Professor José Mª Rodríguez has spent the last 14 years of his career implementing improvement groups at various companies. Here, he reflects on his experiences and explains why such groups usually achieve far greater improvements than originally forecast.

Over the past 14 years, I have worked as a consultant for the implementation of improvement groups at various companies. I have documented my observations and conclusions on this work in several case studies and articles. This has been one of the most enriching and gratifying experiences of my professional life. I want to try and explain the meaning that these experiences have had for me and how they have made me feel personally, in the hope that I can encourage others to consider the benefits of this approach.

Continuous improvement is more than a way of increasing productivity and quality. It is a way of involving all company personnel in the improvement of their own jobs, showing them how to work in teams, develop their skills and make a commitment to the search for excellence. I will give the reader a graphic illustration of what these ideas mean.

My first experience with this type of group dates back to 1990, at an iron and steel company. I recall an image of half a dozen workers in their overalls, sitting around a table in front of a blackboard, analyzing the causes of a manufacturing problem. They were following the structured problem solving method and were working with the same intensity and seriousness as a group of executives. I was captivated by this experience. I loved it. This observation validated my ideas about the participation of company personnel in resolving problems relating to their own individual jobs. Since then, I have concentrated all my efforts as a consultant on implementing this type of group.

Of all my working relationships in this field, the longest so far has been with a Spanish company, where I worked between 1995 and 2000. The initiative came from the company’s general manager. I remember a phrase he used to express his ideas about improvement groups: "We cannot allow ourselves to waste the ideas of our employees at any level.” Of all the groups with which I worked, I particularly remember the warehouse operators from the factory in Manlleu, Spain, whose duties consisted of handling reels weighing several tons, work that involved serious risks. I held several meetings with this group, helping them to collect data, lay it out in a histogram and prepare a cause-and-effect diagram. This work was an entirely new experience for them as warehouse workers. Every three months, all the different groups presented their findings to the management committee in the presence of other groups. I will never forget the satisfaction with which one member of this group presented the group’s histogram and cause-and-effect diagram. He rose to the occasion in front of the assembled crowd, and the group then proposed a tool that would radically reduce the risk of accidents. I shared their sense of satisfaction. I am, above all, a teacher, and helping others to learn is the main source of satisfaction for a teacher. My students are normally business executives or young university students. Helping this group of warehouse workers to improve the safety of their working environment was something that I valued.

Another experience that I remember vividly came from the same Spanish company. On that occasion, we had begun a Continuous Improvement Program with intermediate level personnel and supporting technicians. But the time came when we had to implement it for the factory workers as well. The management felt that, in order to take this step, we should involve the workers’ representatives. The management, therefore, established a team of two managers, a factory foreman and a representative from each of the factory committees. I was asked to act as the group’s adviser. There were seven of us in all, and I remember the first meeting very clearly. The atmosphere was serious, and we all behaved respectfully, cautiously, measuring each step.

I suggested that we start by drawing a diagram of all the factors in play. They followed my advice, and we constructed a highly detailed cause-and-effect diagram on a flip-chart. This diagram served as our guide for the following six months that we worked together, meeting a couple of times a month. It soon became clear that my role was to help them to think as a team and discuss things in an ordered way.

The committee representatives saw that there was a keen willingness on the part of the management, and that the improvement group was benefiting the workers. It was a slow process, which included both advances and setbacks. With time, spontaneity and frankness increased. We all worked together to prepare a set of by-laws for the factory teams. There was a mutual reconciliation between everyone on the team, not only in terms of attitude, but also personally.
In the end, we presented our findings at a meeting attended by the management committee, the members of the three company committees in full session and our own team. The meeting went smoothly, the atmosphere was positive, and the team’s suggestion was approved by all sides. This was my first experience with company committees, and it was both gratifying and enriching, a good example of the fact that “talking leads to understanding.”

My belief in the value of respectful dialogue was confirmed once again.

More recently, I helped implement improvement groups at a company in the consumer electronics sector. These improvement groups were made up of assembly line staff, most of them young women. The assembly process was organized in lines, with short working cycles (I won’t go into details for obvious reasons), but when the groups began their work we saw that there were many opportunities for improvement. I was the “teacher” for these groups, helping them to apply structured problem solving, hold effective meetings and make presentations to the management, among other things. I walked along the lines on many occasions and observed firsthand which processes could be improved. I witnessed the employees’ ingenuity and tenacity. I watched as the groups developed and as leaders emerged to encourage and coordinate. This was another gratifying and enriching experience.

I will conclude by returning to the comments I made at the beginning of this article. Improvement groups are more than just a way of improving company results. They are also a way of channeling the ideas of a company’s staff to improve their own individual jobs. What results is an increased feeling of responsiblity. As Jack Welch said, “With voice, comes responsibility.” Improvement groups make the lives of their members more interesting as they learn to work in teams and solve problems methodically. For me, it has been an opportunity to share in dreams and learn through the experience of belonging to a large group of people seeking excellence.