QRM Planning Teams

Put Together the Planning Team

The steering committee should put together a cross-functional team called the planning team. There should be a representative from each functional area that has a substantial impact on the delivery of the product family. The planning team's role is to study the QRM opportunity in detail and recommend specific implementation ideas to management. The team members may or may not end up in the cell (if one is recommended). Seek volunteers first for the planning team.

Invest in Team Building

It is important for the planning team to invest some time in team-building exercises although the team will not be together for an extended time. This step is necessary for the team members to effectively brainstorm and work together.

Get Rough Measures of Current System Performance

Obtaining ballpark measures of current lead time performance for the chosen product or product family is an important first task for the planning team. The team should also gather preliminary data on current lead times to enable the team to set goals and give them an idea of what needs to be done to accomplish those goals.

Refine Scope and Set More Precise Goals

It is time for the planning team to establish specific goals for the project and define the processes that should be included (scope). Traditional accounting methods and a new measure called the QRM number should be considered. At this point the steering committee can review the refined scope and goals and bless the project. Based on feedback, further refinement of the scope and goals may be necessary.

Planning Teams at AEC

At Alexandria Extrusion Company (AEC) we chose to have two representatives from our Steering Committee serve as co-champions on each Planning Team. Their role included communicating activities of the Planning Team to the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee would discuss any issues that arose and the co-champions would relay the discussion to the Planning Team. It was a good way to keep the teams connected.

Co-champions were responsible for all of the aspects of the Planning Teams. We used the Quick Response Manufacturing textbook as our guideline for:

• Team selection
• Team training options
• Scope of the team
• Setting goals and timelines