Lasting Beneficial Change Demands Far More Than Colourful Software

UK total production costs have increased by 9.2% on average over the year to March 2024. As costs have been rising for manufacturers at a faster pace than retail prices, manufacturers are stuck between a ‘rock and a hard place’ and believe they have had to absorb the cost hikes.

The latest FDF State of the Industry Report found that businesses are left with no choice but to reorganise their operations and improve their productivity. However, change has never been easy. Niccolò Machiavelli, a 15th-century politician, diplomat, and philosopher, put it this way:

“It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institutions and merely lukewarm defenders in those who gain by the new ones.”

If Machiavelli experienced such problems 500 years ago, it is very thought provoking to see that, in the implementation of change (any change), the same old problems often still confound management today.

Change management within an organisation is complicated. It involves overcoming fear of the unknown, potential failure, increased workloads, lack of understanding, inadequate support, and attachment to the comfort zone. Resistance to change is common, with some naysayers anticipating failure as inevitable and ready to say, “I told you so. We shouldn’t have changed this.”

In this article, we explore some of the reasons behind resistance to change, why some attempts at change are ineffective, and how to successfully implement effective change and embark upon a journey of continuous improvement within the food and drink manufacturing industry.

Still Driving that Old Car?

Some people are too accustomed to the old ways of doing things and are unwilling to adopt change, and yet these same people who resist change have, it would appear, easily adopted and adapted to changes in their personal lives, where it benefits them to do so. During past training sessions, the acceptance of new systems to improve production performance has proven difficult for some manufacturers. Comments like “I can’t change now at my age” and “We always end up going back to the old ways” are common. In response, we might ask, “Do you drive a 50-year-old car?” to which they usually answer, “Of course not.” Or we might ask, “Do you use a smartphone?” to which the usual answer is “Yes, of course,” often adding how they “can’t imagine managing without it”.

We might then ask “How much change did you have to get used to with your modern car or smartphone?” This analogy often helps some see the benefits of new systems. However, in some cases, I still encounter blank faces or comments like, “So?” as if my point has no relevance to the topic at hand. Despite these challenges, it is crucial to persist in promoting the advantages of modernising production processes, as the benefits of effective change far outweigh the initial resistance and discomfort. Those 7 most expensive words in the English language “We have always done it this way” are always at hand to reset the ‘change’ monitor to zero.

Nevertheless, not all change is effective nor beneficial. Some manufacturers opt for quick and easy fixes that fail to bring about meaningful and lasting improvements and such companies are almost certain to fail in the long term.

Can You Trust the Result?

One user told us that they wanted to make a positive change and, as a result, purchased an OEE solution. Since the installation of their XYZ system, their OEE had increased to 85%. However, they went on to say, “We left out Quality and we allow 20 minutes morning startup time and 20 minutes close down time at the end of each shift. We also leave out product changeover times, planned maintenance, tea breaks, lunch breaks, and time allowed for team meetings.”

It can be difficult to convince such users that, while their measures are probably very useful to them and have helped to make significant gains, these measures fall a long way short of true OEE. But even true OEE is by no means a panacea.

Dr Wheeler, one of the few living gurus continuing the work of Dr Edwards Deming, said of OEE “Utter nonsense. OEE is like taking our weight x our height x our systolic blood pressure as a measure of how good looking we are.”  This attempts to illustrate the lack of confidence where OEE is done badly.  It doesn’t change the fact that OEE can be an extremely useful performance metric, when measured well and consistently.

OEE takes no account of manning levels when it’s measured strictly by the book. A production manager may need to increase the crew size due to product quality issues. Additional metrics such as ‘units per man-hour produced’ can also be very revealing and help to drive improvement actions.

Many ‘me too’ OEE systems lack high-level ‘top losses’ management analysis and detailed drill-down capability and therefore provide little or no opportunity to drive performance improvements. To achieve true performance improvement, it’s crucial to adopt a holistic approach that includes comprehensive metrics, drill-down root cause analysis capabilities, all of which requires full operator engagement.

Effective Change Management

More than 30 years ago, Nevin McMillen wrote in his easy introduction to ‘SPC and Company Wide CI’ “Companies today should be concerned about two issues:

1. The Management of Quality
2. The Quality of Management

A holistic approach and effective change management will involve a clear vision with agreed objectives, stakeholder engagement, leadership commitment, cultural change, effective tools and systems, a communication plan, all with full training and support.

Harford’s end-to-end MIS/MES system integrates risks, variables, and efficiency constraints to deliver a comprehensive, real-time view of compliance, quality, yield and operational efficiency. This holistic approach ensures that all factors are considered, providing the most accurate insights into performance and enabling proactive management. Alongside our end-to-end MIS/MES system, we also provide comprehensive training and consultancy to empower operators and leaders to effectively adopt and utilise these systems. These measures can help support the factory in achieving positive change management and embark on its journey of continuous improvement.

When looking for a performance improvement partner with the right toolkit and comprehensive training program, please reach out to us at info@harfordcontrol.com or call us at +44 (0)1225 764461.

*Harford Control announced a solution range update earlier this year and we will showcase our latest end-to-end MIS/MES system on Stand B46 at PPMA, from 24^th to 26^th September at the NEC.