Visualizing Perfect Performance

By Chuck Gault, Max Coating President

I introduced this “Visualize Perfect Performance” diagram to our company after seeing it at a seminar a while back. I remember I really liked the speaker. He had 20 years of industry experience and a column in a trade magazine that I read every month. It was obvious he knew what he was talking about.

About half way through he put this image on the screen behind him. I immediately fell in love with it. There are many aspects involved in what makes a “perfect day” at any manufacturing company, but with this image it’s obvious what’s important to Max Coating. As we discussed in the previous post, diagrams just have this way of taking a complicated, wordy statement and turning it into a picture that tells the story visually. Taking a long, drawn out policy and turning it into a visual that all of a sudden clicks. That’s powerful stuff.

A few months ago I showed it to our quality manager. He loved it, and so did our plant manager. Before I knew it, this picture was on the walls in their office, around the building, and on the plant floor right where employees could see it.

Not only did our current team members embrace the visual representation, but we found it to be a great training tool. This diagram is now the cornerstone of our new hire orientation. We have found it’s by far the best way to teach new team members what we’re trying to accomplish every day on the plant floor.

No injuries, racks full, running at maximum line speed, no downtime, and perfect parts. That’s the goal. It’s simple, clear, and straight forward.  And it’s visual.

 

Max Coating is a leader in the metal finishing industry, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, with an additional location in Atlanta, Georgia. Max Coating provides electrocoating and powder coating services for automotive, industrial and agricultural manufacturers. Learn more at www.maxcoating.com.