Efficient operation wins enterprise competitiveness

At the morning meeting of all management cadres on Mar 25, 2023, Mr. Wang elaborated on the management ideas that only efficient operation can enhance the competitiveness of enterprises.

During my business trip to the United States, I often saw inspectors sending bad pictures of the three-step after work, process inspection, 6S activities and work discipline in the "complete date issue group", and sometimes received more than a dozen or even dozens of five-level warning emails a day... Why are there so many non-conformities in the management activities that have been implemented for more than ten years, such as the three-step after work, commuting greeting, 6S activities, and process inspection? Why are there so many five-level warning emails still sent to me after levels of processing? Why do these basic daily management tasks still need inspectors to check before problems are found? The existence of the above problems indicates that the work of the executive team is empty, and the internal operation of the enterprise has not been achieved. As the competition in the eyewear industry becomes more and more fierce, our competitors are not only local enterprises in Wenzhou, but also enterprises in Shenzhen, Danyang, Duqiao, Yingtan, and even the same industry in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh. In the face of many competitors, it is not enough to meet the needs of customers, only by exceeding customer expectations and operating efficiently within the enterprise can we win a competitive advantage. So, how do you operate efficiently? Achieving efficient operations is the five "more" words that companies ask executives to report at weekly manager meetings: more efficiency, stronger R&D, faster speed, better quality, and lower cost. In terms of achieving efficient operation, the Ouhai team should form a consensus from top to bottom and grasp the internal management work from the following three aspects.

1、 Improve the competence of the executive team

The reason why there are issues within the enterprise that do not meet management requirements, such as the three-step after work, process inspections, and 6S activities, indicates that the management cadres themselves lack competence and do not know what they should to do. The basic responsibilities of a production manager are to manage people, directors, and creations. The basic work of "managing people" is to conscientiously implement the commuting greeting, three-steps after work, the three steps of production, and supervising employees' work discipline. I remember 18 years ago, a production manager from the company came back from a visit to a sibling unit and said, “Their employees have lower quality than those in Ouhai. From one thing, it can be seen that their company's employees' desks are in a mess after work, and Ouhai employees' desks are clean and tidy during and after work.” The three steps after work have been implemented in Ouhai for nearly 20 years. If our management cadres still do not know what the three steps after work are and do not know how to teach and supervise employees to do well in the three steps after work, it indicates that our management level is declining. The company has repeatedly requested the Human Resources Department to recruit adults and carry out qualification certification work, with the aim of ensuring that our management cadres have the competence for the position before taking up their positions. An unqualified manager is a non-performing asset because he is unaware of his role and what he should do, and naturally cannot fulfill his duties. Because he cannot do things within his scope of responsibility well, he cannot bring positive energy to the company and will not create value for the enterprise. On the contrary, they only add obstacles to the enterprise, increase some additional communication and management costs, affect the efficient operation of the enterprise, and deprive the enterprise of some opportunities to grow and strengthen, ultimately weakening its competitiveness. From a certain perspective, the company has no obligation to provide training to these unqualified personnel, as only managers who meet the job requirements can take up the position and can afford the salary paid to them by the company. The purpose of organizing training by the company is not to train unqualified people to be qualified, but to cultivate qualified people to be better.

2、 Grasp the "One Help One" and mentorship system

This week, Yang Miaomiao from Business Department 3 reported that drafter Wang Fenglian uploaded the 49 size children's frame as a 52 size adult frame into the ERP system when uploading the drawings. After verification, it was found that Wang Fenglian is a new employee. The supervisor in the system filled is the BOM chief, and Wang Fenglian has not received any training on system application related knowledge. Under normal circumstances, the human resources department should check when evaluating the mentors of new employees. Generally, the assigned mentors are her direct supervisor or senior employees in similar positions. On the one hand, this case illustrates that the pre-job training for new employees was not done properly. The company has clearly defined through documents that new employees with ERP system operation requirements must undergo ERP system operation knowledge training from the Information Department. On the other hand, it indicates that our "One Help One" activities and mentoring system have not taken root. The purpose of the company's implementation of the mentorship system and "one help one" activities is to quickly integrate employees into the Ouhai family, familiarize themselves with the company's systems, processes, and requirements, and have someone help new employees solve practical problems when they encounter difficulties, so as not to make new employees feel helpless. At the same time, the "One Help One" activity and mentoring system can enhance the understanding of management cadres towards new employees. Through two-way communication or interaction, new employees can feel the "warm and fragrant" family culture of Ouhai, which allows them to find a sense of belonging, thereby improving the stability of new employees and reducing the loss of high-quality employees. In promoting the "One Help One" activity and mentoring system, every veteran employee within the company is a volunteer propagandist and instructor. As a mentor appointed by the company, one should fulfill their duties and take good care of their apprentices, and should not sell dog meat under the guise of sheep. The "Three Character Classic" states: "If one does not cultivate or teach, the fault of the father will arise. If one does not teach strictly, the teacher will be lazy. If new employees make mistakes, as mentors, they also bear corresponding responsibilities.

