COVID-19 Crisis Response Command Center
Organizations are still in crisis response mode due to COVID-19. If your teams are only relying on a remote conferencing service such as Skype or Zoom, your company’s performance very well may be suffering, and no one knows when we will return to business as usual.
Keeping employees’ productivity both efficient and effective is more critical than ever, so there is a need to establish a new way of working. Moreover, employee engagement will likely benefit the employee’s health and morale during these times. Leveraging digital collaboration tools with experienced facilitation leaders will give you an advantage.
Proven Experience. Tactical Execution. customized solutions.
As a firm that prides itself on building relationships on trust and respect, we have extensive global experience developing and leading virtual command center environments for our customers for the following situations:
- Supply Chain Recovery
- Manufacturing Operations Re-sizing
- Business restructuring / liquidity countermeasures
- Business critical capital projects
- Natural Disaster response
Our clients who have switched to virtual management and collaboration have not missed a beat.
If you feel like your teams are not keeping up with the business pace in our new normal environment, it is time to upgrade your capabilities to thrive in a new way of working.
Argo is working with teams across the globe in leading teams to be more productive using a new method for virtual collaboration. Leverage our experience and leaders to upgrade your team’s capabilities. Download the PDF.
At one of the largest US MRO Distributors, Argo initiated and installed a Restructuring Command Center to avoid financial covenant breach and potential bankruptcy. Argo quickly assessed the situation from several perspectives: cash availability and conservation, sales deterioration, distribution network inefficiencies and serious pricing erosion and gaps. With the CEO and Management Team, Argo set up a Crisis Response room to monitor cash situation daily, plan and execute a large SG&A reduction in force, revert ineffective pricing and free goods practices and to fast-track changes to procurement activities to reduce SKU category costs.
In 2018 – 2019, after multiple supplier disruptions due to model launch delays, quality issues and component production breakdowns, we helped the company install Command Centers at the company headquarters and multiple manufacturing facilities. From these locations we managed a number of critical variables including: boots on the ground resources, critical part planning and scheduling, logistics response and production ramp ups / shut downs at assembly plants. After a 7 month effort where we led and coordinated actions with over 15 critical suppliers, and conducted daily status meetings that reviewed actions and KPI’s, the operation got back on track with minimal assembly line disruptions while also repairing over 9,000 vehicles.
Argo had been working at a Corpus Christi Refinery when Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas Coastal Bend. The main objective of our project was to install a deep Continuous Improvement and Visual Problem-Solving method to address work-flow issues and project agility. After achieving multimillion-dollar savings in multiple areas, the operation was challenged with using the Visual Management Tools in Crisis Recovery situation after the hurricane. The training paid off. Within 6 hours of the all clear, a command center was up and running with a six-hour cadence cycle. They implemented a simple pull system organized by operations areas to prioritize and sequence the workflow. They completed 600 work orders in 5 days by using Lean Techniques. This all enabled them to be the first refinery operational following the Hurricane.
Argo was requested by a large US Chemical Manufacturing Company to rapidly get control of a complex global Capital Program and get it back on track. In short order Argo created a high impact Command Center and PMO to synchronize global Engineering, Design, Fabrication and Construction activities across Asia, South America and the US. In the command center, sub-teams were created to drive critical path activities and virtual communications were established with new digital technologies. Each team was able to reduce cycle time, increase throughput, and reduce rework for their respective streams resulting in 30% schedule compression and on budget delivery. High risk areas were quickly mitigated. This was done with teams on three different continents in 10 different time zones working in a virtual environment.
Ask your teams the following questions:
Are they tracking progress to short-term goals/objectives?
Are employees still engaged and contributing, and accountable?
Are your meetings still productive with decisions and actions?
Are meetings still collaborative with good discussion and alignment?
Are due dates slipping?
Are decisions taking longer?
Are the right decisions still being made?
Are the teams still celebrating achievements?
Leaders who are improving these areas will give their employees and company a tactical and strategic advantage.