Visions for continuous improvement carved in sand
Imagine you’re standing in front of a pile of sand. You’re given a trowel, shovels and various carving tools and asked to show your vision for the company's continuous improvement in 2016.
What would you build?
Team members at Ascend’s Pensacola site were asked to do just that during the plant’s APEX celebration on Aug.12. The annual event celebrates the hard work of team members who are nominated for companywide recognition for their contributions to Ascend to Excellence (A2E), the business' continuous improvement program.
This year, Pensacola decided to do something a little different at the celebration by challenging team members to tap into their creativity and team building skills. About 50 team members, randomly separated into groups, took the challenge and transformed mounds of sands into stunning sand sculptures, each designed with a unique vision.
The teams were successful because they had a framework for problem-solving, thanks to A2E. Each team started with an idea, developed a plan and used the tools provided to make their idea a reality. The team-driven process, with help from problem-solving experts, made the task manageable and doable.
The activity reminds us that just about everything we do can be improved when we look at things through the principles of A2E. When we practice A2E on the job, we are able to improve safety, provide better services, increase our quality, boost our reliability and grow and support our teammates.Every day, we are building a better and stronger company as a result.
The winning team’s sand sculpture was based on the concept of lighthouses and unpredictable seas. The team described A2E as the beacon of light that helps direct our path when waves of change are headed our way. A2E enables us to be better prepared so we can withstand the storm.
Phil McDivitt, Ascend’s president of global nylon, attended the APEX event and enjoyed watching the team challenge. He stated it this way:
“Ships and other water craft are the customers of a lighthouse.The lighthouse that is most valuable to its customers is the one that is built to withstand the elements and can be seen from long distances consistently over time.
"We are building a better company, and A2E is a key facilitator for making it happen. Our team members are the ones that actually make it happen – through designing the right thing to build, developing a plan to build, having the right team, giving them the right tools and leadership, and following through all the way to execution. Our ability to do this consistently over time will allow us to create more value with our customers.
"Just like with ships and lighthouses, when seas are a bit stormy or when clear direction is needed, we want our customers to look toward us to help them get where they want to go.”
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