On Tuesday 22 October 2019, we had 8+ world-class speakers sharing their business excellence at the 27th International 20 Keys conference in Bulgaria.
Below follows a brief summary of the second-half presentations delivered on the day. This is the second of a two-part write-up of the conference. To read more about the 20 Keys partner presentations that took place earlier in the day, click here.
The 27th International 20 Keys Conference in Bulgaria was organised by our Bulgarian 20 Keys Partner, Next Consult – www.next-consult.com
Mr.Mohamed M.Elsayed, Supply Chain Manager – KAPCI Coatings, Egypt – a 20 Keys® Success Story
Mohammed shared a captivating video of KAPCI Coatings, and their 20 Keys journey. He then spoke about the journey in detail, which started in 2013.
The animated format in which he presented the improvements on the radar chart was amazing to see. In each Key, there were clear improvements made. He shared a detailed strategy map, which really made it clear why they are such a focused company. A significant amount of ideas has also been implemented at KAPCI Coatings, showing real dedication and involvement of people. His presentation was a classic example of how the 20 Keys can transform an organisation. KAPCI Coatings, Egypt was awarded the prestigious 20 Keys Excellence Award.
There are only a few companies in the world that have managed this achievement. The criteria for this award are:
Well done KAPCI Coatings on your amazing success!
Stefan Oestreich, Head of Daimler Trucks In-house Consulting Operations – Lean: The Daimler Way
Georgi Filchev, Consulter, Daimler AG
Stefan and Georgi shared an energetic video of Daimler, making everyone in the audience realise once again what a superior product they manufacture. They spoke about the importance of listening to your customer, in order to find solutions where needed. Some Focus Topics in their Continuous Improvement journey include:
- Operations Excellence
- Strategy Deployment
- Learning Experience
- People and Mindset
In Daimler, there is a great belief in sharing best practises amongst all divisions – this is done online, as well as offline. Operations Excellence is driven as a priority to optimise the whole supply chain. Although much digitalisation is happening at Daimler, the focus still remains on people.
A key point of the presentation was the importance of empowered people. This relates very well with what Toshko presented at the beginning of the day. The involvement of top management is also critical in order to create good leadership principles.
Yavor Nikolov, General Manager, Sensata Technologies – Lean Transformation – An International Plant Manager’s Perspective
Yavor presented the Lean journey of Sensata Technologies at the conference. This is a most impressive journey, which we were also able to experience first-hand when we visited the plant in Plovdiv. As a General Manager with a financial background, Yavor believes in using lean principles to achieve the goals of the organisation. He shared many amazing results that were achieved at Sensata, through their Lean journey. According to Yavor, the greatest success factor is strong leadership. He also believes that you only get people to get behind any process if you make them part of the process by participating in many activities.
Yavor spoke directly to all managers, and stressed that:
- You cannot get in touch with reality if you as a manager don’t see what is happening on the floor yourself.
- People often tend to say they are too busy to get involved in improvement activities, until they see management do it; then everyone starts to take it seriously.
- Structures sometimes block improvements, as people tend to say, “This is not my job.”
On a continuous improvement journey, leaps of faith are often needed. Not every decision taken will always work, but you have to keep on trying! Yavor believes in teamwork and communication, as well as the importance of having the right skills in the workplace. Most important is RESPECT FOR PEOPLE. He said a lean journey might be tough but it is worth it!
Thank you Yavor for inspiring all of us to be better and more involved leaders.
Stefan Markov, Lufthansa Technik – Lean Transformation by Project Management and Continuous Improvement Processes in Lufthansa Technik Sofia
Stefan took us through the lean transformation journey at Lufthansa. He said he looked forward to sharing this journey with everyone. He thought it was amazing to have so many people in one room who believe in the same principles and who want to improve their businesses. He was also delighted that so many people spoke about the importance of people involvement. At Lufthansa, People Performance Management is very important.
Stefan shared six principles at the conference, which form the foundation of their improvement journey.
Principle 1 is about the importance of KPIs, and setting targets. It is so important for people to understand where these KPIs and targets come from, and what is behind them.
Principle 2 promotes the importance of visualisation. Visualisation must be easy to recognise, using traffic lights, colour coding, etc. In this way, complex data can be transformed into understandable information, providing insight into the workplace.
Principle 3 strengthens performance dialogue in the categories of SQDCP. Detailed information is shared by all.
Principle 4 is about process confirmation – it encourages routine, as well as regular follow-ups. Everybody needs to understand what the standards are and how to correct deviations.
Principle 5 supports problem-solving and recognises several methods that can be used. A preferred method, is the 3 C’s, i.e.:
- Concern
- Cause
- Countermeasure
Principle 6 focuses on leadership. Leaders play a key role and must always be able to engage teams. They need to ensure that they set appropriate targets. Leaders must strive to create a Continuous Improvement culture, and should be patient in developing people towards this culture.
Thank you Lufthansa for allowing us to tour your plant and for helping us to see these principles in action. We all feel much safer to air-travel after seeing your processes!
The events of the day were held together by Next Consult MC – Emil Vuchkov. Great work Emil!
After the conference, there was time for good food and a huge amount of networking was enjoyed by all. Well done to Next Consult for organising and hosting a very successful 27th International 20 Keys conference.
To view the 27th International Conference album at a glance, click here.
Author: Huibie Jones: MD at ODI