http://www.allbusiness.com/services/engineering-accounting-research-management/3895148-1.html
It's 8:35 a.m. on a sunny Monday in downtown Atlanta. Andrea and her team of telephone testing technicians are discussing the group's previous day's performance, the current day's schedule, as well as future plans. The team is excited to learn that their efficiency numbers are continuing to climb and that Andrea is rated the second best supervisor in the district. Technicians high-five each other and then go to their desks to start their day.
How is such a high level of employee engagement and enthusiasm achieved? At BellSouth, the answer is a management method called Management System and Operating Control, or MSOC, that was first rolled out through the BellSouth network centers in 2004 and is now being implemented in field work groups throughout the Southeast.
MSOC combines process management, work measurement, management controls, and people development. It is the BellSouth way to achieve operations and process excellence and create a culture that focuses on continual improvement, contributing to improved execution, and focusing on streamlined processes that add value (Figure 1).
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MSOC drives the corporation toward operations and process excellence through behavioral changes. Over the past two years, BellSouth has seen cost reductions ranging from 15 percent to 25 percent while improving customer satisfaction in all areas of the business.
The MSOC method helps fulfill the following goals:
* Provides the foundation to leverage opportunities in managing the business more effectively
* Establishes clear performance goals
* Provides a framework for continuous improvement
* Enhances organizational capability for best practices and employee skill development
By using MSOC, management and front line employees are fully engaged in the daily operation of their group while both first- and second-level managers better understand their circle of control and how it applies to a successful and highly efficient organization.
Making a case for change
In the 21st century, the service industry faces dynamic challenges in worker productivity, outsourcing, offshoring, home-sourcing, and rightsizing. BellSouth and the telecommunications industry are no exception. For example, cable companies can now offer what was once considered traditional Bell-based services along with broadband and television.
The BellSouth name has traditionally been synonymous with voice and general telecommunications systems. With today's rapidly changing and evolving telecom, the industry is experiencing a growing demand for broadband and wireless services along with a decline in voice-based land-line business.
As a result, service providers like BellSouth have been looking at programs implemented within the traditional manufacturing environments in trying to replicate productivity gains last seen in the industrial revolution.
It is due to this current environment of competition that MSOC was developed. MSOC enables BellSouth to be fully effective in managing day-to-day activities during the company's transformation into a truly broadband company, featuring a strategy to attain operational excellence through cost transformation.
Measuring up to lean and Six Sigma
Telecom companies have adopted popular efficiency programs such as lean and Six Sigma to focus on improving worker productivity, process delivery, and quality. BellSouth opted to devise its own program, MSOC, for systematically improving performance and reducing costs.
The MSOC method includes not only elements found in Six Sigma and lean but also a critical element that addresses the behavioral aspect of the worker: performance management at the individual level. Similar to lean, MSOC focuses on improving productivity and quality using key measurement indicators that address performance, quality, service, and effectiveness.
The MSOC set of metrics provides a balanced scorecard. Quality, service, and effectiveness measures are self-defined by each organization, while the performance elements of efficiency, productivity, utilization, and attainment are also calculated. By using standard performance metrics, comparisons can be made within and across work functions and thereby provide transparency of results from the front line to the highest level of the organization.
In addition, MSOC seeks to eliminate non-value-added tasks while balancing resources to the workload.
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10:35 a.m.: Andrea, her supervising manager, and peers are attending their key measurement indicators review meeting, where they discuss off-schedule conditions, best and "least best" performers, and any issues from the previous day. The outcomes of this meeting are identification of systemic barriers and adjustments to the short-term plan.
MSOC provides almost real-time data so that managers and supervisors can react and adjust quickly and not have to wait weeks or months prior to seeing a problem. Additionally, it focuses on the best performers to check for possible new best practices or determine any possible non-adherence to the process, all while locating any "least best" performers on the team.
Like Six Sigma, MSOC focuses on processes and defines how processes are performed. It measures work in two ways: through key measurement indicators and by setting standard work measurements. To accomplish this, data is reported so that it can be analyzed. Subsequently, if roadblocks are identified, action plans can be initiated to improve the process. MSOC also has a sustainability component to control performance and ensure progress is made. During the process, MSOC reduces rework and seeks to explain and reduce variation.
Aligning processes to required skill sets
In addition to its mechanics, MSOC includes a behavioral component: an activity-based training curriculum that aligns the process to the required skill sets ensuring quality delivery of services, better employee satisfaction, and improved cost structure.
