A Two Role Focus
If you want to maximize success within the structure of a manufacturing company simply focus on two roles: the sales role and the machine operator. Think about it. Every manufacturing company sells and produces. Or vice versa, they produce, then that produced product is sold. When we get down to the basics of it, this model can be as simple as a lemonade stand. Make a batch of lemonade, then sell it. Produce (operator) and sell (salesperson).
It's Strategic
Early in my career, as a manufacturing supervisor, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the plant’s strategic planning session. The outcome of this session was a model that resembled a wagon wheel. Each of the plant’s support resources were represented by spokes in the wheel and the machine operator was at the center hub of the wheel.
This strategic model design reflected an informal structure whereas every resource in the plant, everyone who was not an operator, was responsible for supporting the success of our operators. The question for everyone became: what can I do to support the operator and ensure their success? Let’s drill down into this concept by resource type:
- Planning: How can we make schedules most efficient for our operators?
- Purchasing: How can we best provide high quality raw materials on time to our operators?
- IT: How can IT systems best support our operators?
- Quality: How can our QMS be structured to ensure operator success?
- EH&S: How can we ensure the safety and health of our operators?
- Maintenance: How can we ensure that our machines are well maintained for our operators?
- Engineering: How can we best design our equipment to ensure operator efficiency?
- Finance: Is there information that we can provide in support of our operators?
- Leadership: How can we best support our operators with structure, systems, training and tools?
The idea here is that the operators are accountable to safely deliver high quality products on time and at cost targets. While this may be everyone’s goal in a plant, no group has as much control over the success of these deliverables than the plant operators do. When everyone focuses on operator success, they are essentially ensuring plant success.
A Philosophy that Works!
Ever since my early exposure to this concept of operator focused manufacturing, I’ve kept the philosophy front and center in my leadership style and by doing so, I’ve turned around many operations. When I’m leading an operation, I continually ask myself, what does the operator need most in order to succeed? I observe them, their environment, our culture and the data and identify the obstacles preventing operator success and I work to remove the obstacles for them.
When well-trained operators have good tools, high quality materials, robust processes, well maintained equipment, solid systems and well-structured information, they succeed. And when they succeed, the plant succeeds.
Total Business Success
However, for total business success, it needs to go one step further. Operations can perform at a world class level and that’s definitely a great thing, but if company's revenue is unfavorable, then the business is at risk. Because success is dependent on a strong revenue line, the salespeople need support too. Salespeople need to be at the center of the support hub just as much as the operators do.
Note that when I use the term salesperson, I mean anyone who directly supports the customer. This could be customer service or technical sales personnel. Salespeople need a pipeline of product and new product designs to sell to their customers. They need data systems. They need financial information. They need sales training. They need selling tools. They need flexible planning. Bottom-line is that they need the support of the company’s resources in order to hit the top-line objectives.
When a manufacturing company makes the salespersons and the operator role a focus hub, company success is inevitable!
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