IS 14581: Guidelines for formulation and operation of a Suggestion Scheme in an organization

2006·1.3 MB·English

by  Bureau of Indian Standards

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IS 14581 (2006): Guidelines for formulation and operation
of a Suggestion Scheme in an organization [MSD 4:
Management and Productivity]
“!ान $ एक न’ भारत का +नम-ण”
Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda
““IInnvveenntt aa NNeeww IInnddiiaa UUssiinngg KKnnoowwlleeddggee””
“!ान एक ऐसा खजाना > जो कभी च0राया नहB जा सकता हहहहै””ै”
Bhartṛhari—Nītiśatakam
“Knowledge is such a treasure which cannot be stolen”

IS 14581:2006
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Indian Standard
GUIDELINES FOR FORMULATION AND OPERATION OF
A SUGGESTION SCHEME IN AN ORGANIZATION
(First Revision )
[Cs 03.100

0 BIS2006
BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS
MANAK BHAVAN, 9 BAHADUR SHAH ZAFAR MARG
NEW DELHI 110002
December 2006 Price Group 3
ManagementandProductivity Sectional Committee, MSD4
FOREWORD
This lndian Standard (First Revision) was adopted by the Bureau of Indian Standards, after the drafl finalized
by the Management and Productivity Sectional Committee had been approved by the Management and Systems
DivisionCouncil.
A suggestion scheme is a management encouraged scheme through which the employees can offer their ideas
voluntarily for rectification of deficiency, improvements leading to better method of work and/or financial savings,
betterworkculture and environment.
Suggestion scheme isatotal employee involvement programme. The progress of the organization depends upon the
creative ability of its employees and this directly contributes to the enrichment of the organization. It is a medium
throughwhichthehidden ideasinaperson arebrought outandputtomeaningful andproductive useforthebetterment
oftheorganization.
Itisbelievedthatevery individual willfindhisworkmoremeaningful andchallenging whenheisgiventheopportunity
tomakecontinuous improvement andcreate valuetoit. The objective ofthe scheme isto enthuse employeestocome
forward voluntarily with suggestions thattheyhave inmindwhichcould contribute totheenhancement ofproduction,
safework practices, quality, cost/waste/overhead reduction and conservation of the environment, etc.
Cooperation fkomtheemployees andsustained support fromthetopmanagement, apart flom total involvementofboth
inalleventsconnected with suggestion scheme arethemainpillars onwhich suggestion scheme isbuilt. Itprovides a
direct upward communication channel for the employees to put forward their ideas and thus providing an open
environment.
IS 14581:2006
Indiati SYmdard
GUIDELINES FOR FORMULATION AND OPERATION OF
A SUGGESTION SCHEME IN AN ORGANIZATION
(First Revision )
1 SCOPE d) Management’s encouragement to employees to
give suggestions.
Thisstandardprovides guidelines fortheformulation and
implementationofa suWestionschemeinanorganization.
2.5 The major indices ofsuccess of suchascheme are:
2AIMS OFSUGGESTION SCHEME a) Number of employees participating in a year
vis-d-vis total number ofemployees,
2.1 Asuggestion scheme isa formal mechanism, which b) Tangible savings accrued per year,
encourages employees to contribute constructive ideas
c) Intangible gains,
for improving their organization including its working
environment. d) Number of suggestions received and accepted,
e) Number of suggestions implemented out of the
2.2 Themainemphasis ofthe suggestion schemeishow accepted suggestions, and
tomotivate employees andcontribute tothemanagement
o Time taken for evaluation of suggestions.
of change. It basically aims to generate ideas from
employees at all levels in order to improve standardized
3 DEVELOPMENT/AREAS OFSUGGESTIONS
procedures for enhancing productivity, quality and cost
reduction.However,thesuccessofsuchschemesdepends
3.1 The progress ofan organization comesthrough well
onthecommitment ofthetop management.
implemented good ideas. Any idea to improve upon an
existing condition can be turned into a suggestion. For
2.3 In the context of employee involvement process,
evolving effective suggestions, some of the questions
suggestion scheme fidtills avariety of purposes. Itcan;
thatcan beasked are given asfollows:
a) drive both employee involvement and work
a) [s this activity/process necessary?
improvement,

i) Canitbeeliminated?

