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07/26/2012 11:32 AM
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Team Leader Structure
In the team leader/group leader structure team leaders are responsible for small teams of approximately 4 to 8 people and group leaders (1st line supervisors - and first level of management) are responsible for approximately 3 to 5 teams. The team leaders know all of the jobs in their teams and are responsible for their training, following standardized work, and will fill in for team members when they are absent. The group leader then is responsible for all of the team leaders in his/her group. The TM/TL ratio will change as the amount of vacation time increases as the organization ages.
The team leader is the first responder and will try to resolve any problem within Takt time so the process is not interrupted. The group leader is the next responder and various levels of management get involved if a particular problem is not resolved in prescribed time periods.
I have seen some companies transition their utility people, fill in labor pools and relief people to the team leader roles. This means headcount does not increase but overall qualilty, operation effectiveness and productivity increases. On the other extreme some companies have added to headcount with team leaders and have also seen improved quality and productivity.
Ron Turkett
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07/26/2012 11:32 AM
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Dan,
In response to your question about references, you might want to reach out to Bill Waddell. I don't know if he's written about some specific instances, but I know, prior to consulting, he worked at United Defense (Now BAE) in Aberdeen, SD.
They had (and still have) one of the best plants in the BAE system, AND they have used self-directed work teams for...I think...more than a decade. They are one of, if not THE best, example I've ever seen on SDWTs, and I've been in that plant personally several times.
My mentor (formally a Toyota leader) confirmed what Liker wrote about team structure. He had (roughly) 5 team members for every team leader - who was an hourly leader, but ran the team. The team leader did all but discipline the team members from my understanding. Maybe someone here who has actually been a leader at Toyota can confirm?
The next level (I forget their title, but they were basically supervisors) had 5 team leaders for each 'supervisor'. They handled the discipline and really provided the short-term direction for the team (less than 1 year vision).
Hopefully I have that right about the Toyota structure (my mentor will never forgive me if I'm horribly wrong in my portrayal!) I am sure about the BAE SDWT data, as I've seen it myself.
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