5.4 Idea Suggestion

[Audio] 5.4 Idea Suggestion. 5.4 Idea Suggestion.

[Audio] Which philosophy does Pactiv-Evergreen and the PEPS system subscribe to when developing the Idea Suggestion System? The most important concept to understand prior to developing your plan to implement an Idea Suggestion System is understanding why it is important and how it fits into the broader objective of achieving Operational Excellence within the PEPS system. On the one hand, some would argue that the best Idea Suggestion Systems are measured by the number of suggestions and the dollar impact that they have. While no one would argue that a high number of impactful suggestions is a critical deliverable of our overall C.I. system, studies have shown that improvement carried out by team leaders, production supervisory staff, and engineers as part of their job function drives 90% of realized improvement. So, if only 10% of realized improvement comes thru voluntary improvement programs such as the Idea Suggestion System, why is this important? The main purpose of the Idea Suggestion System "is not so much the improvement itself, but rather …"to train production operators and other front line workers in a kaizen mind and ability, and to identify workers who are candidates for increased responsibility and career advancement, such as promotion to team leader or front line supervision. This underscores the importance of the idea / suggestion system in being visible, interactive, responsive and a great tool for coaching both front line employees and the role and responsibilities of front line leadership. When assessing a site's Idea Suggestion System, it is important to keep this in mind. As for driving a Continuous Improvement Culture: Only 10% of C.I. comes thru employee suggestions systems. ( Toyota KATA – Liker) It is critical towards driving a culture of opening up dialogue for looking at improvements every day. The system creates a conversation between leadership and front line employees. As such, responsiveness to all ideas is a critical component. The Idea Suggestion System creates a forum for coaching both front line leaders and employees. It is an important ' testing ground' for future team leaders, and front line supervisors. Employees are reviewed for overall engagement thru their participation and this area is a strong consideration for advancement. Supervisors / plant managers are measured on the robustness of participation and their responsiveness and dialogue in coaching employees. And as for driving Continuous Improvement deliverables: The Idea Suggestion System is a critical component in driving continuous improvement metrics. It should be a frequent source for Kaizen events and problem solving efforts. Ideas are driven by ROI or return of investments, and strong accounting and financial involvement. Employees and their supervisors are measured and rewarded on the number of impactful ideas surfaced and executed. How many ideas were received and solved, and how many cost savings did we drive to the bottom line..

[Audio] What do we want to achieve? Now that we understand the philosophy around which we will build the Idea Suggestion System, what are the basic elements that must be in place? First, our " leadership intent" is that each site needs to apply a structured PDCA – ( Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle) approach to generating ideas across all levels of the site organization with the purpose of driving continuous improvement that eliminates waste and improves productivity and shop floor Quality of Life. The approach should reflect a simple and visual way to encourage participation across the site and serve as a key indicator of a local Leadership Team's ability to harness the talent and ability of employee's across the entire spectrum of its employee base." So, there is a defined structure, if follows basic PDCA – (Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle) ideas are generated within this structure across all levels at the site, the ideas are focused on removing waste, increasing productivity, and improving the work area. The defined structure is simple and understandable and all employees that have gone thru orientation and entry level training are aware of it and can easily see the status of their ideas and ideas of others, and are being monitored by site leadership to indicate the level of engagement and involvement of both team members and team leaders. When conducting an assessment of the Idea Suggestion System, the evaluation will be based on the elements outlined in 5.4. 1 thru 5. 4. 6..

[Audio] Idea Suggestion System – " IS" and "IS NOT" To further clarify considerations for the design and implementation of an effective Idea Suggestion System, we think it is helpful to outline a few "IS" and "IS NOT's" to better align the system design and execution at the site with the philosophy and leadership intent discussed in the previous two slides. Please take a few minutes to review and digest to help better clarify your considerations when developing the site program. The system IS: … Soon – Certain – Positive! … front line to leadership driven. …a tool for site leadership and employees to "talk" and make leadership listening visual. … visual to all employees in the work areas or other common areas to share information. … dependent on timely initial response to the suggestion. … The employee ALWAYS receives feedback on the suggestion and the cadence of moving ideas forward is reliable and visual ideas, even those that may not be approved for implementation, are opportunities for coaching and conversations about engagement and initiative. … a way to make sure that ideas that are important to front line employees don't get left behind in the leadership's pursuit of "big" problems. … Evaluated by leadership and placed in the proper ' swim lane' of activity ( example: "Just do it", "need more information", "Requires mini Kaizen, etc.). … a potential springboard into other systems or tools such as A3's, Kaizen's, and capital requests when warranted. ... A process for moving ideas thru the system without worrying about a heavy verification component of the process. ... A consistent source for recognition as individual's ideas create improvement. … a key part of developing a culture that continually evolves and adapts to the changing work environment. The system IS NOT: … Top driven from leadership to the front line employees. … a complaint system… coach and encourage employees to submit ideas that not only include the problem, but the employee's recommendation on "what would I suggest we do about it. … stuck in a computer for only leadership to see. … slow, confusing, and bureaucratic. … a substitute for other base systems (example: there is a maintenance work order system to repair defective equipment). … and or a maintenance "to do" list..

