How to screw up a factory 101, also known as, the place I work. A lot of what lies within What Were They Thinking applies to our facility, resulting in lowered productivity, zero creativity, and low worker morale. Welcome home, where management forgets what we produce, refuses to consider contrasting views, and simply misses the point. Let me explain. .
Our management isolates itself from production activities, to the point, they have forgotten what it is we are supposed to be manufacturing. Many think it’s to implement yet another fancy, but ultimately ineffective, system of the day, proving to our customers how good our product is, or for an up-and-comer to prove their worth to the boss. It’s not. The answer is much simpler; we must keep our customer happy by producing what they want, when they want it. And to do this, it is essential to know your people, and your product, from the inside out.
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A perfect example is our new plant floor-plan being implemented. The plan was developed by someone who never worked in an actual factory, has no idea how our parts are made, or what machines, and processes, are needed to manufacture them. Somewhere (probably some liberal college instructor) he got this great idea to decouple all processes, even mutually beneficial processes, to increase throughput. He’s not only completely oblivious to what he’s done, but complements himself on such an excellent job. If this plan is completed, it will be impossible to fill our requirements on time and in an efficient manner. It’s simply