Manufacturing Processes And Technology
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Problem Statement
The head of Manufacturing Processes and Technology, Marty Cole, begins to question whether this facility is being run at highest efficiency when he witnesses Jieliang (a direct labor operator) getting yelled at for not following TQC (her step-by-step job description) when she found a more efficient production method. Martys production responsibility at Precision is to maximize quality and speed for the company and he is concerned because he is in charge of promoting best practices.
Hypotheses
Despite the research of Marty Cole and his team at Precision, the manufacturing process is far from perfect and the incremental improvements are not helping.
The Dongguan factory is newly constructed and employs the best methods currently understood. Cole, with twenty years of experience, runs the factory using lean manufacturing techniques, including the JIT method of managing inventory and Kaizen to continuously improve the factory. It is also a world class visual factory, which relies on visual cues to instruct and relay statuses. Despite all this, Jieliang, an unskilled line worker, was able to find a more efficient procedure.
Precision was confident in their systems and it lead them to being a large and successful contract manufacturer. However, success can breed complacency, and this looks to be an example of a company not fully examining their success. They were confident in their methods, enough to invest in a state of the art facility to employ them. Marty Cole brought in a global team to regularly check for process improvements, yet its fair to wonder the involvement of the global teams. Coles previous success lead to him feeling overconfident that the manufacturing plan required no change to suit the needs of Precision. Similarly, as noted in Why Leaders Dont Learn From Success, the authors discuss how time and time again previous success leads to complacency and future failure.
It is difficult to find the best method for any task through observation alone. Cole states the global team would improve output while on-site, but things would slip back to normal after they left. These teams were considered a success because their suggestions increased productivity. However, the fact that output fell back to the same levels after their departure signals that the team implementations were actually ineffective; their mere presence is what boosted productivity. The same is apparent in the cases opening. The workers are described as standing in perfect lines for their line meeting, but when Cole walks by they stand up even straighter and show attention. The presence of authority garners higher productivity and not the practices themselves.
When Jieliang finds a more efficient production method, something the company states to valuing, she is rewarded by a verbal scolding in front of her peers by the Yellow Hat. The Yellow Hat would have been better suited to follow the first rule of supervision as stated in the article Motivation – The Not So Secret Ingredient of High Performance: praise in public, criticize in private. The public scolding takes place before any research has been done to discover if Jieliangs procedure is actually better. The actions show that it is more important for the workers to look like mindless drones in front of visiting clients than find ways to increase production.
Lastly, the closing paragraph between Cole and the line engineer, who needed twenty minutes to figure out if the rigid sequence, which DLs were supposed to follow blindly, actually mattered says it all. The processes employed and assumptions about best practices need to be revisited.
The rigid hierarchy from the top down is preventing productive communication, further disallowing the best practices in manufacturing from being found.
The breach in communication starts at the very beginning of the employees tenure. They are trained on company history, safety tips, their TQC, and jargon. As Cole points out, employees are never trained on the other steps in the process, the bigger picture, or why theyre even following the TQC.
Workers wore different colors to show their standing within the company. DLs wear white uniforms and hats, the next level wore pink hats, and so on. The practice was meant to be informational, but at times was oppressive. The unskilled DLs were constantly reminded of their place at the bottom. The distinct group separation also allows for stereotypes. Coles initial reaction to Jieliangs behavior was to wonder why the operators couldnt follow the TQC. That shows some generalizations already existed towards the DLS. It makes it difficult for a low level worker, Jieliang, to offer suggestions to a superior.
The suggestion box was a work around, allowing all workers to submit improvement ideas. Its easy to see the suggestion box in a negative light. First of all, it displays a lack of priority. The factory is constantly looking to improve the process and therefore should be interested in hearing and exploring ideas as soon as it takes place. It also tells the workers that the higher-ups dont have time for their ideas; just drop it in the box and theyll get to it when they get to it. Third, the box can be used as an excuse from communication wherein if the employee has something to say, they wouldnt feel able to contact their superior but rather have to submit it through the box. The positive of a suggestion box from the workers side is to allow for anonymity, but when offering possible improvements most workers would want the recognition. In Jieliangs case, her lack of suggestion doesnt mean she was scared, but rather she didnt believe the company really valued her thoughts.
The fact that the workers did not put suggestions in the box goes back to the theory that people will always avoid loss unless they feel threatened. Because the workers feel their jobs will not be in danger if they do not put in suggestions and just keep performing the job as instructed, they will continue to do that for fear of putting their jobs in jeopardy if they do speak up. People will always put their emotions before reason, according to the article How Hardwired is Human Behavior. The workers are in fear of their jobs being threatened if they speak up so they follow their emotions and gut instincts and keep quiet. This is the theory of evolutionary psychology that says all humans are hardwired for certain behavior. All these show the box is more of an act than an interest in their recommendations.
Recommendations
Revisit