I have been interviewed by a ‘Bob’. Glib though it may seem, it all comes down to matching the knowledge transfer process. I believe accurate evaluation of processes in large organisations has become impossible. There are a number of factors that have led to this, the chief of which is complexity itself.

@Tony – you will appreciate the problems with getting one’s head round the idea and scope of complexity. Part of the contribution to the increased complexity has been the ever-increasing reliance on the individual who ‘turns the wheels’ in an organisation in order to get things done. The complicated routines that are welded into some organisational systems have become almost impossible to implement. In many ways, that’s exactly how people work, so much so that no two people will necessarily do any one routine the same way.

For everyone who performs the ‘same task’ in an organisation the same way requires coordination and practice that is inefficient for they do not need to be performers like the Swiss Drummers at the 2006 Edinburgh Tattoo!

Catchya later

Anyway, I used to be able to get a lot of information by playing dumb. Sometimes, they would think that I didn’t understand their comments (the audits were conducted in French and German for the first time since all of the auditors were multi-lingual). I found it was important to ask those I was auditing how they would solve the problems I would identify. For example, there was a storage room in which there was only one key to ensure against theft of replacement parts. The problem, the day shift manager had responsibility for the key. So when we checked the storeroom during the evening shift, it was open.

It was important that we understood the system. One person was responsible for the key. He was on duty during the day. If there was theft, it was not during his time when he had the key. This had been an ongoing problem and the previous auditor had insisted that the storeroom always be locked. As a result, there was a major problem when there was an equipment failure and the “key holder” was away on vacation. They needed to bring in a locksmith to get the door open, resulting in a major production delay. Thus the door was open during the evening and night shifts.

My suggestion: give keys to a supervisor on each shift. The Production Manager’s suggestion, leave the key in the production office in case of emergency. While my option was fine, his was politically more acceptable. So we went with his option. The previous auditor had just looked at the organization’s “rules” rather than looking at the system as a whole.

So it is possible to work like a Fred or Debbie, rather than a Bob.