Businessexcellence
ACHIEVING
JULY 2007 www.infinity-mediallc.com
High performance Air Products puts the tools of
continuous improvement to work
Toronto Pearson
The reinvention of an airport
Digital kanban
Technology for the demand driven supply chain
Product development
An integral part of sales and operations planning
4
High
performance
Chris Bujak tells Martin Ashcroft how Air
Products applies the tools of continuous
improvement to the CI process itself, to
create a high performing organization
Businessexcellence July 07
Lead story
5
鈥淔rom the very beginning, it of a diverse range of products from for over 50 years. It took a while to
was never just a manufacturing thing gases like helium and nitrogen to catch on in the Western world, but
for us,鈥? says Chris Bujak. 鈥淚t was nanomaterials, polymer emulsions and it鈥檚 here now, and it鈥檚 here to stay.
always a quest for creating a high gas generation equipment. 鈥淚 would paint a time line for
performing organization. It can be Many of the philosophies and Western industry that would go
applied everywhere.鈥? techniques of what we now know as something like this,鈥? says Bujak.
鈥淚t,鈥? in this instance, is continuous continuous improvement go back to 鈥淎 tremendous amount of creative
improvement, and Bujak is a global the early 1900s. The best known in thought existed from the 1900s
director of continuous improvement for recent times is the Toyota Production through WWII and then it seems to
Air Products, a world leading producer System, which has been evolving now have been misplaced or forgotten
July 07 Businessexcellence
6
when the West attained industry result. Or if it did prove locally success with it. We achieved enough
leadership. Then the business successful, it would not make an results and critical mass in some
challenges of the 鈥?70s happened and overall business impact or the result organizations that around 2000 our
people started looking for ways to would not sustain. Here, we found executive leadership suggested we
address the gap and convert ideas to out about kaizen, applied it and take it across the whole company.鈥?
practice.鈥? In the 1980s, he explains, got good results. We had successful Bujak is a mechanical engineer by
there was much emphasis on experiences with other continuous trade. He started in Air Products as
employee involvement and teamwork; improvement tools such as flow a design engineer in 1976, so he鈥檚
the famous GE Workout program and design for manufacturability, seen the whole process of continuous
is a good example. 鈥淲e developed but the dark side was that some improvement from the beginning. He
something here that we called the 鈥業s鈥? application gaps existed and there later became the general manager
of Performance鈥攊deas, interpersonal wasn鈥檛 anything to pull it all together. of process systems manufacturing
skills, and involvement,鈥? he says. It鈥檚 the old joke about if all I have is a and engineering which included
The late 1980s and early 1990s hammer, all problems look like nails.鈥? a union shop that built large heat
were what Bujak calls the age of Towards the end of the 鈥?90s people exchangers and where a number of
discrete CI tool applications. 鈥淧eople like Womack and Jones in their book continuous improvement techniques
would find out about something, Lean Thinking tried to bring the were used. 鈥淎ir Products, like many
apply it with good results and then elements of continuous improvement companies, had a tradition of making
run into limits. When applied to together. 鈥淲e started to deploy an improvements in all its operations.
different problems, the tool would integrated formula around that time, That was never the issue. It was
not always achieve a positive too,鈥? says Bujak, 鈥渁nd had some about trying to significantly increase
Businessexcellence July 07
Lead story
7
鈥淚t was, and still is, about creating a unique culture of people and organizations
that can see the wastes and have the tools and support to eliminate them鈥?
the rate of improvement beyond what organizations. 鈥淭he purpose of the six sigma, but also the soft tools鈥?
it had been able to do previously, study was basically, what are they, decision making, communication
better than the competition and on how do you create them, what are their skills, and tools to assess how
a sustained basis. It was, and still characteristics, what are we right now well teams are working together.
is, about creating a unique culture and what are our gaps?鈥? says Bujak. As However, even here Bujak sees gaps
of people and organizations that can a result of that study, five fundamental in many conventional improvement
see the wastes and have the tools and elements of continuous improvement approaches. 鈥淭ools can confuse
support to eliminate them.鈥? emerged which would form the people by using different approaches
When Air Products started applying framework of the company鈥檚 approach. to achieve the same thing,鈥? he says.
tools such as kaizen and DFM, involving 鈥淲e rallied around these five things The fourth element was learning,
people in engineering, manufacturing, because we kept finding them over because that鈥檚 how people improve
purchasing, and at its suppliers, in an and over,鈥? he says. And the number themselves and adapt to constant
integrated way to identify and attack one element they chose was simply, change. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to learn
opportunities, results proved to be people. 鈥淎rguably, he says, 鈥渢he only from success, from failure, from
over and above what could have been discriminating factor in high performing each other, from inside and outside
achieved previously. organizations is their people. Virtually the organization and to apply what
This approach depended on having everything else can be leveled. you鈥檝e learned,鈥? he says. 鈥淲e try to
one formula for the whole company, but Unleashing the talent and creativity supercharge learning by building
as Air Products has a diverse product of everyone鈥攚hat they know, helping a community of practice for all the
portfolio, that was not going to be easy. them learn, how they knit together, CI practitioners and by including
At the time there were two Business providing the opportunity to apply knowledge management tools in
Groups, one in chemicals and the themselves to business problems and the toolkit so people can share their
other in industrial gases. The company customer solutions is the basis of a learning and best practices even better.
