Reasons for the customer's visit and previous arrangements
In the past month or more, Manager MM has never set foot in our factory. Now, with the end of their company's fiscal year, there has been a new change in their financial situation, and they have started to have a surplus of funds. Against this backdrop, after some matchmaking by the managers of the two Brands, they have decided to come to our factory to provide guidance on our work.
After they arrived at the factory in the morning, they sat in the office, enjoying the air - conditioning and having a pleasant conversation. At noon, we warmly entertained them, and everyone had a sumptuous lunch. After the meal, they took a 15 - minute short break, and then MM, the QA manager of the client, proposed to go to the production site for an audit.
The situation at the production site and "Old PE"
We came to the production site and focused on visiting the assembly line. "Old PE" had already been waiting for us there. He is an old employee of the factory, having worked here for many years. He is really a wily old bird. He has been involved in every step of this product from R & D to production. He has signed and confirmed every process card on the assembly line. Every change to the product has been reviewed by him, and he has poured his heart and soul into every tooling fixture. It can be said that the entire assembly line shines with his wisdom. Of course, behind this also lies the joint efforts and support of the entire assembly team.
Manager MM's attention to and doubts about the process card
Manager MM showed a keen interest in our process cards. Apart from a few product photos, the process cards were densely filled with words, and they were hung quite high. It was a bit difficult for me to reach them due to my height. At the end of the assembly line, MM randomly selected a process card, which corresponded to the product cleaning and packaging process. It covered eight items of work, including cleaning the plastic shell with cleaning fluid, checking the aperture screws, confirming the quality of the LOGO silk - screen printing, pasting warning labels, pasting date stamps, checking the assembly buckles, checking the Velcro, and overall appearance confirmation, especially the selection for scratches. All these tasks were completed by one worker.
MM observed the employees' operations and found that the employees' operation speed was very fast with almost no pauses. However, she expressed doubts about this, believing that the actual operations might not be consistent with what was written on the process card. This belongs to the problem of non - compliance with technical standards, which is a relatively serious situation.
Dramatic test session
Then, a dramatic test began. MM asked PE GG to check the process card. After reading it, she asked him to put on gloves and operate according to the process card while starting to time. PE GG's operation seemed not very skilled, and it took him 52 seconds to complete a set of processes. Then, MM asked PE GG to recite the full content of the processes. Surprisingly, he actually missed two items, and this process card was compiled by him personally.
It seems that PE GG didn't perform very well, so we found another team leader to have a try. Unexpectedly, the team leader completed the operation in one go, taking only 35 seconds, and recited the process content clearly. This not only surprised us but also made us puzzled. Can ordinary employees really reach such a level?
Explanation of PE GG and Design Ideas of Process Cards
PE GG explained with a smile that actually the main work at this workstation is "posting warning labels, stamping the posting date, and wiping fingerprints and dust". However, there are eight items written on the process card, mainly to make employees conduct more inspections. These steps can be carried out simultaneously without wasting time. The key is that employees should have this awareness. In fact, other requirements have already been implemented in other processes. Writing them down here again is equivalent to adding multiple safeguards. Since adopting this way of writing process cards, problems such as missing screws during assembly on the assembly line have significantly decreased.
I curiously asked the PE girl if it was possible to distinguish primary and secondary items on the process card. For example, prominently list warning labels, date stamps, and fingerprint wiping, and then list items such as checking screws and silk - screening. The PE girl told me that each employee usually only focuses on their own process card and they are not aware of whether their work content is repeated at other workstations. If the primary and secondary items are distinguished, employees may slack off. However, if they are told that they are responsible for all the content, they will carefully check the process card and gradually develop a habit. As a result, their operation speed will become faster and their efficiency will become higher.
Regarding the improvement of the efficiency of piece - rate workstations and production lines
We continued our tour on the assembly line and came to a workstation with a process card full of dense information. PE GG explained that this was an improved workstation. The process that originally required 16 people to complete can now be handled by only 4 people. Since there is a lot of work to be responsible for, the process card is quite full. This is the only piece - rate workstation. The workers here generally earn more than 3,000 yuan. Those who are good at it can earn nearly 4,000 yuan. If calculated according to last year's basic wage rate, they can even earn more than 5,000 yuan. Watching these workers operate like robots, fast and accurate. Once they grabbed the screws and touched them with the electric screwdriver, the installation was done. I could clearly see the strong muscles on their hands, which were developed through long - term high - intensity work.
PE GG also told us that only some workstations on an assembly line are piece - rate. Through the high - intensity work at these piece - rate workstations, the efficiency of the entire line can be improved. Usually, the piece - rate workstations are arranged at the beginning of the line. When the speed at the front is fast, the subsequent workstations will naturally face pressure and have to speed up. If the entire line adopts the piece - rate method, the boss's profit will be greatly reduced.
Reflections on factory management and workers' efforts
Hearing this, I couldn't help but fall into deep thought. I sometimes complain about my unsatisfactory salary, while these workers are using every bit of their strength to earn a modest wage. These PEs (Production Engineers) do have some unique management methods and strategies. They have improved production efficiency and ensured product quality by skillfully designing process cards and reasonably arranging piece - rate workstations. Although this approach may seem a bit "tricky," it has achieved excellent results in actual production. In this sweltering weather, a chill ran through my heart as I marveled at the hard work of these workers.