Doing the impossible – all the time

Just because people are getting the job done doesn't mean they don't need more tools to help them.

By Jim Apple, Founding Partner, The Progress Group, A supply chain and logistics consulting firm -- Modern Materials Handling, 11/1/2005

Let me tell you about one of the most frustrating situations for a consultant to encounter.

A client calls and asks for help in improving operations. The consultant visits and gets an overview of how things work in the facility. And it all sounds pretty good. But if things work so well, the consultant wonders, why was he called?

Then, a tour of the operation reveals that almost everything he sees is an exception to how things "normally" work. Observations include people performing almost impossible tasks, or at least difficult tasks with little process and systems support. A sure sign this is happening is key people are working exceptionally long hours with, or without, compensation just to get product out the door.

Often, people are dealing with a long list of handicaps, which might include extra late order cut-off times or late additions as well as inventory and location inaccuracies. Or products needed to fill today's orders are still enroute as the dispatch time closes in. Elsewhere, they are handling awkward loads such as 100-pound bales of towels (or as I saw recently, 250-pound trees) with cumbersome, or no mechanical support. Despite all this, they somehow still get the job done.

If people are willing to stretch themselves to achieve daily success against all odds, then how do you justify making investments to improve the process? On the surface, it appears that you could spend some money to make the process better but won't get a materially different result. You will make life better for those who are struggling every day to get the job done today, but you really won't save any payroll dollars.

Where do you go from here?

You might think it's hard to justify spending any money if people are willing to knock themselves out. But what if these people choose to leave?

Could you find replacements who are as willing and capable?

How long will it take to find them?

How long will it take for them to come up to speed in your business?

What jobs are not getting done or goals not being met because there is no time or energy left after just getting to the end of each business day?

How much are you limiting your growth potential with the current physical, emotional and energy constraints?

A business that is just getting by with the superhuman efforts of a few key people is taking a big chance. Making an investment to create jobs that can be done consistently right with some time left over to think about how to do them even better is just good business insurance. Sometimes that investment requires a capital expenditure. Often it can be just a commitment of management time to help think of a better way to do things.

Consider these ideas:

• Log exceptions and their resolution then prioritize them and perform root cause analysis.
• Find out how key people are spending their time. Look for ways to off-load routine tasks or give them appropriate systems support to make the tasks easier.
• Follow the products through the process, looking for tasks that are physically challenging. Then find alternatives for automating or mechanizing them. For instance, it may only require changing the elevation of a container to make it easier to reach inside.

Don't let strongly committed employees lull you into a sense of security. There is such a thing as the straw that broke the camel's back.

Jim Apple can be contacted at japple@theprogressgroup.com