MKS Inc

Prior to March of 2020, operational  management of factories have  always had its ups & downs with  technology transformations,  efficiency improvements, as well as  changes to logistics and supplier delivery  expectations. However,for the past  two plus years,traditional standards  of practice have changed dramatically  regarding expectations of involvement of  non-traditional functions. For example,  seemingly most factory team members  require significant proficiency in driving  logistics and filling real gaps to production  schedules due to unplanned gaps in  materials. These gaps have a variety of  root causes, but appear to be generated  at a macro level set of systemic issues.  The ever-changing priorities that these  create also become an enormous changedevolution  during the COVID-19period  and looks to continue. 

At the onset of the pandemic, a  period of system shock to factories,  suppliers, and service providers caused  great alarm in meeting delivery goals  which caused planning panics to occur  at factories, shutting lines or even plants  down. All this while industry has been  met with heightened global competition  and multi-tiered inflation affecting costs.  This condition could be viewed as the  devolution of standard manufacturing  and logistics issues and a sort of hyperescalation  of everything, all the time, by  everybody. 

Here’s the amazing response. Teams  across the board have revolutionized in  knowing the details and increased the  sense of collective urgency in to building  what they can to meet demands. In  addition, surviving by evolving practices  and systems to deliver as well as  maximizing productivity. 

Similarly, retaining, recruiting and  developing talent has equally been the  challenge of the 2020’s. In many cases  scrambling to keep current talent in place  was the initial punch, then throughout the  pandemic up to present day, all hands push  in recruiting to backfill or expand to meet  growth. 

The ultimate driver: Lack of customer  satisfaction due to chronic delays should  be a springboard for a culture to evolve or  revolutionize its systems while keeping  core talentonboard and engaged. Similarly,  adding or enhancing new supply networks  are critical to thrive and survive.

“Recognize that everyone is an Operational owner no matter which functional role.”

 Advantages and lessons learned to  consider: 

• Improved benefits and development  programs to retain talent 

• Creative recruiting initiatives that  promote initial job empowerment and  ownership of business goals  • Collaborative work techniques with  onsite, remote, hybrid, and global internal  and external partners  The post COVID era comes with  new beginnings and evolved or even  revolutionized areas of focus. “What are  they?” 

• Get results, not excuses and execute  on delivery to customer demands, keep  critical pathfront and center 

• Stabilization of skilled labor availability,  retainability and development 

• Drive at every level, signals or indicators  to reduced material supply chain delivery  and/or equipment lead time performance 

• Empower, Develop, raise alarm, solve  issue simply and quickly 

• Revolutionize mindsets to priority  communications when unplanned gaps and  issues arise 

• Frequent check-ins on critical paths 

• Assign key point employees, empowered  to make spot decisions 

• Clear paths of escalation for support, not  simply management awareness 

• Utilizing “Teams” meetings 

• Embrace challenges, enable solutions to  reduce gates to meeting milestones 

• Improvegap awareness to prevent  execution to meet daily goals 

• Recognize that everyone is an  Operational owner no matter which  functional role 

The bottom line is while we know  where we’ve been pre-pandemic, during,  and in our current state of manufacturing,  to be successful going forward we  must plan to operate comfortably with  a high velocity of challenges. Embrace  it, develop non-traditional methods  to respond. Resist devolution and  Revolutionize.