Techs for Success
(Originally Published in Operations Insight)
By John-Martin Meyer
Operational Technology Integration,
Design, and Strategy Consultant
email
Organizing your Tech Resources to optimize their Productivity:
Undoubtedly, you have been exposed to many theoretical methods by which you can schedule and organize your Tech staff. The main drawback is their lack of insight of how to apply their methods to the gaming industry and, in particular, Slot Tech Staff. For most of us, this segment of your Slot labor dollar is that costliest on a per hour basis. Therefore, we wish to make sure that we receive the greatest return for each man hour expended.
STAFFING ALLOCATION:
The first step to any productive Tech Staff is scheduling them to be available to complete the daily maintenance as well as accomplish the goals of the projects. For most properties, their staffing logic is too linear to meet both needs. By linear, I mean that all shifts are either eight or ten hours with the bulk of the staff scheduled as part of the day shift.
This distribution of hours may work to please the staff, but it is the least productive for the property because the business levels grow consistently during this shift so any attempted work will impose on the players’ experience and negatively affect revenue generation.
After many experiments, creating a “project crew” who work four ten-hour shifts from Monday morning through Thursday morning, has proven to be he most effective. This “project crew” works from 4 am to 2 pm and is fully independent from the “Shift” Techs whose responsibility is to keep the floor running.
This is not to say that the Shift Techs do not play a role in projects. In actuality, they play a very important role in the preparation and completion of the projects. This is in the form of the Shift Techs placing the games out of service and completing any procedures necessary to secure the games funds. On the back end of the project, the Shift Techs load the games and work with the Audit department to place the games on line and open to the players.
AUTOCAD DIAGRAMS:
In today’s environment, every Slot Department should have an AutoCAD “go-to” person. This person could be the Lead Tech, Analyst, or the Director. With the cost of the latest “light” version of the AutoCAD being about $800, there is no reason for a property not have the program. For the average Joe, the basic software tutorial will get you started and there are many options for additional training.
It is extremely rare that property does not have access to its architectural drawings on CAD. Your Engineering Department usually has the needed contact information to have the basic floor plans forwarded to your attention.
With the cost of labor and the extensive number of departments currently involved in projects, AutoCAD drawing are priceless in illustrating the scope of projects. CAD is equally important in the planning stage to determine if your concepts will work as conceived. It is much less costly to experiment on your computer than to rearrange mistakes on your floor.
MEASURE TWICE, MOVE ONCE:
The “I thought it would work” lament is the most amusing but costly. This occurs when you either do not complete any form of filed inspection or CAD diagrams. This also occurs when you do not take your CAD drawing or plans to the actual area to be updated. It is not worth the grief or tarnish to your image to be questioned by your Superior as to why you are rearranging the same section multiple times.
A very simple procedure to verify your thoughts is through the use of cardboard templates. Using large sheets of cardboard, prepare game base footprint templates of the various bank shapes you have installed on your floor. During a slow period, place these templates in the potential position of the project’s changes . Once you have the layout you wish, use duct tape to mark the corners or other such distinctive angles.
In my drive to be accurate, my visits to the gaming floor to verify my measurements have caused many a Cocktail Servers to become alarmed at my presence. They were concerned as to the potential effect it may have on their assigned sections. As a mater of fact, on several occasions, the mere sight of me toting my tape measure, diagram, and roll of duct tape, around the gaming floor has resulted in a call from the Server’s Union representative before I have even completed my work on the floor.
STANDARD LIST OF STEPS:
As is true with most business endeavors, communication is the key. For the Tech projects, informing all those involved is the strongest way to achieve a successful project. To ensure all parties are on the same page, a listing of the steps being completed is a necessity. Since most of our projects are very similar in scope, creating a standardized list of the steps will expedite the information dissemination portion and make it easier for those completing the work, as well as those observing the work to ensure consistency and adherence to procedures.
These standardized lists will be distributed to all appropriate departments so that they have their foundation to understand your project outlines. Instead of listing the 1,000 words of the standard operating procedures for each project, you simply note that “all standard steps apply.” With this in place you only need to note the exceptions.
A key to these lists is to note the effect the procedures will have on each department and then distribute the complete listing to all departments. This will provide general information so that all departments involved have insight to the other departments’ responsibilities.
SPREAD THE NEWS:
Disseminating your schedule of projects is vitally important to their success. A main function is to ensure that you're not creating any scheduling conflicts with other departments. By creating a simple rolling four week calendar, you are providing a three week heads up to all involved so that they will be able to discuss any concerns, which will in turn be used to update your calendar and the methodology by which the project will be conducted. Prior to distribution the initial version, inform all involved that nothing is set in stone and that the purpose of the calendar is to inform as well as receive input and feedback. You don’t want to be perceived as being dictatorial. This calendar should be updated weekly on a Monday or Friday for consistency purposes.
The calendar contains brief outlines of the projects on the day that they are to be completed. The details should be noted in a subsequent listing of each project and its needs. Like the calendar, the detail listing is your way of informing all parties involved of their responsibilities and to gather feedback. The feedback will be used to modify the calendar and the project listing. I suggest that this be updated and distributed with the calendar.
Some of you may be thinking that this will be adding a major volume of work to your already involved schedule, but once you have prepared the initial version of the lists and calendar, the upkeep is minimal. The process mainly becomes a matter of filling in the blanks.
I find it very interesting how we Slot types seem to consistently think myopically as to the effect our projects have on other departments. To address this challenge, the following departments should be placed on your standard distribution list: Slot Audit, Security, Cage, Surveillance, F&B, Engineering, Housekeeping, and Slot Department. Additional departments should be added based on the proximity of your project to their area of operations. As a practice to ensure that no department was overlooked, I added the “all department head” e-mail group to the distribution list. You can’t go wrong with this approach to information.
SUCCESS IS IN THE DETAILS:
Details do not need to be intimidating. As noted earlier, the overwhelming majority of our projects are basically the same so a standard set of procedures can be prepared. Re using a basic format allows us to get very detailed. By achieving a high level of detail, you head off the majority of potential oversights and problems.
To take this to the next level, you can modify the list of procedures into check lists with spaces to insert the name of the responsible party. These check lists will be distributed to the Tech staff the day of the project. Next to this name and task, you create a space for that responsible employee to initial when completed. To ensure that all facets are covered, create a portion for “special” instructions to note any deviations from the standard operating procedures.
ALL TOGETHER NOW:
To quantify the suggested paperwork, the following outlines an actual 2,500 machine property’s program.
The calendar was a single page created on a Word template.
On average, the Projects Listing contained between five and eight projects consisting of a one to two paragraph outline each. The total listing was usually four pages long.
The Calendar and Projects listing were combined into a single e-mail sent out to a mail group established within Outlook.
The Tech check lists consisted of a single page for the pre-work, a separate page for the project crew, and a single page for the shift Techs completing the process. With the entire process placed into perspective, you will understand how straight forward the process can be once you get past the initial implementation. |