[Audio] Food for thought. An important component of the best-of-class Continuous Improvement programs is the recognition that our People are the key to the innovation needed to continuously improve our operation. Our ability to engage and tap into ideas for improvement at all levels in the organization are absolutely essential to achieving true operational excellence. The Idea Suggestion System serves as an important ' pulse of the operation' that leads to leadership's understanding of how successful we are at cultivating this foundational element..

[Audio] So, who do we want to be? Great organizations and great leaders find ways to release each person's potential. A well designed and implemented Idea Suggestion Program is certainly not the only component needed to achieve this, but it can be an important one! Recent insights from Gallup identify six components that are foundational to creating a productive and engaged workforce. If you reflect on the philosophical underpinnings of a well designed and implemented Idea Suggestion System, reviewed in slide two, many of these core elements outlined by Gallup are impacted. A workplace with a simple, well designed system where employees are trained and even expected to surface ideas to improve their work áreas. These ideas are quickly reviewed and responded to by front line leadership and rapidly implemented where possible. Employees engage frequently with supervisión in coaching sessions that either reenforce the value of the suggestion or coach and develop the employee if there are reasons the suggestion can not be implemented. At times, an employee's idea advances into a broader cross functional team, thru a Kaizen event or an A3 event, to build on and refine the idea. There is frequent feedback from leadership to individual employees and recognition in group settings to reenforce their contributions. Those with greatest passion and impact in creating improvements are able to advance and gain more impactful roles over time. Gallup's six elements most important to creating engaged employees: I know what is expected of me at work. I have materials and equipment I need to do my work right. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person. There is someone at work who encourages my development..

[Audio] First principles in a Lean production. Lean production aims to systematically identify and eliminate waste through continuous improvement, enabling increased flexibility and organizations' competitiveness We've presented the concept and principles for the development and implementation of the Idea Suggestion System. This system may be a small part in our pursuit of Operational Excellence, but it is an important one. In the next several slides, we are going to outline a successful plan that has been implemented in one of our key Pactiv- Evergreen facilities. Successful deployment of Lean Tools is dependent on the development and cultivation of an interested and engaged workforce. The Idea Suggestion System is a tool to cultivate the continuous improvement culture..

[Audio] Example # 1: Idea Suggestion System. We would like to take a few minutes to outline an Idea Suggestion System developed in one of our Pactiv- Evergreen facilities by Chris Berard, a plant manager in our Food Merchandising business. There are many approaches to satisfying the Idea Suggestions System. Chris and his team have developed their solution based on their needs..

[Audio] Key Elements of the Idea Suggestion System. "Soon – Certain – Positive" – Chris emphasizes that he asks his leadership to uphold the principles of " Soon – Certain – Positive". "Soon" means that submitted suggestions need to have feedback to the submitter within 1 week. "Certain" means that employees know, thru their experience, that suggestions they have are going to be responded to. " Positive" means that ALL of the leadership feedback to employees that have taken the time to submit a suggestion will be treated in a positive manner, even if the idea may not be implementable (feasible or practicable), the front line leader will express appreciation for the initiative taken by the employee. "Visual" – Employees should be able to easily determine the status of suggestions. The should not live on an engineer's computer or be buried in a file cabinet. There may be several methods to satisfy this requirement. Chris and his team created an " Idea Board" to make the program visual. " Weekly Progress" – Leadership is expected to show weekly progress in advancing Idea Suggestions. Some ideas require more time than others, While initial feedback must be provided within the first week, ideas that require more research or resources may take longer. The team sets expectations, from the plant manager to front line leaders, to 'touch' suggestions weekly and maintain some cadence for advancing the idea forward. "Keep it simple" – Remember, this program is more about creating a visual dialogue with employees regarding engaging in improving our workplace. The system must move ideas thru quickly. " Feedback and coaching are essential" – Make sure that our front line leaders use this as an opportunity to build the C.I. culture as well as develop C.I. thinking with our employees..

