Ilm_Wba

ILM AWARD IN LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT (LEVEL 3) Work-based Assignment Problem-solving and Decision-making BY: Helga Ribinska ILM REGISTRATION NO: N31208L38087-06                    WORD COUNT: 4961 Table of Contents: 1. Background 3 Role 3 2. Description of the problem 4 Description 4 Nature 5 Scope and impact 7 3. Analysis of the problem 9 4. Resolution of the problem 10 Evaluation of options 11 5. Implication and communication of solutions 14 Monitoring and review of the solution 16 6. Conclusion 17 Background Lateral Concepts Limited is a private limited company that was launched in 1996 by the current Managing Director. Since then, it has grown and still continues to grow with a vision of working together and gaining recognition from our customers and peers as market leaders, providing the highest quality and best value standards in all fields of facilities management. We want to do what it takes to attain customer satisfaction and create long-lasting relationships by honouring our commitments, demonstrating high standards of honesty, accountability, trust and professionalism, and showing ethical behaviour in all of our relationships. Currently, Lateral Concepts Limited offers estate and facilities support solutions and services, which deliver significant benefits across customer organisations. One of the brightest jewels in Lateral Concepts’ soft service portfolio crown is a cleaning service contract, won in April 2009, for Selfridges, which is one of the largest and most well-known high-end retail stores in the UK. Role My role as a Contract Manager is site-based at Selfridges, where I work closely with the Selfridges Facilities Managers under the Property Services department. I report to the Lateral Concepts Operations Manager and Directors. My main responsibilities are to provide operational support to our organisation and onsite team, ensuring that all requirements of the contracts are met. This involves liaising with all departments at Selfridges and being the interface with the client, managing a team of approximately 160 employees with a core team of 16 highly dedicated people; 2 Senior Duty Managers, 8 Supervisors, 3 Helpdesk and 2 laundry operatives, who all have a genuine passion for service, innovation and the company’s success. My other responsibilities are as follows: to ensure that all of Lateral Concepts’ onsite operations are in compliance with Health and Safety procedures and legislation, cleaning-related operational planning, contract and team performance and monitoring, recruitment and training, management of budgets, provision of various reports to Lateral Concepts’ Head Office and Facilities team, onsite and supply stock control, along with attending various client meetings. The organisational chart of Lateral Concepts’ cleaning division is demonstrated on the next page. [pic] Description of problem Description The problem we are currently facing concerns the high volume of cleaning supplies and equipment getting damaged and going missing. As a cleaning contractor, we are responsible for maintaining cleanliness across 6 trading floors and several back of house areas that include offices, stock rooms, goods lifts, restaurants, kitchens etc. that require the use of different cleaning products, equipment and cleaning methods, specific to area and surface finish. To deliver a high standard of service and comply with the agreed service specifications we have 24 hour cover by 5 different teams; the night specialist and kitchen team deals with food preparation and service area cleaning, and also carpet, fabric and hard floor deep cleans. The early morning 6-9am team, who are responsible for general pre-trade store cleaning and 2 response teams, cover 2 shifts during store trading hours and are responsible for emptying waste bins, detail cleaning and responding to emergencies such as spillages, broken glass etc. Over the past few years Selfridges has been expanding their retail space and, as a result, we have lost various storage areas and cleaning cupboards. Previously, we had a dedicated storage area with a water supply on each trading floor, big enough to store all equipment and materials to service the particular floor, but we now have only 2 main stores. These are one for day shifts (all 3 teams) and one for night shifts equipment storage, at basement level, and a room with a water supply on level 4 to serve all shifts that service all trading floors. Each morning our part-time team starts work by collecting equipment such as mops, hoovers, sweepers etc. from the basement store, making their way to L4 to get water and only then to their work area to perform their tasks. Once the work is done they must clean all of the equipment and return it to the main store, which at