An innovative 5-month project to redesign work at a plant site that incorporates such change management tools as balanced scorecard, strategic analysis, process redesign, competency-based training, and performance gap analysis to improve operations
Introduction
Key Business Issues
Current State Assessment
Most Strategic Plant Strengths and Weaknesses
Strategic Direction Setting
Table 1: The Most Strategic Opportunities and Threats
Table 2: The Business Strategy and Supporting Initiatives
Balanced Scorecard
Work Redesign
The Vision Statement for Teams at the Houston Plant
Table 3: Examples of Technology, Organization, and Design Principles Used
Figure 1: Concept Diagram of Sulfonation, Oxylation, and Kettles Teams
Components of the Team Charters and Operating Principles
Table 4: Roles and Responsibilities Matrix
Table 5: Team and Competency Matrix
Evaluation: Benefits And Impacts
EXHIBIT 1: Organization Assessment Focus Group Protocol
EXHIBIT 2: Organizational Assessment Survey Results
EXHIBIT 3: Plant-Wide Balanced Scorecard
EXHIBIT 4: Curriculum of Work Team Education
About The Contributors
This case study discusses a work redesign project for CK Witco, a technologically sophisticated specialty chemicals manufacturer. Using an innovative “fast cycle” change process the plant created a new business strategy and their first ever balanced scorecard to communicate a new direction for their 175 employees. Additionally, the entire plant was then redesigned around its core processes into a series of self-directed, problem-solving, and cross-functional teams to optimize responsiveness to the market. Unlike many theoretical approaches, the entire design and implementation process took approximately 5 months to complete with both revenue generation and cost cutting benefits accruing shortly thereafter. The Houston plant is now widely considered within CK Witco as the prototype of their “starship factory of the future.”
Introduction
In 1920, David and Julius Tumpeer and Robert Wishnick formed the Witco Chemical Company that was later renamed Witco Corporation. Witco is a specialty Chemicals Company with operating plants located throughout the world, it has sales of almost $2 billion dollars, and employs approximately 6,000 people. Witco’s products are largely intermediates used in the polymer additives and initiators, petroleum specialties, resins and refined products, oleochemicals, organosilicones, and industrial surfactants markets.
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