According to business management guru, Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt, there are three necessary conditions for a successful organisation:

1. Make money now as well as in the future
2. Provide a secure and satisfying environment to employees now as well as in the future
3. Provide satisfaction to the market now as well as in the future

“Thinking people” have the ability to detect problems quickly and address it before it snowballs into an issue where the manager has to get involved. Thinking people ensure that transition from the “fighting fires” – culture to the “building for tomorrow” – culture takes place. “Thinking people” creates capacity for the management team to focus on the most important things that might not seem that urgent but will have an impact and returns in future.   

Obtaining the objective of “thinking people” on all levels of the organisation requires a process of creating layers of understanding. It is achieved through

• structured, daily communication (Key 2: Mini-Business meetings) as well as

• participation in problem-solving groups (Key 3: Small Group Activities).

The image below aims to explain how the different layers of understanding are constructed in an organisation.

The foundational layer of understanding is constructed through the sharing of information. But how do we know what information to share?

Every team in the organisation represents a small part of the bigger organisation. The first line manager of every team is responsible for the achievement of goals within their specific small business – also referred to as Mini-Businesses.  For every Mini-Business there should be specific measurements for Quality, Cost, Delivery, Safety and Motivation (QCDSM). From an operations perspective, the first-line teams have a direct impact on these indicators and therefore it is of utmost importance that they are equipped with information about their team’s QCDSM performance.

Once the operational objectives or QCDSM indicators have been defined for every team. These indicators have to be monitored and discussed on a daily basis through a structured meeting which is held preferably at the start of the day/shift. Monitoring and discussing the same information in a structured way, repetitively, over a period of time, creates a rhythm of constructive communication which ultimately leads to the understanding of information.

Understanding of information is reinforced by applying simple techniques like involving team members in the collection, manual updating and visually tracking of information about these operational indicators. Another way of reinforcing understanding is having different members of the team facilitate the morning meeting and give feedback.

If the layer of understanding is well-constructed for the team, they will be able to start recognising patterns and understand drivers which influences the results. Brainstorming and idea generation will flow naturally with everyone on the look-out for improvement opportunities and reducing waste.

If an idea or a problem that has been identified requires some analysis before it can be implemented, the next step is to formulate a small problem-solving group, referred to as a Small Group Activity (SGA) which operates independently from the Mini-Business meeting.

The first principle to remember when commencing with a Small Group Activity is to NEVER SOLVE PROBLEMS ALONE. Apart from the obvious benefits of viewing the problem from multiple perspectives, there is a significant amount of learning and cross-skilling that takes place during problem-solving activities. Knowledge is often only transferred when we are prompted to share it. Solving problems together allows for the transfer of implicit knowledge and equips individuals to develop their intuitive responses when faced with similar problems.

Another important principle of problem-solving is following the disciplined approach outlined in the CAPDo cycle.

CHECK – The ability to “see” a problem is a victory in itself. If the environment is not safe, employees tend to hide problems and mistakes, or they simply do not realise that something is wrong. Employees have to be encouraged to see and highlight potential problems.

ANALYSE – This is the most important step in the cycle where most of the time and energy should be spent, especially when you are faced with more complex problems. The Analysis phase requires a thorough and detailed RCA (Root Cause Analysis) process. The quality and sustainability of the solution depends on the depth of the analysis.

PLAN – The possible solutions are then translated into a SMART Action plan. All actions should be documented meeting the conditions of being specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. The objective of the action plan is progress and accountability.

DO – Ensure that the plan is implemented by following up on specific tasks executed by specific people within a pre-determined timeframe.

CHECK – After implementingthe plan we have to “check” whether the plan/solution had an impact on the results. If the impact can be seen, CELEBRATE SUCCESS and standardise. If not, we continue to run through the CAPDo cycle until we have achieved the desired result.  

The result of “Thinking People” on all levels of the organisation is an energised workplace where every individual understands their role and contribution towards the ultimate long-term success of the organisation. In this way, the individuals in the business can pull together to achieve the same goals. As former CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch stated:” The companies that find a way to engage every mind – harness every volt of passionate energy, bring excitement to the lives of people to come to work in search of a better way – every day – will be the companies that will win”

Author: Esbe’ du Toit: Senior Consultant

The post Creating “thinking” people on all levels of the organisation appeared first on ODI.

On Thursday 26 October 2023, ODI hosted a Conference – Operations Excellence: A Never-ending Journey, at the Premier Hotel OR Tambo in Johannesburg, South Africa.

A line-up of excellent speakers, long-time and new implementations, from manufacturing, production, HR, Retail and administrative industries, shared their best practices and learnings. 

Registration to this event happened promptly at 07:30 while delegates enjoyed refreshments before the event started.

ODI’s Director, Johan Benadie, welcomed the delegates and explained the agenda for the day.

1st Speaker: Yoshi Kobayashi, President, PDI Japan

Topic of discussion: 20 Keys in South Africa and Japan

Yoshi gave a brief history of PDI and ODI, of 20 Keys and of the international conferences.

He mentioned the importance of the fundamental principles of Operations Excellence and identified the need for the incorporation of current technologies.

He reminded the audience of the circular image of the 20 Keys system implying motion which leads to culture change.

His definition of Operations Excellence: Operations Excellence is a never-ending journey of strengthening the organisation and improving QCDSM.

Yoshi shared with the audience the results of a successful 20 Keys implementation at a Food Company in Japan. While Sales volume was 25% lower, the GP margin increased with 6% over the same period. Yoshi described the steps of how the results were achieved and how the different Keys were leveraged to achieve specific outcomes. When referring to Productivity, he reminded the audience of People-hour productivity, not just machine work rates.

Yoshi concluded his presentation by saying that the Keys all work together to make a large impact on QCDSM and the profit of the company.