times can get quite crowded. During the store’s trading hours our team’s main task is to ensure an exceptional customer experience by keeping each floor in immaculate condition throughout the day and promptly responding to all emergency calls as most of the time these pose a Health and Safety hazard to the public. To accommodate these requirements, currently all relevant response team equipment is kept in a corner of the goods lift lobby on each floor. Overnight, the equipment is kept in the basement store. Each morning the early team collects it half an hour before the store opens and the late team returns it to the main store. On a number of occasions we have tried to negotiate additional storage areas with the client, explaining the inconvenience of the current arrangements, but unfortunately we have had no success so far. Apart from the apparent productive time being wasted due to the store and service cupboards being located so far apart, it has been brought to my attention quite frequently by team members, as well as their superiors, that they have been unable to locate particular pieces of equipment, that the machinery is broken or they were unable to complete certain tasks, as the product they needed was out of stock. Despite having upgraded our machinery and set up a maintenance contract, with an engineer attending the site each month, introducing a stock consumable order system, we still seem to be frequently missing a considerable amount of stock. Nature Alter consulting our maintenance service engineers, discussing the matter with team leaders and the Selfridges Facilities Management team we have come to realise that the problem could be occurring for number of reasons. I have demonstrated this in an Ishikawa diagram on the following page. Scope and impact The problem is one that ultimately affects everyone at Selfridges and Lateral Concepts and can have an impact on both companies in terms of profits and losses, potentially threatening people’s employment. If cleaning operatives don’t have the right tools and equipment, they are unable to perform cleaning tasks effectively and achieve the desired standards, which would lead to client dissatisfaction, an unpleasant customer experience and eventually could compromise Lateral Concepts’ position as a cleaning contractor and cause customer loss for Selfridges. In terms of a Health and Safety hazard to customers and retail staff, if responses to emergencies like spillages, breakages etc. are not dealt with promptly then accidents like slips, trips and falls are likely. An unhappy public reaction would impact on Selfridges’ sales immediately and could cause long-term damage as some customers might decide not to return. For Lateral Concepts, accidents would mean a significant loss on insurance claim payouts, as well as a much higher insurance premium the following year. The most immediate effect would occur to Lateral Concepts’ contract profitability due to continuous investment in materials and equipment. Analysis of the problem Now that the nature and possible causes of our problem have been identified, we need to continue toward a more in depth investigation to find the key pieces of information that will lead to the solution to resolve our problem. The starting point was to find answers to the following questions: • What particular equipment is getting lost' • When is it happening, is there a particular pattern' • Who might be involved' In April 2011, the beginning of the financial year, as a part of an improvement plan, Lateral Concepts decided to invest in new equipment to increase operatives’ productivity by providing all of the necessary tools to deliver and sustain exceptional service and cleaning standards. Working closely with Duty Managers and Team Supervisors we decided to purchase equipment in accordance with the number of operatives working on the shift and the nature of duties and tasks they are asked to perform on a daily basis. Our early morning team (6-9am) has 30 operatives who are responsible for the general cleaning of all retail floors on a daily basis. Each operative has a designated part of the store where they must ensure all tasks, such as sweeping, mopping floors, vacuum-cleaning carpets and so on, are done prior to Selfridges opening its doors to the public at 9:30am. Collectively, we agreed and purchased the following equipment: • 25 vacuum cleaners • 25 extension leads • 30 flat sweepers • 30 large mop and bucket sets, at a total cost of £4530 We have two shifts working during store trading hours, whose main responsibilities include emptying cash desk waste bins, responding to emergencies like spillages, breakages etc. and litter picking and sweeping the retail floors to maintain cleaning standards throughout the day. There are 8 operatives on