What to ask during a factory tour
Questions to ask (factory tour):
1. Strategic Role
A. What does this plant aim to do exceptionally well?
i. Low cost? High quality? Quick response? ii. Note doing a certain things? iii. What is he plant’s strategic purpose?
B. Talk to plant’s managers:
i. What is the plant’s role? ii. Do they have priorities and have made decisions that reflect them?
C. Talk to operators:
i. Do they understand the plant’s strategic priorities? ii. Find whether operator’s perception of the plant’s role matches that described by managers
D. Talk to frontline personnel:
i. Do they know whether cost, quality, or flexibility is the highest priority?
1. If they refer only to the particular product they are working on, they may not understand the strategic role of the operation as a whole
E. Find whether a company’s strategy has truly been woven into the fabric of the plant’s day-to-day operations:
i. How is information concerning the plant’s strategic role shared and used in the plant? ii. Who gets the information? iii. Does it drive action? iv. Does each individual understand his/her role in executing the plant’s strategy?
F. What are the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)?
i. Do the operators focus on performance measures that are clearly tied to the plant’s mission?
G. Are Senior Managers giving plant managers conflicting objectives?
i. Misalignment between top management’s operational objective and plant’s KPIs
H. If plant does not have a clearly defined strategic role, find out why.
2. Structural Alignment:
A. How well its physical equipment & systems fit its strategic role
i. Does the plant have the right equipment for the job?
3. Day-to-Day Management:
A. How well is it being managed on a day-to-day basis?
i. A plant is a set of processes ii. A plant is a set of systems iii. A plant is a community of people
1. Strategic Role
A. What does this plant aim to do exceptionally well?
i. Low cost? High quality? Quick response? ii. Note doing a certain things? iii. What is he plant’s strategic purpose?
B. Talk to plant’s managers:
i. What is the plant’s role? ii. Do they have priorities and have made decisions that reflect them?
C. Talk to operators:
i. Do they understand the plant’s strategic priorities? ii. Find whether operator’s perception of the plant’s role matches that described by managers
D. Talk to frontline personnel:
i. Do they know whether cost, quality, or flexibility is the highest priority?
1. If they refer only to the particular product they are working on, they may not understand the strategic role of the operation as a whole
E. Find whether a company’s strategy has truly been woven into the fabric of the plant’s day-to-day operations:
i. How is information concerning the plant’s strategic role shared and used in the plant? ii. Who gets the information? iii. Does it drive action? iv. Does each individual understand his/her role in executing the plant’s strategy?
F. What are the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)?
i. Do the operators focus on performance measures that are clearly tied to the plant’s mission?
G. Are Senior Managers giving plant managers conflicting objectives?
i. Misalignment between top management’s operational objective and plant’s KPIs
H. If plant does not have a clearly defined strategic role, find out why.
2. Structural Alignment:
A. How well its physical equipment & systems fit its strategic role
i. Does the plant have the right equipment for the job?
3. Day-to-Day Management:
A. How well is it being managed on a day-to-day basis?
i. A plant is a set of processes ii. A plant is a set of systems iii. A plant is a community of people