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Transparency and the Quest for Engagement on the Shop Floor

Any comprehensive digital transformation programme blends technology, processes and – crucially – people.

A company cannot simply deploy a new technology or digital initiative across the organisation without considering the implications for its workers. When it comes to facilitating change, culture matters and those on the front line need to feel that the company’s culture offers empowerment in how they interact with new technologies and processes.

Central to this sense of empowerment is transparency. Transparency has two sides: for the worker, it’s about having clarity around what data is being collected in their everyday work, how they can access it, and how it can be used to enable ongoing performance improvement. For those managing change, it’s about having visibility over what’s happening on the shop floor and being able to make more informed decisions on areas where further progress can be made.

Digital transformation initiatives regularly fall short because the approach to data doesn’t support the levels of transparency and engagement required to arrive at better outcomes. Evolving your manufacturing capabilities is as much about fostering a culture of transparency and improvement as it is about implementing next generation technologies.

Adapting to New Information

In a modern manufacturing environment, transparency is directly linked to agility. Companies are now able to access masses of data in real time through a variety of digital systems, sensors and devices. However, it’s ensuring open and transparent access to this data that creates value for different functions across the organisation. Having immediate access to data and applying it to decision making at both the macro and micro levels, allows for changes to be made in a faster and more efficient way.

By granularising the methods of measurement and using the outputs as key indicators of performance, relevant stakeholders can identify areas for improvement. This access to data also supports improved quality control.

Aspects such as equipment shutdown and machine drift can be anticipated quickly while the ability to perform predictive maintenance based on visible data can create huge productivity gains. This ability to spot issues or anomalies isn’t subject to the limitations of traditional paper-based weekly or daily reports. Instead, companies can implement real-time feedback and enable course corrections before issues become problematic. By adopting approaches similar to those pioneered by major technology companies, such as Microsoft and Amazon, data can be used to enable shorter, faster and more responsive production cycles.

Helping the Employee to Adapt

When decision-making capabilities are made based on real-time data, it isn’t just the managers that benefit, those on the shop floor can also reap the benefits. Access to information supports a culture of improvement. By providing accurate data to shop floor workers, they can be more responsive when it matters most.

The importance of a supportive culture cannot be overstated. Change is a concept that easily worries people, especially when it relates to long-established working processes and routines. Business leaders should look to create an environment that encourages workers to feel confident in the face of uncertainty, especially as changes in the manufacturing sector continues to evolve at a great pace.

Leaders can accelerate the pace of adoption by linking the digital experience on the shop floor with the familiarity workers have with software and devices outside of the plant or office. Employees are typically consumers of new, exciting technologies in their personal lives, so it’s important to find ways to make the experience of interacting with digital solutions or modern ways of working as natural and intuitive as possible.

Through having greater understanding of employees’ preferred ways of working, managers can quickly spot which solutions would aid them in improving their personal productivity. Companies with greater insight into employee skills, habits and performance improvements can also position workers into roles that better fit their skill sets, in turn improving employee satisfaction.

Encouraging Positivity

When applied in a transparent way, data can be an enabler of higher levels of shop floor engagement and a more open and collaborative working environment. Creating a culture of continuous improvement requires positive reinforcement. This helps to develop an organisation that is tolerant of mistakes and learns from negative experiences.

Many organisations often miss the opportunity for learning and improvements by perceiving mistakes as reflective of poor performance. For the new culture to be internalised by employees, they must feel a sense of freedom in terms of how they engage with the environment and explore the opportunities that come with the new capabilities. Transparency also helps to reinforce effective communication with employees.

Using data as the guide, leaders can focus on helping workers to understand how this new approach will make their working life easier, make them more productive, and in time become a simplified way for completing their daily tasks. As a result, the manager is better positioned to identify workers with the right skillset and offer them the support to successfully complete their job, helping them to drive their personal ambitions, and further the company’s goals.

Embracing Transparency

As manufacturing environments become more digitalised, it’s important that companies hold on to the characteristics that make them human. Good leaders can use digital transformation to inspire workers to get more out of their roles and their careers. Transparency and access to data are crucial for translating information into what matters for the individual and drives value from the technology.

Fostering a culture of continual improvement is vital to the future of manufacturing. To thrive in a future where digitalisation is the norm, business leaders can start by cultivating an environment where transparency in data serves not only their own needs, but helps their workers to fulfil their objectives and derive greater satisfaction from their work.

You can learn more about digitalisation and ways to empower your workforce from the Management Perspectives Hub. There you will find a wealth of resources for executive industrial decision-makers, providing the information you need to thrive in the evolving digital landscape.

Published October 6, 2021

Eric Chalengeas

Regional Vice President, EMEA South Region, Rockwell Automation

Eric is the Regional Sales VP for EMEA South Region. He joined Rockwell Automation in 2017 and brings with him more than 20 years of experience in sales, strategy and business management in process industries and automation field.

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