The sun hadn’t quite pierced the day yet and I was turning onto the woods road for our weekly staff meeting. These meetings take place before the start of production and right on the landing of our current job. We can’t meet during or at the end of the day, for once things are set in motion, everyone is moving in different directions until quitting time. Our four tractor trailer drivers are back and forth to the mills all day long delivering round wood, biochips or pine chips. Our skidders travel back and forth from the woods delivering their hitches to the landing. Our feller buncher operator is deep in the woods cutting trails and laying out the hitches. Our excavation crew is always busy, and sometimes they are working on a totally different job.

So every Thursday morning at 6:30 everyone is expected on the current job for our weekly staff meeting. In the beginning everyone hated the meetings. Some refused to speak, and some went so far as to say things like “meeting schmeeting, why do we have to have a meeting?”

So the meetings were a struggle at first, but now I know that the guys see the power in the regular meetings. Our crew supervisor begins the meetings talking about the previous week, what production was, and any ways that we can do better. Then Tom talks about some bigger picture things regarding the previous week and what’s on the horizon as far as weather and new business. Then we have communication from the office, which has really proven to eliminate a lot of miscommunications with regards to paper work. I will also offer a little educational piece regarding one of our Master Logger Goals or how to improve communication or teamwork.

A couple of weeks ago, I added the MCW Forum. I explained to the crew that this portion at the end of the meeting was set aside for them to share. They may have something to share from the woods, or something to point out about another crew member, or news to share, for instance, like when one of our operators landed in the hospital. The one caveat was that it had to be in a positive vain. I made up slips that I included in with their weekly paperwork so if they wanted to add something and did not want speak up in front of the group, they could write it down and I would share it for them.

A couple of weeks went by, and not a peep from anyone. I started to worry that the MCW Forum might die a slow death. Then two meetings back as the end of the meeting approached, I made the announcement that this was the time to speak up if any of them had something to share, they could do it now. SILENCE. Then, out of the morning mist, our youngest operator spoke up. He pointed out that there were quite a few trees that had barbed wire inside and cautioned the rest of the crew to be careful. I was so thrilled that inside I was doing the “happy, happy, joy dance”. The guys had a healthy discussion regarding the location of barbed wire and feedback on dealing with it.

I want the guys to see that they each have their own powerful perspective, one that can add to our productivity, safety, or improved communication. We are all in this together and we all play a major roll in the success of Maine Custom Woodlands.

E-mail this entry to a friend