in Touch Newsletter for July 2011

8/6/2019 in Touch Newsletter for July 2011

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Volume 7, Issue No. 19

July 2011

It is our pride that for the past

few years we have fulfilled anunequivocal and reverentallegiance of giving you your socoveted issue of IN TOUCHevery quarter.

Like several times before, we aremore excited to present to youthe progeny of our struggleddays and months by providingyou this newsletter as the fruit ofour labor.

As promised, we will continueto focus on process

improvement approaches andinitiatives which we hope, willbe informative and constructivein your pursuit for continualimprovement.

Thus, we hope that you enjoyreading and be touched by thisedition of IN TOUCH!

CONTI NUOUS IMPROVEMENT

E ver yone E ver y W ay E ver y D ay

C o n t i n u o u simprovement is an ongoingeffort to improve products,services or processes.These efforts can seekincremental improvementover time or breakthroughimprovement all at once.

Among the most widelyused tools for continuousimprovementis a four-step

quality model- the plan-do-c h e c k - a c t(PDCA) cycle,also known asDeming Cycleor ShewhartCycle:

T o p 10 Tips forC o n t i n u o u sI m p r o v e m e n t:

Tip 1: Recognize theproblem.

For most organizations,a change in behaviordoes not come naturally.Though one might

think thatc o n t i n u o u s

improvementwould be anatural mindset for theQ u a l i t yImprovementTeam (Q I T);in reality, fewQITs h a v ea culture of

continuous improvement,not to mention processesor best practices to

facilitate it. Sure, lessonslearned are documentedas part of project closingbut they are almostAlways filed away andforgotten rather than actedupon.

continue on page 2...

*Plan: Identify an

opportunity and plan forchange.

*Do: Implement thechange on a small scale.

*Check: Use data toanalyze the results of thechange and determinewhether it made adifference.

*Act: If the change wassuccessful, implement it

on a wider scale andcontinuously assess yourresults. If the change didnot work, begin thecycle again.

I nside this issue:

FROM THE EDITOR

IN TOUCH July 2011

Continuous Improvement 1

From the Editor 1

Two Brothers and the Geese 3The Rebellion Against the Stomach 3

Our New Clients 3

Leadership and management 4

Commandments for Continuous 4

FCU in Action 5

Newly Certified Clients 8

New Associates 9

Page 1 (Volume 7, Issue 19)


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IN TOUCH July 2011

...Continuous Improvement, from page 1

The first step in establishing a continuous improvement

mind set is to recognize the problem. That is, recognize

the fact that your organization does not have or could do

quite better in exhibiting a continuous improvement mind

set.

Tip 2: Establish an enduring culture.

For continuous improvement to work, there must be arelentless focus on and commitment to getting thingsright. Adaptability and an action-oriented leadershipteam are inherentcomponents of ac o n t i n u o u si m p r o v e m e n tculture. Resistanceto change existsin all organizationsto a degree and itmust be recognizedfor what it is,an impediment toimprovement.

Tip 3: Think Kaizen and Cross the Chasm.

Many people advocate Kaizen oriented thinkingand behavior where continual small, incrementalimprovements provide tremendous benefits inperformance and end results achieved over time. Othersadvocate a Crossing the Chasm mind set where drasticchange is introduced completely, replacing inefficientexecution rather than slightly improving upon it. In acontinuous improvement culture, there is room for bothapproaches. And often, after achieving the mega changethat is made possible when Crossing the Chasmimprovement initiatives are implemented, a Kaizen mindset is required to refine, sustain, and continually improveupon such change.

Tip 4: Facilitate process-centric thinking.

Process-centric thinking does not have to be overlycomplex. Sometimes, all it takes is a thoughtful

examination to uncover significant areas for improvement.Rather than tolerating mistakes and repeating errors,facilitate process-centric thinking to continually improve,correct, and overcome execution difficulties.

Tip 5: Educate the workplace.

Like any other business strategy, ongoing education inthe workplace is critical in establishing awareness,developing skills, and institutionalizing the needed

mindset and behaviors to bring about effective change. Itis no different with Continuous Improvement. Expect andovercome resistance to change with ongoing training,reinforcement of expected behaviors, and recognition ofthose who are learning and doing.

