SELF-DIRECTED WORK TEAMS: AN IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE

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SELF-DIRECTEDWORK TEAMS AN IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE

• MICHAEL W. PICZAK
• DIPL.T., B.COMM., MBA
• tel [phone]
• e-mail piczakm_at_mcmaster.ca
• September, 2002

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WHY YOU SHOULD LISTEN

• REVIEWED THE LITERATURE
• DONE THE IMPLEMENTATIONS
• WORKED WITH THE TEAMS EX POSTE
• WROTE THE ARTICLE
• YOU HAVE NO CHOICE

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WHO IS DOING IT?

• CHEVRON
• MOTOROLA
• G.E.
• P G
• XEROX
• SATURN
• FED EX

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ON THE CANADIAN SIDE...

• DOFASCO
• CAMPBELL SOUPS
• STEELCASE EQUIPMENT
• HONEYWELL
• NORTHERN TELECOM
• BOART LONGYEAR
• LOF GLASS
• LAUREL STEEL
• PARKER-HANNIFIN

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WHY INTRODUCE SDWTs

• GLOBALIZATION
• NAFTA
• POTENTIAL GROWTH
• COST REDUCTION
• BEATING OFF THE COMPETITION
• BECAUSE EVERYONE IS DOING IT
• PEOPLE INVOLVEMENT
• SURVIVAL

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MY MODEST PURPOSE

• TO PROVIDE OF SENSE OF WHO IS TO DO WHAT, WHEN
  AND HOW
• TO AVOID PITFALLS THAT CAN DOOM SUCH INITIATIVES
• ANTICIPATING POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

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SDWTs DEFINED

• A PREFERABLY VOLUNTARY HIGHLY TRAINED COLLECTION
  OF EMPLOYEES (USUALLY 6 TO 15 IN NUMBER) WHO ARE
  RESPONSIBLE FOR TURNING OUT A WELL DEFINED
  SEGMENT OF FINISHED WORK...

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TAKING A STEP BACKWARD TO MOVE FORWARD

• DEFRAGMENTING WORK
• BROADENING RESPONSIBILITIES
• INCLUSIONARY RATHER THAN EXCLUSIONARY
• INJECTING A SENSE OF INTERDEPENDENCE AND
  INDEPENDENCE

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BENEFITS REPORTED IN THE LITERATURE

• FLATTENED STRUCTURES
• INCREASED FLEXIBILITY
• IMPRESSIVE PRODUCTIVITY GAINS
• IMPROVED QUALITY
• INCREASED COMMITMENT
• GREATER EMPATHY FOR DAY-TO-DAY ORGANIZATIONAL
  COMPLEXITIES
• IMPROVED CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

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WHATS IN IT FOR THE EMPLOYEES

• GREATER JOB SECURITY
• GREATER SENSE OF JOB SATISFACTION
• POTENTIAL FOR PAY FOR KNOWLEDGE
• CROSS TRAINING
• MORE INVOLVEMENT

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WHAT THIS IS NOT

• JUST JOB ROTATION
• JUST HORIZONTAL ENRICHMENT
• A NAKED SCHEME FOR MORE WORK
• AN ATTEMPT TO SUBVERT THE UNION
• AN ADD ON

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TEAMS AT HONEYWELL CANADA

• BASIC RESPONSIBILITIES
• INTERMEDIATERESPONSIBILITIES
• ADVANCEDRESPONSIBILITIES

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BASIC RESPONSIBILITY

• MULTI WORK SKILLS
• HOUSEKEEPING
• MOVEMENT TO POINT OF NEED
• SAFETY
• CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
• MATERIAL REPLENISHMENT
• QUALITY AT THE SOURCE
• ON-THE-JOB TRAINING

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INTERMEDIATE RESPONSIBILITY

• TOTAL PRODUCTIVE MAINTENANCE
• CONFLICT RESOLUTION
• TEAM MEETING ADMINISTRATION
• MODEL CHANGEOVER
• VACATION SCHEDULING

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ADVANCED RESPONSIBILITY

• MEMBER SELECTION
• COST CONTROL
• PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