[Audio] Idea Board is visible to all employees. A key tool used in deployment of this Idea Suggestion System is the "Idea Board". The board is simple and intuitive, with minimal instructions. A relatively new employee, after receiving a brief overview in orientation, will know where the board (or boards) are located and can read thru the posted instructions to submit an idea! It's important to note that the configuration and location should be reviewed and established based on the site and site needs. For a large plant, you may need multiple boards throughout the facility. The real requirement is that employees in all areas have access to submitting and tracking ideas that are important to their area of responsibility. Keep in mind: Positioned board or boards in key locations close to where work is done. Clear Process from " New Idea" to " Completion" All Idea Board Instructions are simple to understand and follow..

[Audio] The idea form is located on the board. It is very simple to understand and to use. It also serves as a tracker for the idea and establishes clear accountability for who "owns" the follow-up with the employee. The plant manager establishes a weekly cadence to review the status of the ideas and can follow-up if the idea is aging and does not show progress..

[Audio] The Leadership Guideline for Evaluation is a tool that the plant manager deploys for the leadership to evaluate ideas. This provides a common method for evaluation and can also serve as a training and develop tool for front line leadership to advance their understanding of how to evaluate and process suggestions. Note that the idea can be dispositioned several ways. In this plant's case, the leader can recommend that it be assigned to the Accountability Board, be worked thru the A3 process, moved to the 30-day action list, or potentially tables for long term project consideration. There are times when the idea is a "no go". In these cases, it is important for the front line leader to review the reasons with the employee. As we mentioned earlier, keep it positive. This is a great opportunity to recognize the employee and also use it as a coaching and development opportunity for future suggestions..

[Audio] Finally, when evaluating the Idea Suggestion System, it is important to consistently monitor systems health. The above list provides answers to a few basic questions that will indicate systems health: What is the activity level over the last 30 days? What is the % of suggestions implemented? Have we recognized employees in a way meaningful to them? Remember, recognition does not have the be $$s, although you are free to include that. Making sure that we acknowledge and recognize employees in a way that they value is what is key. What is the cycle time of Idea Suggestions from "Received" to "Completed"? This gives us an idea of whether we are allocating the proper time and resources to maintaining a healthy system! Finally, what is the last move date? We need visibility to ideas that are in the system too long and don't let our system lose credibility as ideas "die on the vine" and don't disappear in the system!.

[Audio] Example # 2: Idea Suggestion System. I want to briefly cover an additional example of an effective Idea Suggestion System that has been deployed in some of our Pactiv-Evergreen Facilities. The purpose is to highlight the fact that there are different approaches to achieving the intent outlined above..

[Audio] This system is called the "You Said, We Did" program. This program is a simple methodology that addresses many of the elements outlined in the criterial defined in this program document. While it clearly meets the general intent of an Idea Suggestion Program, it may lack some of the elements to be considered a best practice. Lets review a summary of how this program was setup..

[Audio] In this example, Idea suggestions are drawn out of different leadership interactions with employees such as Employee Engagements, Gemba Walks, and Let's Talk Meetings. The Ideas are captured and addressed through assigned leadership members. The response and resolution to the ideas are communicated to all employees using a powerpoint slide displayed in different "common use" areas in the facility, such as marlin boards, time clock communications boards, or employee meetings. This system has been a simple and effective means for creating an environment where employee ideas are actively solicited and closure to ideas is displayed. Remember our Leadership Intent is that "The approach should reflect a simple and visual way to encourage participation across the site and serve as a key indicator of a local Leadership Team's ability to harness the talent and ability of employee's across the entire spectrum of its employee base." There are a few elements of the program that may need to be addressed to be considered a 'best practice'. For example, this approach does not appear to have the same visibility structure for ideas 'in progress' so that an employee can go to a location and see last week's update or movement for the idea. Having said that, this approach is clearly moving the facility in the direction of meeting the intent of the Idea Suggestion System..

[Audio] This slide provides an example of the communication used to place on communication boards so employees receive feedback on ideas that have been suggested and resolved! This concludes the formal presentation of the Idea Suggestion System module of the PEPS system. Thank you for attending!.