Cultural Changes are Difficult – can a shop really change?
As times change, manufacturing shops need to change as well. To stay ahead of the competition, shops need to keep up with the latest technology and trends. But what happens when a shop needs to change its culture to keep up with technology changes?
A McKinsey survey of about 3,000 executives found that “only one in three organizational change efforts succeed”. Cultural change efforts often have even lower odds of success. So, what needs to happen for companies to be successful at implementing cultural change?
A cultural change is only possible when the CEO/President is passionate and consistent about the change. The same ‘idea’ comes into play on the shop floor. The manufacturing leader needs to believe in the change and bring their team on-board, so the company can maintain a positive culture through the transition.
Manufacturing has an interesting history in the US, from the innovations of the Industrial Revolution, including the introduction of the steam engine, to the creation of the assembly line and the implementation of lean/six sigma manufacturing. These have been the backbones of American life and US manufacturing excellence.
With the Fourth Industrial Revolution currently taking shape, manufacturers are faced with a huge influx of new technologies at their fingertips – so much technology that they may not know which direction to take. For example, automation and artificial intelligence; there is now machinery that is capable of achieving what was thought impossible just a few months ago. There are also other IoT technologies that can quickly capture and analyze a vast amount of data and provide previously unimaginable amounts of information to work from and make decisions with.
So what do shops do, where do they start?
- Leadership: That’s where it all starts. Leaders need to be able to develop a strategy and start to shift mindsets while creating business plans that create value.
- Teams: Companies need to put teams in place that look into new and emerging technologies to decide where to best invest their dollars for the most efficient ROI.
- Partners: Companies need to find partners that have teams of people with various expertise to help guide them and inform them of the most optimal processes of an application and how to best use new technologies to their benefit.
Once a decision is made and a company purchases new technology – whether it’s a machine tool or a software platform – companies need to prepare and train front-line employees on the new technology and on why the decision was made to purchase it. This starts to shift the company culture.
Another area company leaders need to look into is evolution vs. revolution. Companies sometimes lack the right skill sets/talent to be successful with emerging technologies. They need to evolve and hire people for jobs that did not exist even a few years ago and they need to train current employees to make sure the talent they have is evolving with the times.
Technology is changing at a faster pace than ever before. Is your shop ready for the shift?
MC Machinery has the team in place to help you understand the ever-changing technology shifts and what you need to do to stay ahead of the competition. Call us today and learn more about our technology solutions in both equipment and Industry 4.0 and see how we can increase your productivity and keep you up to date and ahead of your competition during this Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Don’t let a lack of readiness hold you back – call us today.
Isabel Florence