Tip 6: Ensure a penalty-free exchange of ideas.

In many organizations, expressing one's opinion on how

to do things better may not necessarily be a welcomedactivity. Management can feel threatened or pressured toact, resulting in immediate resistances. In addition, thoseexpressing ideas may be viewed as complainers ortrouble makers. In such environment, it doesn't take

long for thepotential risksof making asuggestion tostifle enthusiasmand participationin improvemento r i e n t e d

t h i n k i n g .E n s u r i n ga penalty - freee x c h a n g e

of ideas isbeneficial to

both the giver and the receiver of new ideas andapproaches and will ensure a safe two way exchange ofthoughts and ideas.

Tip 7: Use a consistent approach for projects.

A consistent and structured approach for projectidentification and execution will provide the organizationwith the ability to identify, select, and manage continuousimprovement projects. The continuous improvementproject process should also provide post-closing processsteps to continually refine the improvement projectmethodology and to act upon the lessons learned fromthe project effort.

Tip 8: Measureperformance.

It is not possible toimprove what is notm e a s u r e d.D e t e r m i n e i na d v a n c e t h ea p p r o a c h a n dtechniques to beu s e d i nm e a s u r e m e n t s.Scorecards can beuseful to monitor thek e y performanceindicators of processes thatsupport capability and performance.

"Many of life's failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."



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IN TOUCH July 2011

Two Brothers and the GeeseTwo sons work for their father's farm. The younger brother had for

some years, been given more responsibility and reward. One day, the

older brother asked his father to explain why.

The father said, "First, go to Kelly's Farm and see if they have any

geese for sale. We need to replenish our stock."

The older brother soon returned with the answer, "Yes they have fivegeese which they can sell to us."

The father then said, "Good, please

ask them the price."

The son returned with the answer,

"The geese are $10 each."

The father said, "Good, now ask if

they can deliver the geese

tomorrow."

The son returned with the answer,

"Yes, they can deliver the geesetomorrow."

The father asked the older brother to wait and listen, and then called

the younger brother, "Go to Davidson's Farm and see if they have

any geese for sale - we need to replenish our stock."

The younger brother soon returned with the answer, "Yes, they have

five geese for $10 each, or ten geese for $8 each; and t hey can deliver

them tomorrow - I asked them to deliver the five unless they heard

otherwise from us in the next hour. And I agreed that if we want the

extra five geese we could buy them at $6 each."

The father turned to the older son, who nodded his head in

appreciation. He now realized why his brother was given moreresponsibility and reward.

Once a man had a dream in which his hands and feet and

mouth and brain all began to rebel against his stomach.

"You good-for-nothing sluggard!" the hands said. "We work

all day long, sawing and hammering and lifting and

carrying. By evening we're covered with blisters and

scratches, and our joints ache, and we're covered with dirt.

And meanwhile you just sit there, hogging all the food."

"We agree!" cried the feet. "Think how sore we get,

walking back and forth all day long. And you just stuff

yourself full, you greedy pig, so that you're that much

heavier to carry about."

"That's right!" whined the mouth. "Where do you think all

that food you love comes from? I'm the one who has to

chew it all up, and as soon as I'm finished you suck it all

down for yourself. Do you call that fair?"

"And what about me?" called the brain. "Do you think its

easy being up here, having to think about where your nextmeal is going to come from? And yet I get nothing at all for

my pains."

And one by one the parts of the body joined the complaint

against the stomach, which didn't say anything at all.

"I have an idea," the brain finally announced. "Let's all

rebel against the lazy belly, and stop working for it."


OUR NEW CLIENTS:

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way,

and shows the way.

- John C. Maxwell -

University of San Carlos- IndustrialEngineering Depart ment

Golden Dragon Fastcraft Builders,I ncorporated

E.A. Sancho Construction, I ncorporated R.Z. Roncal Construct ion and Trading Part ido Construct ion and Supply AK N Construction Corporation Unibag Polysack Corporation HGG Bui lders and Supply Philpacking Corporation Honeyville Construction E. Garcia Construction Ven Ray Construct ion

The RebellionAgainst the

Stomach



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IN TOUCH July 2011

...Continuous Improvement, from page 2

Tip 9: Communication planning.

