Fishing for success
Peter A. Oglevie | TLT Shop Floor February 2012
Use STLE programs as bait to build a better relationship with your customers.
I plan to invite lake bass for a free lunch every chance I get in 2012. Similarly, we can invite our customers to use our products and services.
www.canstockphoto.com
MY NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION IS TO LEARN HOW TO FISH. And I’m approaching it in a novel way.
Fish travel in schools, and I plan to visit those classrooms every chance I get to discover what I and the fish have in common. So far I have learned a few things. Both I and the fish enjoy a cool refreshing drink along with a nice lunch. So my approach will be to find a nice clean lake and invite all of the fish to lunch. I will take the opportunity to teach them the proper way to bite the hook.
This sounds absurd, but is it? I remember working on a shop floor where I introduced a new product and trained the first shift how to properly use it. My goal for the shop floor was to develop a smoothly running process. Three weeks later, I was called on the carpet. The process was out of control. What happened?
I assumed that educating the first shift how to use the product properly was good enough. It was not. Something got lost in the translation when the first shift taught the second shift. To make matters worse, something got lost when the second shift taught the third shift. Things really got out of hand when the third shift retrained the first shift how to do it wrong. I expect I will have the same problem if I train the bass and those pesky walleyes come along and retrain the bass not to bite.
I fixed the problem on the shop floor by teaching all three shifts about the proper use of the new lubricant. The operator was required to use control sheets and take refractometer readings three times per shift. We also put proper mixing instructions on the barrels to make sure they put the oil into water. We got the process under control by teaching everyone the basics.
STLE members are the people who make the products we use every day on the shop floor better and more efficient. In addition, the society offers various educational opportunities and certification programs such as CLS, OMA I and II and CMFS to help personnel use these products properly and become more knowledgeable in the field.
At the local level, STLE chapters have monthly meetings with technical speakers and yearly education seminars. For example, having attended the STLE Chicago Section’s two-day education seminar, I can say their program is as good as any I have ever attended. You can see for yourself by checking out the Chicago Section’s program on March 14 and 15. So how come I do not see many end-users attending?
My theory on why end-users don’t attend is because they don’t know more about STLE and who we are. So much like my plan for fishing, no matter how misguided it is, maybe we should start visiting our targets (i.e., shop floors) and society meetings (PMA, SME, FMA, etc.). Having attended many of these meetings over the years, I can say end-users would value our presence. This also would give you an opportunity to invite them to your programs—a win-win proposition.
Make it a resolution to do a little fishing. Use STLE’s programs as bait and learn about our partners. We have common goals.
I have made it my goal to spend time in the boat with my dog fishing. I plan to invite every fish in the lake except, of course, carp. As I stated before, lunch is on me. At the end of the day, the students get to go home a little smarter.
Pete Oglevie is president of International Production Technologies in Port Washington, Wis. You can reach him at poglevie@wi.rr.com.