[ad_1]
Advances in technology promise to help manufacturers thrive in an increasingly competitive and turbulent world. Readers of the articles on this website are likely to be very familiar with the technological and digital advances that promise to provide a wide range of benefits to manufacturers. Industry 4.0, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics will impact every aspect of manufacturing, from product development to operational processes to supply chain logistics.
There is a danger, however, that these elements are sometimes presented as “plug and play” technologies. In other words, all manufacturers need to do is buy the technologies, plug them in, and hit the “Start” button to get the benefits they expect.
We have already seen the costs of this thinking compared to enterprise resource planning systems. Material resource planning (MRP) software has existed since the 1960s, but advances in computer hardware during the 1990s made it possible to expand the software so that transactions within the company could be automated . Managers would be able to monitor those transactions and their results in real time. If the seller Sarah wanted to know when a specific product would be available in a specific quantity, the ERP system would check the existing inventory of finished products, WIPs and raw materials, as well as the materials in transit; subtract what was already assigned to existing orders; calculate lead time based on production rates; and past due and provide an answer in seconds. Other functions like sales, purchasing, finance and accounting would realize similar benefits. And all a company had to do was install the software!
Back then, how was it that 60% (or more) of ERP implementations failed, 80% of ERP buyers were not satisfied with their current system, and 90% of ERP implementations failed to deliver whatever Measurable ROI?
And why should we think that the technical advances so widely touted this decade are more likely to avoid these same failure rates? Successful implementation of new technologies depends on a variety of factors, of course, but it depends more directly on the culture of the organization. Put simply, a culture that doesn’t already display high levels of good communication, collaboration and teamwork; a devotion to teaching and learning; and a commitment to high-engagement problem-solving and bottom-up decision making has a greater risk of failure when implementing new technologies.
Craig Ferriot, President of Ferriot, Inc., supports this position. Ferriot, Inc. is a full contract manufacturer and injection molder of engineered resins in Akron, Oh. Our conversation started when I read an article he posted on his company’s blog about the use of cobots (cooperative robots).
Impressed that the article highlighted cobots ‘ability to make workers’ lives easier, safer, and less frustrating, I reached out to Craig to congratulate him on his company’s enlightened approach to implementing new technologies. Craig replied, “As people begin to understand and feel more comfortable with how cobots can help them with some of their repetitive tasks, they turn their attention to solving larger and more complex problems. Sometimes, this requires collaboration with others who bring diverse experiences and talents.This fosters a culture of challenging problem solving through collaboration, while creating friendship and trust among team members.
I then set out my hypothesis directly to Craig: A company that has an existing culture of collaborative planning and problem solving will be far more likely to benefit from cobots than companies that don’t have such a culture. Craig’s response: “I agree 100%”.
In other words, Ferriot, Inc. is realizing benefits from the new technology, not out of a goal of “cutting costs” or because it has better engineers than other companies (although that may be true). According to its president, Ferriot manages to implement the new technology because it already had the right culture.
Also note that Craig sees the benefits of the new technology in terms of how it will further enhance his company’s culture. These benefits will be visible when we see workers engaged in addressing and solving even more complex problems. He recognizes that his company’s strategic advantage lies in using the creativity and wisdom of all employees to help the company meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.
Senior leaders, therefore, when considering new technologies for their businesses, must ask themselves, “Do we have the culture of teamwork, collaboration and commitment right now for a successful implementation?” They will have to be very honest with themselves in answering this question because a lot of money will go into the answer.
Rick Bohan, principal, Chagrin River Consulting LLC, has more than 25 years of experience designing and implementing performance improvement initiatives across a variety of industry and service sectors. He is also co-author of People make the difference, prescriptions and profiles for high performance.
Source link
