Did you ever notice that the age of anything has no impact on how well it looks or works? It all boils down to the great care taken to preserve, by someone who took ownership. In a nut shell, if it looks like crap you can sum it up to bad habits or a lack of caring ownership. If you have ever gone used car shopping, you quickly distinguish those that have had great care and that dealership tried to make look pretty. Those immaculate cars say a lot about their owners and their good habits. Ownership is not a requirement for these people to give great care, they treat others possessions as their own; just look in other areas of their life. Now look around and see what you think people are saying about your habits. Is your department or office clean and well organization? How do you treat others property? Would someone call your car immaculate? In a few minutes a day, you can begin to develop better habits; just by stopping to take great care of what you have been given responsibility for and remember ownership should not matter.
Archive for the ‘Manufacturing’ Category
Good Habits and Ownership
Friday, May 7th, 2010
Where the rubber meets the road
Saturday, March 13th, 2010
Where the rubber meets the road, is the moment of truth. It really doesn’t matter what you say or how you do it; results are what really count. Team BCI has embraced this “Status Quo Sucks” (SQS) culture over the last couple of years to bring Bremen Castings to new heights of performance and achievement. We have weathered this economic recession like we were playing for the Gold medal at the Olympics; building endurance, strength and teamwork.
Today, we are accomplishing tasks that would have been difficult, if not impossible just a few short years ago. Team members are working hardly and smarter than any other time in their tenure. New records are being set and then broken daily. The bar keeps raising; Team BCI reaches and then exceeds the bar. We can take pride in our accomplishments; however we will not take it for granted, nor lose sight of our mission. Our core values define us and SQS has become a way of life.
Agreeing = Patronizing
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
Agreeing for the sake of “wanting to agree” is patronizing. This condescending treatment, usually of superiors in the organization, is disgraceful and makes your position unnecessary. Often those that simply agree to keep the boss happy; really never sign onto the decision or fully support it. Employees that say “yes” are a dime a dozen; only those willing to speak up even when it is not politically correct are “true gems”. Have some backbone, speak up and better decisions can be made.
Negativity – “the power to destroy”
Friday, March 5th, 2010Negativity has the power to destroy all the good that an organization or team achieves. If I say the definition of human is less than perfect; then the definition of negativity would be the inability to ever strive for perfection because you can only focus on the negative side of an issue. Organizations and teams do not have room for any negative influence. Inherently, our assignment is to find ways to get done. The synergy of a team should take you beyond boundaries and reach new levels of achievement.
Empty Cubicles
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010We have all seen them, empty cubicles, the result of this severe recession. What does it say to those that remain and are forced to walk past them every day? Are they grateful to still be employed? Could they be fearful that they will be next on the chopping block? Is it a constant reminder of what was once? What I think it should tell employees, is that there company has made difficult decisions for the long-term health of the organization. Times change and great organizations are adaptive to change for survival and long-term growth. Change is good; embrace it before it leaves you behind.
Association Junkies
Thursday, February 4th, 2010The struggling economy has made most companies and families tighten the screws of spending and involvement in profit and non for profit organizations, with that being said this should be a best practice that is always followed in any kind of economy as a fiduciary responsible party of that particular family or company. I can say that I have not really given this any thought before the last qtr of 2009. Most companies join their industry associations and probably another half dozen or so. Why does one do this? Does it make the company feel better? Is money no issue? Because they asked? You love acronyms? What ever the reason for joining these associations, I bet you can find waste. I have lately made a list of all the associations we belong too and five bullet points under each association. If I cannot list five significant benefits that we are receiving from that association, then our membership must be evaluated and dealt with.
Workplace Drama
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010Does your organization experience workplace drama? If simple tasks become a big ordeal, you have drama. If you have employees that feel like the world only centers around them, you have drama. If you have employees that feel the need to correct others in a very public way, you have drama.
Drama is a stressor and it reduces valuable resources that could be focused on other projects/issues to improve the organization.
New Year’s Resolution vs. New Year’s Goal
Thursday, December 31st, 2009Today is New Year’s Eve and all the media seem to be talking about is New Year’s Resolutions. More specifically, they want to know how many of us are making them and what types of resolutions are being selected. One commentator thinks we should call them New Year’s Goals; so we will not feel like such a failure when we do not succeed. New Year’s Goal must not sound as important and final as New Year’s Resolution. Really, who cares what you call them; a commitment is a commitment. Those of us that decide to make them tonight chose attainable stretch goals that make us better in 2010. Don’t buy into this failure theory; your success is tied to you and your commitment to what you have selected.
