Say goodbye to silos

Purchasing Manager Rita Tobin is impressed by Daily Layered Accountability because it makes it hard for people not to get involved. But most of all she values Focus Factory. This is the Level Three Daily Layered Accountability meeting each morning at which site leaders, function heads and value stream leaders review the performance of the whole site. She tells us why.

If a supplier tells us a drawing is out of date, say, or a certain material is now obsolete, we can’t complete the order without help from Engineering. In the past we could wait a very long time for that support. Everyone was focusing so hard on their own priorities it was hard for any of us to see the bigger picture. There’s also been a lot of changes in operations leadership in my time at Meggitt Avionics. Oddly, the uncertainty that created seemed to exaggerate the silo effect, making it even harder to get support from other parts of the business. Now, the moment we escalate something from our own DLA board, we can be certain of a response within a week. It’s an amazing transformation.

Everyone was focusing so hard on their own priorities it was hard for any of us to see the bigger picture

“That’s why Focus Factory is so valuable to us. It has driven out all that silo stuff. We all have the same priorities now. Each morning Focus Factory makes sure we are all pulling in the same direction. Problems are discussed openly and everyone can see their true impact on the business. No-one thinks we are crying wolf any more. Having everyone in the room makes it very easy to escalate things. If someone is out of the office a lot, Focus Factory is the place to catch them. If something needs doing, it is made the responsibility of a named individual—who is likely to get on with it promptly if only to avoid having to answer the same questions at two consecutive meetings. At the end, when we break up, people often go into huddles of twos and threes. This is when lots of problems get solved very quickly. Something that might take a week to deal with by email can be sorted out there and then in a few minutes.

Focus Factory makes sure we are all pulling in the same direction. Problems are discussed openly and everyone can see their true impact on the business

“I wouldn’t say nobody cared before DLA and Focus Factory, but now people do go out of their way to support each other.” ■

Procurement

Say goodbye to silos