According to Ted Jordan, area manager of an MSOC-installed center at BellSouth, "MSOC structures the supervising manager's day and helps focus him or her on planning, executing, reporting, following up, coaching/training, forecasting, and sustaining."
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And the employee development does not stop at the supervising manager's level, but includes the whole team.
2:27 p.m.: Andrea is reviewing her report prior to her "walkabout" or stroll through her area. She sees that her team is handling the additional volume of work that dropped in the system at 10 a.m. However, she sees one of her best technicians has taken longer than expected. She plans to find out the reason for the delay--is it a process problem or an individual performance issue?
The blending of mechanics and behaviors is what makes MSOC powerful. The incorporation of work measurement, metrics, and behavior components has made the culture more proactive. It has changed the way things are done at BellSouth and is a proven success (Figure 2).
MSOC is focused on three areas of improvement:
* Cost transformation: By improving processes and aiding in the monitoring of day-to-day activities, cost is reduced.
* Service: By providing the customer with a consistent and enhanced experience through process improvements and reducing performance variation.
* BellSouth employees: By developing employees and addressing their needs, especially those at the front line.
MSOC is an effective way to ensure that people, BellSouth's number one resource, are delivering a world-class service to the best of their ability. It is described as being "front line-centric and behaviorally based." Installation is completed in sections and, as different methods and tools are introduced, adequate time is allowed for them to be adopted before moving on to the next section.
A benefit of MSOC is the development of process maps and individual activity detail for all front-line positions and functions. This gives clearly defined objectives for employees and allows consistent management through standard work measures for all activities. MSOC also provides front-line supervisors with tools to help them plan and coordinate their day. A snapshot of performance can be obtained every two hours through reports, and at least two walkabouts by the supervisor must be conducted during the day to communicate those real-time results to employees.
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The results featured in the MSOC operating reports are inclusive of performance, quality, service, and efficiency from a supervisory perspective. These reports include identification of lost time and provide an excellent opportunity for process improvement. An MSOC motto is: "We will not let go of a problem that causes lost time until we solve it."
MSOC also provides supervisory tools to enable identification of required skills and to rectify any training deficiencies that arise. A strong emphasis is also placed on coaching and professional development based on results that can enhance individual performance. The key to MSOC reports is to understand the data and do something about it.
Sustainability
To ensure continuous improvement, MSOC has a sustainability component made up of two elements: change control and certification. For example, the introduction of new products, services, modifications to standard practices, or other process improvements are first submitted for review and approval. Change control ensures that the method stays current and aligned with the operations. MSOC organizations must have aligned processes, skills, and metrics to be certified.
The behavioral components of the method use tools to aid organization performance and management. Certification is the compliance element that ensures that the mechanics as well as the MSOC behaviors are in place. This certification is obtained when an organization achieves a desired level of sustained performance while exhibiting the behaviors and using the tools of the MSOC model.
The MSOC certification process is designed to measure an organization's success in evolving to operational excellence through active and enthusiastic adoption of MSOC. This process values how well a center operationalizes MSOC as opposed to how well the center simply crosses the t's and dots the i's. In other words, the goal is operational excellence, not merely mechanical compliance. For a center or organization to be certified, all of the center managers and supervisors must meet the certification criteria.
The certification process is completed in two steps. The step 1 review is conducted on-site by the certification review team in accordance with the review schedule developed by the process improvement/industrial engineering organization. Following the first review, the certification review team provides a detailed list of areas for improvement for each center or work group management team. The center management team must then develop an action plan for improvement and request the step 2 certification review within 90 to 120 days following the review feedback.
The step 2 certification review is performed on site by the certification review team following the completion of the step 1 review. A center or work group earning a score of 90 (out of 100) or more on the step 2 certification review is designated MSOC certified. Certification of the center or work group, the center manager, and the center supervisors occurs concurrently. A center or work group is eligible for re-certification 12 months after its step 2 certification review.
3:45 p.m.: Celebrations and cheers ring out around the center. Andrea's team is notified that it has received certification and that in the next week the team will be presented with a banner and individual medallions. Everyone is jubilant that their hard work is being recognized.
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Sustainability is critical for long-term cultural change. As in many organizations, well-intentioned initiatives may not survive and simply become the flavor of the day. This has not been the case with MSOC. The change control and certification elements have given it sustainability.
By incorporating traditional manufacturing concepts like Six Sigma and lean in addition to personnel development, BellSouth now has a patented technique that has reduced costs by 20 percent while improving service and quality levels. Competitors and customers alike have asked, What are you doing in BellSouth to improve service and quality while reducing head count? The answer is MSOC.
