Record of Events
Today’s business world is fast paced, with a multitude of information coming at people constantly throughout the business day. This constant barrage of information will result in some items getting forgotten if not written down. Events around employee performance are critical to note for future discussions (both positive and corrective). The Record of Events (ROE) Card is a quick and easy way to record this critical information in a clear, concise and consistent manner.
9 Block Performance Evaluation
Performance Management in organizations is a critical skill for Leaders and is a process that is highly impactful on overall organizational results. For people to do their best, they need to know what is expected of them, and receive regular feedback on how they are doing.
Originally introduced by General Electric, 9 Block performance reviews are a simple, yet effective means of conducting the performance evaluation review process. The template is also useful in displaying the overall performance levels of teams, showing how each individual falls within the 9 Block framework. This can be particularly beneficial when looking for high potential candidates to fill future key roles.
Operations Management
Action Plan Register
The Action Plan Register was developed to aid teams and individuals who are experiencing difficulty keeping track of the status of activities that the team members have been assigned or have agreed to do.
The purpose of this tool is to identify the various actions to be worked on, to confirm who is responsible for which actions, and to establish the timeline for completion of those actions. The tool will assist in tracking the status of agreed upon action items. It serves as a visual reminder of the task status and maintains a record of accomplished as well as outstanding tasks.
Action Plan Registers are an effective tool at daily operations meetings for tracking short cycle items. They are also very effective for routine periodic meetings (weekly/monthly) where teams are focused on improving the current state or monitoring outstanding actions.
Daily Activity Log
Today’s business world, and life in general, is fast paced, with a multitude of information coming at people constantly throughout the business day. Regardless of an individual’s position within the organization, most people have far more to do than time permits, which makes time management and the ability to prioritize key tasks an essential part of achieving acceptable levels of work performance.
The daily activity log sheet was developed to aid individuals who are experiencing difficulty meeting the various demands on their time. The purpose of this tool is to identify the various tasks being worked on during the workday, and in highlighting some of the major items that consume the most time.
Problem of the Day
Problem solving is a critical aspect of running any business but is often overlooked or done in a way that really only treats symptoms of the problem and not the root of the problem itself. The Problem of the Day worksheet is a first level problem solving tool designed to take on and treat one problem at a time. It can either be the tool that solves the problem once and for all if it is not too complex or the steppingstone to a more detailed root cause tool for complex problem solving. The use of the Problem of the Day format will add rigour to the task of problem solving without adding a lot of complexity.
Daily Observation Tour
The purpose of a Daily Observation Tour is to make contact with each employee each day in a structured format and to observe what is happening. It is not to stop friendly, normal interaction but to reinforce specific standards while making that contact.
The Daily Observation Tour, at its heart, is a standards review. It shows the employees what is important. It also adds structure to follow-up and communications.
Process Improvement
Value Stream Mapping Symbols
The VSM symbol sheet is a visual indication of several of the main value stream mapping symbols that are used when conducting value stream mapping exercises using the ‘Learning to See Method’. One of the strengths of this method is a standard convention for documentation of the process being analyzed, therefore it is critical to understand the symbols that make up this standard convention.
5S Audit
5S Workplace Organization is one of the key foundational Lean tools and is often the starting point for any organizational Lean transformation. Those who have embarked on the 5S journey have experienced the challenges of implementing such significant change, and in particular, as it relates to sustaining their improvement efforts.
The 5S Shop Audit form is the tool utilized to implement the “5th S”, sustaining the improvement, so that the organization doesn’t fall back into old habits and fail at implementing Lean transformation.
Project Charter
The Project Charter is an agreement among project team members and stakeholders, and helps to clarify what is expected from project team members. It is a summary statement of the scope, objectives, schedule, budget, and participants in a project. It provides a preliminary description of the roles and responsibilities, outlines the project objectives, identifies the main stakeholders, and defines the authority of the project manager. It describes how the project will be measured and how change requests will be managed. It serves as a reference of authority for the future of the project. The terms of reference are usually part of the project charter.
The Project Charter will help to control “Scope Creep” and is considered industry best practice.
A3 Continuous Improvement Project Reporting
The A3 Continuous Improvement Project Reporting Tool is an excellent tool to help guide problem-solving efforts and ensure project control throughout the life of a project. It provides a simple and standardized approach for systematically guiding problem-solving activities through a structured approach. The A3 utilizes the Edward Deming Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology to help guide the improvement efforts and to control the flow of the project. The A3 is also an excellent tool for providing overall project status to project stakeholders.
Waste Tour Checklist
Today’s business leaders deal with several competing priorities. Often you find yourself putting out one fire only to jump to the next fire fight. Finding the necessary time to focus on improving your work processes and do problem solving can be difficult. The Waste Tour was developed to aid teams and individuals who are looking to identify waste in their work processes. The tool will help to identify examples of the 8 categories of waste in your work area and business processes.
Roles & Responsibilities Matrix
For many organizations, roles and responsibilities seem to evolve over time. In the early stages of an organization, people may take on positions and/or responsibilities because they have a particular skill-set or interest in an area. As growth happens, more responsibilities may be added, and new roles may be created. In these situations, roles and responsibilities can become blurred and confusion may result. This is a less than optimum situation to be in and can lead to frustration among the organization’s leaders, as well as among the employees.
The Roles and Responsibilities Matrix was developed to help organizations understand the current situation with regards to who is doing what for any process. It maps out, in a graphical format, the roles, activities, responsibilities and functions or Departments involved in the process.
Occupational Health & Safety
Safety Tour Checklist
Most jurisdictions require that a safety tour be conducted in the workplace at some frequency. The purpose of the safety tour is to get a team of employees to go out in their workplace and observe mainly the conditions in that work area. The SSI Consulting Safety Tour Checklist also includes aspects of knowledge of safety systems and procedures. This checklist is also made to be modified for specific areas within a workplace. This becomes a record of that safety tour for use by Occupational Health and Safety Committees.
