SCANLON NEWS

Below you will find SCANLON NEWS, which was distributed during the annual conference held earlier this year. The September internet Scanlon E-zine follows the SCANLON NEWS articles.

From Parts To Pets, Scanlon Improves

Service And Profitability

When Limerick Veterinary Hospital joined seven years ago, it became the most unusual member of the Scanlon Leadership Network. But although Limerick was far removed from the manufacturing base of the Network, its goals for the business and its employees were quite similar: engage employees in the business for self-fulfillment, and improve the care and services of the hospital for its patients and their owners. Limerick adopted its Scanlon Plan, People at Work Succeeding (P.A.W.S.), in 1998 to help achieve these goals.

As a service-oriented practice, Limerick, located in southeastern Pennsylvania, had to adapt the Scanlon Principles and Processes accordingly. Catering to a different kind of client, Limerick implemented P.A.W.S. to strengthen its position in veterinary medicine to provide compassionate care for its best friends and their owners.

“We’re in the service business,” said Dr. Charles Koenig, President of Limerick. “Most Scanlon companies are in the business of making parts. But just like anywhere else, if you don’t know what’s going on, you can’t help fix problems.” Since the inception of P.A.W.S., Limerick employees are more informed, and are more involved in the day-to-day activities.

“I was initially attracted to Scanlon because of Dr. Frost’s approach to management,” said Dr. Koenig. Dr. Frost was the founder of the Scanlon Principles and Processes.

“It’s the idea that we’re always going through change,” he added. “If you can make the employees aware that your workplace is changing, that your clients are changing and that everything you do is changing, that’s the way to go. It’s important to be on top of new situations that arise, and through P.A.W.S., our employees are prepared for those situations. Management is a continuous process, and Scanlon helps us manage that change.”

According to Limerick, veterinary medicine is a rapidly evolving profession because the strength of the human-animal bond is making pet owners more aware of better healthcare for their best friends.

In addition to veterinary medicine, Limerick’s Happy Tails facility provides animal daycare, agility training, grooming and boarding. During the day pets may engage in everything from playtime to obedience training to behavioral counseling.

“Pets and their owners love animal daycare because the animals aren’t left at home alone,” said Dr. Koenig. “Pet owners go to work with a clear conscience and don’t worry about the health and safety of their pets or wonder what kind of mischief they may be getting into,” he added. Soon Limerick will offer even more services to clients, a testament to the evolving nature of the 42-year-old practice.

In January 2005 Limerick held its first offsite Scanlon rally to map out ways to put the new ideas, such as geriatric and hospice care for pets, into action. Limerick’s suggestion committee is responsible for many of the new ideas implemented at the practice, such as puppy kindergarten, puppy parties and the agility program.

“The suggestion committee makes everyone part of the process, which was our original goal,” explained Dr. Koenig. “It’s the best thing that Scanlon offers. On the whole it’s an excellent medium through which employees can both express their frustrations and contribute new ideas for improvement.”

Dr. Koenig also strongly supports customer communications. Limerick keeps in touch with clients through a postcard rating system, which makes employees aware of how they’re doing.

“Before we started with the Scanlon Process, employees complained that we never told them what was going on,” said Dr. Koenig. Prior to Scanlon Limerick’s management regularly reviewed financial records, but often employees were not informed and did not seem concerned because business was good.

Limerick has since made substantial strides in that direction by publicizing financial figures on charts around the offices, giving employees access to information to which they weren’t privy before. Now employees know what they have to do to meet practice goals, and nothing is hidden. Limerick’s owners also let employees take ownership of projects from start to finish, ensuring that their voices are heard.

“Scanlon stresses communication and visibility – it’s a great system,” said Dr. Koenig. “I believe employees are much more aware that their opinions about their jobs count, which, in the end, helps us make better decisions,” he added. “All of this helps us achieve our ultimate goal, which is to become a better veterinary hospital for the community.”

Tim Tindall Receives 2005 Steward Award

Tim Tindall, Chairman of the Board at Spring Engineering, is the recipient of the 2005 Scanlon Stewardship Award, the Network’s highest honor. The Award recognizes exceptional individuals who over time have contributed to the Scanlon Network and demonstrated the Scanlon Principles both professionally and in the community.

“It’s a great honor to receive the Stewardship Award,” said Tindall. “I was a little surprised – some very influential people have preceded me,” he added. “I’m flattered to be held in the same regard.”