each shift covering 6 retail floors. The equipment purchased for these teams was: • 8 small mop and bucket sets • 8 flat sweepers • 8 lobby dust pan and brush sets The total cost of these items was £282.72, making our overall investment £4812.72. In search for an answer to our first question, I decided to review and summarise the purchase invoices for past 10 months from May 2011 until February 2012. My findings are shown in the chart below. | |Large Mop and |Small Mop and |Dustpan and Brush |Vacuum Cleaners |Extension Leads |Flat Sweepers | | |Bucket Sets |Bucket sets |sets | | | | |May/June 2011 |1 |2 |2 |0 |1 |2 | |Jul/Aug 2011 |2 |6 |5 |1 |4 |1 | |Sep/Oct 2011 |0 |4 |3 |1 |1 |7 | |Nov/Dec 2011 |4 |5 |7 |4 |0 |6 | |Jan/Feb 2012 |2 |2 |3 |2 |2 |3 | | | | | | | | | |No purchased |9 |19 |20 |8 |8 |19 | |Price per unit |£27.60 |£12.89 |£11.20 |£110.00 |£24.58 |£11.25 | |Total spend |£248.40 |£244.91 |£224.00 |£880.00 |£196.64 |£213.75 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Total spend in 10 months: |£2,007.70 | The summary shows that, in addition to the equipment purchased in April 2011, we have further bought 9 large and 19 small mops and buckets, 20 dustpans and brushes, 8 vacuum cleaners, 8 extension leads and 19 flat sweepers. The information gathered led us to review our machinery maintenance invoices for the same period of time, which added a further £1,235 to the total spent on vacuum cleaner repairs and confirmed that 5 machines were written off due to damaged motors. To understand the high volume requests for additional sweepers, dustpans, brushes and small mops, and to establish when these are being lost, the next step was to speak to each team separately. After a few sessions of brainstorming, and consultations with team supervisors, it was confirmed that most of the equipment actually lost was not down to wear and tear. Most commonly, this was noticed by the early morning team’s superiors when they got requests from staff, asking if they had any spare sweepers, mops etc. to complete the job as there were none left in the storage area. A fairly similar set of circumstances was reported by the shift working between 9am-9pm indicating that the equipment is disappearing from the main store between the time the store closes and 6am the following day as well as during the day from lift lobbies where equipment is kept while the store is trading. With the current arrangement, where all of the equipment is kept in one store room, it is almost impossible to identify who is responsible for the missing equipment as all shifts have access to the main storage. There is lack of evidence about who has taken what piece of equipment and if it was returned at the end of the shift to the store or left elsewhere where anybody who would find it useful could take it. Following a detailed investigation we have answered most of our questions: • Most commonly items lost are dustpans and brushes, sweepers, and small mops and buckets • It is happening during store closing hours • Our own members of staff and Selfridges staff must be those responsible since these incidences are occurring after the store closes Resolution of the problem In our weekly team leaders’ meeting I presented the gathered information to the team and tasked each individual to think of possible solutions to resolve the problem. I indicated the ideal outcome would be to gain control over our equipment and prevent its disappearance. The proposals were to be handed it in one day before our next meeting in a week’s time. Having looked at the ideas presented, the lack of accountability, separate storage areas and appropriate control measures were seen as the biggest gaps. To try to resolve these issues we did a collective force field analysis in our following meeting. | | | | |Helping factors |Hindering factors | |Supervisors are keen to help with control system design (equipment sign |There are large numbers of employees starting work simultaneously; it | |in/out sheets proposed) |would be difficult to follow if all equipment was signed for | |Sign out sheets might prevent people not returning equipment to the |How to ensure operative accountability. All equipment looks similar; how| |store |to identify who didn’t return or damaged equipment' | |We have 2 areas: one could be used to store the equipment from the early|The cupboard on L4 is the only one with a water supply and is used by | |teams and the 9-9pm shift, to make it more controllable |all shifts, so how can we secure equipment that is stored there' | |If the equipment used by teams who are working during store trading |As the storage is further away it would take a longer time lo respond to| |hours was kept in one place at all times this would reduce the |emergencies, which would reduce teams’ productivity | |possibility of third parties taking it | | |If equipment is controlled and always available for all staff, the time | | |that supervisors spend finding alternative equipment can be used for | | |staff training and work quality checks | | | |SMART plans to remove hindering factors | |1 |There are 30 operatives covering 30 work areas. Each work area needs to be assigned a number. Teixeira to complete by Monday 12th March. | | | | | |Eduardo to select 30 complete sets of equipment and spray paint the relevant number on each piece of equipment by Friday 19th March. | |2 |Help Desk to design a sign out sheet, where operatives can sign opposite the number according to area they work in and use an equipment | | |set with the same number by 19th March. | |3 |Contract Manager to consult in-house maintenance and find out if it is possible, and what costs are involved, to section off and secure an| | |area in the room on L4. It could be used for secure equipment storage for the purpose of storing the early morning team’s equipment. To | | |have an answer by 5th March. | |4 |Contract manager to discuss an idea of placing an individual locker in each lift lobby for the purpose of secure equipment storage. Get | | |response from Facilities Manager by 5th March. | After speaking to maintenance it was confirmed that there are still materials left from building stockrooms that could be used to build a lockable cage area in the 4th floor room and the only cost we would incur would be to cover the labour doing the work. On the following day I met with the Selfridges Facilities team and presented the idea of storage lockers being placed in lift lobbies on each floor. After a detailed explanation of the main reasons for our request, they were very supportive and had no objection. Evaluation of options Further to the force field analysis, and after speaking to the Selfridges teams, we came to several solution options to resolve our equipment loss problem. We had to choose the most suitable resolution that would work for us in the long-term. a) Implement control and sign out sheets and separate equipment storage for early morning and trading hour teams. b) Numbered equipment, control sheets, early and response team’s equipment storage separated and kept in centralised, 4th floor room at all times. c) Numbered equipment, control sheets and lockers provided for each floor to store response team’s equipment and build a secured cage in the Level 4 room. |Must-haves |Would-likes | |Simple, easy to use control system |Can be implemented immediately | |Improved equipment storage arrangements |No implementation cost | |Team’s productivity increased | | |Secured storage, third parties access to equipment minimised | | |Easy accountability tracking | | In the below table, I will examine how successfully the identified solutions fulfil the criteria set above: | |Solution A |Solution B |Solution C | |Must-haves | | | | |Simple, easy to use control system |( |⎫ |⎫ | |Improved equipment storage arrangements |⎫ |⎫ |⎫ | |Team’s productivity increased |( |( |⎫ | |Secured storage |( |⎫ |⎫ | |Easy accountability tracking |( |( |⎫ | | | | | | As you can see in the above table, only Solution C would fulfil all must-haves for a solution to the problem subject to our investigation. Solution A – will provide improved storage arrangements. However, it will not improve performance, control measures nor guarantee equipment safety and minimise its loss. Solution B - will allow control and provide means of easy equipment damage accountability tracking for the early team’s equipment, but won’t contribute to, and even might reduce, overall productivity. Solution C - fulfils all points of criteria: it will allow for improved productivity and accountability tracking. It will also reduce the chance of third parties contribution, solving the problem of missing equipment and overall improving the current arrangements. As only solution C fulfils all must-haves, it is the most suitable resolution to solve the problem. Limitations However, solution C might take longer to implement then solutions A and B and, as there are some implementation costs, so a further analysis of the tong-term prospects needs to be considered. Contingency In the 2 cases described above, a combination of Solutions 1 and 2 could be utilised to reduce the equipment loss. This could also be used as a temporary alternative in case of unexpected delays in solution C’s implementation. Resource Implications The only resource implication in all cases would be a requirement for a certain amount of time and minimal overheads. Solutions 1 and 2 could be prepared within 3-4 days, whereas solution 3 would take considerably more time for development, implementation and monitoring, and could stretch out to several weeks. Looking