had to find a formula that would fit great organization.鈥? 鈥淎nd the last element is the one
everything it did, from the manufacture The second element for Air Products you鈥檇 expect,鈥? he says; 鈥渓eadership.鈥?
of 400,000 lb heat exchangers to the was focus. 鈥淵ou can have the greatest When organizations get started at the
filling of thousands of gas cylinders a people in the world, but if you鈥檙e grass roots or middle-out level, they can
day, to a continuous process plant with climbing the wrong hill . . .鈥? This is run into a 鈥榞lass ceiling鈥? where further
gases and chemicals coming out of a about creating a common, simple spread, or even sustaining the gains
pipeline, all day, every day. 鈥淲e did an understanding of the business, and proves difficult. 鈥淲hen you put all the
intense merger of all the continuous aligning people effectively so they鈥檙e elements together and make them real,
improvement models,鈥? says Bujak. driving in the same direction. 鈥淗aving the impact is incredible.鈥?
鈥淲e literally did a kaizen event and a structured process and using data Having identified the characteristics
ripped apart six sigma, lean and other to evaluate opportunities enables the of a high performing continuous
approaches in terms of their processes, organization to get great line of sight improvement organization, the
their philosophies, their structure, from business drivers down to the challenge was to figure out how to
identified the 鈥榖est of the best鈥? and put daily activities of people. Having people turn themselves into one. That鈥檚 where
it all back together again in a common understand the 鈥榳hat鈥? and empowering the tools of continuous improvement
process, tools and structure. We used them to the 鈥榟ow鈥? is what you are trying were put to work on the continuous
the tools of continuous improvement on to achieve鈥攊t is focus not control,鈥? improvement process. 鈥淲e built a
continuous improvement.鈥? Bujak emphasizes. continuous improvement 鈥榲alue stream鈥?
To rewind a little bit, Air Products 鈥淭he third one for us was the tools,鈥? or process that can be used for every
had done a benchmarking study in he continues. These can be any from organization in the company and made
the late 1990s on what people were the now familiar basket of continuous it 鈥榬eal鈥? with an infrastructure, tools
then starting to call high performing improvement tools; kaizen, flow, and job aids,鈥? says Bujak. 鈥淎ny of our
July 07 Businessexcellence
8
Businessexcellence July 07
Lead story
9
businesses and functions, as part of he says, is middle management, change management, data analysis and
their annual planning cycle, can use because they are often asked to techniques for sustaining the gains.鈥? Air
the CI process. It helps people analyze undergo a significant role change and Products has also given more detailed
and find the waste in their organization take on additional accountability. 鈥淲e鈥檙e training at the executive level recently,
from customer, business and capability asking them to go from fire fighting to because the more familiar they are with
perspectives. It then gets distilled down fire preventing, from giving of orders to the issue, the more supportive they can
into an annual plan with the critical being coach and teacher, from power be to their middle management.
areas of attack, objectives and tools for over people to power with people.鈥? Bujak leaves me in no doubt that
improvement identified.鈥? This is the one area where Bujak the prime purpose of Air Products鈥?
When it comes to change admits, if he could go back and do it continuous improvement effort is to
management, the popular belief is that all over again, he would have spent help people to overachieve. The ultimate
the challenge is at the grass roots of more time. 鈥淲e鈥檙e doing some remedial example of that can be summed up in
the organization. 鈥淢y experience has work on that one right now,鈥? he says. a single memory. 鈥淪ome years ago,鈥? he
been the opposite,鈥? says Bujak. 鈥淭hey 鈥淚t鈥檚 almost a natural tendency for says, 鈥渙ne of my kaizen instructors was
actually understand quickly because organizations to work the highest training up a supervisor in a packaged
they see how powerful it is level because you need the leadership gases plant. After he was certified the
to help them eliminate and executive support, and to work gentleman鈥檚 mother arranged a dinner
a lot of their own the lowest level because everybody is for him at home and they invited my
frustration in their concerned about the people. Some tool instructor. When the mother heard
work process.鈥? The place in the middle, something gets about what her son could now do, she
bigger change missed. We are pumping up training said she never thought her son would
management for middle management, including CI be able to do that. If you can overachieve
issue, process and tool training as well as what your mother thinks you can do,
providing help on specific issues such as you can change the world.鈥?
July 07 Businessexcellence
|