Spring Engineering, of Canton, Michigan, manufactures custom-formed metal parts and assemblies to primarily the automotive industry. The company’s Scanlon Plan, Investors, Customers, Employees (ICE), was implemented in 1994.

“I believe Scanlon is the correct and only way to form and run a business or any other organization,” said Tindall. “The Scanlon Principles give you a 360° compass to direct your activities – the Plan is extremely complete.”


Carl Brown Begins Second Year As Chair

Carl Brown, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Nicholas Plastics Incorporated, will soon begin his second year as Chairman of the Scanlon Leadership Network.

“It’s an honor to be able to serve as Chairman for another year,” said Brown. “It was a growing experience because I’ve had the opportunity to get
involved with so many different organizations that share Scanlon business philosophies,” he added. “We’ve had a very hardworking Board this year, as in the last several years. It’s been a great experience for us all.

“One of our largest tasks was to update our strategy for providing services to members,” said Brown. “We do our best to make sure we provide the resources that we perceive as being needed and wanted by our membership. We believe that the Scanlon Principles and Processes are beneficial to both individuals and entire companies as they grow personally and professionally.

“At Nicholas Plastics this is essential to competing in today’s world marketplace. Many of us are faced with widespread global competition, a challenge that participative leadership principles and Scanlon help us meet.”

Brown, who has been with Nicholas Plastics since 1988, previously worked for 23 years at Uniroyal Inc. He holds a BS in chemistry from Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Kentucky, and an MBA from Indiana University’s South Bend campus.

Carl and his wife Phyllis reside in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and have two married sons and three grandchildren. He has played an active role in the Scanlon Network since 1996.


Top-To-Bottom Communication Fuels
Participation At Nicholas Plastics

Sparked by a driving need in the automotive industry to reduce costs, Nicholas Plastics Incorporated joined Scanlon in 1997 to improve Lean Manufacturing and boost employee participation. The company’s management first attended a Scanlon Conference, liked what they saw and followed up.

Nicholas Plastics, headquartered in Allendale, Michigan, is a family-owned, full-service profile extruder and molder of precision parts, specializing in complete extrusion molding design and engineering services for the appliance, automotive and office furniture industries.

“I look back and think that our involvement in Scanlon and its Principles has created a common vehicle for communication with our employees and our customers,” said Carl Brown, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “It’s the best organization I know of that incorporates total employee participation and involvement in the business,” he added.

Nicholas Plastics holds regular Operating Team meetings where employees and management review the status of the business and any other company issues. The company is grouped into five teams that run different parts of the business, from which representatives are sent to Operating Team meetings. Each team separately holds its own meetings and maintains programs for improving productivity, housekeeping and other areas of the business. Nicholas Plastics gives employees the authority to spend money up to a certain amount on necessary improvements resulting from team meetings.

“We’ve gone beyond the traditional suggestion system to incorporating Lean principles,” said Brown. “We depend on the small teams to identify changes in our processes,” he added. “I don’t know of any other organization that promotes and sponsors networking among shop floor people and executives. Personally, I think it’s outstanding.” In keeping with the Scanlon Principles, employees are recognized and rewarded for their creativity, innovation and participation.

The four Principles of identity, participation, equity and competence have also helped Nicholas Plastics set the desired tone of the workplace.

“We want everyone to feel like an owner,” said Brown. “It’s important to us that people feel responsible for their activities because our customers expect perfection. However, we deal with tools and equipment that don’t always yield perfection, so we rely heavily on the human element. Scanlon helps us meet those customer expectations and deliver the high quality products they desire,” he added. Nicholas Plastics has invested aggressively in developing new materials, new products, new processes and innovations to meet the changing needs of customers and ensure a competitive position in the markets it serves.

“Everything we do is measured by how well we service our customers, our employees and our communities,” said Brown. “We pride ourselves on our ability to meet the changing requirements of our customers.

“A lot of things are subtle,” he added, “but from top to bottom, communication and employee participation play a huge role here and lay the groundwork for all that we do.”


Rooted Values Preserve ‘Small Business Feel’
At Landscape Forms Despite Growth

Founded by charismatic entrepreneur John Chipman in 1969, Landscape Forms was practicing Scanlon Principles well before it joined the Network more than a decade later. Landscape Forms implemented its Scanlon Plan, Quality, Understanding, Education, Service/Safety and Teamwork (QUEST), in 1981 to help create the “small business feel” in a growing workplace. Chipman wanted to have the same personal influence on the company as when it was smaller years before.