2ND SPEAKER: MARTIN PREECE, INTERIM CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, GOLD FIELDS LTD

TOPIC OF DISCUSSION: UNLEASHING THE POTENTIAL OF PEOPLE: THE KEY TO UNLOCKING A CULTURE OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Martin opened the presentation by explaining that continuous improvement is essential since the world is changing and workplace risks are increasing.

Adopting a mindset of continuous improvement is essential to navigate the complex challenges of the 21^st century.

The Gold Fields journey started 12 years ago when the South Deep Mine was showing negative nett cash flow for a few consecutive years.

Explaining the CAPDo cycle – It’s not finding a method that works and sticking with it. It’s looking at where you are today, setting a goal and doing what needs to be done to reach that goal.

Once that goal is met, you start again, finding ways to improve further. It doesn’t matter what kind of industry or business you’re in — a continuous improvement approach is necessary to keep ahead of the game.

Martin shared the implementation of their continuous improvement journey which they named “Siyaphambili”.

When you change mindsets, you influence behaviour, which shifts culture to drive continuous improvement.

The journey starts at the bottom with

• shaping the culture,
• building capacity (enabled and capable people),
• manage the work (doing things the right way – the first time),
• improve the work and
• sustain the improvement.

Martin described each of the 5 steps in depth. He made an interesting comment about leadership saying that they have a disproportionate outcome on results.

Develop a capable, accountable, and engaged workforce as a key enabler for the creation of sustainable improvement.

When it comes to Building Capacity, Gold Fields started with an integrated assessment of their front-line leaders on four dimensions which lead to a development plan and related skills/competence building.

Gold Fields partnered with ODI to facilitate the skill building and development of their front-line leaders by doing the following learnerships:

• National Certificate: Management ID83946 NQF3

• National Certificate: Generic Management ID59201 NQF5

Martin explained their Meeting Areas focusses on 3 things;

1 Effective team engagement,

2 Root Cause Analysis and

3 Continuous Improvement.

He emphasised the importance of accountability and ownership when it comes to updating the charts – ugly, but effective.

Martin concluded by showing the results of the last 5 years showing an increasingly positive net cash flow.

It’s critical to remember this is not the destination but merely the start of our journey.

3RD SPEAKER: Francois Sieberhagen, Executive Head Human Resources

VKB Group Human Capital: Our Journey to Excellence

Francois started off by explaining the significance of Human Capital to follow an operations excellence journey because of its many moving parts and the massive impact that the Human Capital department has on people which are directly responsible for operations. He used the analogy of an aeroplane saying that there is a left wing which is the S.M.A.R.T wing and then there is the People wing, both wings have to be functioning well in order for the plane to keep flying.

The WHY of the VKB Human Capital team: We need to create an environment and healthy culture where our VKB employees find 

• meaningful employment, 
• build lasting relationships,
• be emotionally committed to the company and through that all,
• reach their full potential​.

They embarked on a mission to become 100% paperless in the Human Capital environment. They started their journey in 2018 with Key 1 and removed almost 20 tons of paper. After attending the ODI conference in 2019, the team decided to take on more Keys and aim for Excellence.

The HC team implemented SLAs and started with daily measurements which was challenging to establish in an administrative environment.

In 2021 – Johan Benadie from ODI completed a Benchmarking assessment on all Keys in the HC department.

The team started with MB health checks and recording the number of suggestions implemented (Key 3) – 237 suggestions implemented in 2022.

The team used Key 18 to generate various HC dashboards.

In August 2022, the VKB Human Capital department achieved Excellence status

4 th Speaker: Climent Monyela CI & Quality Manager, Adient

Topic of Discussion: Developing World Class People for a World Class Company

Climent started with the vision and mission of Adient SA.

They have 5 guiding principles:

Climent discussed the success stories that have transpired from the ODI-Adient partnership since 2014:

• Internal Promotions to leadership positions
• Development and expansion of the leadership skills-set
• Upskilling all operators by equipping them with CI principles with the NQF 3 Supervision qualification                                                             
• The national qualifications from ODI “dovetailing” productivity as a focus

HPT (High Performance Teams) focusing on KPIs

Climent shared the Continuous Improvement and Quality strategy for 2024 which is depicted below:

5th Speaker: Landi van Der Merwe Continuous Improvement Manager, VKB Group

Topic of Discussion: Keeping momentum when the gears change – the Road after the 20 Keys Excellence Award

Landi delivered a most inspiring presentation with depth and substance, showcasing their entrenched culture of continuous improvement.

Landi kicked off with a few facts about GFC (Grain Field Chickens) Abattoir

• Slaughter ± 1,050,000 birds per week
• 23 Boiler Sites
• 174 Chicken Houses (Broilers only) (Ave 41 500 birds p/house)
• 24 hours / 5 days a week operation
• Plant employees ± 1650 people

The GFC team commenced with their first 20 Keys benchmark in 2016.

Landi shared photos and graphs on each of the requirements of the Excellence award and the results that they obtained.

Landi mentioned that Paper is the Enemy of Key 1. FSSC Findings have reduced by 73% since 2016. The number of production plan changes have reduced by 43% since 2016. The overall Productivity measure of Kg per Man/hour improved by 64% since 2016. Morale improvement of 23% measured through a questionnaire completed by employees. Engineering Stock Turn % showed a 39% improvement. Stock value in the Packaging Stores showed a 23% improvement. The measurement on Sweepings showed a 35% improvement. Packaging waste was reduced by 57%.

Landi shared their lessons learnt along the way:

• Data is imperative, “What you do not measure you do not know”
• Each Key has a dedicated Key Leader
• Key scores are part of the employees’ KPI and performance appraisal
• Monthly feedback from each Key Leader to support where progress is slow
• Constant training for floor personnel
• Follow the CAPDo cycle

Landi entered the next phase of her presentation which was about maintaining momentum after achieving the Excellence Award.