b) improve both organizational and personal
ii) Canitbesimplified?
performance,
iii)Can itbecombined with someotheractivity?
c) embrace both the team and individual,
iv) Canitbesplit?
d) lookatthestrategic value ofan ideaasbeing both
v) Canthe split ofthe activity benefit?
tangible and intangible,
vi) Canthe effort andtime bereduced?
e) helpinidenti~ing waysfordesignanddevelopment
vii)Can the sequence of activity be changed for
ofknowledge management systems, and
the better?
o helpinidentifying andencouraging creative talent b) 1sthere any wastage of resources?
intheorganization.
i) Can itbe avoided?
2.4 The critical success factors for any suggestion ii) Cantheseresourcesbemoreoptimallyutilized?
schemewillbe: c) Are there any unsafe equipment or practice? Can
a) Employee creativity, innovativeness and his/her suggestions be made regarding their safety
participation; aspects?
b) Top management’s continuous support for d) Canitimprove theservice/product quality,service
providing a conducive climate for nurturing the standard or cut down service time?
suggestion scheme and aperiodic review bythem e) Canitimprove process efilciency?
of itsfimctioning;
f) Isthereanyscopeforimprovementinhousekeeping
c) Quality evaluation of the suggestions; and orenvironment?
IS 14581:2006
3.2 Somemore questions that can be asked withrespect 3.5 The following areas are excluded from being
to the reduction inthe amount of paper and paper work considered as an eligible suggestion:
are:
a) Suggestiononorganization’s/Government policies,
a) Can the number of copies be reduced? Does etc;
everyone receiving copies really require that
b) Personal grievance or complaint regarding wage,
information?
promotion or any other;
b) 1sthere anyduplication of information?
c) Suggestions already received under the scheme;
c) Cantheinformation provided indifferent formsbe
d) Collective bargaining matters; and
combined inone?
e) Acriticism directed atother statYemployee.
d) Canthe processing of documents be made faster?
e) Isallthe information relevant? 4SUGGESTION EVALUATIONCOMMMTEE
f) Can the paper work be reduced or eliminated
throughuseofalternatemodelikeelectronicmedia, 4.1 A suggestion evaluation committee should be
constituted by the organization comprising senior level
etc.
personsornominated representatives drawnfromvarious
disciplines, whoshould beassigned thetaskofassessing
3.3 Suggestions can also be made with respect to the
the practicability including accrued savings, onetime or
satisfactionlevelofthecustomers,byaskingthefollowing
recurring, from the suggestions and recommend awards
questions:
onmerit. The departmental head ofthe suggestor should
a) Are your customers, both internal and external,
be a co-opted member in the Committee. One of the
satisfied?
members of this Committee should be designated as
b) Doesyour organization have a formal mechanism coordinator. All suggestions should be forwarded to the
for assessing this? coordinator, who will be assigned the task of operating
c) Isthere anyprocedure for taking follow-up action the suggestion scheme within the organization.
oncomplaints anddissatisfaction ofthecustomers?
4.1.1 However,incaseoflargeorganizations,department-
d) 1s there a mechanism for utilizing the
wisecoordinator could be designated forbetter handling
feedback received from customers for continual
of the suggestion scheme. A centralized online system
improvement?
couldbedeveloped inwhichthedepartmental coordinator
couldenterthesuggestionsreceived fkomthedepartmental
Theanswertothesequestions will leadtogeneration ofa
employees. The online system should have debils ofthe
number of effective suggestions.
suggestor, the date of suggestion proposal, suggestion
details and status of suggestion. This will avoid
3.4 The suggestions canbemade inthe following areas:
misunderstanding andprovide record oforigin incaseof
a) Buildingupabetter image~f t heorganization; overlapping suggestions. These suggestions should be
b) Achievingorganizational goalsmore effectively; forwarded to the coordinator for consideration of the
suggestions evaluation committee.
c) Quality issues;
d) Improving productivity; 4.1.2 Since the suggestion scheme is a total employee
e) Improving working processes and procedures, involvement programme, the organization should devise
including communications; suitablemechanism toensure impartiality, objectivity and
transparency of the suggestions evaluation process.
f) Reduction ininput cost, wastefil expenditure and
wastages;
4.2 The responsibilities of the coordinator shouldbe as
g) Development of HR and increasing morale, follows:
motivation andjob satisfaction;
a) Responsible forinteracting betweenthesuggestion
h) Standardizationandvarietyreductiotienhancement
evaluation committee and the suggestor.
withinthe organization;
b) To receive all suggestions and immediately
j) Economicindigenization;
acknowledge in the prescribed format along with
k) improving environment both at workplace and the serial number allotted. A single suggestion
surroundings including health and safety; proposed bytwoormorepeoplejointly shouldalso
m) Improving customer satisfaction; beadmissibleandasingleacknowledgementshould
be issuedtothe first person orteam leader.
n) Improvement inservice level;and
c) Toscrutinize these suggestions fortheir eligibility
p) Improvement inproduct design and developme nt.
2
IS 14581:2006
and put up only eligible suggestions to the 5.3 Each suggestion may be submitted separately inthe
suggestion evaluation committee. prescribed form.
‘d) To maintain records of all suggestions received/
5.4 Suggestions could be placed in the suggestion box
scrutinized.
installed by the organization at conspicuous places.
e) Tocompile the suggestions received and convene
Suggestions can also be forwarded by any other mode
meeting of the suggestion evaluation committee
includingelectronic.
for assessment of the suggestions and
recommendations.
5.5 The suggestions may be given in simple English or
o To inform the suggestor about the status of the Hindi/local language. It should describe the existing
accepted suggestion fromtime to time, incasethe method, the proposed method and an explanation as to
evaluation takes aconsiderable time, otherwise to whythis suggestion isbetter. Ifnecessary, sketcheslflow
inform the suggestor about the result of the diagrams maybemadetoexplain theideas,
evaluation.
g) To carry out all such acts that calls for smooth 5.6 While suggestions necessarily mean employees
functioning of the scheme. comingforwardwithasolutiontoaperceived problem, at
times,anemployee may. p.erceive aproblem forwhichhe
4.3 The responsibility of suggestion evaluation maynothaveadirectsolutiontoofferbuttheorganization
committee shouldbe: may be benefited once the problem is solved. The
suggestor may have only some sketchy idea regarding
a) to meet at periodic intervals for evaluating
the solution. In such cases, a senior officer of that
suggestions.
department may be deputed to help the suggestor in
b) toco-opt experts for assessing certain suggestions crystallizing his thoughts and giving the suggestion to
requiring specialized knowledge. the coordinator. In a large organization, this may be a
c) to have apositive approach to all the suggestions continuous process and separate officers ti-omdifferent
andrecommend awards onmerits. departments may be earmarked for this purpose. The
information regarding previous suggestions should be
d) to obtain from the suggestor, if required, firther
readily available to employees for guidance andto avoid
details/clarifications about his suggestion.
duplication ofefforts,
e) tomakefinalrecommendation oftheaward.
o tomaintainconfidentiality tillsuchtimetheawards 6 CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION
are disbursed.
6.1 As a first step, an emp.loy.ee should be made aware
g) to ensure implementation of the suggestion at the
about this scheme and its benefits. A conducive
earliest. environment must be created and the employee must be

