Business Challenge

For the past 50 years, the confectionery manufacturing plant has relied on an apprentice-style approach to teaching newcomers how to do their jobs. Not a single job process was documented. As a result, the company had no idea if employees were working as effectively or safely as possible.

To rectify the situation, the company wanted to create a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for each of the 68 jobs in the plant.

Getting from No SOPs to A Complete Compendium of SOPS

To ensure consistency, TrainSmart learning and development consultants first needed to create an SOP template. Before they could do that, they had to spend time observing multiple jobs to determine key areas of commonality.

The Problem

Despite being told about the project, many employees were suspicious. They did not believe the consultants were there to create an SOP; rather, they believed the consultants were documenting their work habits in order to lay them off. To succeed, the consultants had to first build trust before tackling their real assignment.

To create a robust SOP, the consultants needed to capture every detail of each job from the start to the end of the day.

The Challenge

The observations and interviews had to be conducted in real time. That meant the consultant/writers were on the plant floor, wearing safety helmets and glasses and, in some cases, earplugs. It was hard to hear, but that was the least of the problems: when an employee stopped to talk to or explain something to the consultants, it meant they weren’t doing their job. As a result, the consultant/writers had to take “a hands-on approach to data gathering”.

While the primary task was to create an SOP for each job, the project also established best practices for each one.

The Complication

Since the plant operates four shifts, 7 days a week, multiple people do the same job, none doing it exactly the same. Once the consultants observed all employees performing the same job, they had to decide which steps should be part of the SOP and which steps some employees needed to stop doing.

TrainSMART Solution

After TrainSMART’s consultants had a working draft of a particular SOP, they invited the employees to review the documents. It was during these sessions that employees had the opportunity to discuss their differences in how they approached their work and ultimately agree on a best practice.

Results

This detailed documentation allowed the company to identify gaps in an individual’s understanding of the job requirements and provide training to address them. Having detailed documentation for each job helped build consensus between the various shifts.

The Standard Operating Procedures also allowed the company to start cross-training. In the kitchen, there were people who knew how to make fudge and people who knew how to make caramel. But the fudge people couldn’t make caramel, and the caramel people couldn’t make fudge. Having the Standard Operating Procedure allows the cooks to support each other, if necessary.

One unexpected result of this project is that it has made it easier for supervisors to hold people accountable. Before there was documentation, the job descriptions were very vague. With the SOPs in place, supervisors are now more confident.

TrainSMART Delivered On Time and Under Budget

TrainSMART’s consultants began the project in early 2014 and ended in November of that year.

“One thing that surprised me was how quickly they caught on to what we needed. They were out there, getting things done. They were writing. They didn’t need a warm-up. They could jump in, and get done what needed to get done. It was really a positive experience. There were budget constraints and people were really flexible to help us meet our budget.” Client spokesperson