• Always keep the MD and Senior Management involved
• All Keys part of Employee Engagement (1, 2, 3 ,10) must be part of ALL Management KPIs
• Each department to have dedicated 3 colour chart
• Key Leader meetings and scoring system
• Internal assessment of the Radar Chart every 3 months
• Internal Annual Continuous Improvement Function
• Automate the repetitive processes and standardize feedback

Landi mentioned how much they appreciate the knowledge and the depth they receive from the ODI team.

Landi shared a few practical examples of improvement initiatives and explained how GFC has automated/digitalised their 20 Keys measurements.

Landi ended the presentation by leaving us with two very important statements:

• Continuous Improvement is not a silver bullet that will magically remove all problems. Instead, CI will highlight where the problems are and as a Team need to be solved.
• Continuous Improvement is not a race, it is a gradual process. That needs constant support and guidance.

6th Speaker: Brett Momberg Divisional Manager, BBF Safety Group

Topic of Discussion: BBF: Our Operations Excellence Journey

Brett made quite an entrance by walking to the podium barefoot and showing everyone that they are in the “shoe” business.

Brett started his presentation with an encouraging quote about the continuous improvement:

The more efficient you are at doing the wrong thing, the wronger you become. It is much better to do the right thing wronger, than the wrong thing righter. If you do the right thing wrong, and correct it, you get better. – Russel Ackoff

BBF uses the OPEX Modules which are based on the 20 Keys system.

National Certificate: Productivity (NQF Level 5)

Brett shared before and after photos of their operations excellence journey and ended off with lessons learnt along the way.

A few key messages being:

• LEARNING TO LEAD, LEADING TO LEARN.
• REPETITION ENFORCES A WAY OF LIFE.

7th Speakers: Tanuja Naidoo, Senior Africa Supply Chain Manager & Gift Masabane, Warehouse Manager Digistics Logistics

Topic of Discussion: LeaderSHIFT: Attitude over Altitude

Tanuja started the presentation by contextualizing the importance of ATTITUDE in an ever-evolving environment.

She spoke about the shift in Digistics to focus on People Development and having the attitude of seeing change, not as a threat, but as an opportunity to grow our people and organisation to achieve greater success.

Once employees witness the success of collaborating rather than competing, line managers will start igniting their teams – Focusing on the company goals and objectives to bring about the desired change.

The attitude of valuing every player in our logistics supply chain has transformed isolated efforts into a symphony of seamless operations.

Digistics core focus is people development and the partnership with ODI has assisted us in gaining more insight into growing people from within. ODI has impacted us in many ways by sparking a generation of “thinking people” in our organisation.

Gift Masabane, a Warehouse Manager, who started at Digistics as a Picker, presented with great pride about the impact of leaders on people development as well as QCDSM results.

Gift started by mentioning a few key elements of leadership which he linked with the presentation title LeaderSHIFT.

He explained that leadership comes in many forms and that mastering the skill of listening will not put a lid on the growth of an individual. He added that a leader that listens, learns and continues to grow.

Gift offered an inspiring definition of attitude driven – servant leadership:

With the right attitude a leader will be able to paint a persuasive vision of the company’s future that excites workers and encourages them to be an important part of it. This includes allowing employees to offer constructive criticism and suggestions for improvement.

Gift shared the impact of leadership on QCDSM results.

• Seek first to create a relationship with your team members.
• As a team leader, you share responsibility for the success of your team.
• Showing respect improves productivity, boosts employee morale, and creates an environment where everyone feels comfortable with their roles and responsibilities.
• Listening actively when your coworkers speak or share ideas
• Always remember the CAPDo cycle
• Create a culture where team members take ownership of their actions and feel comfortable admitting when things go wrong.

The presentation was based on the ODI learnership journey at Digistics and specifically the following qualifications:

NC: Management ID83946 NQF3

FETC: Generic Management  ID57712 NQF4 NC: Generic Management ID59201 NQF5

8TH SPEAKER: Nikki Moodley Operations Improvement Executive, Astral Operations Ltd

Topic of Discussion: The Astral Way…. Excellence is not an Act, but a Habit

Nikki presented on The Astral Way with a calm confidence, the presentation was a true North to all businesses in attendance.

Nikki provided context with a brief overview of the business and the Astral Excellence journey since 1998.

Nikki described The Astral Operations Excellence journey to target two aspects namely Strategic Fit and Structured Approach.

Nikki shared the image below which depicts their effective implementation of Key 2.

Nikki shared that the current focus of Astral is building a culture of connectivity and engagement which ultimately results in an energised workplace.

The Astral team looked at Patrick Lencioni’s “5 Dysfunctions of a Team”, integrated with Keys 2,3 and 10 and commenced with a workshop called Reset, Refocus and Restart (RRR).

Nikki highlighted the diverse nature of the 20 Keys system and shared how the principles can be applied to all day-to-day aspects of the business as well as managing risks and navigating the uncertainty resulting from business cycles. Astral has developed a 20 Keys architecture that provides the necessary structure for them to maintain Excellence status including utilising the competencies of ODI by adding value to the business with cost reduction or efficiency improvement projects.

Nikki shared a few success stories of 20 Keys implementations in the Support Functios – Logistics, Sales, IT and HR.

Astral hosted an internal 20 Keys conference with the title: “Strategy is a commodity; implementation is an Art”.

Nikki concluded the presentation with an expression of gratitude towards the ODI team and Johan Benadie especially, for the invaluable support on the never-ending Excellence journey.

