Travel broadens the mind

By Mark Colvin

- Published: 07 January, 2005

Page 22

I recently spent two weeks in France auditing three factories on their approach to world class manufacturing, then training 12 key people in the audit system.

The audit allows companies to 'score' their performance, prioritise weak areas for future improvement plans, and promotes sharing best practice in relative strengths. The training in the audit method encourages open questions and will allow 'self-audits' between factories thus further encouraging sharing and learning.

Around sharing best practice, one of the factory managers (who had previously worked in Germany) was explaining to me that most of the French don't travel far (in their work as well as in their personal life) and often stay with the same company for long periods of time.

Although there were some fantastic results in some key areas, he felt this explained the weaknesses against other criteria -- it was simply that people had never been exposed to some of the ideas.

This apparent reluctance to learn from others can also be found in the UK -- before we even think of visits between companies we need to address the manufacturing managers in multi-site groups who have never visited their sister companies and even departmental production heads who have never set foot in the facility across the road.

The solutions to technical and organisational problems found in one factory are therefore as good as invisible to another -- a terrible waste of time and resources.

Why is this the case? 'Pressure of work' is often quoted when people turn down invitations to visit other factories. Are we all so busy and indispensable that we can't afford a couple of days out a year?

Fear of admitting problems to others could be another -- and indeed that we don't have all the answers ourselves.

Perhaps people don't wish to be labelled 'industrial tourists' -- constantly on fact-finding missions but never doing any real work!

The key is to make sure you come back from factory visits (and even conferences) with a real action plan to capitalise on the learning process.

Mark Colvin

is Director, Suiko-WCS

http://www.suiko.co.uk