Shop Floor Management

Chapter 5

Discuss the management role in upgrading everybody’s skills

within an organization.

Chapter 5

Role of manager is important to upgrade skills of their people.

However, many people don’t know or practice how to practice this.

Typical Management Problems in Upgrading People’s Skills

So we don’t take responsible or allocate sufficient time for education,

leaving people behind.

If we spend time for chasing fire and not upgrading skills, our future will

be limited.

Do not realize the important of upgrading skills

Assume that many people are not capable of learning

Focus on upgrading their skills first

Chapter 5

Not just as individuals, we need to think of ways to work on important

jobs as group as well

Ideas for Managers and Staffs in Upgrading People’s Skills

Recognizing important of upgrading skills, we go through cycle.

Plan to provide training (plan)

Execute training (do)

Review how the idea is generated (check)

Be open and friendly with people, even listen to their personal problems

Provide instruction with sincerity and empathy

Find good qualities in people

Chapter 5 Share applications of skills and provide feedback to improve training process

(act)

Go back to item 1 and continue cycle

Even this principle is simple, the execution can make difficluties.

We need to find ways to train people with less involvement of outside

specialists or centralized training organizations.

The training program should simplified and done right on the shop

floor.

As we do our jobs and gain experience over time, we tend to

develop habits

Chapter 5

But if we depend on our habits, we can’t meet the requirements of

today’s business.

We need to see, listen and learn without prejudice.

If our judgment skewed, it difficult to access things properly.

Therefore it better to start out with no knowledge, to look at the

situation afresh and learn to use own wisdom to the maximum.

Chapter 6

In order to promote improvement activities, we need to be able

to expose problems, identify problems areas and do problem-

solving effectively.

Chapter 6

It is important to expose problems effectively so that suitable tools for

solving can be used.

Exposing problems effectively will not only help to maintain standard

but also help to guide better and involve everybody in improvement.

For organization as a team, problems should be not only dealt with in

specific areas but also throughout the company.

Since any organization have its own mission, objectives and plan of

action to achieve, problems need to be expose in each specific area

so that problem solving process take place.

Inventory can cover problems and prevent us from continuous

improvement.

Chapter 6

We should reduce the inventory level to uncover problems and

address problems.

As we take away these wasted or underutilized resources, we can

utilize the resources better and focus to attain our goals.

So as we try to reduce extra resources, we should be able to make

improvement.

Key reasons for reducing inventory

Exposing problems rather than covering up

Focusing attention on problems

Utilizing resources constructively

Chapter 6

If there are people who do not know about problems, it may be sign

that they can’t utilize their resources well to make continuous

improvement.

Instead of solving problems themselves, management should think

of problem-solving approaches so that more people can participate.

If these tools are introduced unclearly, it can hurt the organization

and people.

Therefore coordination, support and feedback from management

and education become very important.

Chapter 7

How to practice suggestion program effectively in your

organization?

Chapter 7

Suggestion program is one of the problem-solving activities.

However suggestion program can face failure because management

think potential of people’s talent too lightly and lack of willpower in

management.

There are some facts for why suggestion program fails

Jump into problems without much preparation

Accomplishments are not shared within people

Don’t get feedback

In spite of difficulties, there are many successful suggestion

programs.

Chapter 7

Monetary incentives should be limited if we focus on involving total

work force.

In order to get everybody’s participation, suggestions can be shared

in meeting or newsletter.

General recommendation is to focus on small improvement of people

involvement, no of suggestions increased and improve quality of

suggestion.

Implementing an effective suggestion program has four phase.

Preparation phase

Startup phase

Chapter 7 Expansion phase

Further phase

Some want to share their ideas through suggestion program.

The benefits of suggestion program

Make easy to communicate each others

Expose areas where support are needed

By keeping individual records, each can see the progress

Chapter 8

Why are leaders important for continuous improvement in an

organization? Discuss the roles of leader.

Chapter 8

Leading people is more important than managing people.

So managers need to develop a broad understanding of business

and high level of leadership skills.

The more people improve skills and gain confidence, the more

manager can delegate responsibility.

We should see manager as a leader and employees as a customer.

Leadership can’t be found at traditional organization because it is

situational.

Leader have strong desire to accomplish than the members.

Chapter 8

Guiding improvement process at shop floor

Think of small improvement fist

Persuade someone to think about improvement

Guide people to think about what they can do to improve

Find ways to support and implement ideas

Follow up the implementation

Sharing success

If company have great success, the leader should share this achievement.

That’s point out everybody is working together to accomplish the mission.

Chapter 8

Improving communication at the shop floor

Absence of meetings indicate that there is no close linkage between

management and people at the shop floor.

Recognize and reward people

Positive reinforcement can motivate the people at the shop floor.

So leaders try to find the opportunities for reorganization and reward.

Leaders feel that important part of their job is to provide opportunities to

celebrate success and encourage people to move forward.

Chapter 9

If your company is facing failure due to the weakness in

control system, how will you overcome it?

Chapter 9

If company face failure, management should try to use PDCA (plan-

do-check-act) cycle.

The time it takes to go through the cycle will differ depending on the

nature of work and needs.

In reality, there are different stages of progress to digest this cycle.

As more checking and acting take place, planning should become

easier.

PDCA model provide management with clarity and drive organization

forward.

Chapter 9

Another way for overcoming weakness is managing improvement

activities with control points.

To establish clear checkpoints and network of control, management

should understand concept of control points.

Depend of characteristics, control points are divided into control

items at outcome of process and check items at the root cause of

process.

Same concept can be used for either manufacturing and

management.