9th Speaker: Dawrian Salies General Manager, CTP – SA Litho

Topic of Discussion: Effective Communication Structures: A Prerequisite for Sustainable Operations Excellence

Dawrian provided a brief overview of the CTP Footprint and where SA Litho fits in the picture. Dawrian started with a definition of Effective Communication:

Effective communication is the process of conveying information, thoughts, ideas, or feelings from one person or group to another in a way that is:

• Clear,
• Understandable,
• And achieves the intended purpose.
• It involves both the sender and receiver of the message working together to ensure that the message is accurately understood.

Dawrian reminded the audience once again of the vital link between Operations Excellence and People in their pursuit of being the label printer of choice. They achieve this by creating an environment where people are

• able,
• trusted,
• willing and
• accountable for driving continuous improvement.  

SA Litho follows a high impact approach that leverages the foundation elements of Continuous Improvement to generate and sustain performance momentum. These elements are the building blocks of establishing a sustainable continuous improvement culture:

• Visual Goal alignment
• Efficient Workplace organisation
• Small-Group Activities (Problem solving)

Dawrian described the three levels of management in operations, their functions and how the meeting structures work at SA Litho – this is how they achieve effective communication by quickly escalating issues and cascading feedback between levels. Dawrian described managers as capability builders who are responsible for teaching the team how to improve and solve problems

Dawrian shared a few pictures of the meeting structures

Dawrian concluded the presentation by reminding everyone about the importance of measurements, especially in effective communication, it removes the emotion from the conversation. He left the audience with the famous quote from Deming – “Without data you’re just another person with an opinion”.

10th Speaker: Lapologang Laps Letshwenyo, Business Improvement Coordinator, Morupule Coal Mine, Botswana

Topic of Discussion: The MCM Business (20 keys) in Support of Achieving Consistent Nameplate Capacity in Underground Coal Mining

Laps tarted the presentation by echoing many speakers about the importance of starting with the WHY? He explained that for MCM, the WHY is employee ownership.

Laps provided a brief company overview and sharing the MCM history for the past 50 years. ODI has developed a customised system for MCM which is the 20 Keys system condensed into 12 Pillars called the MCM Business System

MCM also uses their Business System to support their international certification – ISO14001, ISO55001, ISO45001 and ISO17025 Laboratory

Laps shared their radar chart results since 2012 and explained that there was a drop in Goal alignment due to the uncertainty created by a restructuring initiative. The morale is improving with management visibility and engagement.

Laps explained how Operations Excellence and the implementation of 20 Keys is integrated with the corporate strategy as part of MCM’s imperatives:

• Organisational capability: create capacity and capability to drive key outcomes and growth opportunities and provide focus on key enabling functions required for growth.
• Operational excellence and productivity: drive operational excellence of the operations ensuring that name plate capacity is achieved, and cost is limited.
• Digitalisation and integration: create an integrate operation through leveraging technology and enabling decision making.

Laps spoke about the shift in thinking with regards to data and digitalisation where they are moving to obtaining the data from source (the machines) rather than having data capturers. This shifts the focus to utilising brain power for problem solving instead of data capturing.

The MCM team used the technique of value stream mapping to identify opportunities for improvement across the site.

They have achieved improvement in various metrics such as underground air utilization, STRATA control, electricity consumption and belt extension delays.

Laps also shared headline financial indicators showing 36% increase in Revenue and 67.1% increase in Gross Profit.

After looking at the hard measures, Laps pointed us to the People aspects of Safety, Recognition and Motivation.

The incident and NearHit trends are on the decline since 2017, he shared a few pictures of rewards, recognition, and communication.

This is how they take care of their most valuable assets:

• Rewarding the best performing individuals and teams.
• Planned task observations / Coaching.
• Management visibility – walk about.
• Stand downs – let’s stop work and talk.
• Improve talent development.
• Improve internal technical capacity.
• Team and individual performance management.

11th Speaker: Nicky Titus Admin/Operations Manager, Sheerline Cape Town

Topic of Discussion: 20 Keys in Support of Quick & Efficient Stock Turnover

Nicky ended the day of knowledge sharing by industry experts, with a practical implementation story, reminding everyone about the importance of getting the basics right.

She started with a brief company overview and proceeded to the “WHY” of implementing the 20 Keys system.

Nicky explained that the key successes for Sheerline was setting up Mini-Business Areas, focussing on skills versatility and focusing on small group activities.

Nicky shared before and after pictures of Cleaning and Organising.

There were so many suggestions from the floor with regards to improvement initiatives.

Sheerline achieved peer-to-peer accountability by moving the action plan to the floor

Nicky shared how Sheerline offered Life Skills training to staff leading to increased employee engagement. During this training, the topic of budgets were covered since making financially poor decisions, affected the staff at work.

Nicky emphasised the importance and the power of employee recognition. Sheerline has also started a book club since they believe that an informed leader is a powerful leader.  

At the end of Nicky’s presentation, Huibie Jones (MD at ODI) pointed out that after listening to so many inspiring presentations it was only appropriate that recognition should be given to some people who have played outstanding roles in their companies to help these stories become a reality.

Huibie announced the Top Achievers during the Special Awards Ceremony. To view the Special Awards Ceremony, click here.

Our Chairman, Gerald McKinnon, thanked our speakers and everybody who attended the conference. He also reminded people of the cocktail party after the event.

Pieter Bosman : Operations Manager
 
“What a journey this is. The saying you are never too old to learn is so true. My eyes opened with this Operations Excellence Conference. I enjoyed the following speaker who made an impact on me as a person: Martin Preece from Gold Fields Limited spoke about Unleashing the Potential of People and the key to unblocking a Culture of Continues Improvement. I would also like to congratulate the ODI team for a Job well done.”

