Best Practices in Multi-Shift Operations

Introduction:

Process industries are extremely competitive. There are significant pressures to reduced costs whilst continuously improving the quality of service to customers. In order to compete successfully, 24-hours operations must achieve the highest possible standards at all times.

For a facility to operate safely and efficiently 24/7, it is necessary to apply shift working. However, a multiple-shift operation poses a challenge because of the potential for disconnects caused by the fact that the personnel are changing every few hours. This can result in a significantly increased risk of incidents together with operational problems such as reduced throughput and increased levels of waste. Operating multiple shifts can be like running several different companies at the same time. Each change of shift brings a new team of people with different skills, attitudes, and objectives.

What is needed is a detailed understanding of all of the issues that shift working creates. This will then allow strategies to be developed to ensure that performance can be maintained at the highest levels at all times.

Targeted Groups:

• Manager, Supervisors, and Team leaders in businesses which are working 24/7
• Shifts supervisors
• Shifts coordinators
• Human resources staff

Conference Objectives:

At the end of this conference the participants will be able to:

• Understand the issues associated with 24/7 shift operation
• Identify strategies to deal with the issues
• Learn how to implement seamless communications
• Learn how to ensure continuity of operation
• Achieve effective shift handovers
• Achieve shift-to-shift uniformity of approach
• Deal with people issues created by shift working
• Learn how to be able to identify and deal with fatigue
• Explore alternative shift schedules that reduce costs and improve job satisfaction
• Implement Kaizen (continuous improvement) around-the-clock
• Develop effective shift supervisors
• Benchmark their performance against that of world-class facilities
• Create an Action Plan for continuous improvement back at work

Targeted Competencies:

• Teams building & managing
• Effective communication
• Continuity of operation
• Consistency of approach
• Fatigue and its consequences
• Handling people issues
• Benchmarking

Conference Content:
Unit 1: Understanding The Issues Associated with Shift Working:

• Communication
• Continuity of operation
• Consistency of approach
• Shift-to-shift handover
• Fatigue and its consequences
• People issues

Unit 2: Building a Competitive Advantage:

• Benchmarking world-class operations
• Performance results from successful plants
• Self-Assessment - How does your plan measure up?

Unit 3: Effective Communications:

• Deliver effective management communication to all shifts
• Improve shift leader-team communications
• Develop effective interfaces across shifts
• Proven cross-shift communication tools & techniques
• Install a world-class Visual Management system

Unit 4: Effective Shift Handover:

• Best practices for effective shift handover
• Start of shift meetings

Unit 5: Ensuring Continuity of Operation:

• Performance management
• Weekly planning processes
• Effective standard operating procedures
• Teamwork
• Training and developing Shift Teams

Unit 6: Developing Effective Shift Supervisors:

• Evolution of the role of supervisor
• Training and developing effective supervisors
• Technical skills
• Leadership skills
• Benchmarking performance of supervisors

Unit 7: Continuous Improvement/Kaizen in 24-Hour Operations:

• Understanding CI
• Workplace organization and 5S
• Learning from the Toyota Production System (TPS)
• Continuous improvement systems that involve all shifts
• Developing and implementing cross shift teams
• Management visibility/GEMBA

Unit 8: Dealing with Fatigue:

• The body clock and circadian rhythms
• Causes of fatigue
• Ergonomics
• Fatigue Countermeasures
• How to successfully implement cross-shift teams
• Management's role in leading multi-shift operations
• Develop "high-performance" first-line leaders on the plant floor

Unit 9: Pros and Cons of Different Shift Systems:

• History of shift working
• Managing the risks of shift work
• Common shift scheduling myths
• Determine the cost-effectiveness of your shift schedule
• Examples of 8-hour and 12-hour schedules
• Fixed vs. rotating shifts
• Step-by-step process to design and implement a "lean" shift schedule
• Analysis of delegates' shift schedules and issues

Unit 10: Dealing with People Issues on Shift:

• Managing performance
• Dealing with poor performance
• Discipline
• Consistency of approach
• Counseling skills