FROM SYMPTOMS TO SYSTEM DESIGN

Dear FactoryOwner,

Greeting to you.

During my half an hour visit to your factory, you were kind to show me around, explaining the manufacturing process from raw materials to end product. At the same time, you shared with me your concern about the quality problem, particularly the high rate of reject finished products that becomes costly. You highlighted the problem of the human factor : namely the foremen not taking good initiatives, the production manager not effective in managing, etc.

From the visit and our subsequent discussion, I share with you my "observation and thinking" in the format of the following Organisation Iceberg model, i.e. [Symptoms] [Pattern] [System] [Motives]. (Note: a graphical presentation of the Organisation Iceberg Model can be viewed from the knowledgebase of Outsights, http://www.outsights.com).. It is hoped that this initial exploratory stage will lead to greater discovery to fulfil your business goals.

[SYMPTOM] (Activities, Events, Context, Perception ....)

Total workforce about 60, half permanent staff, the other half daily wage workers varying in number depending on workload
Production floor: Production Manager, Engineers, Foremen, Group Leaders and workers.
Incentive / Rewards scheme in place for Forman and below based on decreasing rate of product rejects. But it did not work.
Foreman always have reasons why things are beyond their control.
Recent 1 to 2 months engaged external consultant, who personally supervises, inspects, trains, motivates workers resulting in lesser defects and better productivity.
The consultant motivates workers by using incentives like immediate cash reward, food etc. However it is not yet the company policy for such incentives. It is used only as temporary fix.
As you are committed to really improve the overall business performance, trust you will welcome my immediate feedback about the production floor conditions, as follow:
As we may be discussing quality issues. I wish to highlight also Safety. There is intimate relationship between Safety and Quality, when we consider the overall System Design.
My impression and perception of Safety during the 1/2 hour production floor visit is that the atmosphere of Safety Design, Discipline & Enforcement is not demostrateble conveyed to me as a visitor. Hence the feeling of Safety Assurance was not experienced. For examples : (these may not be the actual requirements which need to be further studied), no clear safety signs or marking of flow of processed materials on the large production floor, warning signals, appropriate use of Safety apparels, reminder to me as a visitor on certain Safety precaution, etc. From System Design perspective, if Quality and Safety are incorporated in the workplace, e.g. 5S, the first pre-requisite is satisfied before we deal on compliance behaviour of human being / workers. This prerequisite on workplace design incorporating Safety and Design will lay a good foundation to overcome some of the negative symptoms experienced, e.g. defective products. In an extreme case as an example, it is difficult to produce quality products in hazardous environment. I take note of your plan to review / overhaul the workplace in coming months. I encourage you to consider both Quality & Safety together.

[PATTERN] (Principles, Deduction, Theories ....}

From the above described Symptoms, inclusive of activities, events, context, perception etc. the following maybe derived:

High rate of rejects (defective parts)
Closer supervision, motivation helps reduce defects or reject as demostrated by the consultant
Clarity on roles, responsibilities and authorities of personnel? What is controllable? what is not? by who? how?
Theory on intimate relationship between Quality and Safety.

[SYSTEM] (Structures ....)

We will now review and re-examine the System from the Design perspectives, e.g. what are the clearly specified requirements as controlling inputs. As you company is certified to ISO 9000 Quality Model, I shall refer to such management tools to address the overall System Design and its effectiveness focusing on the core manufacturing process.

#1 Manufacturing Process : from raw materials to finished products (Refer ISO 9000 cl. 4.9 Process Control)
Clarity of the description of the main manufacturing process : in what ways the stakeholders are using it and do they have common understanding? How is this described process related or translated to the workplace design? How effective is the procedures documentation for communication with all parties concern to ensure compliance? It is possible that there are two sets of procedures : a) traditional textual / flow chart, b) pictures / graphics for the illiterate workers. Review the procedures to be satisfied that the process design is the most optimal, and how is it translated onto the workplace, bearing in mind the logical workflow from Safety perspectives besides Quality.
#2 Job Design (Refer ISO 9000 cl. 4.1.2.1 Responsibility and Authority)
Review the job description of the various production personnel. Are the requirements clear? Any gap, or overlap with respect to the design process control? Clarity of roles, responsibilities & authorities? What value-add activities being routine carried out as per described intention? How is the organisation structures fit into such job design?
#3 Learning (Instead of just Training as per ISO 9000 Cl. 4.18 Training)
Besides traditional training approach, implying "teacher and students" relationship, consider also designing learning mechanism in the workplace on routine basic. A well designed learning mechanism can be a powerful motivating factor, coupled with appropriate incentive scheme. For example, daily 10-15 minutes brief on Quality and Safety for the shopfloor workers. It can be going through checklist, procedures, key learning points of yesterday, etc. Invite suggestions, encourage leadership development. (Note: the emphasis is on Learning, not discussion or debate.)
#4 Records and Statistical Techniques (Refer ISO 9000 cl. 4.5 Document & Control Data) (Refer ISO 9000 cl. 4.16 Control of Quality Records) (Refer ISO 9000 cl. 4.20 Statistical Techniques)
Optimal records, not only for reference, but also for statistical compilation to check trend, process control / stability, predict future performance, bearing in mind the migrating model of data -> information -> Knowledge -> Wisdom
#5 Machines & Facilities (Operation, Maintenance), Material control, etc. (Refer ISO 9000 cl. 4.9 Process Control) (Refer ISO 9000 cl. 4.6 Purchasing)
These and other supporting services like Laboratory, Administration, IT, etc. to ensure success of the main Manufacturing Process of raw materials to finished products, although are important, maybe addressed later as the earlier mentioned factors could be the main contributing factors to the described symptoms, unless fresh evidence shows otherwise.

You may have noticed that while initially we address the human factors and behaviours, we have to examine the underlying operating system, its design and implementation. With a good review of the system design, we can now examine the incentives / rewards scheme. I wish to suggest some guiding principles less improper incentives / rewards design not only produces counter productive result, but also it may be detrimental to the system performance.

Incentives / Rewards Guiding Principles

Expected result should be within the sphere of control of those to be rewarded. For example, we need to examine to what extent can the defective products be under the control of the operator / workers with the use of SPC techniques (statistical process control). Likewise, rewarding those who have no control or impact on the positive outcome can be counter-productive.
Clear distinction between individual rewards & Team rewards. In today complicated processes, there should be less individual effort as compared with collective contribution from team members.
Parameters chosen should not be sub-optimised e.g. Focus on production throughput at the expense of Quality and or Safety, Nor Quality against Safety etc.

The above exploratory steps are also the essence of Management Review (Refer ISO 9000 cl. 4.1.3 Management Review). We need to ensure integrity of the overall System Design and Implementation (effectiveness), before we become overly concerned with symptomic human factors or behaviour. Then we will focus on increasing the human capacity to ensure the designed / improved System works. This will involve different set of Knowledge, Techniques and Skills for which we could explore further, with me as your Personal Coach and Organisation Coach..

Yours FaithfullyAndrew Wong, 2nd Dec. 1999

For an example of Job Description of a Health Safety and Environment Manager, go to Internet Knowledgebase http://www.outsights.com

Another related artilce is "Job Design". Started with a set of typical job descriptions and discussion on a Job Design Model

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