The Kalamazoo, Michigan company, which designs, develops, manufactures and markets proprietary site furniture and amenities for exterior and nonresidential spaces, began primarily as a landscaping business, but was repeatedly faced with slow winter seasons that forced yearly layoffs due to the nature of the industry.

The Scanlon Principle of competence at Landscape Forms, mainly the company’s ability to train new employees each spring, eventually spawned the creation of a new furniture design division that would carry them through the winter. According to Scanlon, competence is the ability to respond to constant demand for improvement and change, requiring ‘a commitment to be in a state of becoming something that you never were before.’

“Every year we were starting our busiest season with a raw crew,” said Becky Fulgoni, Vice President for People. “It was hard to maintain the desired level of quality and keep any semblance of continuity when we were constantly starting over with new people,” she added. Landscape Forms was looking for a way to keep its employees busy during the winter so it could move forward rather than starting fresh each spring. “It’s a unique story,” said Fulgoni. “Normally people don’t start businesses to give people work – there’s usually a strong financial influence.” After that their furniture business took off, she said, and it is now the company’s main source of revenue.

“Scanlon has allowed us to keep both customers and employees engaged in our business,” said Fulgoni. “It has also let us attract the kind of people we want to work with, and those who are interested in working for us. It’s held us together. While we lack a professional organization to join, we’ve been lucky to be a part of Scanlon, which has served as a networking outlet where we can learn and exchange ideas. Scanlon has filled that role for us.”

In addition to competence, the Identity principle is key to Landscape Forms’ success.

“Because our competitive advantage is design, we have to be on the cutting edge,” explained Fulgoni. “Being in an environment that’s constantly changing, Scanlon has helped with the idea of change and knowing your identity,” she added.

Some of the programs launched as a result of Scanlon include quarterly company-wide theme meetings that educate employees on a variety of topics, such as personal health, respect for diversity and customer service. For the personal health meeting, an employee from a local hospital visited to discuss nutrition tips.

“John Chipman had some pretty strong ideas of how people should be treated in a business environment,” said Fulgoni. “Instead of establishing arbitrary programs, he wanted that closeness among employees to be part of underlying values,” she added. Today those wishes are still inherent in Landscape Forms’ culture.

“It’s hard to pick out things that are just done as part of our Scanlon Plan,” explained Fulgoni. “With everything we do we try to make sure it’s influenced by Scanlon Principles,” she added. “To me, Scanlon has to be part of the way you work. It’s like doing a heart exam – you can’t take the heart out without killing the patient. Likewise, if you take something and call it ‘doing Scanlon,’ you’re separating it from your real goal.

“We don’t want to do things here just because they have a Scanlon label – otherwise, we’d be taking away from what we do, which is make beautiful furniture for people.” That was their intention from the beginning, said Fulgoni – to create and maintain a culture defined by intrinsic Scanlon beliefs and Principles.


“Scanlon lets us integrate those founding ideas and principles – they’re not just memories and history.”


Scanlon Spawns Both Personal And Financial Growth At Wescast

From a family-owned company in rural Ontario, to the world’s largest supplier of exhaust manifolds for passenger cars and light trucks, Wescast Industries Inc. has used its Scanlon Plan, Helping Everyone Achieve Rewards Together (HEART), to expand its operations, increase productivity and facilitate positive communication among employees. Since adopting HEART in 1989, Wescast has sought to continually engage and empower its people.

“In the late 1980s Wescast was at a crossroads,” said John Leitch, Director, Machining Operations. “Business was growing, but we had some productivity and management-labor relations issues,” he added. “We needed to find a better way to run the business, so we explored various management systems and determined there was a compelling need to change. It was then that we began our Roadmap to Scanlon.”

Today, Wescast, with Corporate Headquarters in Brantford, Ontario, designs, develops, casts and machines high-quality iron exhaust components for automotive manufacturers at seven production facilities in North America and Europe.

“I believe that much of the North American growth Wescast has achieved is a result of our people systems, which are a product of the Scanlon Principles and Process,” said Leitch.

The Scanlon Principles support a number of Wescast initiatives. A new two-and-a-half day leadership training program was rolled out during 2003-2004. Advanced Communications training helped build interpersonal and conflict resolution skills using a simple, easy-to-understand model. Wescast has also implemented Six Sigma, as well as other Lean Manufacturing tools, to help improve operations.