3、 Embed requirements into daily work

Only by embedding management requirements such as the three steps after work, three steps of production, process inspection, one-help-one activities, and mentoring system into daily work can these management activities find a foothold. Just like the ward round mechanism in hospitals, ward rounds are one of the daily tasks of doctors. Through ward rounds, doctors can promptly understand the patient's condition in order to determine the next treatment plan. Therefore, for doctors and patients in the ward, ward rounds are a daily "compulsory course". According to the tertiary physician treatment system, the resident physician is the most diligent in ward rounds. They usually arrange a ward round in the morning and evening to keep abreast of changes in the patient's condition. The attending physician checks the room once a day, mainly to check the patient's treatment, whether the symptoms have improved, etc., and guide the resident doctors to make appropriate adjustments to the treatment plan. The chief physician (deputy chief physician, department head) conducts two rounds of ward rounds per week, also known as major rounds, with participation from department doctors, head nurses, resident trainers, interns, and others. During the ward round, there are as few as ten doctors and as many as twenty to thirty doctors, focusing on solving difficult cases and problems, listening to the opinions of doctors and nurses on diagnosis, treatment, and nursing, and determining when patients will be discharged and whether they need to be transferred. When implementing the company's management requirements, we should also include it in our daily work, just like the hospital's ward round mechanism. For example, we can achieve the following goals by managing cadres to "commuting greeting": firstly, to reflect the management's attitude towards being subordinate; Secondly, supervise employees to queue up in an orderly manner and check in to understand their attendance status; The third is to check the wearing status of employees' factory uniforms and brand names; Fourth, check if the employee's mobile phone is placed in the phone cabinet as required; The fifth is to check the execution status of the three steps after work. For example, we implement, discover, or correct the following content through the "three steps of production": firstly, check whether there are any abnormalities in the materials and determine whether they can be put online; Secondly, carry out three inspections and three checks as required; The third is to check whether employees operate according to process requirements and have committed disciplinary violations; The fourth is to ensure timely processing of the final balance and ensure every type is complete. Only by embedding the company's management requirements into daily work and grasping the details of daily work can the team's execution be improved; Only by integrating knowledge and action at the executive level and allowing management requirements to take root can employees be cultivated into true industrial workers; Only by gradually cultivating the habit of doing things according to rules among employees can we promote the efficient operation of the company and improve its competitiveness.

The basic responsibilities of a production manager are to manage people, directors, and creations. The basic work of "managing people" is to conscientiously implement the commuting greeting, three-steps after work, the three steps of production, and supervising employees' work discipline.  Only by improving their competence can we ensure the efficient operation of the enterprise. The purpose of the company's implementation of the mentorship system and "one help one" activities is to quickly integrate employees into the Ouhai family, familiarize themselves with the company's systems, processes, and requirements, and have someone help new employees solve practical problems when they encounter difficulties, so as not to make new employees feel helpless. At the same time, the "One Help One" activity and mentoring system can enhance the understanding of management cadres towards new employees. Through two-way communication or interaction, new employees can feel the "warm and fragrant" family culture of Ouhai. In management activities, we need to embed management requirements such as commuting greeting, the three steps after work, and the three steps of production into our daily work, just like the hospital's ward inspection mechanism. Only in this way can we achieve the unity of knowledge and action at the executive level, let management requirements take root, and cultivate employees into real industrial workers; Only in this way can employees gradually develop the habit of doing things according to rules, promote efficient operation of the enterprise, and improve its competitiveness.