Continuous Improvement
3 min read
Do your frontline employees know if they’re winning or losing each day?
The answer to that question is simple, but not easy.
Michael Muilenburg spent 35+ years at 3M building a high performance operational technology strategy and team. He solved this problem by using daily management huddles to demonstrate that improvement was a daily activity.
In this episode, we learn from his experiences traveling around the country doing work on site and some of the world’s largest and most successful manufacturers. Michael’s stories remind us that any system for continuous improvement requires the culture of your workforce to be aligned with the right goals.
Show notes:
02:48 — What is a daily management system?
05:08 — Keeping score and making adjustments for future plays
07:25 — Outcomes of daily management and keeping momentum alive
12:01 — Why meetings halfway through the shift are better than before or after
14:02 — Tiering systems for manufacturing facilities
17:11 — Bolting on a tier structure to an existing standing meeting
18:28 — Identifying metrics that are most important to your team
25:40 — Diversifying meeting leaders to engage and empower operators
28:33 — Should you make daily management automated or analog?
Additional resources:
- Gemba Walk Template for Digital Transformation
- How 3M Continues to Innovate During COVID
- Manufacturing Doesn’t Have A Hiring Problem
Written by Brian Sallee
As a Dozuki Co-Founder, Brian is passionate about manufacturing and helping companies support their workforce. These days you can find him co-hosting the Voices of Manufacturing podcast in order to further support the people that make up this dynamic industry.
