Sixty six

Policies.

We’re opening our systems – carefully, cautiously, gradually, but definitely. We’ve already had an early win. John worked with the product data management team to open the majority of our product engineering data, much to the delight of New University’s manufacturing engineering department. Some of their post-grads ran our data through some value engineering software they’re developing and came back to us with more than sixty ideas for parts rationalization. We’re still working through the suggestions. The data had been open just eleven days.

An existing supplier was, in her words, having a play. She found we have a need for a product her company stocks. They didn’t know we use it. We didn’t know they stocked it.

We’ve revised our code of conduct, and this revision and its ramifications play a prominent role in the introductory training module. Tom describes it as zero tolerance for anything that isn’t 100% authentic. It is easier said than done however, and we’re now working with a company specialist in games-based learning to roll out a self-directed e-learning program on the topic.