Gift Semeti Masabane : Warehouse Manager at Digistics Waterfall (Pty) Ltd
 
“I had a very wonderful day… Learned a lot from the speakers and I can’t wait to attend the next ODI conference. ODI played a very important role in my career and personal development. Many thanks to Johan, Maryke, Mbali and ODI team for transforming our lives and careers in Digistics. A very memorable and insightful ODI conference. Great minds from learned and influential leaders. Thank you very much to ODI for giving me an opportunity to be a part of this life changing experience.”

Annatjie Prinsloo: Human Resources Manager at ADIENT SA

“Thank you ODI, it was a great experience.”

Tumelo Ledwaba

“Thank you for the invite, it was very nice to meet you today and I must say I enjoyed myself. It was really a great experience being in that conference and meeting all those great leaders.”

Tane Coetzer

“I had the privilege of attending the ODI conference. The theme was ‘Operations Excellence: A Never-Ending Journey.’ It was fantastic to learn from incredible managers and personnel of all levels in various organisations. In addition, we had the immense privilege to meet Dr. Yoshiyuki Kobayashi, the son of the infamous Iwao Kobayashi who founded ’20 Keys: A Practical Program of Revolution in Factories.’ Thank you ODI for the enlightening opportunity.”

Done Joubert: Industrial engineering student at the University of Pretoria

“Last week, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the ODI conference. It was such a pleasure to learn more about operational excellence, continuous improvement, 20 Keys, and its impact in various fields – we even had the privilege to meet Dr Yoshi Kobayashi, son of the 20 Keys founder! I also enjoyed fascinating conversations with some of the other companies’ representatives, including Landi van der Merwe from the VKB Group and Jessica Vosloo from Wispeco Aluminium. I’m looking forward to the next fantastic learning opportunity!”

Nicky Titus

“What a wonderful event to attend. It was my first. The event itself was so well organised. Cannot fault a single thing. The speakers’ content highlighted that we all share common goals and challenges. ODI and the 20 Keys programme and the NQF learnerships in partnership with their clients have had great positive effects on the organisations staff. Thank you ODI, Johan & Huibie for your dedication & commitment to get the continuous improvement wheel turning at Sheerline Aluminium Systems.”

Landi van der Merwe:

“What a great honor and privilege to have been part of and present at the ODI Conference 2023 held at the Premier Hotel OR Tambo. Having Dr Yoshi in the audience as a special guest made it even more special. The VKB Group was well presented (Agri Processors, GWK, Grain Field Chickens, VKB Milling, Human Capital, and Internal Audit) and focused on changing gears, the journey back to excellence, and a very strong focus on PEOPLE. I also want to thank ODI for my award for Contribution towards Operational Excellence.”

CTP Packaging

“We had a great time at the ODI Conference yesterday! It was good to meet up with our Joburg colleagues too! We are so proud of all the Caxton and CTP award winners! Special shout out to Mikhial Carolissen for winning the Top Achiever Award for the Production Technology NQF 3 Learnership, and to Clinton Cyster for winning the ‘Best Workplace Mentor and Support’ award. Congratulations!!!”

Francois Sieberhagen, Human Capital Executive: VKB Group

“Ek wil graag van die geleentheid gebruik maak om vir die ODI span, hartlik geluk te wens met ‘n baie suksesvolle konferensie. Baie dankie vir die voorreg dat ek genooi was as ‘n spreker, ek het dit regtig geniet. Dit is altyd vir my ‘n groot voorreg om te gesels oor menslike kapitaal en ook om mede-“people professionals” by te staan met idees oor hoe hulle hul werksplekke kan verbeter. Mense is my passie, en om te strewe na die skep van merkwaardige werksplekke waar werknemers hulle volle potensiaal bereik deur die uitleef van hul talente. Ek sien uit na ‘n volgende geleentheid om saam met ODI te werk.”

The post ODI’s Conference – Operations Excellence: A never-ending journey (26 Oct 2023) appeared first on ODI.

Investing in your employees’ learning and development is key to ensuring a smooth transformation. Team dynamics play a vital role in the organisation’s culture. Each member of a team’s role impacts other team members and the group as a whole.

Doing a full learnership is always a good idea, as there are so many benefits attached to it, HOWEVER, there certainly are times when a shorter intervention is required, to obtain some quicker gains for the organisation.

The Skills Programmes offered by ODI have been carefully selected to ensure maximum benefits.

Manage Basic Team Dynamics and Techniques (for Continuous Business Improvement) is a 4-day Skills Programme that addresses five performance areas (PA’s):

1. Goal alignment as a best practice strategy
2. Use a mini business to meet organisational goals
3. Manage the activities of your mini business
4. Increase efficiency in your mini business through the implementation of the 5S approach.
5. Problem-solving and decision-making

A group of first-line supervisors who recently completed this Skills Program had the following to say:

• I enjoyed being here. I’ve learned that there are different ways to look at problems and problem-solving
• I’ve learned a lot. I don’t regret being part of this program, it was really a win-win. I’ve learned that you’re never too old to learn something. It was incredible.
• I’ve learned many things that I haven’t known before. I’ve learned how to apply it and how to provide leadership to my team
• The training was very good and inspirational. I have learned a lot and it was great to be here.
• Effective. Eye-opener. Cultivate and implement better ways of organisational & Skills Development.
• Very spot-on training to implement in your area for improvements. Problem solving and 5why’s was very useful to implement.
• Learned about how to get our mini business to a point where all team members can understand what the patterns in the workplace are, and how we can make it better
• I’ve experienced so many things that I never knew before that I can use now to improve my work-area. I’ve learned what it means to run/manage a mini business.

To give you a better idea of what is covered in this Skills Programme, we’ll discuss each performance area.

