Tag: Trust

Build Bridges of Understanding – Part 2

mcalisterts 0 Comment Case Studies, Collaboration, Expert Advice, Food Safety, Management Skills, Uncategorized , , , , , , ,

Find the Answer - Magnifying Glass

 

 

 

 

Building Bridges Part 1 addressed how to gather useful information by having honest conversations with the people involved in the issue. Gathering as much information as possible was the key to determining exactly what happened. However, fact gathering is only a part of the process; it is equally important to implement improvements based on the information.

The highest levels of performance come to people who are centered, intuitive, creative, and reflective – people who know to see a problem as an opportunity. – Deepak Chopra

Here was the journey we took to solve the problem described in Part 1.

Once we gathered the preliminary information, we decided that the issue was most likely related to the raw material handling process. As we dug into the details of how the raw materials were handled we started asking questions such as, “how could one raw material be introduced into another raw material?”

We then discussed scenarios in which the offending material might have been introduced into a ‘common’ raw material, and developed one such scenario:

Contamination may occur when an offending allergen (seafood) attached itself to a common ingredient (pasta) because it was unsuccessfully separated out during the ‘re-work’ process (used to reclaim raw materials from damaged packages). When the ‘contaminated’ pasta was used again, it was used as raw material for a product that didn’t contain seafood. Thus, the process for re-using raw materials from damaged packages would have created the situation where unwanted ingredients were inadvertently mixed into the raw material.

As we talked through this scenario, we realized that a process intended to avoid wasting materials, actually put the product at risk. Armed with this information, we were able to determine the most likely root cause for the issue.

We were now presented with the ‘opportunity’ to eliminate the potential for contamination. This would involve changes in the material handling procedures and a commitment to a training program for the workers who manage the tracking paperwork. The owner of the business was amenable to the changes; peace of mind about the safety of his products was well worth any additional expense. The changes were effective. Millions of packages were consumed over the next 15 years without incident.

To summarize, here’s the entire process:

  1. Open up an honest and in-depth discussion about the situation and ensure everyone involved is on the same page. Establish the goal of the discussion and keep it in mind the entire time.
  2. As the discussion leads to various possible scenarios that could explain what occurred, critically and thoroughly review the scenarios – the smallest detail can lead to the smoking gun.
  3. Once the root cause is determined and verified, develop ‘fool-proof’ procedures to ensure the issue cannot re-occur. These new procedures must be audited to ensure they truly eliminate the potential issue.
  4. Discuss the rationale for making procedural changes with the production workers and supervision. Let them know why it is so important to follow the new procedures and how they can help keep the product safe.

I have always believed that “all of us are smarter than one of us”. In the end, because my team had the trust of the owner and his team, we were able to resolve the issue together.

To boil it down: focus on getting accurate, detailed information at the beginning of the process. Once the information is gathered, let your intuition guide you toward the next steps, such as brainstorming about scenarios. Once logical opportunities are presented, go out and test them. You will find out quickly if the situation can be recreated. Lastly, work out new procedures or policies that will effectively eliminate the problem.

Successful problem-solving starts with building bridges of understanding. Mr. Carnegie put it into words over 75 years ago and his words ring true today.

 

Photo credit: depositphotos.com 21849021 by:iqoncept

[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]

Build Bridges of Understanding – Part 1

mcalisterts 0 Comment Case Studies, Collaboration, Expert Advice, Food Safety, Management Skills , , , , ,

Person on bridge helping another

 

 

 

 

Investigating major quality problems can be a difficult task. I think I speak for most workers; people don’t like to ‘get in trouble’, especially on the job. Whether negligence is involved or not, gathering useful information can be a challenge. However, in order to correct the situation and prevent it from happening again, it is extremely important to determine exactly what happened.

In my experience, the success of an investigation usually depends upon the investigator’s ability to put workers at ease. This helps the process to move quickly and thoroughly, resulting in accurate identification of the problems and rapid resolution.

Dale Carnegie recommends listening first, particularly in a tense situation.

“Let them finish. Do not resist, defend or debate. This only raises barriers. Try to build bridges of understanding. Dale Carnegie – Goodreads.com link

When trying to solve a serious problem, getting the full story with as much detail as possible is very important. Channeling Mr. Carnegie’s term, always attempt to “…build bridges of understanding”.

The three steps below are useful in the initial stages of the investigation

  1. Preface the discussions with the people involved
    • Let the interviewee know that all information is helpful toward resolving the issue completely.
    • Help them understand they are part of the solution, not part of the problem.
    • Make the discussion as non-emotional as possible. Let the person being interviewed know that the discussion is strictly intended for gathering facts and not meant to find someone to blame for the issue.
    • Mention that it is very seldom a single act or situation that caused the problem and their input is needed to be able to assemble the ‘pieces of the puzzle’ to resolve the issue once and for all.
  2. Establish the timeline based on facts
    • When did the situation occur?
    • What equipment or process was involved?
    • Explore any unusual circumstances taking place at the time of the incident.
    • Who else would have been in the area when the problem occurred that could add more information?
    • If the interview process uncovers multiple sources of the problem, collate all of the information into a single timeline listing all of the discrete times, places, and people involved in the issue.
  3. Once the basic causes are worked out set up a meeting with the appropriate personnel to perform a root cause analysis (to be discussed in Part 2).

Over 15 years ago I had a situation where I used the steps above to gather critical information necessary to resolve a complicated quality issue. A third party manufactured a finished product for our company and unfortunately the product was contaminated with an undeclared allergen. This was an extremely dangerous situation for someone who was highly allergic to the material, and a nationwide recall was performed. Thankfully nobody was ever injured as a result of this issue.

