are being taken to make the necessary changes. In addition, the review system provides the vehicle where the organization can continuously evaluate its performance and make changes towards continuous improvement. Periodically the company should question the need to track certain measures and add or delete measures in response to changing needs of the environment.
Through the review system, the company is able to understand activities at all levels of the company and to evaluate the extent to which they are aligned. It also prevents several groups working on the same problem because their is now a process through which the organization is kept informed on the projects that are in progress.
