All right, so ConEd has saved millions with process improvement. Obviously the company’s executives and managers love it, but what do the workers think? I got to hear the workers point of view from Jim Snook and Steve Daquila, two members of ConEd’s most successful PITT™ team. In short they love it! I have never seen such enthusiasm from workers for process improvement. Their six-person team has completed more than one dozen projects and saved ConEd more than $1,000,000! And they’re still going strong. Their projects covered a range of areas including: the use of new tools, the use of new methods, improved safety, and the establishment of new procedures.

The presentation by these two men was one of the highlights of the day. They talked about the difficulty getting approval for new projects. I would have thought that by the third or fourth time they were told their project wasn’t workable they would give up. Boy, was I wrong. They expect to be told no up to five or six times before finally getting a project launch approved. They joked that if they ever got the approval right off the bat they’d think the project wasn’t worth doing. When they were asked what gave them the incentive to keep launching more PITT™ projects, they explained it was that their ideas were finally being listened to. For years they had tried to make changes without results. PITT™ gave them a discipline to follow to get heard. The fact they are listened to, and their Vice President even asks for their opinions is all the incentive they need.§

- Bob McGarry, Sextant Consulting