28 AEROSPACEMANUFACTURING | MARCH 2010
SUPPLY CHAIN I MANAGEMENT
that they need to do to improve and Q: What was and still is driving
they’re forced to constantly question how the need to instigate performance
their activities are aligned to the vision improvement programmes in MSS
of the business. You need to do this for and what kinds of performance
all the departments in the organisation solutions are you looking for?
and coordinate it so that they’re all Huber: “Commercial imperatives and
working towards the same goal. If your competitive pressures within the industry
goal is to grow profitability, then every have of course been driving the need for
department needs to understand clearly performance improvement: we constantly
what their contribution to growing profit need to get more out of our people at a
and cash is.” lower cost. But we’ve demanded that our
Huber: “Yes, organisations can become performance improvement solutions also
totally dogmatic about tools and develop our managers, so that they never
techniques but this isn’t sustainable stop improving.
– eventually, once you have 5S’d the “Like our competitors, we were using
company to death you run into a dead many different improvement techniques
Peter Huber: President, Meggitt Sensing Systems
end! What’s happened in MSS is that in many functional areas. But, although
we now have a structure that tools, they were successful, most didn’t
Q: What are the results to date and like Lean, can fit into, and in which permanently change the way we actually
how significant have they been for the they can change over time. And we managed, so they fell short of the
business? have a management process, not an potential for improvement.”
Bernie Stevens: “The approach was improvement initiative, which our Q: Why has Structured Leadership
instrumental in developing a culture managers are using to achieve their proved more effective than traditional
within my business unit for achieving day-to-day goals, because they know it performance improvement
and sustaining a measurable year on works. This is why we’re getting ongoing, techniques?
year improvement in profitability: it sustainable benefits.” Stevens: “Since using it, we’ve had
became one of the best performing of its Q: You’ve described the approach much more consistent results from our
type within the Meggitt group. Across as a common way of managing and efforts and a much higher percentage
the division, for every pound spent on leading across the business – why do success rate than before. Above all, it’s
implementing Structured Leadership, you need to do this? permanently changed the way many
we’ve been seeing a return of at least seven Stevens: “As is the case with most people in the organisation think and
and, in some instances, more than 30. Last companies, we had managers at all levels behave, which is why it’s produced
year alone we saved more than £3.5m on from different backgrounds and with improvements that have often exceeded
strategic projects. Although there are many different experiences, levels of training our expectations.”
cultural benefits too, this is really about and competencies, and these variations Huber: “We constantly test anything
getting the best from your people and often meant that we just weren’t getting we do against the strategy and we’re
producing better financial results.” the best out of our people. The approach more rigorous at questioning whatever
Q: How is it different from other helps us to build a shared vision and clear technique or improvement we want to
business improvement techniques objectives that we can communicate do before we do it. I believe this has
used in the industry, such as Lean? consistently, plus a disciplined structure enabled us to be significantly more
Stevens: “A lot of people perceive to deliver results. This gives us an successful, providing measureable
that improvement is all about tools and engaged and more effective workforce benefit, with good payback.”
techniques and they want a tool like that understands what we’re striving to Q: How easy has it been to bring in a
Lean in manufacturing or a CRM system achieve and why.” whole new management philosophy
in sales to make that change. What we’ve Huber: “Yes, I’ve certainly noticed and what resistance have you
learned is how to use the right tool at the teams that have a common way of encountered?
right time to get what you need and then dealing with problems solve them far Huber: “Make no mistake, it hasn’t been
put it back in the box, because it’s people more quickly. They don’t waste time an easy path – and we continue to be
that actually make the difference, not the debating how to approach the issue; they challenged by it, even after all this time.
tools themselves. just get right on with finding the solution But the reason it’s hard to do is also why
“Also, leaders now acknowledge that because everyone automatically plugs it’s so successful. It’s no surprise that
there really aren’t a multitude of things into the same methodology.” good managers – the ones who’ve been
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48