PA1: Goal alignment as a best practice strategy, deals with:

• The organisation strategy, includes the vision, mission and values.
• The strategic direction of the organisation
• The key success factors including:
• Diverse customer base
• Financial stability
• Access to and retention of key skills
• Ability to manage risks.
• Operational efficiency
• Continuous improvement
• Best operating practices
• Organisation structure
• Benchmarking
• The difference between benchmarking and best practices

PA2: Use a mini business to meet organisational goals, deals with:

• Organisational goals and objectives
• How you measure success
• What one intends to do or achieve
• The purpose towards which an endeavour is directed.
• The specific target towards which an organisation is striving.
• How individual goals are aligned with departmental and organizational goals.
• The CAPDo cycle
• Aligning goals to legislative requirements
• Establish a mini business following the steps below:
• The team as a system within the organization
• Supply chain
• Understanding customer service excellence
• Service Level Agreements (SLA’s)
• Customer Satisfaction Survey
• Improve customer service through the CAPDo cycle.
• Building supplier relationships

PA3: Manage the activities of your mini business, involves:

• Communicating goals, objectives, and standards to team members
• Holding regular meetings to discuss performance against standards.
• Monitoring and evaluating performance
• Keeping records of team performance
• Managing and prioritising your time

PA4: Increase efficiency in your mini business through the implementation of the 5S approach.

Efficient workplace organisation is about applying techniques to make work easier and safer, and creating a functional, good-looking workplace.

Everybody in the organization should be involved, and implementation at first-line team level is especially important, as they are closest to day-to-day operations.

With the 5S technique (Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain), you will learn how to create, and maintain an organized workplace.

• Sort: The first step in making work safer and easier; finding and getting rid of all unneeded items in the workplace. You should look at all items in your work area including:
• material,                  
• equipment,
• tools,
• parts,
• information,
• stationary,
• furniture,
• signs
• Set-in-order: Once all the unneeded items have been removed from the workplace, arrange the needed items, so that it is easy to see:
• Where things are
• What is out of place, missing, or too much.
• Where things should be returned to

The aim is to create a safe and visual workplace. Remember there is a golden rule: A place for everything and everything in its place.

• Shine: to create a bright and pleasant workplace. Shine, or cleaning, also focuses on removing dirt, dust, and grime from the workplace. Cleaning should become a part of daily work habits.
• Standardise: Method used to maintain sort, shine, and set in order. Means to maintain cleanliness and orderliness; to prevent things from slipping back to the way they were is done by:
• Writing simple procedures
• Assigning responsibilities
• Preventing things from getting dirty and disorganized
• Doing workplace audits, using the 5S check sheet.
• Sustain: has to do with self-discipline; following the standard, specified procedure. It is about creating a culture of doing things the right way; putting things back where they belong, replacing a misplaced item, picking up a piece of paper in the corner, etc. People at all levels of the organization need to be won over to the 5S culture. The following methods can be used:
• Communication
• Education
• Recognition
• Time
• Structure

PA5: Problem-solving and decision-making

Some problems never seem to go away; they keep on coming back. That’s because the real problem has not been solved, only the symptoms of the problem. These persistent problems are the most frustrating to deal with, and they need a systematic approach to get to the bottom of what is causing them. Use the CAPDo- cycle to solve problems:

• Check
• Step1: Define the problem. A problem is the gap between the current state and the desired state. Problems can be identified through:
• Own observations and experience
• Comparative/benchmarking studies
• Quality and safety audits
• Complaints
• Performance reporting
• Customer satisfaction surveys, etc.
• Analyze
• Step2: Analyze for causes (Identify all possible causes, collect data about causes, interpret data, identify most probable cause)
• Step3: Generate solutions.
• Step4: Select best solution.
• Plan
• Step 5: Plan to implement best solution.
• Do
• Step6: Implement best solution.
• Celebrate success.
• Step7: Evaluate results.

Continuous improvement and constantly finding new and better ways of managing your business should be the basis of any improvement initiative.

Author: Valery Hansen: Facilitator at ODI

The post Managing basic team dynamics & techniques for continuous business improvement appeared first on ODI.

Currently, Dr. Ntokozo Mthembu (Advisor to the ODI Board) is doing an online course in Introduction to Maintenance Engineering offered by Lulea University of Technology, Sweden, through the FutureLearn educational online channel. The course leader is Professor Uday Kumar.

Ntokozo writes:

“I am honoured and pleased to share the insights on engineering maintenance with the ODI community of 20 Keys implementers. My wish is that these insights shared herein will equip, empower and enable the ODI 20 Keys implementers to draw their application on the canvas of their understanding.

I am planning to present a couple of series, starting with 3 concepts out of 6 maintenance engineering concepts of Professor Kumar.“

Series 1: Why, What and When

During my initial studies in World Class Manufacturing in the early 1990s, I came across problem-solving techniques such 5WHYs and the 5W1H. I didn’t know that 3 decades later, I would encounter another form of 5W1H again, but not just for problem-solving maintenance problems, but for giving contextual understanding of what I did 30 years ago! There is a South African saying in most of our 11 languages that translates into “umuntu ufunda aze afe” meaning in Georgian language (after Kings ‘George Xs’ of England) “one never ceases to learn until swallowed by the grave.”

Professor Kumar describes the first 3 W’s of maintenance: Why, What and When?

WHY MAINTENANCE?

Maintenance failures bring about inconvenience to customers, accidents and significant losses.  Failure is the termination of the ability to perform a required function. Fundamentally, it increases to the process, and it is integral process of business.

WHY SHOULD WE LEARN ABOUT MAINTENANCE?

There are 3 reasons namely to

• increase safety,

• reduce costs and

• improve the sustainability.

The main values for engaging ion maintenance are to:

• improve economic performance of the system,

• improve the quality,

• increase safety/health and

• increase overall lifespan of the systems.

The overall purpose is to reduce business risk.