In addition to its employee education and communication programs, Wescast has encouraged growth by applying Scanlon to its sales and marketing functions. Wescast was the first known company to use Scanlon in this way.

Wescast’s original HEART Plan, while effective for operational metrics such as scrap rate, safety, efficiency, up-time and other manufacturing issues, was not specific to sales and marketing. The company was growing and becoming more complex, facing issues of globalization, product diversification, increasingly tougher customer demands and other factors. Wescast believed it would be more successful if a new HEART Plan included objectives, measurables, accountability and rewards that more closely fit the company’s sales and marketing functions.

Guided by the Scanlon Implementation Roadmap, Wescast’s Sales Leadership Team worked with Scanlon Steward and Consultant Bill Greenwood to create a detailed, customized HEART Roadmap, which won Wescast a Gold Medal Best Practices award in 2003.

“Over the years a lot of the pieces of Scanlon have become embedded in our culture,” said Kerry Pletch, Organizational Effectiveness Specialist. “We do many things that are Scanlon based, and sometimes we don’t even realize it,” she added. “The principles and processes just make sense."

“We apply Scanlon’s four Principles every single day,” said Leitch. “We practice Identity when we share with our employees as much information as we can about our business, our competitors and the business environment. We provide training and development to give them the skills they need to do their jobs – Competence. And, when they understand the business climate and have the skill sets to make improvements, they participate at a much higher level. The result: everybody wins through Equity. Our company does better, our employees do better and the customer is satisfied.

“When we hire people from outside of the company, they often tell us they’ve never experienced a workplace like Wescast’s,” added Leitch. “Many companies don’t do these sorts of things, but here it’s the way we do business.”

Today, Wescast’s greatest challenge is global competition.

“We certainly want to equip our people with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed on a global basis,” said Leitch. “As we enter new geographic markets in Europe and Asia, our challenge and opportunity will be to continue to take advantage of the Scanlon Principles and really engage our entire workforce.”


Employee Participation Improves
SGS Tool Product, Profitability

Family-owned SGS Tool Company of Munroe Falls, Ohio, a manufacturer of solid carbide rotary tools, joined the Scanlon Leadership Network in 1998 to encourage a more participative management approach and to keep the company moving forward by networking with others who share similar values.

Now well versed in the Network’s principles, SGS has used its Scanlon Plan, Together Everyone Acquires More (TEAM), to formalize employee participation, its suggestion system and its Gainsharing program, and to strengthen leadership training. Since joining Scanlon, SGS has also established teams for quality improvement, production methods and safety. Since the implementation of TEAM, employee involvement has improved not only the product but also profitability.

“We were into the whole involvement journey long before we joined Scanlon,” said Marge Holata, Director of Associate Involvement. “But we needed something more to take us to the next level. It turned out Scanlon provided the momentum we needed,” she added.

Holata, who takes care of day-to-day organizational change and development at SGS and is on Scanlon’s Annual Conference Planning Committee, is devoted full-time to the company’s Scanlon Plan.

“The number of resources we dedicate to Scanlon always impresses people,” she said. “All companies have coordinators, but they often have other roles, too. This underscores the importance we place on continuous improvement.”

SGS employees were supportive of Scanlon from the beginning, when they passed the Plan by an overwhelming majority vote.

“Most employees really want to be involved – we have a lot fewer people now that simply do their jobs and go home,” said Holata, who receives more requests to attend Scanlon’s Annual Conference than she has space for. With 350 total associates, Holata can only take about 25 to the Conference each year.


“The Annual Conference gets people to understand the four principles in a hands-on environment,” she added. “You just can’t put a price on that experience.” For Holata and many others at SGS, Scanlon’s Annual Conference epitomizes employee involvement.

In 2003 SGS began making a video to chronicle its Conference experiences, and in 2004 the company won a Silver Medal Best Practices award for its second Conference video, entitled Scanlon at SGS: Past, Present and Future.

“With four separate manufacturing plants and three support buildings, it’s too much to have the whole group visit each site to discuss their experiences,” said Holata. When participants return they use the video to share what they have learned in an attempt to bring the Conference to their colleagues. “Now those who can’t travel to the Conference can still see what it’s all about.”

In 2004 SGS was also recognized for its dedication to employee participation and continuing education opportunities with two other Best Practices Medals: a Bronze for its in-house computer classes offered free to employees on weekends, and a Gold Medal for its revamped TEAM Plan.