Immediately after the discovery of the problem (and a separate team had quickly initiated the recall), I was sent to the manufacturer to determine what happened and implement new procedures to prevent it from happening again. From the very beginning it was clear that this investigation was going to be challenging. From a practical perspective it was going to be costly; the situation would most likely result in a major insurance settlement (best case) or a significant legal proceeding (worst case).

The first thing I did was schedule a meeting with the owner at the company. The purpose of the meeting was to lay out the intent of my visit and the expected outcomes. In this case, it seemed straight-forward: determine exactly what happened and establish new procedures that would prevent it from happening again. I made it clear that my focus was on determining the root cause without assigning blame. I also made it clear that the information gathered during the investigation would be shared with the owner prior to communicating it to my management. I wanted the owner to agree that the information being communicated was factual and unbiased before it was distributed to anyone else.

I believe by establishing these ‘ground rules’ up front, it helped the owner to feel more comfortable disclosing all of the facts. He also encouraged his employees to fully cooperate in the investigation by saying that all information would be important in resolving the issue.

The interview process took place and a comprehensive timeline was developed. With this information we were able to initiate a successful root cause analysis and determine exactly how the product was contaminated. I will describe the root cause analysis process and ultimate resolution to the problem in Part 2.

Establishing open communication, ground rules, and transparency at the start, was key to expediting a successful investigation. This enabled us to ‘build bridges of understanding’.

Look to Part 2 for the results of the interviews, the root cause process and how we worked together to correct the situation permanently.

 

Photo credit: Depositphotos.com Image 11826066 by 6kor3dos

Can I Trust That Character?

mcalisterts 0 Comment Expert Advice, Management Skills, Uncategorized , , , ,

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Over the years I’ve had the honor of leading many groups of people who depended on my character to support them and help them become successful. In my world, I only considered myself successful if the people around me were successful. To make my organization successful, there had to be mutual trust and it was of paramount importance that everyone one around me trusted me as their leader.

In the professional environment, to gain the trust of our co-workers we must demonstrate our character. Our character will shine through in many ways, including but not limited to, how we speak to others, how we talk about people who are not in our presence, and how well we perform our jobs day in and day out. The way we conduct ourselves builds trust. The same is true for our business partners.

Trust has many facets, and one of my favorite books is, “The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything,” by Steven M.R. Covey. A great quote from this book is, “Trust is equal parts character and competence… You can look at any leadership failure, and it’s always a failure of one or the other.” More from Covey later.

In the supply chain world, I see a very strong connection between operational success and the level of trust in the vendors. In other words, if a vendor is trustworthy and reliable, product can be made on time and in full. When this happens, the business will make progress. Without trust, it’s a very tough road.

Consider this example of what happens when trust doesn’t exist between the company and its vendors: A manufacturing company makes a variety of Widgets containing anywhere from 10 to 15 parts in each widget. There is at least one vendor for each part, depending on the volume of parts needed for production. Since the assembly process is continuous from beginning to end for each variety of widget, all parts must be available at the beginning of the assembly process. If even one part is not available, the finished product cannot be assembled.

Most producers carry low inventories of raw materials, and deliveries of new raw materials are usually ‘just in time’. More than likely, if the vendor does not deliver the supply of parts on time, production will not occur. The repercussions of this scenario are always negative and costly… downtime, unplanned schedule changes, inventory imbalance, over-time, etc.

In my experience the best way to approach this situation is to find a reliable vendor with the technical resources to meet the demand, and an ‘organizational character’ you can trust. Perhaps this sounds a little far-fetched but things go well when both organizations truly embrace how they mutually benefit each other.

“Good teams are committed to the team mission and to each other personally. Good leaders inspire and build this commitment and trust.”  Lee Ellis (Leading With Honor: Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton)

From my perspective there are ways to assess whether a new vendor will be trustworthy. Steven M.R. Covey, identifies four basic components of the trustworthy relationship: Integrity and Intent (Character) along with Capability and Results (Competency). Covey describes the process for building trust, and if the producer can answer yes to all of these questions, then the relationship will move forward quickly and efficiently. When evaluating your current vendors or considering a partnership with a new vendor, ask yourself the following questions proposed by Covey (paraphrased):

  1. Does the vendor have Integrity? –Does the vendor do what they say they will do? Do they act with humility or do they ‘brag’ about their accomplishments? Do they show the courage necessary to do what needs to be done?
  1. What is the vendor’s Intent? – Do they want to make one big sale, or do they want a long-term relationship? What is their agenda? Are they interested in what will make your company and your products better?
  1. Does the vendor have the necessary Capabilities? – Do they have the talents, skills, and knowledge you will need to move forward? Does the vendor have the resources, intellectual capacity and capabilities needed to make a difference for your business?
  1. Will the vendor get Results? – Do they consistently deliver the expected results? Will they continue to deliver in the future? Does the vendor take responsibility for their results or do they find reasons/excuses for their failures?

I have been in situations where a good vendor will answer all of the questions without hesitation and have data to back up their claims. I’ve also been involved with vendors who over-stated their capabilities… which is failure of both character and competency.

There is no simple way to get through the process of evaluating vendors. However, if time allows, the best way is to meet face-to-face with the technical representatives to ask the difficult questions and get a true understanding of their capabilities. When both parties can look each other in the eye, there is going to be a much stronger connection and subsequently, a higher level of trust.

When it comes down to it, we are all in business to be successful… you can measure success any way you like. Vendors are your partners or ‘team members’ in the enterprise and when they are successful, your business has a much better chance of being successful. If you can build a trusting relationship with ALL of your vendors you will be amazed at how much time you can then dedicate moving your business forward. Trusting those ‘characters’ will make all of the difference.

 

Picture credit:

ID 17981211 © Andrey Popov | Dreamstime.com