Case Studies

Learn how two trainers used CollaborationPuzzle to teach steel mill apprentices the principles of Continuous Improvement Processes (CIP)

When the Annuhutte Steel Mill in Southern Germany was founded in 1537, learning how to forge steel would have been firmly rooted in the guild tradition. Apprentices would have learned alongside master craftsmen, hammer in hand at the anvil, honing their craft through years of observation and repetition.

Today, nearly five centuries later, apprentices are still learning the art of steelmaking at the same mill, but in a highly-structured environment that combines hands-on work with training in modern soft skills such as communication and collaboration.  

One such program at Annuhutte, the Power Apprentice Forge, was developed by trainers Volker Witzleben and Stephan Eckert. It consists of six different modules designed to prepare new steel workers to "tackle new challenges." All six modules incorporate experiential learning methods, and Witzleben and Eckert are particularly fond of METALOG Tools because of their flexibility. In fact, they have no fewer than 15 tools.

To teach a group of 12 second-year apprentices about the concept of Continuous Improvement Processes (CIP), for example, they knew exactly which tool to use—CollaborationPuzzle. 

Continuous Improvement Processes (CIP) are structured approaches for identifying, testing, and implementing improvements to how work is done, often by engaging employees closest to the work.

Making process improvement visible and relatable

CollaborationPuzzle is especially effective for teaching CIP because it's an exercise in self-organization, strategy and teamwork, and can turn an otherwise abstract process into a fast-paced, hands-on experience that people can immediately relate to.  

Much like a CIP initiative, teams generate ideas, evaluate alternatives, test a strategy, learn from results, and refine their approach.

With no instructions, teams must figure out how to arrange eight dowels into an upright wooden frame so they all reach the same height. The goal is to complete the puzzle in as few movements as possible in a limited time. Success requires sharp observation, careful planning, and precise communication. With only 100 movements available, teams quickly discover that trial and error is not enough. They must develop a strategy before acting. 

Management had asked Witzleben and Eckert to focus on CIP with this group while they still had a fresh perspective on the workplace. Newer employees often bring fresh ideas and are less susceptible to "operational blindness," the tendency to overlook inefficiencies simply because they have become familiar. They are often quicker to question outdated routines and suggest practical improvements that others may no longer notice.

"The advantages are obvious: zero-cost generation of ideas paired with an absence of operational blindness and new approaches to technology," they explained.

"We used CollaborationPuzzle to breathe life into this process. We consider this to be particularly important because the aim is to motivate the apprentices to contribute new ideas and perspectives to the company."

Practicing CIP by planning, testing and refining as a team

Witzleben and Eckert divided the apprentices into two groups of six and worked with one group in the morning and the other in the afternoon. They introduced the activity as an exercise in 'perfect teamwork,' and explained that the groups would be tapping into new communication skills they developed in an earlier module.

"Only by drawing upon your previous knowledge of the topic of communication and working together as a team in the best possible way will you succeed in achieving the best possible outcome," they announced. "Please make sure that you take all ideas seriously and develop a plan that everyone can understand."

The morning session began. The trainers led the team to a 'meeting room' and explained that the puzzle was in a separate 'work room,' that only one person could enter at a time to move the dowels. The person had to make at least one movement and could make two. The meeting room was where they would discuss their ideas, develop an initial strategy and make adjustments along the way.

At first, the team was perplexed. It took time for a viable strategy to emerge.

"The rule of not entering the work room until all team members had developed a plausible plan resulted in a lengthy but very valuable process in which they discussed and coordinated," the trainers recalled. "In the process, they identified, evaluated, discarded and adapted new ideas. Ultimately they developed a very good strategy."

Their plan was to complete the challenge within 22 movements, and to the trainers' great delight, they succeeded. Witzleben and Eckert had seen other groups target 22 movements before, but most lacked the precision and communication needed to actually hit the mark.

"The task was carried out without error by the morning group and with a precision that we had not observed before," they noted.

To their even greater delight, the new record was broken just hours later by the afternoon team.

"After the staging phase, the afternoon group wanted to know how many movements the morning group had needed. Contrary to our usual practice of not drawing comparisons with other groups, we told them the morning group's result," the trainers said. "This led to an unprecedented continuous improvement process in which the quality of communication, ambition, openness, and motivation of the group remained at a consistently high level."

The afternoon team set a new record: just 20 movements. 

More importantly, the apprentices achieved this result by doing exactly what CIP is designed to encourage: sharing ideas, testing assumptions, refining their approach, and continuously improving as a team.

No other team of the 50 or so with whom Witzleben and Eckert had used CollaborationPuzzle had ever set or reached such an ambitious goal.

The trainers saw this as proof of what is possible when the right conditions are present.

"We encourage trainers, HR managers, and all senior management to allow for new ideas and to provide the necessary space to do so."

Learning transfer: from the puzzle to the steel mill 

Fueled by the enthusiasm about their joint success, both teams were highly engaged during the debrief, recalling everything they did to complete the puzzle so efficiently. 

The trainers asked the following questions:

• What skills and competencies did you use to achieve this outstanding result
• How did you ensure information was shared?
• What resources did you find helpful?
• How often did you change your plan?
• Was the first idea the best one or was a better strategy developed from the first idea?

To help with learning transfer to the workplace, they also asked:

• Which of the skills you just discussed can you also use in your apprenticeship at work?
• How will you make sure that you succeed in doing so?
• How would this benefit you and your colleagues?

The second group was so motivated during the reflection that they developed a plausible scenario involving just 18 movements, which the trainers noted they would love to observe one day.

For the trainers, the exercise reinforced a belief they see repeatedly in the workplace: employees often have more potential than organizations realize when they are given the opportunity to contribute ideas and improve processes.

"This learning project, carried out in two groups one after the other, provides further evidence of the potential that lies within our employees. We will not let up in our efforts to share this knowledge and to present it in a transparent and beneficial manner for all companies."

 

About the trainers

Volker Witzleben and Stephan Eckert are independent trainers from Germany who often partner to design and lead team development, apprenticeship training and leadership development programs.

Connect with Witzleben at https://volker-witzleben.de. Connect with Eckert at www.fit4performance.de.