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Component Manufacturing dverti$er
Adverti$er
Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
June 2018 #10227 Page #18
Moving From Best to Next Practices Ben Hershey, CEO & Coach 4Ward Consulting Group, LLC
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s an industry, there are many times I believe we have been behind the curve in adopting/taking on new technology or hardware in our operations. Over the past 15 years or so, we have seen incredible growth in the use of automation, software, etc., but other industries have far exceeded the building industry in general when it comes to adapting. Of course we’ve made improvements, but we still have work to do. One of the core changes we have seen is that “best practices” have been standardized in our industry. Some have been around for quite a while, such as the SBCA QC program or the SBCA Safety Program. Other best practices being adopted include our software where as an industry we are talking about unified file formats where as an example our equipment can easily talk to our software. Indeed, some of our adaptation has been learned from what we have seen in other industries. Companies identify best practices, particularly those of market leaders, and try to implement them. Such benchmarking has a role to play in business and it may allow you to catch up with competitors, but it won’t turn you into market leaders. Organizations/associations have also adapted by spotting big “global” issues and inventing best practices. Ironically, the trouble with a best practice is that you are looking at someone else’s practices, and these can sometimes be highly individual, made up of different groups of methodologies, processes, rules, theories, values, and concepts. Together these practices have provided that specific company a level of success that others – mostly competitors – begin to notice. There is a famous line in the film When Harry Met Sally when you hear Billy Crystal say, “I’ll have what she’s having.” Some of these practices, such as the SBCA QC and Safety programs, are universally good for everyone. But, within your own organization/company, there is no such thing as best manufacturing/procedural/ etc. practices—you can’t simply pick up and plug and play, as one organization’s initiative is never the same set of conditions or positioning that others can simply copy. We desire the “one size fits all” as a comfort blanket. But do you want to have best practices which are really just “same” practices? Wouldn’t you rather move to the front of the pack with “next” practices? It is not easy to peel away an organization’s practices to understand how they can be rebuilt to become unique. So many organizations seek to apply someone else’s practice, so they end up as “same” practice. With experience and forward thinking, however, companies can become winners by spotting big opportunities and inventing next practices.
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