In TOT Shirts, the fundamental tool used for organising our workload, is Strokeone with its differing layouts that list tasks required by each department.
This topic outlines the importance of record keeping in Strokeone.
There are at least two critical pieces of information for every record on a layout:-
When it is required to be completed.
What the current status of the task is.
Our success within this industry is based on our ability to turn around orders quickly, accurately and to a high standard.
To do this, it is essential that the information within each layout is:-
Reviewed constantly to ensure that it is both accurate and complete.
Managed as circumstances, and/or workload alter.
It is crucial that all staff understand the dependencies that departments have on each other and thus the information they are responsible for.
Department managers are responsible to continually monitor and manage information in the internal database.
Within Strokeone, the workload required for each department is organised into a series of automated found sets and sorts of data to present a meaningful list of tasks that need to be undertaken by a given date.
At the start of any shift, this list should be viewed as the tasks required to be completed during the shift.
The objective is to process all the work on the list for that day so that it is all in a completed state by the end of the shift. Upon completing the day list, the next day’s list should be examined, organised and prioritised, so that it is prepared as much as possible. Similarly, future days’ work should be examined to get an indicative sense of expected workload. The underlying objective is to be as pro-active as possible given current information.
If
after doing the above there is still time in the shift, then it is good
business practice to undertake future dated tasks to “be ahead of the
game.”
However, due to the dynamic nature of how we work, during any given day,
other staff members will:-
Update records
Reschedule tasks
Add records for a given date.
This will, by definition, alter the work lists.
Additionally, during the shift, there may be examples where for varying reasons it proves difficult to fully complete a task by the required deadline.
In such circumstances, as soon as possible you are responsible for:-
·Communicating the issue to the relevant / interested parties, e.g. :-
Your manager
Managers of connected departments
The customer
Discuss
what measures can
be taken to manage the situation.
Measures may include:-
Rescheduling part or all the client order, i.e. altering the date required.
Rescheduling and/or reprioritising other scheduled tasks to redirect existing resourcing to complete the order in jeopardy.
Adding Resources, e.g. organising/undertaking overtime to complete the tasks.
Partially fulfilling the client order for the date required.
The measures taken will vary depending on the specific situation and client, but what is essential is that you recognise your responsibilities :-
No rescheduling of a client order to future dates should occur without:-
Client consultation and agreement.
Communication of proposal(s) and solution(s) to dependent departments.
System being accurately updated accordingly so that all interested parties are informed.
Be mindful of the interconnected nature of the system data:-
The status updates of a record within one department are likely to have an effect on another department.
Record statuses are exposed to clients via the CPORT, who actively use this data for their own decisions.
Notes fields associated with date requirement fields should record as much explanatory information as possible, e.g. detail of what the client has consented to.
In short: It is your responsibility to ensure the data is managed so that it provides an accurate representation of the current status of the progress of the workload required from your department. You and your staff need to be fully aware of how to accurately record this in the system.
Notes:
On occasions, the above pro-active management of records may result in orphaned and or redundant records. It is your responsibility to research and deal with these.
Additionally, there may be occasions, where example/test jobs are created in the system for testing / training purposes, or due to system bugs. In such cases, you are responsible for being aware of these occurrences, and reacting accordingly. This may involve amending records or deleting them as applicable.
It
is important to understand that your responsibilities as managers are
not constrained to the management of the daily work lists.
You are also responsible for the associated range of tasks, activities,
data and staff associated to your department. For example:-
Purchase Order Processing: From raising all the way through to delivery / receipt and location of items.
Consumables: Management of the inventory and usage of these for your department.
Department Maintenance Tasks: Incident management, as well as scheduling and management of maintenance/regular tasks.
Staff Training: You are responsible for:-
The ongoing development and organisation of content for Training Tasks and Training Modules in Strokeone, which pertain to your department.
Ensuring your staff are adequately trained and their progress monitored.
It is worth noting that Training is the one activity that is not directly customer driven, and thus not driven by standard work lists, but it is nonetheless an essential part of department activity to ensure that staff are fully trained and aware of their responsibilities, so that customer requirements can be met accurately and efficiently.