Kumar lists the following as the influencing factors:

• unreliability,

• human errors,

• loss of quality,

• loss of production and

• upset customers

WHAT IS MAINTENANCE?

There are 3 elements of maintenance:

1 engineering,

2 technology, and

3 management

WHEN?

Maintenance is required in all phases of the product, which are design, procurement, installation, commissioning and operation.

3.1          Design state:

Design state comprises two phases namely design-out maintenance, and design for maintenance. Both phases are the competence of designers, who should be open minded to work with a multi-disciplinary team comprising of engineers, operators and managers of various operations along the product value chain. Certainly, not designing in isolation, based on reading design specifications devoid of human context and interaction with users.

Design-out maintenance (DOM) objective is to try and reduce the need for maintenance. Examples for this type of maintenance regime include spacecrafts/ships and satellites orbiting the earth. According to Reliability Management Consultant (Pty) Ltd (RMCPL), the aim for DOM is to improve:

• equipment availability by extending the mean free operating life (MFOL)
• production capacity by minimising unplanned downtime
• safety by eliminating the consequences of failures and reducing failure rates.
• extend the total life of an equipment by using the equipment for maximum possible years
• life cycle costs (LCC) by minimising maintenance costs
• sustainability through optimised use of resources to run the system at the best operating condition.

Design for maintenance incorporates standardisation, modularisation, redundancy, provision for condition monitoring, and design of maintenance facilities and tools. NASA dedicates a full chapter under Man-Systems Integration Standards, and we shall touch on design considerations, looking at factors of design for maintainability (DfM). The factors include:

• non-interference of preventive maintenance, where the preventive maintenance is minimised and requires as little crew as possible

• flexible preventive maintenance schedule, where preventive maintenance schedule should be flexible to accommodate schedule of other mission activities. In the production environment parlance, accommodate customer demands

• redundancy, whereby if maintenance is necessary and the system operations will be interrupted, redundant installations should be considered in order to permit maintenance without system operation. In the manufacturing and production environment, equipment such as pumps, valves and even critical gearboxes should be considered for redundancy.

• design for maintainability, that include the following goals

• reducing training requirements of crew (artisans / operators)

• reducing certain skill requirements of crew

• reduce time spent on preventive and corrective maintenance

• corrective maintenance, which include the following factors : (1)The benefit gained from repair should be worth the time and effort expended on repair. (2) The time and effort involved in corrective maintenance should be weighed against the cost and feasibility of carrying replacement units. (3) Required calibration, alignment, or adjustment should be easily and accurately accomplished, and (4) Automate fault detection and isolation tasks whenever possible.

3.2 Procurement state

Procurement deals with selecting the good quality and reliability of components through contract and maintenance management, dimensioning of existing facilities and organisation, and purchase of specific parts needed.

3.3          Operation state

In manufacturing and production plants, procurement is often tied up with its three sisters (certainly not the Three Sisters of Victoria West, Northern Cape, South Africa), namely maintenance, repair and operations (MRO). Ganeriwalla and Valluru (2016) list five advantages for capturing the MRO in manufacturing: –

1 Better planning, to improve spare part planning

2 More suppliers, to reduce proprietary spending

3 Fewer long-tail vendors, to consolidate spending with aggregators

4 Cheaper sources, to source from LCC (Low-cost country) suppliers

5 More efficient stocking, to optimise inventory management and storage

Operation is concerned about design of technical activities incorporating design of maintenance intervals, specific resources and managerial activities such as budget allocation and personnel.

3.4          Installation and Commissioning states

Both states require a paradigm shift in which to strive to install the product or system in a place where minimal maintenance is performed, considering logistics, monitoring systems and personnel training.

In installation, Blueprint Automation recommends about 10 steps to consider when installing an equipment:

• Determine the floor thickness
• Find out about environmental conditions
• Gather the necessary supplies (requisite tools)
• Drop site of the equipment (not entrance but at the place where it is supposed to be installed)
• Check piping and surrounding items
• Ensure the floor is aligned
• Consider storage options (to mitigate Murphy’s law)
• Schedule safety courses (OEM or supplier must provide safety training – not accept training manuals without OEM/supplier guidance)
• Schedule a follow-up visits after installation (insist on such a visit if you are an equipment buyer)

In commissioning, Paul Turner of the Commissioning Academy, list seven (7) steps for commissioning a factory equipment, namely

1 Planning

2 Factory Acceptance Testing

3 Mechanical completion

4 On-site commissioning

5 Process / System set up

6 Performance verification, and

7 Operational readiness

Keep an eye out for the upcoming articles by Dr Dr. Ntokozo Mthembu (Advisor to the ODI Board) regarding The Kumar’s Why, What, When, How, Who and Where Concepts of Engineering Maintenance.

Johan Benadie (Director at ODI asked the question: “How far do we keep machines and equipment in service?”. To read this article by Johan, click here.

ODI has been in business since 1989.  It has successfully implemented the 20 Keys, and supporting programmes in a large number of companies, in a wide variety of industries, and across the world. To contact us, click here.

To be continued

The post Part 1: <a>The Kumar’s Why, What, When, How, Who and Where Concepts of Engineering Maintenance</a> appeared first on ODI.

ODI’s Valery Hansen is facilitating this group of CTP delegates completing their NQF3 learnership.

Our Supervision for Energised WorkTeams programme has been offered since 1989. It was always used to strengthen the implementation of a structured CI programme. With the introduction of accredited learning, ODI leaped at the opportunity to give people who do all this hard work credits, and an actual qualification (National Certificate: Generic Management – Supervisory NQF3). 

The post CTP NQF3 National Certificate in Management and Valery Hansen appeared first on ODI.

As global leaders, Gold Fields offer their employees the opportunity to expand their skills and have a strong focus on on-the-job learning – ensuring they are placed in roles where they are challenged and fulfilled.

