Cooperation + Innovation=Happy Marriage?

November 5th, 2008 mhitchings The vehicle has continued to evolve to meet consumer, industry and world needs. Every 30 years, a change is inevitable, said Charles Morgan, director of design with Morgan Motor Co.

At Morgan, it’s about the vehicle and the consumer, pride in the creation and building of each vehicle, which, he noted, takes about 16 hours and is completely built by hand, no robots, no artificial means of compilation.

“I think it’s important to be open about what you do,” Morgan said. “I think it’s important for people to want to visit the factory and know that real people build the cars…new technology is great and we all need it, but there is an element of craftsmanship at Morgan that is important.” That being said, the company recognizes the need to keep up with energy efficiencies and listen to their customers. In an effort to reduce its environmental footprint, Morgan cars are about 30% lighter than those that are mass produced, he noted.

Morgan was one of three members of the production and supply chain innovation session starting this morning’s second day of the Altermobile Europe 2008 conference in Munich.

Phil Barker, chief engineer of hybrid and electric vehicle technologies with Lotus Engineering, discussed four key themes within the topic of production and supply chain innovation — developing new business models, innovation and design as a core business process, collaboration and cooperation, and internationalizing supply and production.

“The basic problem we are looking at is trying to run a country without oil,” said Amit Yudan, Europe Business Development with Better Place. One of the conference themes was to reduce, if not nullify, dependence on oil and conventional fuels and think more out of the box.

“The real market response is volatile,” said Andre Metzner with Roland Berger Strategy during his portion of the presentation, Cooperative Constellations in the New Auto Innovation Game. “No doubt there is a need to cooperate.”

Metzner discussed a variety of “cooperation,” noting most people are familiar with the “marriage” concept, which is planned for the longer time horizon, is formalized and usually has a low flexibility. He also noted a few other important types: club, syndicate, commune, party, forum and expedition.

“These types are not legal/business categories — they can serve more as conceptual reference points for designing or understanding cooperative constellations,” Metzner said in his presentation white paper. “From my experience, cooperative projects need both, a conceptual foundation and cooperative cultural embedding. The culture part should not be underestimated, especially in situations where fierce competitors cooperate or new ground needs to be (jointly) explored.”

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A Lifetime of Achievement: Once You’re In, You’re In

October 7th, 2008 mhitchings

And the winners are ……

One of the biggest compliments one can receive is recognition from one’s peers - the accolades that come from those with whom you work. Those who typically receive them are humble, unassuming, and passionate about their work and the industry in which they are involved. They do what they do not for the recognition but for the love of the job, the company for which they work, the people with whom they work and the industry they serve.

This morning the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (NPRA) during the Q&A Technology Forum in Orlando, Florida, recognized who it believes are the best of the best for 2008, and those in attendance agreed.

Lawrence Lew of Chevron, Glenn Liolios of DuPont Stratco and Elizabeth Mettee of Grace Davison were called out for years of service to the organization as well as the industry itself. These individuals each received a Peter G. Andrews Lifetime Service Award, which began in 2003 to “honor members who have made long-lasting contributions to the value and vitality of the NPRA Q&A Meeting. Recipients of this award have served as Q&A panelists, screening committee members and active participants in the dialogue that is fundamental to the meeting.” These recipients, throughout their career, have “demonstrated a willingness to pass on their knowledge and expertise to future generations in this forum, have made significant contributions to the meeting’s quality and have emphasized the importance of sharing knowledge in making continuous improvements.”

In discussing this event with a friend of mine afterward, he said, “I would feel odd about getting a lifetime achievement award. Doesn’t that basically mean that people believe that you are of absolutely no value once you get that award?”

Lew alluded to a similar thought during his acceptance speech (much more eloquently put than my friend’s response) in which he said, “A lifetime award? I didn’t even know I was sick.”

Lew noted the changes of the industry and organization during his tenure, in which he’s seen companies disappear, new companies arise and “even small nations have merged, such as Exxon and Mobil.” He noted the evolution of NPRA along with the industry, to more accurately reflect the needs of the industry. NPRA, he said, used to have large panel sessions in which 10 to 12 people sat at long tables trying to talk about and answer everything in the industry. This became cumbersome, and with some people filling in and giving presentations for others — some without the same knowledge — questions were met with answers, including “there will be more information in the transcript,” Lew said, “which usually meant, ‘I don’t know the answer to that, but I’ll find out,’” which could take a few months, he admitted.

So one change has been the reduction of panel members and more concise topics that ensures “the answer is more clean and crisp and when you ask a question, you’re going to get an answer then and there.”

Liolios noted the passion he feels for what he does, and believes that is the key to longevity and happiness in the industry. And we all know one of the biggest challenges this — as well as almost every other — industry faces is knowledge transfer and the need for new bodies to replace those who are moving on.

“I think it really comes down to, do you have a passion for what you do, and are you willing to share that knowledge? I really appreciate being acknowledged here because my passion is this industry. I am in the scouting industry, and one of my sayings is, ‘leave a place better than you found it,’ and I really believe I’ve done that with NPRA,” Liolios said after receiving the award.

Mettee, who started with Grace Davison in 1974, shared a medley of “historical” photos with the audience from past NPRA shows as well as Grace Davison events. One of the most interesting sets of slides included Grace coffee mugs from NPRA shows dating from 1970 through today. These were interspersed among photos of events passed, and attendees laughed as they saw themselves or peers in pictures dating 20 or more years.

The event was lively, the mood was light, the reflections were sincere and the messages were the same: “We fully believe in your mission and everything you guys do; we’re tremendously supportive of you,” Mettee said of NPRA.

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People Shortage No. 1 Concern

August 14th, 2008 mhitchings For years there’s been talk about “the Great Crew Change” in the energy sector, with a larger number of experienced, well-seasoned veterans leaving the industry than fresh, new faces coming in. Nearly every organization and company has a training and retention program to some degree, but how effective is it, is it strong enough to stave off the gaping chasm the myriad of retirees is leaving, and what opportunities are available?

FUEL magazine conducted a poll asking visitors the biggest challenge they face today in their sector of the energy business. The largest percentage (33%) responded “people shortage,” with “cost of resources/materials” coming in at a close second (30%). The least important factor affecting respondent’s business operations is the “distance among peers and customers,” (4%) which is indicative of increased technologies (Internet, e-mail, Web casts, video conferencing, BlackBerrys) and reduced “internationalism” that allow us to do our jobs from any corner of the globe (and beyond, in some cases). Ranking in the middle of the poll were public policy (19%) with public perception (15%) a little less of a challenge. With so many regulations, various forms of government, different environmental and permit-related needs, conducting business internationally can indeed get bureaucratic. FUEL magazine’s September cover story will bring in-depth coverage to the challenges and solutions of conducting overseas business in the energy sector and what some organizations are doing to help ease some of the red tape.

What about you? What challenges do you face in the workforce with your company, how do you feel they can be addressed?

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