Reflections from a Career Using Continuous Improvement

 

About 25 years ago I really became interested in learning about quality improvement.  Back then we called it TQM – total quality management, zero defects, etc.  At the time I was manager of several disparate departments in my company and had the luxury of being able to a start a pilot quality improvement effort.  I had five managers reporting to me, and we attended continuous improvement training two days every other month for several years.  Following each training session we were expected to return to the work place and try to implement what we had learned.  At the next meeting, we were expected to report what had worked and what had not worked.

 

One of my managers at the time was Bill Shakal.  He was manager of our laboratory that tested animal feed, fertilizer, and soils for farmers.  Bill was a hard sell when it came to adopting a continuous improvement philosophy.  He kept challenging everything he heard and was expected to do.  Finally one day, for a reason I can’t remember, he ran an experiment which involved the simple task of dipping a small scoop of dried, ground and sifted soil, tapping on the scoop handle a few times, leveling off the excess soil from the scoop, and pouring the soil sample into a test tube.

 

In the experiment he tapped a different number of times.  He used metal and wood tapping rods.  The variation in test results astounded him.  From then on Bill was a convert to process standardization and continuous improvement.  And over the years this laboratory has become the best in the world at what it does.

 

The reason I am telling you this is, that now 25 years later, Bill has just retired, and I had the privilege of attending a small retirement celebration in his honor.  I had not been back to the lab in several years.  But you know almost immediately when you arrive at the lab that this is a special place – the people are happy, the operation is clean, there are process behavior charts on the walls, the employees talk about serving the customer, there are teams, processes are standardized, they say it is a great place to work, turn over is very low, you see safety measures in place, employees are constantly thinking and talking about how they can do something better, and they relate the silly games Bill dreamed up for training sessions.

 

Following the reception I had the opportunity to ask Bill what are the secrets to this success.  Here are some of the things he told me.

 

·        “I don't think it is in the books, but having the personal curse to never be satisfied seems to have been important to me.

·        Satisfying the customer is essential.

·        The process standardization and the behavior charts are very useful in stabilizing and going toward better output. 

·        People have to choose to be on the team.  I have had to let some people go over the years.

·        It is not the people it is the process.  The very best people cannot be successful in a bad process.

·        Making things simple is better.  Get rid of complexity.

·        Behavior charts are great to show if a process is broken.  Sometimes, however,  this leads to excuses. 

·        Disciplined people lead to quiet processes.

·        If the employees can’t laugh together, how can they work together?

·        Best is cheapest.

·        The ‘people thing’ is crucial.  I am convinced that except for a very few, people come to work to do good work, make a contribution, and expect to go home without getting chewed out.  Pay has to be equitable.  With that settled, the rest can be fun and rewarding, pretty much regardless of the work involved.”

 

During the reception the employees showed a little Power Point slide show of employees who had worked at the lab over the years.  It was interesting to see how many different employees worked at the lab over time.  As you can imagine testing soil is a seasonal business.  So each spring and fall a large number of part time employees are hired.  The outstanding fact is that these temporary employees can be hired, and within 15 minutes can be up to speed and doing their jobs, because the processes are so well defined and cannot be done wrong. 

 

Finally although it was not discussed at the retirement reception, I can also tell you that over these 25 years the lab has gone from an expense to the company to a significant profit center.

 

Continuous improvement works.  It is not easy.  It takes great perseverance and leadership.  Congratulations Bill Shakal.  You have made a difference.