Gold Fields South Deep, enrolled members of staff to complete ODI’s NQF3 National Certificate in Management (Supervision for Energised Work Teams). Comprising of 8 modules, this learnership is facilitated by Maryke Bergh.

Organisation Development International (ODI), is a globally represented productivity consulting company. Our mission is to provide holistic solutions that promote people development and operations excellence, through training, coaching and consulting, supported by a range of excellent products. To contact us, click here.

The post ODI/Gold Fields & NQF3 Supervision for energised work teams with Maryke Bergh appeared first on ODI.

A continuous focus on strengthening an organisation’s operations improvement capability, through a system of knowledge that is embedded into the people, processes and technology, and which is the organisation’s way of working.

The challenge with continuous operations improvement is about sustaining the effort and results. The question is often what the requirements are for doing that?

I recently did the annual Excellence Award progress reviews at two of the Astral Foods, Meadow Feeds, Feed Mills (Paarl and Randfontein), where the 20 Keys System has been implemented since August 2003. During the review some of the requirements for sustaining such an implementation, and having consistent results in terms of QCDSM (Quality, Cost effectiveness, Delivery, Safety and Morale), again became clear:

1. A framework for improvement is followed, focusing on all the elements of operations, in a holistic and integrated way. Without a framework the focus is often quickly diluted, leading to ad hoc improvements and day-to-day issues taking preference. The framework is a balanced approach which focuses on the longer term and achieving short term results as well as on results (outputs) as well as ensuring that the inputs (people, processes/systems, and technology) are continuously strengthened.

2. All the Keys of the 20 Keys System are implemented, in all direct and indirect functions.  Implementing the Keys in an integrated way provides a synergistic effect in terms of results and is an important part of sustaining the implementation, like a beanstalk plant where the individual beanstalks grow together to make for a strong plant

3. A structured approach is followed, whereby the CAPDo (Check, Analyse, Plan and Do) cycle of learning and improvement is used for doing regular progress reviews, both internally and externally (by ODI), progress is measured against operations best practices and action plans are updated accordingly. This provides a clear indication to everyone what the current situation is, the target and required actions. Apart from that it also creates new energy and a sense of challenge in the business.

4. There is active involvement of senior and middle management, from board level where feedback is given about progress at sites, to regional and site management who participate with on-site progress discussions, signing off of action plans for improvement, attending on site Champion meetings and regularly walk the floor, giving advice and recognition. First-line managers are developed to not only effectively manage the technical aspects of their jobs, but also the people reporting to them as well as operations improvement. The role of first-line management is a critical success factor and plays a significant role with sustaining the implementation. After all, more than 80% of people in the organisation typically reports to that level.

5. Champions are allocated to act as on site experts with regards to the various elements of the system. They support the implementation in line functions and have regular meetings to discuss progress, challenges and update action plans. A Site Facilitator ensures that the overall focus of the implementation is aligned with management objectives, provides support to Champions and feedback to management.

There isn’t a silver bullet, when you get the basics right results will follow, and it must always be remembered that people make up the organisation.

Both Feed Mills were re-certified in terms of the 20 Keys Excellence Award. Requirements for the award include:

• Sustaining high levels of maturity, measured against best practices, with all the Keys
• Improving Quality by 50%
• Improving Productivity by 50%
• Improving Speed/Reduction in Inventory by 25%

Well done to all at Meadow feeds Paarl and Randfontein!

Author: Johan Benadie – Director at ODI

To read more about the 20 Keys Continuous Operations Improvement System, click here.

The post Sustaining the 20 Keys System implementation for 17 years! appeared first on ODI.

This qualification aims to prepare first-line managers in a manufacturing environment to undertake a broader management role in their organisation. It lays the foundation for further management development and movement into more senior positions.

Facilitating this group of learners, is ODI’s MD: Huibie Jones.

To read more about ODI’s Operational Management & Improvement Coaching system, click here.

ODI has been in business since 1989 and has successfully implemented the 20 Keys, and supporting programmes in a large number of companies, in a wide variety of industries, and across the world. We are passionate about supporting you on your journey to Continuous Improvement and life-long learning.

The post CTP/Sondor/Wispeco, NQF 4 Management in Process Manufacturing & Huibie Jones appeared first on ODI.

Venetia mine, opened in 1992. It is an open-pit mine and the country’s largest producer of diamonds, contributing 40 per cent of the country’s annual diamond production. It is in the Northern Transvaal, 32km south of the Limpopo River in the Limpopo Province in the north-east corner of South Africa.

To read more about the benefits of using blended e-Learning in your operations excellence implementation, by Jason Peters: Production Standards Manager & Chantelle Webb: Production Controller at De Beers Sightholder Sales SA, click here.

The post ODI/De Beers Venetia: NQF 3 in Management & Mbali Tshabalala appeared first on ODI.

The VKB Group is a modern, dynamic and leading agricultural enterprise that has, since its establishment almost a century ago, constantly focused on progressively managing solutions for the changing and various needs of agricultural producers and related stakeholders.

Today the VKB Group can be esteemed to be a “house of brands” with a unique composition of brands of companies and products that makes the group one of the leaders in the agricultural environment.

The investment in Grain Field Chickens supported sustainable diversification strategies for producers. Currently the average weekly consumers’ demand for chicken in South Africa stands on 22 million broilers.

ODI’s Mbali Tshabala recently facilitated a group of GFC learners doing their NQF3 National Certificate in General Management.

Comprising of 8 modules, this qualification aims at equipping every first-line manager with the essential knowledge and skills necessary to:

• Develop, lead and inspire productive workplace teams.
• Ensure that all team members are developed to their full potential

To read more about obtaining a national qualification with ODI, click here.

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