I have to drag them along…

Source of picture: www.vecteezy.com

"You see, what you say is good, I didn't even think about that, that it's not enough to develop myself, see things, and move forward, but I also have to pull them along."

Involvement is a magic word, when we talk about organizational development, but typically we only get to the level of managers, or in some cases, office workers, and the real involvement of factory workers is less often the focus, even though in many cases they know much more about production processes than we will ever know on the management level. But they can also have many ideas for development opportunities. 

If we want to involve them, we need to find the right language and the right message. Let's say, if the goal is to reduce production costs, and we don't necessarily want to solve this by downsizing, but instead focusing on operating costs, then it's worth talking to each area separately, what they can do about it, and why it's good for them. 

"There are material costs, labor costs, variable costs and fixed costs to produce goods. You want a wage increase next year, so the wage item should be increased, but in order to keep the production costs from increasing and to be able to sell what we have produced, we should reduce the other three. 

  • Let's take a look, do you have an idea how to reduce the cost of materials? There should be less set-up and production scrap, and we have to rework what we have damaged. If we look at your work, for example, if you notice that the material is not concentric, you stop immediately and do not allow the production to continue, because every minute you produce x HUF worth of waste. 
  • How can variable costs be reduced? This includes the cost of electricity and tools. If the furnace is heated, it consumes electricity, it does not matter how much material is in it. The goal would be for the material to pass through it continuously, not to be so that it just heats up, but there is nothing in half of it. This should reduce downtime on the inbound side. Do you have an idea? 
  • What affects the fixed cost? Here is the heating, lighting and maintenance... Maybe we shouldn't leave the big doors open for half an hour during the heating season, if we only go out for a pallet of stuff…

BUT MAINTENANCE IS NECESSARY, it cannot be reduced, in fact, it should be increased!!

  • We partially agree. Maintenance is necessary, but whatever money is available should be spent on repairing the machines, sensibly. Not for things that could have been avoided. 

Like, for example, when we hit the shelf legs away with a forklift? 

  • For example. Or if you didn't tell in time that something was wrong with the machine, and not just a small thing had to be replaced, but half the machine line. 

Somewhere, everyone's work affects costs. If I've explained it in detail, it's no longer an argument that they don't know what the task is…

Picture of Kovács Kati

Kovács Kati

I help production organizations maximize their potential and establish joyful, stress-free operation

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