at the overall benefits, solution C seems to be the most suitable one to resolve the problem. Therefore, to determine if the implication costs can be justified, we have performed a cost benefit analysis below. Costs: Storage improvement for secure equipment storage: • 24 man hours to build a cage @ £10.20 ph each • 1 digital code padlock @ £15.75 • 8 separate tool lockers @ £156.00 each • 8 small digital lock padlocks @ £3.99 each Control system costs: • 2 cans black spray paint - @ £5.78 each • Number templates - @ £4.89 each • 32 man hours to design the sheets and number the work areas and equipment - @ £7.50 each Other costs: • Lost time for staff education on the new system @ £ 278.50 • Missing/damaged equipment, loss of productive man hour cost during implementation and storage upgrade; 3 weeks estimated @ £171.50 pw • Overheads: estimate: @ £150 Total cost: £2739.92   Benefits: • Reduced investment in new equipment by 80%: estimated saving: £1927.20 pa • Vacuum cleaner repair cost savings 60%: estimate: £889.20 pa • Improved efficiency, productivity: estimate: £4914.00 pa Total Benefit: £7730.40 pa   Payback time: £2739.92 / £7730.40 = 0.35 of a year = approx. 4.5 months Further to the cost benefit analysis it was clear that solution C can resolve our problem. Implementation and communication of solutions Upon completion of the first three stages of problem-solving, bolstered by the great support and involvement of my team, I decided to call a meeting and produce an implementation plan collectively. The fruit of our teamwork, a step-by-step smart plan, is demonstrated below. |Action to be taken by whom |What needs to be done and by when' |What will success look like' | | | | | |To confirm material availability, suitability, |To take measurements of the area by 12th March |Measurements taken | |plan and schedule cage construction in level 4 | | | |cupboards with the assistance of Selfridge’s |Check the materials available and confirm suitability| | |maintenance. |by 16th March |There are enough suitable materials to | | | |build the cage | |Contract Manager – Helga/Maintenance team |To schedule the construction with Selfridges by 19th | | | |March |Construction schedule and ideally complete | | | |by 1st April | | | | | |To place an order for 8 tool lockers, 8 small |To buy spray paint and number template by 12th March |Paint and number template purchased | |padlocks and one large, buy spray paint and | | | |number template |Place an order for 8 lockers and small padlocks with | | | |supplier via head office by 16th March |Order placed with supplier and goods | |Contract Manager – Helga via Lateral Concept’s | |delivery date confirmed | |head office |By a padlock for 4th floor cage area by 1st April | | | | | | | | |Cage ready for equipment storage and | | | |padlock onsite by 1st April | |Action to be taken by whom |What needs to be done and by when' |What will success look like' | | | | | |Early morning work areas number code. |Numbers from each work area (1 – 30) to be assigned |Work areas coded | | |by 16th March | | |Duty Manager – Teixeira | | | | |List confirming areas with number codes to be | | | |produced and passed to Help Desk by 16th March |Area list passed to Help Desk | | | | | | | | | |Each piece of early morning team’s equipment to |To gather 30 complete sets of necessary equipment, |30 equipment sets complete | |be numbered using spray paint. |for early morning task completion by 19th March | | | | | | |Supervisors – Eduardo and Jason |Each piece of equipment in a set to be marked with | | | |set number using spray paint by 26th March |Equipment numbered | | | | | | | | | |Equipment control system to be designed |Draft weekly equipment sign out sheets, listing all |Sign out sheets ready and placed in the | | |30 work areas with code numbers, which each employee |cage by 3rd April | |Contract manager/Help Desk (admin support) – |will have to sign on a daily basis when collecting | | |Helga and Ilze |and returning equipment to the store. Sheets to be | | | |placed in store (on 3rd April) to be completed by | | | |19th March | | | | | | | |Work area codes to be marked on retail floor CAD | | | |plans by 26th March, displayed in cage as area code | | | |reference (2 days from handover; 3rd April estimating| | | |the cage is complete by 1st April) | | | | | | | | |CAD plans ready and displayed in equipment | | | |store | | | | | |Each piece of response team’s equipment to be |To gather 8 complete sets of necessary equipment for |8 equipment sets complete | |marked (1-8 + retail floor level) using spray |deal with all types of emergency tasks by 19th March | | |paint. | | | | |Each piece of equipment in a set to be marked with a | | |Supervisors – Mustapha and Mohamed |set number using spray paint by 26th March | | | | | | | | |Equipment numbered | | | | | |Action to be taken by whom |What needs to be done and by when' |What will success look like' | | | | | |Setting up the storage areas for both teams. |All early morning equipment sets to be moved to L4 |Storage and system set | | |cage, and supporting floor and sign out sheets placed| | |Duty Manager and Supervisors |in the cage by 3rd April | | | | | | | |Place tool storage lockers in lift lobbies and store | | | |equipment by the beginning of April | | | | | | | | |Tool lockers ready for use | | | | | | | | | |Communicating new process to teams |Contract manager to draft a briefing sheet clearly |Teams briefed and employees understand the | | |describing the new process to be drafted and issued |new process | |Contract Manager/Duty Manager and Supervisors |to all members of staff by 26th March, thus giving | | | |one week for staff to address concerns, should any | | | |arise | | | | | | | |Teixeira to conduct team briefs at the beginning of | | | |each shift: 3rd and 4th April | | | | | | | |Supervisors to shadow teams on a daily basis for a | | | |period of one week to ensure that the new process is | | | |understood and followed: 3rd – 10th April | | | | |Process up and running smoothly, equipment | | | |loss reduced | |. | |Contract manager to oversee and monitor the project. Feedback of each step must be given to the Contract Manager by the person in charge. Plan | |progress to be reviewed, and questions answered in the weekly team meeting. | | | |Team meeting scheduled for 12th April to give and receive feedback on the new process. | Monitoring and reviewing of the solution From week commencing 16th April, team supervisors will be responsible for conducting weekly equipment audits (early as well as response teams), with the results to be reviewed in weekly meetings to ensure that any non-compliance is addressed immediately. Daily control sheets to be replaced every Monday. Sheets from previous week reviewed by Duty Manager and passed to Help Desk for filing. Main review of process implementation is planned for October 2012. This will include reviewing all reports related to the process, all equipment purchases and maintenance for a period of 3 months. Conclusion Doing this work-based assignment, time after time, made me stop, think and analyse things that were previously considered irrelevant or unimportant. Most certainly, it has opened a whole new chapter on the way we perceive issues. It has allowed us the importance of evaluating, considering and analysing not only the surface of the given situation, but opening it up to the core, as it leads to the best possible situation, which helps us to attain a common goal faster and in a much more organised way. Along with learning useful problem-solving skills, this work has taught us a great deal about us as a team. It has been a great experience to see all team members pulling together, working with great enthusiasm and supporting each other along the way. "The greater the loyalty of a group toward the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the goals of the group, and the greater the probability that the group will achieve its goals." (Rensis Likert.) ----------------------- Excessive use of chemicals Anybody can access Intentional damage Will have to do less The equipment materials issued to staff Poor equipment daily maintenance No proper work instructions Inadequate swipe access not returned to store Difficult access No records kept Mind set Unskilled labour Ethical Environment Storage not secure Equipment gets damaged Poorly organised storage Not enough storage Difficult to control stock Distance from store to work area Way to show dissatisfaction I can take it, they have enough It’s not mine, why should I care attitude Received supply records Cleaning supplies and equipment is getting damaged and going missing Man Materials Builders, contractors take the equipment Inadequate training Selfridges’ staff borrow equipment and don’t return it Equipment quality Not enough equipment Equipment gets hidden to ensure availability the next day No accountability Insufficient training Negligence Method Insufficient supervision Poor quality chemicals [pic] Situation as Now Situation as Ideal ‘NOW to IDEAL’ To agree and implement a control system to foster staff accountability. Find safe and practical storage to prevent equipment loss. Cleaning equipment is going missing. No accountability. Supervisors and staff productive time wasted daily due to lack of equipment. Company |>BDT[]jpqxyz}Œ¡¢¯°±ÄÅÒÕÖãííÛ̮̽Ÿ®Ì'ÌÛÌÛÌÛ̈}ˆ loses profitability by having to invest to replace missing equipment. Equipment loss reduced. Teams’ productivity increased. Control measure in place to encourage accountability. Amount of lost equipment reduced.