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Many facilities have
been through various stages of quality improvement or Total Quality
Management. These may include such activities as quality circles, statistical
process control, team
training, management style training, customer partnerships, supplier
quality certification and ISO-9001/TS-16949
certification. Many times management may get caught up in
accomplishing the activities and lose sight of their main goal or vision.
Refocusing requires deliberately addressing leadership issues such
as direction setting, organizational alignment, and employee motivation,
rather than daily management issues. The business assessment
process is a self assessment exercise designed to assist a facility
management team in developing and focusing on a plan of direction.
The business assessment
is designed to go beyond ISO-9001/TS-16949 or the facility quality system and
embrace many of the concepts and ideals of the Malcolm Baldrige Award
criteria. It is not intended to be as exhaustive as the award
criteria, because a manufacturing environment demands a user-friendly
approach that will not drain critical resources, i.e. time.
Assessment Process
The process is divided
into five phases and is designed to promote free interchange of ideas and
suggestions. During the assessment phase, employee input can be
obtained confidentially through the use of focus
groups. This tool can provide invaluable information on
employee perceptions and beliefs. Management teams often discover that
employees have completely misinterpreted management actions. The
phases are:
|
Phase
|
Major Activities
|
| Pre-Work |
Selection
of on-site coordinator
Management Team members
complete assessment
Coordinator or consultant
summarizes ratings
Summaries distributed to team
members
|
| Assessment |
Steering
team reviews results in assessment meeting:
- Identifies key weaknesses
- Determines strategies or initiatives to alleviate
weaknesses
Consultant conducts employee
focus
groups, if needed
|
| Communication |
Team
or subgroup develops communication strategy
Managers aggressively
communicate facility direction
|
| Implementation |
Managers
build strategies into departmental and individual goals
Managers implement key
measures
|
| Monitoring |
Tracking
key measures to determine progress |
Assessment Form
The Business Assessment
Form contains questions in the following major categories:
The form provides criteria to
assess status from a low of 1 to a high of 5 for each question. The
scores are intended as a guide and a stimulus for discussion. For
example, whether or not a facility is a 3 or 4, is not nearly as important
as the open discussion required to reach agreement.
An overall weighted evaluation
system is provided for summarizing the assessments. If desired,
columns are provided for calculating an overall assessment score for the
facility. This score serves as a means of tracking annual progress.
Consultant Involvement
The consultant will be required
for the following:
|
Activity
|
Hours
|
| Pre-Work |
3-10 (depending on
analysis) |
| Assessment meeting
(one day meeting) |
8 |
| Employee
focus groups |
4 per group
(includes both moderation and analysis) |
| Implementation and
communication consulting |
0-20 |
|
Total
|
11-54 (with 4 focus
groups) |
Results
The following major results can
be expected:
