mrprocedure

We discussed the actual tasks performed in the last post. Today we will focus on the second element of capability:

2. Skills

In this model, a skill is an ability that enables task performance. To perform a task properly (i.e., do it as perfectly as possible as often as possible), a number of enabling skills may be required. 

Here are some examples: delivering raw material from a warehouse to the production location would be a task or activity. To properly perform the task or activity, it may be necessary to use a fork lift (or “powered lift truck” as OSHA refers to it). If the task performer has not acquired the skill of “forklift driving,” the task will be performed inefficiently, and likely dangerously.

In an office, an employee may be required to maintain computer files (schedules, etc.). To perform this task may require the ability to use Microsoft Excel or a specialized software program.

In these examples, forklift operation and use of software are not tasks, because there is no defined beginning and end to either.

In terms of training skills, they are learned independently of the tasks on which they are used, and often accompanied by some sort of certification (whereas task training is ultimately accompanied by qualification). The organization may require that employees obtain these skills outside of work (or possess them before being hired).

In determining what skills are required for any position in the organization, the skills should be limited to those actually identified as necessary to perform the tasks the individual will perform.

Sorry it has been so long since my last post, but I will make up for it now. Our discussion broke off with an introduction to the three elements of capability. We will in this and the next two posts describe each.

1. Task Performance

This of course is the bottom line. If our premise is that organizational success depends on our people performing all essential tasks as perfectly as possible as often as possible, then first and foremost we have to know what those tasks are.

Consequently, the foundation of any “training and development” process is understanding what is done and how it is best performed (the second of the three characteristics of process). The core of an individual’s training will then be in performance of these tasks, and an individual’s capability should be defined in terms of the number of tasks he or she is able to perform.

Before any other effort in training can be successfully carried out, we need to have a complete list of the activities performed.

We will come back to discussing the Task Analysis in a future post.

If we intend to develop an instructional communication process to equip employees/associates/workers to perform their critical tasks as perfectly as possible as often as possible, we first need to get our arms around what they need to learn, know and do.

The good news about any position, any department or group, or any employee is that the collective capability needed for effective performance is finite. That is, if you (and your department’s workers) sit down and list everything they need to know or do to be completely capable in the function, you would eventually capture everything on the list.

Capability–the collective knowledge and abilities required for effective performance in a position–consists of three components:

1. Performance of tasks or activities: what the workers actually do in order to achieve the department’s, function’s or organization’s objectives. In the parlance of the previous discussions, these are the processes performed in the interest of “achieving the mission.”

2. Skills: specialized abilities required by workers to perform the processes captured as tasks and activities. Executing the skill does not equate to performing the process (since a skill does not have a defined beginning or end), but the process could not be performed without the skill.

3. Knowledge: conceptual understanding that is essential to effectiveness of process performance. Most safety training undertaken by an organization falls into this category, as would a lot of quality and “lean” training.

I am aware that in some training constructs, these terms are used differently. Many would speak of establishing an “inventory of skills,” which in my terminology means (or includes) performance of the specific tasks or activities. This is really a disagreement on terminology, not a disagreement on the fundamental need to comprehensively capture what an individual needs to know to “do their job.”

We will focus on each of these separately in upcoming posts. But it is insightful to consider that every position in an organization fits this capability model. Whether the CEO, shift supervisor, accounting clerk or maintenance technician, any position has a finite capability associated with it. The proportion of task/activity, skill or knowledge capability will vary, but any position can (and should) be defined using the capability model.

In my next post, we focus on tasks and activities. Until then, feel free to comment on my posts and what you would like to see discussed,

Mr. Procedure

Finally, we discuss the third characteristic of a process:

3. Every process is defined by one or more desired outcomes.

Any activity is (or should be) undertaken with a specific objective in mind. In an organization, a process is performed to attain a specific outcome (or output), that in turn will become an input into the next process within the organization or for a customer. In other words, there is an intended result, by which we assess the success of the process.

Here, it becomes especially important to remember that the characteristics common to all processes are common to every step within a process. In process analysis, we can define a problem as “any situation, occurrence or condition that results in a failure to achieve the desired outcome of the process.”

If I have a multi-step process (procedure), with a completely assembled bicycle as the process outcome, I must understand first, what characteristics define a successfully assembled bicycle, and what action (step) is built into the process specifically to achieve each characteristic? If I know this, then I can focus on that step when the intended characteristic is unmet, rather than having to analyze the entire process because of a generic failure to properly assemble the bicycle.

The key to process excellence is aligning actions with intended outcomes, ensuring that the outcomes add value (i.e., they matter to whoever will receive the process output). In terms of continuous improvement (or Lean application), understanding actions and outcomes allows me to assess the effectiveness of each action. Either the action is adding value as defined above, or it is contributing nothing to the process outcome. Such actions constitute waste and should be eliminated, not only to save labor and energy, but to prevent mistakes.

As we move onto discussions related to procedure development and training, it is essential that this understanding of processes is carried into them. Until my next post, keep seeking process excellence!

Mr. Procedure

Continuing our discussion of process, the second characteristic of a process (and every step within a process) is:

2. There is one, current-state best way to perform the process.

Again, this principle is obvious–of course there is a best way to do anything! But actually identifying, defining, describing and driving performance of that “best way” is much more elusive.

Let’s look at a hypothetical example. Three workers, Joe, Sue and Tom, assemble bicycles. There is a written procedure for building the bicycles, which all three follow. The procedure describes the best way we know how to build the bicycles, where best means completing a high number of assemblies in an hour (productivity), assembling the bicycles properly (quality) and not being injured while assembling (safety).

At the end of a day, however, it is discovered that Joe assembled 20 bicycles, of which two had defects. Sue assembled 14 bicycles, of which none had defects. Tom assembled 17 bicycles, of which one had a defect, but also suffered a cut during work. Now, who performed the best?

You may make an argument for any of our three workers being “best” (i.e., their method being the best), but all would conclude they performed the activity diferently (despite working from the same procedure). So, which procedure qualifies as the one, current-state best way to assemble the bicycles?

The answer may surprise you, but it is likely that no one is performing the task in the one, current-state best way! It is more likely that the one best way is a combination of actions Joe, Sue and Tom perform. And while all three may be performing in accordance with the procedure, which is a good thing, we are not achieving the level of performance we could.

This occurs because process performance evolves, even in the absence of a formal improvement effort. Any one who has worked a multi-shift operation is aware of this: separate methods evolve on each shift. One shift may perform more satisfactorily than the others, but the true best way is likely a composite of the best performance elements of each shift.

For the supervisor, engineer or trainer, capturing and communicating this best way involves being connected to the work going on, which means being connected to the workers. We will have much more to say on how to make these connections in future posts. Until then, thank you for your continued reading!

Tim, Mr. Procedure

In the last entry, we discussed the three characteristics of all processes. In this and the next two posts, we will expand the understanding of process that is foundational to all instructional communication activities.

1. A process in all cases has a defined beginning and end.

This may seem obvious, but the fact that any given process can be defined by a beginning point and an end point allows for the process to be isolated for the purpose of defining and describing, as well as for training individuals to perform the process.

Is “driving a forklift” a process? The answer is “no,” because there is no defined beginning or end to “driving a forklift.” That does not mean that forklift driving is incidental, but it does mean that for the purpose of training and qualification, I must treat forklift driving differently than if it were a process. (In fact, it would be treated as a skill, as we will discuss in a future post.)

While “driving a forklift” does not fit the definition of process, an activity within which a forklift is used will likely be a process. For example, “moving boxes from the warehouse to the packaging area” is a process, because the activity hasa defined beginning and end. As a result, we can train an individual to perform this activity, ensuring instruction in all aspects of the activity, with the understanding that acquiring the skill (forklift driving) is a pre-requisite to the actvity.