h) to get feedback on suggestions implemented and enthused to participate wholeheartedly. Encouragement
recommend necessary changes, ifneeded. to the suggestor(s) by a suitable reward along with the
acknowledgement of eligible suggestion will go a long
.0 to periodically provide feedback ofthe scheme to
wayinachieving this goal.
the top management for ensuring its continued
effectiveness, suitability and also for continual
6.2 The basis for selecting the suggestions for award
improvement.
should be improvements proposed in any areas of
k) to notify the rejected suggestions, with a note of
suggestions given under 3.4. The Committee shouldnot
encouragement to the suggestor(s) for their
makecomparative evaluation ofthe suggestions received
continued participation.
buteachsuggestion should beevaluated onitsownmerit.
Variouscriteria could beusedforgiving consideration for
5RECEIITOFSUGGESTIONS
selection of suggestion like,
a) reduction ininput cost inareas likemen,material,
5.1 Suggestions can be given by individual/group of
machine andmoney leading to;
employees of the organization. The organization may
decidetoconsider suggestions received fromtheirretired i) Cost savings per annum.
employees.
ii) Foreign exchange savings (recurring/non-
recurring).
5.2 The suggestion forms maybe printed inEnglish and
iii)Cost reduction.
Hindi/local language which may be used for receiving
suggestions ffom the employees. Atypical form isgiven iv) Qualityimprovement.

