Feb 20, 2007
The Year of the Pig
Forget the negative connotation. If you focus on your people (P) and the information (I) they need you’ll get growth (G) in performance.
By George Linkletter
The juxtaposition of the two news stories couldn’t have been more jarring.
Last week DaimlerChrysler announced its Chrysler Group lost $1.45 billion in 2006. The German firm also revealed plans to layoff 13,000 workers, or about 15 percent of its workforce, and shut all or part of 11 plants by 2009. It even disclosed the fact it may jettison the Chrysler Group, acquired nine years ago. The announcements were just the latest in a seemingly endless string of bad-news stories coming out of Detroit.
The next day the New York Times reported on the efforts of Toyota to spread the doctrine of the ‘Toyota Way’ to its growing legions of foreign managers and employees. Toyota is a juggernaut in the world of automobile manufacturing and represents the opposite of what ails Detroit.
The NYT story highlighted one key aspect of the Toyota Way: the posting of performance data on individual workers for all to see.
Of course, there is much more to the Toyota Way. But the simple act of sharing data on worker performance is a sure fire way to improve worker, unit and enterprise performance. The leaders in the HVTO industry have been doing it for years.
Just one example comes from a profile I wrote more than five years ago. The story centered on a telecommunications manager whose insights and innovations led to a tremendous leap in performance for his print/mail finishing operation.
Cost, Quality and Productivity
The unit was already quite good. It was both a low-cost and a high-quality producer. But it wasn’t as productive as it could be. So the manager developed a software solution that yielded comprehensive data on the key aspects of production, including throughput and downtime statistics, for every operator and every piece of equipment, and the status of every job in process or waiting to be processed.
The information was invaluable. But he soon discovered that the timeliness of data was more important than the quantity, and getting the right data quickly to the equipment operators was the most important of all.
“People want to know precisely what is expected of them,” he explained at the time, “so they can meet their target, satisfy their customers and feel successful. Otherwise work becomes tedious and without meaning.”
He also partnered with an equipment vendor to fine-tune a real-time management tool that would yield even more targeted information to aid production. The goal was to define precisely what type of information was needed and how best to present the data.
“Before we installed the management tool,” he continued, “we were hampered by too much downtime. We knew we could get better throughput just by keeping our equipment running for longer periods of time.” To encourage acceptance and use of the new data, he offered the equipment operators a temporary increase in compensation -- if they could double production.
Throughput jumped immediately. The average production per shift quickly escalated to 2.5 times the previous average. When the temporary incentives were lifted after three months, the average production per shift remained at twice the previous level. Same equipment, same workers, but they exhibited a new attitude and vastly improved production.
The key was a change in culture. “The equipment operators liked the faster, more productive work pace and especially the elimination of downtime,” he explained. “They felt more ‘in control’ and said ‘the day goes by much faster’ and ‘I feel better about myself and my job.’”
Shared Performance Data
Initially, the performance data was available only at the manager’s workstation. But the equipment operators started monitoring their own performance, during breaks and at lunch and job changeovers, to see how they were progressing against the production target. Soon both individual and unit-wide data was on display at all workstations.
The data even helped the unit realign staffing levels to meet an uneven workload. Previously, the unit operated three equally staffed shifts. But each day the work arrived erratically and the number of workers on hand didn’t always match-up with the peaks and valleys. Using their own initiative the equipment operators suggested a form of flex time, in which they arrived either earlier or later than the assigned start time, to help correct the problem and avoid unnecessary downtime.
Thanks to the availability of the performance data, the workers became acutely aware of the impact of equipment downtime on production. And, on their own, they began to eliminate minor and recurring problems to help keep productivity up. They even voiced complaints when they finished a job and the next one wasn’t ready.
Which brings us back to the Year of the Pig and the Chinese celebration of the New Year. The Chinese believe that people born in the Year of the Pig have certain common characteristics, such as honesty and the ability to make good friends.
HVTO managers who treat their people (P) honestly by providing needed information (I) will be more than good friends. They’ll achieve growth (G) in performance and added security for all in an increasingly competitive world. Not a bad way to celebrate the Year of the Pig.
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Comments? Contact georgelinkletter@charter.net.