OVERVIEW

Organizations that have Class A ERP processes in place find that real cultural changes driven from the Class A standard always start at the top. Good solid management planning along with prioritization of such activities as measurement habits, root cause analysis, and a robust management system are very influential on business behavior. That needs to be part of the thinking as the discussion changes to the shop floor. When top management carries its part of the load, this part of Class A ERP gets much easier and more predictable.

I am reminded of a request I received from a Fortune 50 company a few years ago. The company wanted me to visit a plant because "the shop floor was all screwed up." As soon as I heard the phrase, I smiled to myself because I did not want to reveal what I was really thinking before I had proof. It did not take very long to get that proof. When I entered the plant later that month, I was put in a holding pattern because the plant manager was in an emergency meeting. This was just a hint of what was to come. After about a half-hour wait and a subsequent discussion with the materials manager, I finally met the plant manager. She was an experienced woman with an obvious love of communication a lot of it! I am not talking about formal communication of plans and actions and schedules. I am talking about short, constant bursts of...