The TEAM Gainsharing Plan, implemented in July 2003, was created by a cross-functional team of SGS associates with the help of a Scanlon consultant. TEAM, which is based on specific measurables such as Overall Equipment Effectiveness, Scrap, Spending and Customer Service, replaced SGS’ previous profit sharing plan.

“At SGS employees take a true ownership in the company,” said Holata. “They understand how they affect business because they have access to those key measurables, which reflect their own work,” she added.

SGS’ Associate Integrated Management (AIM) program, a customized version of the Hoshin tool, its Competency Program and its Leadership Retreat are other examples of applied programs that utilize the Scanlon Principles.

“Before Scanlon, we all believed in involvement,” said Holata. “We laid an excellent foundation for ourselves in prior years. The Scanlon Principles, however, gave us all the same direction and put us on the same page. As demonstrated through our many Scanlon programs and initiatives, employees now take a more proactive approach to life at SGS.”


Resources For Scanlon Members

The Scanlon Leadership Network is dedicated to continuously meeting your needs. The following are some of the products and services offered by Scanlon to help you achieve your organizational goals. With questions or for more information, please call the Scanlon office at 517-332-8927, or e-mail us at Office@scanlonleader.org. For additional information visit our Web site at www.scanlonleader.org.

Online Training Through Moodle
Moodle is a course management system, a software package designed to facilitate quality online courses. SLN is using the program to offer customized, Scanlon-based training for personal, professional and organizational competency development. Members may also use Moodle to offer their own company-specific courses.
All courses are interactive and flexible – you can log onto the course at any time from any computer to receive expert instruction. Scanlon members can access Moodle online at www.scanlonnet.org/moodle.

Coaching Program, Keystone Coaching
Coaching allows managers to seek professional assistance on personal productivity, leadership development, corporate culture, succession planning and the assimilation of new employees. Different from consulting, coaching relies on the premise that an individual has the solution that the process will help draw out.

Ropes Courses, Inc. Team Building
This program is led by longtime Scanlon friend Jim Liggett, who has built high ropes team training courses all over the world. He has recently developed a portable high ropes course called the Sky Trail that brings the training to your doorstep.
The program, which can be set up in a grassy area or parking lot, involves in-the-air and on-the-ground training that employees can participate in on site. A Sky Trail team training program has been created to teach and reinforce the Scanlon Principles.

Web Site and Resource Library
As a member, you’ll receive a password to our award-winning Web site’s Members Only area, your gateway to the world of Scanlon-related training programs and links. The public sections contain extensive files of Scanlon articles, books and speeches.
The Web store lets you purchase books and programs online. Free materials include Hoshin Quick Start (policy deployment), Lean Manufacturing, Team Building, Listening Skills, Costing Suggestions, Business Literacy, Leadership Programs and the entire Best Practices archive.
Electronic News
Scanlon publishes a free monthly E-zine to increase communication and networking among member companies. The short newsletter features current member activities and programs, as well as links and updated Network event information. Sign up for the E-zine at www.scanlonleader.org.

Weblog
Scanlon’s Weblog, or Blog for short, provides regularly updated ideas and questions to ponder on leadership and the Scanlon Philosophy from a wide range of bloggers in the Scanlon community. The Blog also contains archived Scanlon E-zines. Visit the Scanlon Blog at http://scanlonleadershipnetwork.blogspot.com.

Yearly Publications
Newsletter
To supplement monthly E-zines, the Network publishes a hard copy newsletter for the Annual Conference featuring case studies of member companies.
Membership Directory
1997-2005 Best Practices Books
More than 1400 pages of leading-edge member processes and tried-and-true systems that are implemented well, all from Scanlon member companies. Contains company contact information.

Satisfaction Surveys
Customizable surveys available at low or no cost:
Motorola Survey
Employer of Choice Survey

Lean Implementation
Hoshin Quick Start
Based on Magna Donnelly’s successful “Management by Planning” process, this comprehensive tool effectively links your entire organization, ensuring that every aspect of your organization is headed in the same direction. Includes Leader and Coordinator Guide, Training Program and customizable Excel™ software.
Lean Sim Machine™This factory-in-a-box provides a hands-on way to learn Lean concepts and the Scanlon Principles. Used worldwide, the Lean Sim Machine is the most effective solution for teaching lead concepts experientially.





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