Through 35-plus years, Voigt has been in organizations where people didn’t like to talk about problems. There was an active culture focused on not talking about what was wrong.
“To me, one of the most important things to do is to make sure that you have a culture supported by systems and processes to focus on the areas that aren’t exactly right, to make sure that people feel they have the ability and the freedom and the empowerment to embrace the red and to drive improvements,” he says.
Consistent management
Hyperion already had an outstanding approach with regard to employee safety and quality, Voigt says. Those things were templated, supported centrally and executed locally.
However, he’s helping expand that into daily management, bringing a set of metrics in a very common way to every part of the plants and operations, and having a consistent way of reviewing, reporting and driving improvements.
For example, early in KKR’s ownership, the executive team rolled out a daily management process.
Over a six-week period, they installed a consistent process across 55 value streams in plants around the world, by bringing representatives to a common location for a workshop.
“It’s a great example of driving consistency across the organization,” Voigt says.
Whether it’s in Taiwan, Barcelona or Worthington, the facilities now all have a similar approach, set of metrics and reporting process to help drive improvements, and the daily management board looks essentially the same.
Over time, Voigt also has been able demonstrate the power of continuous improvement — the power of embracing the red — to drive results, which builds buy-in and creates momentum.
“When you provide evidence and proof points that are tangible and comprehensible for people, that leads to a cycle of engagement and involvement that is almost unstoppable,” he says.
In one particular plant, high demand in the market was a driving force. Hyperion did a series of continuous improvement, or kaizen, events intended to take waste out and reduce lead time in the manufacturing processes.
By moving from a cellular approach to a one-piece flow, Voigt says the company improved the capacity and throughput, which in turn allowed it to win significant incremental business simply because Hyperion could deliver faster than its competitors.
An organization that’s given the challenge to improve, while being provided the right set of tools, continuous improvement philosophy and approach, can do absolutely terrific things, he says, adding that this isn’t his first time going through this process.
“Hyperion has probably embraced and driven improvements as fast or faster than any organization that I’ve been associated with in the past,” Voigt says.
It’s better to be fast than perfect
Making tangible improvements also should be mutually supportive; it’s not a choice between today’s issues and tomorrow’s improvement, Voigt says.
“Our improvements are focused on both helping today, as well as helping us get to where we want to go in the future,” he says.
Of course, as with any continuous improvement process, when you’re trying to improve, you’re going to get three things right and one or two things wrong, Voigt says.
“Certainly, we’ve tried things that have not worked,” he says. “That isn’t a reason to stop trying things.”