inAnnexAasanexample. v) Productivity improvement.
IS 14581:2006
vi) Improvement inservice levels. relating to the suggestion which has been accepted,
shouldtakenecessary stepsto implement thesuggestions
vii) Ingenuity of suggestion (depth of study).
and send a progress report of implementation to the
viii)Applicability (inworkarea/entireplant).
coordinator.
b) Improved productivity by way of reduction in
8.3 Ifthe concerned department is of the opinion that it
wastage, wastefil expenditure, improved systems
wouldtake somemore time to implement the suggestion,
including formarketing, etc.
the samemaybe conveyed to the coordinator, Ifthere is
need for modification, he may do so under intimation to
6.3 Similartypeofsuggestion received tlom twoormore
the coordinator.
individuals/team should be decided on first come first
serve basis for evaluation of suggestions.
8.4 The coordinator should submit a report on progress
of implementation of the accepted suggestions to the
6,4 The suggestion could be rejected for any of the
suggestion evaluation committee during its meetings.
following reasons: If considered necessary, on review of position of
a) Suggestion isnot feasible and/or implementable; implementation,theCommitteemayrequesttherespective
activity heads for expediting implementation of the
b) Newmethodmaybeasafety/health/enviromnental
suggestion. The coordinator should receive feedback on
hazard; and
suggestions implemented and review for changes, if
c) Cost of implementation outweighs the benefits.
required.
6.5 The suggestion evaluation committeeconstituted
9 KEYTOSUCCESS OF SUGGESTION SCHEME
above, will be empowered to judge and select the
suggestionsfortheaward. Incasethere isaneedtomodi~
9.1 The following key factors likeproper organizational
the suggestion for its effective implementation, the
setup, open management, systematic procedures,
suggestionevaluationcommitteemaydosoinconsultation
encouragement totheemployees, proper communication,
with the respective departmental head. Specified time
timelyevaluation,availabilityofresources,properpublicity
norms should be laid down for evaluation ofsuggestions
of the suggestions, attribute towards the success of a
received.
suggestion scheme in an organization. Therefore, the
management shouldhelp andencourage theemployees in
7 RECOGNITION ANDREWARD
thisregardbyfosteringaconducive atmosphereforproper
nurturing ofthesuggestion scheme intheorganization. It
7.1 Thetypeofaward/appreciation shouldbedecidedby
shouldperiodically review thesuggestion scheme,asone
the Committee depending onthe merit ofthe suggestion.
oftheorganization processes, forcontinual improvement.

7.2 The employee, whose suggestion has been accepted
9.2 However, the suggestion schemes that encourages

for implementation by the suggestion evaluation
stafftocomeforward withideascanfailmiserably ifthey
Committee, should be suitably awarded appreciated. If,
are not managed properly, leading to lossof morale and
the suggestions given by a team are accepted for
productivity- Badly-run schemes can lead to apathy,
implementation, equalcredit shouldbegiventoeachteam
~esentment&d people working lesseffectively. Someof
memberforaward,etc.
thecommon deficiencies observed areasfollows:
a) A lack of commitment and support from top
7,3 The names of the employees, along with their
management;
photographs, whose suggestions are accepted, may be
prominently displayed onthenotice board foraspecified b) Failure to follow-up suggestions;
period. They may be suitably recognized in house c) Poor communication about progress to the
magazines, news letters, etc, and the same may also be suggestor;
reflected intheirannual appraisal report.
d) Continuously rejecting ideas;
8IMPLEMENTATION e) Failuretorecognize thecontribution forideas;and
o Dumping allideasonlyononepersontodealwith,
8.1 The suggestions accepted for implementation should etc.
be forwarded by the coordinator to the concerned
department(s) along with the specified time period for Therefore, while reviewing the scheme, the organization
itsimplementation. should also look for above factors and try to correct the
deficiencies observed as a measure of continual
8.2 The concerned department, dealing withthe activity improvement.

4 .
ANNEX A
(Clause 5.2)
ANEXAMPLE OFATYPICALFORM FOR RECEIVING SUGGESTIONS FROM EMPLOYEES
NameandDesignation
EmployeeIDNo. ..........................................................................................................
PresentDepartment ..........................................................................................................
OffIceAddressforCommunication ; ..........................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................
ResidentialAddressforCommunication : ..........................................................................................................
(incaseofretired employee) ..........................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................
E-mail : ..........................................................................................................
OfficeTelephoneNo. ..........................................................................................................
PersonalPhoneNo. ..........................................................................................................
(incaseofretired employee)
Area of Suggestion ..........................................................................................................
Suggestion and Advantage on its [implementation
(Enclose details analysis/ sketch/justification, etc,
onseparate sheets, ifrequired)

(Signature)
Date:
For Official UseOnly
SuggestionSerialNo.
Acknowledgement Reference Letter dated

5