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HOW THE SDWT FUNCTIONS

• FEWER FIRST LEVEL SUPERVISORS
• HIGH INVOLVEMENT
• CLUSTERING REPLACES VERTICAL HIERARCHY
• ALL WORKERS SHARE RESPONSIBILITY ACCOUNTABILITY

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FIVE OBSTACLES TO TEAMS

• FEAR OF CHANGE
• EXCHANGING INDIVIDUAL RECOGNITION FOR TEAM
  RECOGNITION
• MANAGERS FEAR LOSS OF CONTROL
• INADEQUATE TRAINING
• UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

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SDWT STRENGTHS

• INVOLVEMENT ORIENTED
• PROMOTES IDEAS SUGGESTIONS
• EVERYONE IS RESPONSIBLE
• CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
• ACCESS TO TRAINING
• PRODUCTIVITY INCREASES
• A SENSE OF FREEDOM FOR EMPLOYEES
• PIECE OF W.C.M. PUZZLE

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SDWT WEAKNESSES

• REQUIRES EXTENSIVE PLANNING
• RESISTANCE FROM FLS MIDDLE MANAGEMENT
• INITIAL LOSS OF PRODUCTIVITY
• TRAINING COSTS
• SLOW DECISION MAKING
• SLOW IN EMERGENCIES

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A RECIPE FOR SDWT SUCCESS

• MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT (A CHAMPION)
• WORKFORCE UNDERSTANDING
• WORKFORCE ACCEPTANCE
• SDWTs AS INTEGRAL PART OF OTHER INITIATIVES
• KNOWLEDGE TRAINING
• MANAGEMENT LETTING GO
• MAKING EXPECTATIONS CLEAR
• SETTING OUT GROUNDRULES
• PATIENCE
• MAKE GOOD ON PROMISES

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KFFs IDENTIFIED IN THE LITERATURE

• MOVING TOO FAST
• TEAMS BY DECLARATION
• NOT ENOUGH TRAINING
• CHAMPION LEAVES
• UNION RESISTANCE

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TEAM COMPLAINTS

• MANAGEMENT DOES NOT LISTEN TO US
• NO GENUINE DECISION MAKING
• MEETINGS ARE BORING
• NOTHING HAS REALLY CHANGED
• TEAM WHEN WERE DOING WHAT YOU WANT, BUT
  OTHERWISE...
• MANAGEMENT NOT SUPPORTIVE

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BEING SUPPORTIVESOME SOLUTIONS

• QUICKER RESPONSE BEFORE THEY ASK IN FOLLOW-UP
• STATUS BOARD AT EACH CELL OR ON COMPUTER
• EXPLAIN YOURSELF FULLY REPEATEDLY
• MORE AT-A-BOYS THANK YOUs
• TREATING MEMBERS WITH DIGNITY

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TEAMS GET TRAINED IN...

• PROBLEM SOLVING
• MEETING SKILLS
• COMMUNICATION SKILLS
• TEAM MEMBER SELECTION
• DECISION MAKING
• LISTENING
• LEADERSHIP
• GOAL SETTING

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IF YOU DONT TRAIN THEM...

• THE ONLY THING YOU MAKE SURE OF IS THAT YOUR
  PEOPLE WILL MAKE BAD DECISIONS FASTER.
• ...CEO HARLEY-DAVIDSON
  

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5 CHALLENGES...

• DEALING WITH DISCIPLINE
• ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION BY THE ALIENATED
• EMERGENT LEADERS
• OBTAINING CONTRACT LANGUAGE
• GETTING OUT A CONSISTENT MESSAGE

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FINALLY...

• NO COOKBOOK APPROACHES
• EACH TEAM IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT
• AWARENESS TRAINING UP FRONT
• ONE TEAM AT A TIME
• NOT EVERYONE WILL FOLLOW
• FOLLOW-UPS FOR DYSFUNCTION
• DO FIELD VISITS
• BE PATIENT FOR RESULTS

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COMPANIES USING SDWTs FOR OHS

• LAUREL STEEL
• DOFASCO
• STEELCASE
• SATURN
• 3M CANADA
• 3M U.S.
• GRAND ICE CREAM

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MORE COMPANIES USING SDWTs FOR OHS

• KODAK
• ALCOA
• AIDS ASSN FOR LUTHERANS
• GATES RUBBER
• WAINRIGHT INDUSTRIES
• BRITISH STEEL
• HONEYWELL CANADA

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TEAMS CAN...

• MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS RE. EQUIPMENT, PROCEDURES,
  TRAINING
• INTRANET
• BENCHMARK SAFETY INSIDE/OUTSIDE
• SET BUDGET FOR SAFETY EQUIPMENT
• AUDIT WORKPLACE NEW MACHINES
• INVESTIGATE JOB ACCIDENTS
• PROBLEM SOLVING
• NEW EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION

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AND TEAMS CAN...

• SHARE INFORMATION RE. COSTS OF SAFETY
• UPDATE JSPs SOPs
• SHUTDOWN FACILITY IN VIEW OF IMMINENT SAFETY
  PROBLEM
• SERVE AS LINK TO JOHSC
• VIDEO RE-ENACTMENTS
• HOUSEKEEPING
• SET SAFETY GOALS

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TEAMS CANNOT...

• PERFORM SAFETY CONTACTS
• PERFORM SIGNOFFS
• ACT AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE JOHSC
• SERVE AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR A PERSON IN AUTHORITY

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WAINRIGHT INDUSTRIES A CASE STUDY

• OBJECTIVE
• TO HAVE EVERYONE GO HOME INJURY FREE AT THE END
  OF THE DAY...
• BASED ON PHILOSOPHY
• THAT PEOPLE CANT DO A GOOD JOB IF THEY DONT
  FEEL SAFE

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WAINRIGHTS PROGRAM

• INVITE INSURANCE LOSS CONTROL CONSULTANT FOR WALK
  AROUND
• CLEANEST FACILITY
• SAFETY PRIORITIZED AS ONE OF 5 BUSINESS UNIT
  OBJECTIVES
• ZERO IN ON NEW EMPLOYEES
• ROTATING LEADERSHIP FOR DUCKS

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THE HOWs

• THOROUGH TRAINING WITH FOCUS ON NEW HIRES
• CONTINUAL EMPHASIS ON SAFE WORK PRACTICES
• WILLINGNESS TO SHARE INFORMATION THROUGH CIPS
• MANAGEMENT SUPPORT
• EVERYDAY, EACH AREA OF FACILITY RATED AND
  DOTTED
• SAFETY PURCHASES NOT SUBJECT TO SAME SCRUTINY AS
  OTHER REQUESTS

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A WORLD CLASS SAFETY TEAM

• CONDUCTS ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS
• CONSULTATION DURING PRE-PRODUCTION ON NEW JOBS
• RESOURCE FOR SHOP FLOOR
• CO-ORDINATE VIDEO RE-ENACTMENT OF ALL ACCIDENTS
  (FOR VIEWING BY ALL EMPLOYEES)
• LEADING THE DUCKS

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THE BENEFITS

• ACCIDENTS DOWN 72
• LTA ACCIDENTS DOWN 85
• LOST WORK DAYS DOWN 87
• CUSTOMER SATISFACTION RATINGS AT 95
• WORKER COMPENSATION COSTS DOWN ALMOST 100,000

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SOME CAVEATS

• COMPLEMENTARY TO AND NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR THE
  JOHSC
• DUTY OF DUE DILIGENCE REMAINS IN EFFECT

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OHS INTERNET SOURCES

• WWW.CCOHS.CA
• WWW.OSHA.GOV/SAFHLTH.HTML

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SOURCES FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• TEAMNET-L_at_TERRILL.UNT.EDU
• (A TEAMNET DISCUSSION FORUM)
• HTTP//WWW.WORKTEAMS.UNT.EDU/
• TEAMNET/ARCHIVE.HTM
• (TEAMNET ARCHIVE WEB SITE)
• HTTP//WWW.WORKTEAMS.UNT.EDU
• (WORK TEAMS WEB SITE)
• HTTP//USERS.IDS.NET/BRIM/SDWT.HTML
• (A NEW SDWT WEB SITE)

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SELF-DIRECTEDWORK TEAMS AN IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE

• MICHAEL W. PICZAK
• DIPL.T., B.COMM., MBA
• 905-648-0742

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(No Transcript)