Happy Anniversary, Mr. President
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009Bremen Castings is very fortunate to have a forward thinking President focused on technological advances that will cement a strong future for our organization. Today, JB Brown celebrates 16-years with Bremen Castings. From the days of running the Cupola to becoming President in January 2005, has been a journey of change that many of us have been able to witness all or part of that journey. Congratulations JB Brown, President of Bremen Castings!
Carol Senour
Committed to Safety
Friday, December 18th, 2009Bremen Castings reaches new milestone today with 100% of all management personnel trained in CPR, First Aid and AED. That is 43 employees trained and prepared to respond in emergency situations. Those situations exist whether we are at work, home or out in the community. We are proud of our employees; the time it took to get trained (8-hours) and pass the exam. Bremen Castings is committed to safety, so this was a great milestone to reach.
Carol Senour
Play Nice in the Sand Box
Monday, December 14th, 2009Among difficult employees, those who will not let others play in their sand box are the worst. They have a perception that they know it all, they are ultimately accountable and no one has a right to question what they are doing or suggest another way of doing it. This mentality is detrimental to the team dynamics and overall health of the organization.
The more questions that are raised, the better your chances for significant improvements. In this new era of extreme competition, significant improves keep you in the game and advancing above the competition. Those from other disciplines do not have tunnel vision about how it has to be, so they offer better insight and creativity into the equation.
Play nice in the sand box; allow others into the sand box and your organization’s sand box will expand.
Carol Senour
Happy Thanksgiving
Thursday, November 26th, 2009Bremen Castings pours out well wishes and blessings to our BCI family and friends on Thanksgiving Day. As a tough economic year 2009 comes towards an end; we will be thankful today for all of you that helped us grow and remain strong during times like these. Families grow stronger weathering storms together and working together as a team. Today focus on all the things that you have to be thankful for; write them down and as the length of the list grows may you realize just how fortunate you are today and every day.
Carol Senour
Communication – Why is it so hard?
Monday, November 16th, 2009Why do people make communication so hard, when it really is so easy? I am finding that most of the things that go wrong are a direct result of lack of communication. Even more frustrating is the amount of time to clean up what went wrong; when a little communication would have prevented the problem altogether. And sometimes when we do communicate, it is how we chose to communicate that adds to the problem. Technological advances over the years to help communication have been a blessing and a curse, in that we will send a quick email rather than pick up the telephone or pay a visit to someone. Here are the problems with emails; bombarded with an inordinate amount of emails daily we may not see the email in time to prevent the problem, often the email is directed at so many people that everyone assumes someone else is taking care of the issue and lastly emails cannot display the true intent or urgency of the issue. Don’t be afraid to pick up the telephone or pay a visit to communicate what needs to be done. Personally, I would be much happier to spend a couple of minutes upfront communicating; than the exhaustive cleanup efforts needed to fix the problem.
Carol Senour
Veterans Day – A day to honor all U.S. Veterans
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009Today, thank and honor our military veterans; for without their great sacrifice we would not enjoy the freedoms we have in the United States of America. The history of veteran’s day can be found back in World War I known as “The Great War” and “the war to end all wars”. Fighting had ceased on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month – November 11, 1918.
While the war had officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919, it was really seven months earlier November 11, 1918 that marked the cessation of the most destructive and far reaching war. Originally known as Armistice Day, it became a holiday in the United States in 1926 and a national holiday 12 years later. The name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans on June 1, 1954.
To all the past veterans and those serving in the military today;
we honor you and thank you for your sacrifice
Carol Senour
Safety – Awareness, Accountability and Culture
Thursday, November 5th, 2009Many companies say that safety is important to them; their safety record however does not reflect a level of importance. Safety is important for two major reasons; employee well being and company cost. Employees should come to work and leave in the same physical condition. Injuries inflict pain on the employee and emotional distress on family members. Worker’s compensation cost from injuries can be a deterrent to employers remaining competitive in the marketplace.
After several years of increased safety awareness, implementation of programs and training of employees; I found myself pondering the reason our safety record did not reflect our exhaustive efforts. It boiled down to our awareness efforts being a great starting point; however the big improvements can on be achieved through accountability and changes in the safety culture of the organization. Everyone in the organization needs to be held accountable for safety and when an accident happens a thorough analysis of what happened with corrective action to prevent future occurrences. Changing the safety culture is far more difficult and takes a much longer time to take hold. It comes from spending visibly time with employees; watching their work habits, explaining when they are doing something wrong and praising them when they do something right. Employees need to be observant even walking through the facility, that they do not pass up an unsafe act; taking the time to stop and correct the behavior. Safety Culture change comes from reinforcing good habits, correcting bad habits and holding people accountable. It won’t happen overnight, but gradually over time.
Carol Senour