Get everyone on board and move the team forward

Tips for setting shared goals so everyone is on the same page.

Getting the full team aligned is hard, especially in a plant where everybody is busy with their own priorities and tasks. Sometimes, it may seem impossible to get everyone to back the same goals. If you have been struggling with getting your team to reach an important benchmark, here are some tips that you can try in your own plant to help your team collaborate towards increasing run-time.

1. Give praise, but give it thoughtfully.

Everyone likes being told that they are doing a good job or making a positive difference. Praise is a great tool for motivating people to reach the goals you need. Giving praise is the most impactful when it includes specific people and specific examples of what they are doing well. Being specific helps you reinforce what your goals and lets operators know what you want them to do without having to give a lecture. 

For example, you know that the morning shift has been super productive for the past week. Take the time to find out who is operating that shift and what they are doing to help the machines run more smoothly. Instead of “everyone, keep up the good work!”, once in a while try something like “kudos to Bob from the morning shift for his 5% increase in production! His detailed records of Extruder Two’s downtime helped us find out that the heater was broken so we could fix it right away.”

2. Make sure every person feels important.

Some people say that the key to a successful company is for everyone in the company to be interested in the company’s success. To do this, executives and managers need to create a supportive environment that empowers everyone on the team, from managers to operators. 

Operators are the backbone of the manufacturing plant. They often know exactly where the issues are, how to fix them, and exactly what needs to be done to increase run-time. However, they frequently aren’t given the chance to implement their own solutions for issues. For many operators, it can be motivating to feel heard and to see their ideas implemented in projects. Several factories have seen great improvements in morale and results from scheduling time every week for groups of operators to discuss technical improvements or conduct projects that will make their own jobs more enjoyable, such as placing items needed for a changeover in a more convenient location. 

Including operators in the process of working towards the company’s goal not only can produce great results, it can make for happier operators who don’t need to deal with unaddressed issues and who feel appreciated for the positive impact their efforts create.

3. Present data in a way that is easy to understand.

A picture speaks a thousand words. Instead of bringing a bunch of numbers to a meeting and confusing everyone, try keeping it simple by using a graph or chart. Trends in graphs are sometimes so obvious that formal task or goal-setting might start to feel unnecessary. 

An operator looking at a simple visual can easily tell what they are expected to do. For example, a line going down or a red row on a chart means decreased production; to an operator, it means they need to find a way to fix issues and minimize downtime/idling time so the line will go back up. A green box could become a rewarding signal that monthly or daily targets were met, like a shout-out to people who are achieving great results or efficiency. Those who met their targets could then share their techniques with others. 

Another possibility is to place visuals in an accessible place, like a large board or screen, so operators can see the trends themselves. Being open about machine data can let operators know that the data isn’t there to control them but to help them do better at their job. With the visuals, operators can ask themselves “does this make sense?” and know exactly what needs to be done.

4. Turn boring tasks into a game or competition.

Who said that work had to be tedious? Use charts and visuals as game stat boards to drive improvements in production. During daily or weekly meetings, people can see if they “won” or “lost” in the past day or week just by looking at the color on their line in the dashboard. Individuals can also compare their own “score” to their colleagues’ and ask for tips to improve their own performance and climb the leaderboard. Color coding can be simple to represent tangible results, like green for “success” and red for “needs improvement”. Framing work as a game or competition can compel individuals to take ownership of their work.

5. Offer training so everyone is on the same page.

Sometimes, slow production simply means that some employees need to be re-trained so everyone can be on the same page. Ask people from the best-performing shifts to share their techniques with employees who might be struggling. When everyone is comfortable with the most effective methods for production, the rest of the process falls into place.

Additionally, training for middle management is extremely important because these managers are usually the ones who train other employees, calculate important metrics, and create digital graphs and charts that others rely on for information.

How can Guidewheel help?

The first step to getting everyone on board is to have good data in a simple, action-driven format. This is where Guidewheel comes in. Guidewheel makes it easy to visualize results and identify areas for improvement in ways you can share with your team. In addition, Guidewheel can save you time by automatically looking for patterns, highlighting which people/shifts/machines are working well, and helping you figure out your next goal. With real-time information that can be easily presented and distributed, everybody can constantly be thinking about how to improve rather than waiting for directions.

For operators, Guidewheel can be the tool that lets them self-guide their daily work. The platform is easy to use, visual, and customizable so that when someone logs on, they see exactly the things they need. Teammates at every level can get visibility into everyday production stats by actively using the Guidewheel system and looking at the data. When the executives, managers, and operators are all well versed in the platform, everyone feels accountable to keep on improving. 

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions about Guidewheel or future posts that could be helpful, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at info@safi.ai.