Recently, I heard two fascinating (read scary) anecdotes how manufacturing companies had to invest vast quantities of man hours - and suffer the resulting customer perception damage - in reproducing or repackaging product ... not because of external calamity but merely because a key information item was left out of instructions or because an outdated manual was referred to in the absence of awareness a newer one was available.
Yes, documentation and procedure manuals are a challenge: Difficult to prepare, never mind keep up to date (e.g. because on-the-floor changes in procedure or customer input may not have a means of being communicated to the documentalists reliably), they are sometimes just as difficult for employees to consult conveniently. The impact may be "limited" to needless expense in extra work, delayed shipments, and the like ... but consider that in some cases, public and personal safety could be involved as well.
In the anecdotes, significant losses ensued from something as simple as the lack of a business process documentalist and/or the necessary rigor in (1) keeping process manuals accurate and up to date and (2) making it easy and unavoidable for employees to consult them. My experience tells me such a scenario is sadly common - in private and public sectors alike. The question as always is: How can we promote the understanding and the organizational culture that investment in good information practice and culture pays off ... if not now, then at some point in the future?
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