Return to work measurement.(member forum)

A JAPANESE COMPANY THAT produces refrigerators and cubic ice machines has achieved tremendous productivity improvement. Its secret: engineered standard time and a labor performance control system. Taking a design approach, the company has returned to traditional methods of work measurement after seeing minimal results from kaizen and lean activities in the past few years.

There are so many books regarding the lean production system, and IEs have gotten caught up in the literature and the hype. While certain techniques have helped companies examine waste and create better results-driven schedules, real productivity improvement is yet to be experienced by many companies that have poured money into lean efforts. Are these companies that are waiting in the wings for lush lean results even good candidates for the systems that were implemented? Was staff briefed on the necessary steps adequately? Was all technology examined for its participation? Answers do not come easy because, after all, the gap in results depends on the type of company, industry, attitudes of management and buy-in from staff.

A change-based approach used by many Japanese companies, methods engineering combines knowledge of information systems with social processes in which several people act and invest. Enhanced with work measurement, the system aims to extract the best results from each worker's performance. Daily measurement occurs. If we consider what companies regularly invest in--technology and people--we can assume that the competitive advantage exists in the direct performance of both simultaneously everyday. This concept is easier to put into practice than sophisticated processes that are designed for specific types of companies but forced on companies that aren't proper candidates. In fact, determining if a company is right for a specific change approach can take longer than using the tools that are already in place wisely (again, Technology and people).

There is no right or wrong way to improve. The key to any waste-alleviating project is to think about smart working methods rather than the trendy, sometimes impractical ways that may have worked for a bigger, more profitable company. Work measurement does not have to be a concept of the past. Basic tools have superpowers. Look to the refrigerator manufacturer's work measurement process in which no less than 10 factors were isolated for an improvement initiative, including production volume, quality of work tasks, human resources, innovation and technology and quality of materials. These factors make up the very operations infrastructure of the company. Measurement of all aspects at the same time was comprehensive and thorough in contrast to looking at one department or one task in motion on the shop floor.

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The Institute of Management in the United Kingdom has it right in urging organizations to choose the right type of measurement technique based on their purpose of measurement, the level of detail required, the time available for the measurement, the existence of available predetermined data and the cost of measurement.

As IEs, we must follow a balance between maintaining a commitment to the basic traditional tools that we know can improve productivity and rolling with the evolution of our profession by staying informed and trained in modern approaches.

Shigeyasu Sakamoto is a management consultant on productivity issues in Asia and Europe and is president of Productivity Partner Inc. in Nara, Japan. Sakamoto worked for the Japan Management Association Consulting Group for more than 20 years as a consultant and later as vice president. He is a fellow of the World Academy of Productivity Science.

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