Ensure regular communications to foster collaborative interactionsamong leaders, stakeholders, and practitioners at all levels. Takeadvantage of communications techniques appropriate for theinformation being conveyed. Where needed, schedule face to facemeetings and where not needed, use the communication a n dcollaboration tools and capabilities of the enterprise to keep allmembers updated and involved.

Tip 10: Establish core values.

Establish the core values that comprise the continuous improvement

culture such as a focus on supporting the customer, teamworkthroughout the extended enterprise, receptivity to evolving continuousimprovement concepts and tools. These core values will create a senseof belonging and a common vision for all involved.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org

In any moment of decision, the best thing y ou can do is the ri ght

thing. Theworst thing y ou can do is nothing.

-Theodore Roosevelt -

From my experience with my ownpast bosses, I have noted that . . .

Leaders:

1) Have high levels of integrity2) Are focused on the bigger picture3) Are not comfortable with "intense

detail"4) Make me (their direct reports) feel

part of their vision5) Do not punish mistakes but rather,

see mistakes as learningopportunities

6) Challenge the status quo7) Are not afraid of being unpopular

Managers:

1) Are process driven2) Are comfortable with detail3) Are more interested in the bottom

line than the wider vision4) Want to measure everything5) Are not comfortable challenging

the corporate view

'Leadership and

management - chalkand cheese'

Written by Trevor Gay

'There is a difference betweenleadership andmanagement.Leadership isof the spirit,compounded ofpersonality andv i s i on ; i t spractice is ana r t.Managementis of the mind,a matter ofa c c u r a t e

calculation - itspractice is a science. Managers arenecessary; Leaders are essential.'Field Marshall Lord Slim, whenGovernor-General of Australia.

Leadership and management are asdifferent as chalk and cheese.

Good managers do not necessarilymake good leaders, and goodleaders do not necessarily makegood managers.

Each has a distinct role. Leadershipq u a l i t i e s are far less tangibleand measurable while m o s t

management processes can bemeasured. Perhaps this is bestsummed up by Warren Bennis:

There is clearly something abouteffective leaders that makes themstand out from the crowd. I find itimpossible to identify and quantify

that elusive quality. When I lookback through my own career, I havehad superiors who are clearlyleaders and those who are clearlymanagers.


'Managers do things right . . .

leaders do the right things.'


5/9

RCD Consultant Group Incorporated

Internal Quality Audit Seminar

Sunwest Construction & Development

Corporation Internal Quality AuditWorkshop

IBC International Builders Corporation

Leadership & Planning Workshops

Equi-Parco Construction Company

Team Building Seminar

IN TOUCH July 2011


IBC International Builders Corporation

Leadership & Planning Workshops


Team Building Seminar

AKN Construction Corporation

Walkthrough Audit

Unibag Polysack Corporation

ISO Awareness Seminar


6/9

University of San Carlos

Industrial Engineering DepartmentISO 9001:2008 Awareness &

Documentation Workshop

DCCD Engineering Corporation

Risk Assessment

Mac Builders Internal Quality Audit

Workshop & Awareness Seminar


Surveillance Audit


IN TOUCH July 2011

Adfil Corporation

Internal Audit Seminar

Hi-tone Construction and Development Corporation

Internal Quality Audit


7/9

He who has never made a mistake, never made a discovery.- Samuel Smiles -

...The Rebellion, from page 3

"Superb idea!" all the other membersand organs agreed. "We'll teach youhow important we are, you pig. Thenmaybe you'll do a little work of yourown."

So they all stopped working. The handsrefused to do lifting and carrying. Thefeet refused to walk. The mouthpromised not to chew or swallow asingle bite. And the brain swore itwould not come up with any morebright ideas. At first, the stomachgrowled a bit, as it always did when itwas hungry. But after a while it wasquiet.

Then, to the dreaming man's surprise,he found he could not walk. He couldnot grasp anything in his hand. Hecould not even open his mouth. And hesuddenly began to feel rather ill.

The dream seemed to go on for severaldays. As each day passed, the man feltworse and worse. "This rebellion hadbetter not last much longer," he thoughtto himself, "or I'll starve."