A defined beginning and end places boundaries around the process. This becomes very important when a problem occurs (safety or quality incident, for example). If a process problem has occurred, we can investigate in a narrow range of activity, defined by the boundaries of the process. This allows us to focus directly on the process and zero in on the  problems in relation to the process, and then work toward identifying causes for the problem (we will have much to say on this subject in future posts).

In our next post, we will look at the second distinctive of all processes, that there is one current-state best way to perform the process. Until then, remember that enterprise excellence is contingent on process excellence.

Thanks for reading,

Mr. Procedure

Regardless of its mission or structure, an organization achieves its end through the performance of some finite number of processes. The introduction to the ISO-9001 Quality Management System standard states, “an activity or set of activities using resources, and managed in order to enable the transformation of inputs into outputs, can be considered as a process.” Consequently, ISO (and its cousin, AS-9100) promote the adoption of a “process approach” in implementing quality.

When considering “training,” all of training is process training. When considering “continuous improvement,” we necessarily mean the improvement of processes. Any activity that results in the delivery of value to the customer (and is exchanged for money) is such a process. Enterprise excellence necessarily means process excellence.

All processes have the following three characteristics:

1. There is a defined beginning and end to the process.

In other words, we can identify a moment in time that the process begins and a moment when it is completed, and the output of the process is complete.

2. There is one, current-state best way to perform the process.

The enterprise, or persons within the enterprise, has at its disposal a single way that best (most efficiently, most safely and most frequently achieving appropriate quality). The fact that there is a best way does not mean everyone in the enterprise is performing the best way. In fact, it may be possible that no one is performing it the best way. But the collective knowledge and experience of the enterprise yields one way to perform the process that is “the best we know how at present.”

3. Every process is defined by one or more desired outcomes.

At the end of the process, there must be some defined desired end result. If there weren’t, we would not know if our effort in performing the process achieved the right result or not.

Not only every process, but every step within the process, is defined by the three characteristics above (beginning and end, best way to do it, desired outcome). While this may not be ground-breaking information, it is essential that anyone involved in process optimization (which should be every person in the enterprise) must understand this reality and the ramifications of this reality.

In the posts to come, we will examine each of the characteristics and describe how each must be approached to maximize both the process and the communication of the process.

Until next time, Mr. Procedure

Hello! My name is Charles James, aka Tim James, aka “Mr. Procedure.” This blog will concern itself with all issues related to the manner in which organizations communicate the essentials of proper task performance with their workers.

It is my belief that there are fewer things more vital to an organization’s success than having as  many of its workers as possible perform every one of their tasks as perfectly as possible as often as possible. While many people (myself included) promote and drive “continuous improvement,” most organizations would improve their results substantially simply by eliminating the mistakes, and the costs associated with those mistakes.

In these postings, I will discuss any number of instructional communication issues, including but not limited to:

Employee training
Orientation training
Safety training
Policy development
Operating procedure development
Work instruction development
Training and procedures in relation to Quality Management Systems (ISO, AS9100, etc.)
On-the-job training
Classroom training
On-line training
Seminar development
Power point as an aide, not a sleep medicine

My training, development and procedure writing experience covers 20-plus years, focusing primarily in the documentation-rich aerospace field. My experience includes on-the-job task training, safety training, handbook development, leadership and continuous improvement training, on-line course development, and matching training needs with specific, cost-effective solutions.

I welcome all comments and especially questions you may wish to have answered. As this is my first blog, it will look very basic at first, but I will do my best to learn the ins and outs of making it livelier and as helpful and as entertaining as possible. I will endeavor to add entries each Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Thank you for viewing my blog, and best of luck in all of your instructional communications efforts. I hope to demonstrate that, conceptually at least, communication and training is not as hard as many “training professionals” make it out to be!

Thanks, Mr. Procedure