Managing the Shopfloor: Subjectivity, Masculinity and Workplace Culture (Degruyter Studies in Organization).

In this first comprehensive departure from the time-and-motion dictums of Frederick Taylor's Shop Management that have influenced management practices for most of this century, Kiyoshi Suzaki offers a framework for successfully conducting business at its most crucial point-the shop floor. Drawing on the principles of holistic management, where organizational boundaries are smashed and co-destiny is created, Suzaki demonstrates how modern shop floor management techniques -- focusing maximum energy on the front line -- can lead to dramatic improvements in productivity and valueadded-to-services. The role of management today, Suzaki argues, is to eliminate its own responsibilities by thinking of the organization from the genba, or shop floor, point of view. In this challenge, Suzaki claims, organizations need to collect the wisdom of people by practicing "Glass Wall Management," where organizations become transparent, enabling employees to contribute maximum creativity as opposed to blocking their potential with what he calls "Brick Wall Management." Further, to empower individuals to selfmanage their work and satisfy their customers, Suzaki asserts that they all should learn to manage their own "mini-company," where everybody is considered president of his or her area of responsibility. Front-line supervisors, Suzaki shows, must develop a mission and goals and share them both up and downstream. He cites examples of the "shop floor point of view" -- McDonald's Corporation's legal staff learning how to sell hamburgers and fix milkshake machines; Honda's human resource staff training on the assembly line -- that narrow the gap between top management and the shop floor. By upgrading people's skills, focusing on empowerment, and streamlining processes, Suzaki illustrates that an organization will realize concrete improvements in quality, cost, delivery, safety, morale, and ultimately, its competitive position.

Kanban is the name given to the inventory control card used in a pull system. The primary benefit of kanban is to reduce overproduction, the worst of the seven deadly wastes. A true kanban system produces exactly what is ordered, when it is ordered, and in the quantities ordered. It is essentially a dynamic work order that moves with the material. Each kanban identifies the part or subassembly unit and indicates where each one came from and where each is going. Used this way, kanban acts as a system of information that integrates your plant, connects all processes one to another, and connects the entire value stream to customer demand. Kanban for the Shopfloor provides a working manual for those seeking to implement this method of production control in any operation. It defines the various terms and methods employed in kanbans, and illustrates how when adhered to, kanban is an element of continuous improvement that ultimately leads to the ideal of one-piece flow." In addition to reducing the waste of overproduction, kanban will help your company increase flexibility to respond to customer demand, coordinate production of small lots and wide product variety, and simplify the procurement process. About the Shopfloor Series: Put proven improvement tools in the hands of your entire workforce! Progressive shopfloor improvement techniques are imperative for manufacturers who want to stay competitive and to achieve world class excellence. And it's the comprehensive education of all shopfloor workers that ensures full participation and success when implementing new programs. The Shopfloor Series books make practical information accessible to everyone by presenting major concepts and tools in simple, clear language and at a reading level that has been adjusted for operators by skilled instructional designers. One main idea is presented every two to four pages so that the book can be picked up and put down easily. Each chapter begins with an overview and ends with a summary section. Helpful illustrations are used throughout. Other topics in the Shopfloor Series: Kanban, 5S, Quick Changeover, Mistake-Proofing, Just-in-Time, TPM, Cellular Manufacturing

Managing the Shopfloor: Subjectivity, Masculinity and Workplace Culture (Degruyter Studies in Organization).

In a "pull" production system, the final process pulls needed parts from the previous process, which pulls from the process before it, and so on, as determined by customer demand. This allows you to operate without preset schedules and avoid unnecessary costs, wastes, and delays on the manufacturing floor.Pull Production for the Shopfloor introduce

Shop floor control and namely the problem of job shop scheduling have been fields of research for a long time. However, until now no comprehensive framework on the various aspects exists. This book will provide a systems perspective towards shop floor control by stressing its sociotechnical and cybernetical nature. It focuses on the behavioral aspects of control activities and sees the shop floor as the center of value-adding manufacturing activities within an enterprise. The book enables the reader to understand the interaction of organization, information technology and human resources. This eventually allows to achieve holistic and agile solutions and facilitates profound organizational change. The book will therefore provide a welcome addition to several standard textbooks on the issue.

Standard work is an agreed upon set of work procedures that effectively combines people, materials, and machines to maintain quality, efficiency, safety, and predictability. Work is described precisely in terms of cycle time, work in process, sequence, time, layout, and the inventory needed to conduct the activity. Standard work begins as an improvement baseline and evolves into a reliable method. It establishes the best activities and sequence steps to maximize performance and minimize waste. In this book you will learn about: The characteristics of standards Key benefits and applications of standardization Standard work concepts and calculations Standard work steps and documentation Using standard work manuals, charts, and worksheets Cell staffing (line balancing and full work) Productivity's Shopfloor Seriesbooks offer a simple, cost-effective approach for building basic knowledge about key manufacturing improvement topics. Like all our Shopfloor Seriesbooks, Standard Work for the Shopfloorincludes innovative instructional features that are the signature of the Shopfloor Series. The goal: to place powerful and proven improvement tools such as pull production techniques in the hands of your entire workforce.ll work) Productivity's Shopfloor Seriesbooks offer a simple, cost-effective approach for building basic knowledge about key manufacturing improvement topics. Like all our Shopfloor Seriesbooks, Standard Work for the Shopfloorincludes innovative instructional features that are the signature of the Shopfloor Series. The goal: to place powerful and proven improvement tools such as pull production techniques in the hands of your entire workforce.