Meanwhile, the hands and feet andmouth and brain just lay there, gettingweaker and weaker. At first theyroused themselves just enough to taunt

the stomach every once in a while, butbefore long they didn't even have theenergy for that.

Finally the man heard a faint voicecoming from the direction of his feet.

"It could be that we were wrong," theywere saying. "We suppose the stomachmight have been working in his ownway all along."

"I was just thinking the same thing,"

murmured the brain. "It's true that he'sbeen getting all the food. But it seemshe's been sending most of it right backto us."

"We might as well admit our error," the

mouth said. "The stomach has just as

much work to do as the hands and feet

and brain and teeth."


...Leadership and management, from

page 4

I think the difference is around thewords 'hard' and 'soft.' Myexperience about effectivemanagers is that they tend to bevery good at the hard stuff. Theyare concerned with measurableoutcomes - sometimes obsessedwith process at all costs. They

appear to be driven by the needto prove their effectiveness in sometangible way. But leaders, on theother hand, are also interested inthe soft stuff - the immeasurable,the anecdote, the story.

Finally, I would suggest that leaders

are generally born - not made. Idoubt that people can learn how tobe a leader from reading, studying,or listening to lectures. There issomething that makes leaders standout from the rest of us.Leadershiptraining is worthwhile.

I t i s p o s s i b l e t o t e a c hleadership techniques. Leadershipcompetencies are becoming morewidely used in managementacademia.

I suspect that what emerged from

the 'leadership development'process are good managers whowill become good leaders. But theoutstanding, natural leader would

not be needing thattraining. Some o f thegreatest leaders in historynever had trainings in theart of leadership - it cameto them naturally and weshould recognize thatmystical quality - even ifwe cannot measure it.

At the same time, let us rememberthat leaders are in the minority andmost of us, mere mortals, are veryeffective foot soldiers (and weshould recognize this.). Many wouldargue that wars are won by footsoldiers - not colonels.

There is no question that managersand leaders are both important -both play crucial roles inorganizations. But likewise, it isimportant to acknowledge that goodmanagers and good leaders are notthe same.

Leaders say, this is where we are going' andManagers say, this is how we are going to get there'.


IN TOUCH July 2011


8/9

CONGRATULATIONS

TO OUR NEWLY CERTIFIED

CLIENTS!!!

A. Dakay Construction & Development Corporation

B. Nautical Ports Management & Services Incorporated

C. Tokwing Construction

D. IBC International Builders

E. RCD Consultant Group, Incorporated

F. Haidee Construction and Development Corporation


IN TOUCH July 2011

C

A

B

D

E

F


9/9

FCUs NEW ASSOCIAT ES

L e n n i e E . S a l a sB.S. Indust r ial Eng ineer ing

G o l d a M e ir L . M e t e o r oB.S. Industr ia l Engineering

If you have any comments orsuggestions, please contact us at:

fcu & associates

MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS

Suite 910 West Tower, PSE Bldg.

Ortigas Center, Pasig City

Telephone: (632) 796-5377

(632) 637-3210

30 Sta. Lucia Street

Subangdaku, Mandaue City

Telephone: (032) 344-7746

Visit our website!!!

www.fcuandassociates.com.ph

...The Rebellion, from page 7

"Then let's get back to work," they cried together. And at that the

man woke up.

To his relief, he

discovered his feet

could walk again. His

hands could grasp,his mouth could

chew, and his brain

could now think

clearly. He began to

feel much better.

"Well, there's a

lesson for me," he

thought as he filled

his stomach for

breakfast.

"Either we all work together,

or nothing works at all."

Source : http://spiritual-short-stories.com

1. Coca-Cola was originally green.

2. The most common name in the world is

Mohammed.

3. The name of all continents ends with the same

letter that they start with.

4. The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.

5. Women blink nearly twice as often as men.

6. The sixth sick sheiks sixth sheeps sick is said

to be the toughest tongue twister in the English

language.

7. If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If

you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a

blood vessel in your head or neck and die.

8. Like fingerprints, everyones tongue print is

different.

9. 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 =

12,345,678,987,654,321


IN TOUCH July 2011

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