" The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order. "

Alfred North Whitehead ( 1861 - 1947 )




Step Change in Capital Productivity
 

 

 

Prepared especially for:

The Technical Staff at The Experimental Station

of Dupont in Wilmington, Delaware.



                                                by:


Jim Cook

Cook-Hauptman Associates, Inc.




 

Contents

2 of 18

   
   




 

Instances of Step Change

3 of 18

   
   




 

Definition of Step Change

4 of 18



 
A Methodology for Achieving a Discontinuously Favorable Shift in Performance

 
A 2x increase in a visible and meaningful business result (e. g., productivity)

 
Step Change is achievable through a repeatable process which emphasizes:

   
  • Liberating the confines of customary thinking


  • Circumventing disabling structures


  • Adoption of proven technology


  • Sensitivity to the cultural impact of success.


  •  



 

Baretta's Step Changes

From Filing to Fitting
by R. Jaikumar, 1988

5 of 18
 

When

c. 1800

1860

1928

1976

1987

Paradigm

English
System

American
System

Taylor
System

Numerical
Control

Computer
Integration

Unifying
Principle

Accurate Measurement of Parts

Interchange-
ability

Time and Motion
Standardization

Data Driven
Machines

Lights out, Remote
Automation

Enabling Technology

Precision Machine Tools

Standards and Clearance

Scientific Method

Micro-processors

Computers and
their Networks

Reconfiguration

Products & Processes
Standardized

Parts & Processes
Specialized

Scientific Management
of Workers

Cell and Operator
Bound Together

Workers Separated
from Machines

Performance
Parameter

Productivity

Productivity

Productivity

Productivity

Productivity

After:Before

4:1

3:1

3:1

3:1

3:1

 


 

CHA's Step Changes

6 of 18

 

Where

Denning Robotics

Computervision

Verbex

Rolls-Royce

Focusing Problem

Field
Reliability

Data Access

Phoneme
Recognition

Jet Engine
Design

Unifying
Principle

Repeatability

Early Rejection

Variational
Tolerance

Time (not $)
is Paramount

Enabling Technology

Instrumentation

Timing Tooling

Linear Vector
Subspaces

CAD/CAM

Reconfiguration

Integration of Mfg. and R&D

Spatial Index

Minis, not Mainframes

Projects, not Functions

Performance
Parameter

Mean Time Between Failures

Time to Screen

Incorrect Recognitions

Time to Market

After:Before

10:1

3:1

3:1

3:1

 

 

Du Pont's Step Changes

7 of 18

 

When

c. 1960

1987

1994

Focusing Problem

Reduce
Labor

Build new
SM's Fast

Spinning
Breaks

Unifying
Principle

Clarity and Autonomy

New Project
Administration

Minimize
Cycle Times

Enabling Technology

High Speed
Wind-up

New Project
Administration

Rapid Sampling

Reconfiguration

Integration of Engr. & Tech.

Integration of Engr. & Tech.

Work on Factory Floor

After:Before

3:1

2:1

3:1

 


 

Camden's Step Change

8 of 18

   
   




 

Beginning Assumptions

9 of 18





 
 
We agreed Step Change will NOT occur:

 
 
  • By lecturing or dictating to the Technical Organization



  • By relying solely on Du Pont people and practices



  • By improving existing methodologies or efficiencies



  • Without proactive external intervention.



  •  



 

Managerial Factors

10 of 18




 
 
We needed and got:

 
Sponsorship A declaration of financial and moral support from a senior member or members of the management who are respected by the people that the paradigm shifting team is going to rely on (e.g., technical director, technical group manager, and manufacturing manager jointly support including a limited license to circumvent disabling procedures)
 
Local Buy-In A consensus of support among those affected daily which is achieved by an open, inclusive, trusting climate (e.g., evidenced by enthusiastic interest in the successful outcome)
 
Local Champion A person with the energy, legitimacy, personal skills and desire to be the hands-on team leader (e.g., the senior spinning research engineer).
 



 

Conceptual Factors

11 of 18





We adopted (and stuck with):

A Clear Purpose A sharable, personally relevant, business critical, concise, measurable purpose which can harness sufficient energy to both overcome traditional turf issues and be powerfully coordinating (e.g., reduce breaks)
 
A Unifying Strategy A pervasively relevant, technically critical, concise, measurable strategy which can be used daily to help decide and coordinate implementation issues (e.g., minimize experimental cycle time)
 
External Intervention A source (usually a person or persons) of new technology, experience, and ideas which comes from outside the domain and provides the requisite variety of possibilities to suggest new solutions (e.g., an outside consultant with experience using on-line, real-time, signal processing and applying the unifying strategy).
 



 

Technical Shifts

12 of 18




 

Off-line, Static

® On-line, Dynamic


Multi-second Sampling


® Millisecond Sampling


Low Dimensionality

® High Dimensionality


Analog Processing


® Digital Processing


Hardware Intensive



® Software Intensive







 

Managerial Shifts

13 of 18




 



Internal Technology



® External (and Internal) Technology



"Know Then Try"



® "Try Then Know"



Ignore Manufacturing





® Include Manufacturing.









 

What We Learned

14 of 18




 
 
 
 
Pick a bounded challenge
 
 
Let the champion "self-select"
 
 
Cultivate buy-in with all affected
 
 
Middle managers must circumvent disabling procedures rapidly
 
 
It takes longer, and returns are higher than expected.

 



 

Capital Productivity - Step Change

15 of 18

   
   




 

Deriving the Focus

16 of 18




 


Capital Productivity

= Margin / Time

  = ( Margin / Unit ) * Volume / Time



= ( Value / Unit - Cost / Unit ) * Volume / Time.

Obviously, to have:


   

Higher Value / Unit

ð New & Improved: Functionality & Delivery

Lower Cost / Unit

ð Cheaper & Less: Equipment, Ingredients & Labor

Higher Volume / Time

ð Larger Scale, Less Waste, & Faster Processes.






 

Breaking the Paradox

17 of 18





 

Functionality:

Fireproof impossibility

ð

Fireproof systems

Delivery:

Select downstream

ð

Select upstream

Equipment:

Industrial strength (only)

ð

Consumer grade when ok

Ingredients:

Heavy

ð

Hallow, lean

Labor:

Train to conform

ð

Inform to perform

Scale:

Maximize rigidly

ð

Balance flexibly

Waste:

Reduce

ð

Obviate or recycle

Speed:


Increase after design


ð


Design to kinetics






 

Remember the Essentials

18 of 18




 

Begin with a shift in point of view

Generally requires new structures (policies, procedures, equipment, ...)

Entails doing by a different method

Results in new behaviors

CONSEQUENTLY,

IT IS HIGH RISK AND HIGH REWARD


Good timing mitigates risk, and the timing is right NOW!




 


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Copyright © 1994 by James E. Cook

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