With a completion day scheduled I set about deciding how best to try out the POD. I had one particular toolmaker in mind. In addition to being one of the better toolmakers, this individual also had a reputation for speaking his mind (loudly) and not being afraid to let everyone know how he thought about things. It was not unusual for me to be greeted with his shouts of “when are we going to get bolts that are actually the right size!” as I walked out on the shop floor.
I approached this individual carefully. I explained that the POD was almost complete and now I needed someone to try it out. But it couldn’t be just anyone. I needed someone who was very knowledgeable and creative enough to try something different. I added a few more blatant veiled compliments and he was hooked.
As it happened this toolmaker was scheduled to start two brand new jobs. Ordinarily this would involve standing at his work station pouring over his designs while he tried to keep track of several hundred steel blocks as they were ordered, delivered, milled and drilled. For the POD however I told him to take a more active role to make sure that we did not start the experiment until he had every block accounted for and ready to go.
Since he was collecting the blocks ahead of time he spent much more time working with the Designers and then Purchasing to make sure that everything was properly ordered and delivered. This effort in itself uncovered several major method changes in terms of how the Bills of Material were produced and components labeled. With great pride this toolmaker showed me example after example of “mistakes” he had found and fixed because he was “on top of things.”
No comments:
Post a Comment