Next step: MORE
With the success of MSOC, what is the next step? MORE, which stands for managing our resources effectively, is the knowledge worker model for improved performance and continues where MSOC leaves off--addressing all nonsupervisory, individual contributor managers.
The field of knowledge worker productivity is virtually untapped, and due to BellSouth's service revolution, that is the key to profitability.
In 1959, Peter Drucker coined the term knowledge worker to describe someone who adds value by processing existing information to create new information that could be used to define and solve problems. Examples of knowledge workers include lawyers, doctors, diplomats, law makers, marketers, software developers, managers, and bankers.
In his work The New Productivity Challenge, Drucker proposed that productivity could be improved by defining the task, concentrating work on the task, and defining performance. Although it sounds simple, currently there are no standard, formal methods to address knowledge workers.
Research revealed that several models--consultants, attorneys, and information technologists, for example--lacked the ability to provide insight around how efficient the work was being performed and the impact of the knowledge worker.
In addition, improvements provided by new technologies are not leveraged. Instead of using tools to increase productivity, capacity is created but not effectively utilized. The time saved by the tools needs to be directed to increasing the capacity or improving the process. MORE provides a framework to accomplish this, thus providing a competitive advantage for BellSouth.
In order to avoid creating misalignment and waste, MORE ensures additional capacity and capability created by advances such as new technologies and process improvements are captured and utilized. BellSouth is using the patented MORE model to explore the different types of knowledge workers and has defined a way to increase their efficiency and effectiveness.
MORE not only includes a time reporting element but also implements impact and attainment metrics. Efficiency is derived in a consistent manner within and between work groups. Effectiveness measures the value of knowledge workers' roles within their organizations.
Conclusion
BellSouth is maintaining its competitive edge by developing its two sustainable, patented methodologies--MSOC and MORE. These models combine traditional manufacturing models like lean and Six Sigma, add a behavioral component, and can leverage proven manufacturing methods in the service industry.
MSOC has provided considerable cost savings to BellSouth while initiating a shift to a more proactive culture. MORE is even more cutting-edge, concentrating on knowledge workers and helping them define their jobs, focus on activities, measure their work impact, and improve their work performance.
MSOC and MORE combined are providing the foundation for the way things get done--the BellSouth way.
Marcela Dunphy, P.E., is a senior manager in the process improvement/industrial engineering group of BellSouth Network Services and is responsible for the company's Management System and Operating Control sustainability and support process, as well as its Managing Our Resources Effectively development and installation process. She holds a B.S. degree in industrial and systems engineering from Florida International University. Dunphy is a Six Sigma black belt and served as the Six Sigma track chair for the 2006 IIE Annual Conference.
Roderick Lewis is a senior manager in BellSouth process improvement/industrial engineering in Atlanta, where he is responsible for the development, support, and maintenance of BellSouth's Network Services Management Operations System, Management System and Operating Control, and Managing Our Resources Effectively programs. Lewis, who has a B.S. in finance from Morehouse College, is a Six Sigma black belt and an IIE member.
RELATED ARTICLE: WIRED AND WIRELESS
While telecommunications providers have focused on either wireless services such as cell phones or wired services such as DSL networks, Gee-Kung Chang, a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, has found a way to enable both technologies simultaneously.
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The new hybrid system is based on a network design that would provide ultra-high-speed wireless and wired access services from the same signals carried on a single optical fiber. The dual wired/wireless transmission of the same content--such as high-definition television, data, and voice--could be as much as 100 times faster than current networks, significantly improving service at a reduced cost to the service provider.
"The same services would be provided to customers who would either plug into the wired connection in the wall or access the same information through a wireless system. In an airport, for instance, a traveler could watch a movie, talk to a friend, and work interactively through a wireless system or by plugging into a wall," says Chang.
One of the major challenges is reducing the cost of components to make it marketable for small offices and homes. Companies such as NEC and BellSouth are developing components integration and systems requirements for the hybrid optical-wireless communications network.
Chang asserts, "The interface between the optical and wireless is critical. A lot of people are interested in this kind of research, but to make this practical, we need industry and universities working together."
ON THE WEB
A higher purpose. In ancient China, leadership was considered such an important concept that it was deemed the Mandate of Heaven in order to encompass the ultimate goal and benefit of proper leadership behavior, according to engineer and author William A. Levinson. Find out how this mandate is central to gaining work force commitment, which is a decisive advantage in organizational competition, at http://www.iienet.org/magazine/aug06/mandate.