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08/09/2012 07:10 PM
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I am in the process of establishing an assembly cell for one of product family. This is welding cum assembly cell . ALL work is done manually. Presently we have piece rate contract who focus on productivity. I took the cycle time and put up a cell based on that data. ofcourse the cycle times are for a batch since present practice is to produce in a batch. Now our direction is to eliminate piece rate contract as fundamentally it is detrimental for quality and against all lean principles as it is source of many wastes. As we have started the cell we face a problem of slow work from operators in the cell. Cycle times are shoot up almost 100 %. Now i understand that cycle time is physics and it should not change much but deliberate slow actions from operators causing this.
My question is in activities where all manual work involved what is the varionation in cycle time normally we observe from person to person?
VN
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08/24/2012 03:47 PM
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Hi Vikas
Yes there can be small differences in the times someone can do a job in any cell or operation, but the Takt Time in a cell or operation should allow a cycle to be completed by any worker that knws the job in that particular job.
Your problem is that you took money out of the pocket of your workers when you changed from piece work, and they are human and are showing you the same lack of respect you showd them. Respecting people means that you do not hurt them for your gain, which is what your organization is doing.
It also shows that you seriously missed the boat in this case by not talking with and dealing the issues related to your workers before making changes that created a negative impact on their incomes. Good change management is all about dealing with and planning for all the people a change effects. Next time i would suggest that you start from a different perspective and deal with the human issues before trying to deal with the process issues.
I would also suggest that you and the other memebers of the managemnt get some serious change management training oir you may find that you will be in even bigger trouble before long.
Lean is all about working with others to improve, MEAN is about jamming improvements and changes down other peoplkes throats without any input from them.
Robert Drescher
ELSE Inc.
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08/24/2012 03:59 PM
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First of all i would talk to the operators and involve them in what you are trying to do "create a std time for the job"
Let them know that it is human nature to work slower but that you will rate the cycle time based on your experience plus the fact that the time has to be sustained.
Next carry out 10 repititions of the job and take the average time.
Normally i would then show this to the operator and ask his opinion,once agreed i would then offer a 20% reduction rating to allow for sustainability.
Once done and agreed you should consider sharing the benefits of him speeding up by payment of a productivity bonus.
So to sum up - if your agreed cycle time is acceptable to both parties then rate it at 80% .
Just watch the operator earn bonus and you increase productivity but both parties will benefit.
Give it a go
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08/27/2012 01:21 PM
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Vikas,
Robert is hitting it on the head here - I am involved in working to change a piece rate system, and the key to remember is that Piece Rate is not just a payment it is how the shop is managed and how the workers are motivated. IF you take that away, it needs to be replaced with something else, or you get pretty much what you got, a bunch of discontented workers, slow pace, and high cost.
Teams are not spontaneous, they need to be formed, trained and nurtured (like the saying goes, you can sit by the river a long time before a roast duck will land on your plate). Teamwork promotes peer performance motivation. Training and education promotes curiosity and trials. Positive attention promotes positive feedback.
Read "The Lean Manager" currently on sale on this website.
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08/27/2012 01:21 PM
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Hi robert
thanks for valuable suggestions. I agree 100% with what you say. I think i need to explain the situation in a little detail. the poeple who are working in the cell were not in rate contract before. They are paid by time and their payment same as before. Infact I have inspired them saying now they have got an opportunity to show management that they can do wonder.
I am promising people that the gain in productivity will definately be shared with them. Now the dialemma is should we do it before based on assumption or after achieving the results? since from the time I posted the message on 9th august and today there is substantial improvement. somehow I could keep team inspired by challanging them to show result. and respecting their ideas on improvement
My quesition was how much deviation we should consider from person to person when all work is done manually?
VN
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08/31/2012 10:07 AM
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Hi Vikas,
I'm not on your gemba, so this is my opinion :
If you see deviation (MURA) from person to person there is still MURI (in the work, or in the way the slow persons do the work.
MURA (deviation) is here to spot MURI.
You've got to train your eyes to find MURI and train your Kaizen spirit to remove it.
This is normal to find this situation when trying to implement standardized work which is all about removing MURI. You may be on the right path! And operators are not the problem! The way the work is done is the problem.
I suggest you to read Mikio Kitano address to lean manufacturing conference of university of Kentucky in May 1997. "one by one confirmation".
regards
Emmanuel
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