Why an industrial enterprise improves working conditions. How to improve production: five rules of excellence. How to control the system of improvements and increase employee involvement in the process

Any organization sooner or later faces the problem of increasing production efficiency. And we are not always talking about the economic component.

What methods to prefer when organizing such work is decided by the management of the enterprise. Based on knowledge of the internal and external environment, the characteristics of production processes, you can develop a plan that will lead to the achievement of the intended goal.

What is meant by performance efficiency?

The efficiency of the enterprise is economic category... This concept means the performance of the company, which can be expressed in:

growth in production rates;
reducing costs, tax burden;
reducing the amount of emissions into the environment;
increasing labor productivity, etc.

There are also scientific work that define the effectiveness of an organization as the performance of an operation or project in which the resulting product or new activity brings in more funds than was spent. Or, these manipulations save a certain amount of resources, which also exceeds the cost of work associated with their implementation.

Efficiency conditions

In most cases, in an effort to improve the efficiency of the organization, management expects to receive some financial results... But this does not always reflect the strategic future of manufacturing. Therefore, it is believed that it is more correct to achieve growth rates. We can say that we managed to achieve economic efficiency production if:

the obtained financial result is higher than that of competitors;
sufficient resources are allocated in the organization to carry out production or management changes;
rates of growth financial indicators will be higher in the short term than competitors.

This approach constantly motivates to search for solutions that increase the competitiveness of production. This is important in order to carry out work aimed at strategic development.

It also matters that each structural subdivision the organization was concerned with finding ways to increase its economic efficiency. After all, if one of them is weak, the organization will not be able to improve its overall performance.

Tools for increasing efficiency

The ways to improve the efficiency of the enterprise are very diverse. The main ways to increase the profit of the organization are as follows:

cost reduction, which can be achieved by reducing the price conditions for purchases, optimizing production, reducing personnel or the level of remuneration;
modernization of processes or of the entire production, which allows to achieve an increase in labor productivity, a decrease in the volume of processed raw materials, waste, and automation of most operations;
changes in the organizational system that can affect the management structure, customer service principles, communication, etc .;
strengthening marketing communications, when the task is to maximize the volume of sales of goods, to change the attitude towards the organization, to find new opportunities for production.

Each of these areas can be detailed and have their own methods of work. The entire management system in the company must be tuned so that at any level employees take the initiative, leading to increased economic efficiency.

Often, a set of measures that should increase work efficiency affects all blocks of activity at once. Such systems approach allows you to use a synergistic effect.

Factors affecting efficiency

If the management of the enterprise is interested in achieving improved results, it must analyze information about the state of the external and internal environment. Then it will be clear which of the existing factors must be used for the benefit of the future. strategic development... These include:

Minimal use of resources. The less technology, equipment, personnel are used while maintaining production volumes, the more efficient the organization.
Improving the efficiency of personnel by optimizing the structure, improving qualifications and training, searching for more competent personnel, changing the motivation system.
Improving the efficiency of personnel due to its health improvement, improvement of working conditions. Measures aimed at solving these problems lead to a reduction in the number of sick leaves (savings for the employer), increased productivity and employee loyalty.
Strengthening socio-psychological factors. The use of decentralization tools in governance can be a good impetus for development.
Application of the results of scientific and technological progress. Ignoring modern technologies or excuses from their implementation due to the need for investment lead to a decrease in competitiveness and possible liquidation later. Fearing an unfavorable economic situation in the current period, companies often block their way to development in the future.
The use of diversification, cooperation and other strategies that allow the use of existing resources in different projects.
Attracting investment capital and other third-party financing mechanisms. Even privatization can open up ways to improve the efficiency of an enterprise.

All these factors lead not only to an increase in economic, but also in managerial efficiency. To track the effectiveness of the work carried out, it is necessary to outline the timing of control and indicators that will be checked.

Let us dwell separately on the factor of employee health improvement - for the reason that few employers are still paying due attention to this. Meanwhile, concern for the team directly affects the company's profits. For example, according to a study conducted within the HR Lab. - Laboratory of HR Innovations ”, a smoking employee spends 330 working (!) Hours a year on smoke breaks. If his salary is 50,000 rubles a month, then it turns out that the company loses up to 100,000 rubles a year for wages plus about 40,000 rubles in taxes and social contributions; plus the cost of sick leave, which smokers, according to statistics, take more often. And if the employee's salary is higher, then the costs are even higher. And what if there are dozens, hundreds of such employees in the company?

In order to eliminate this unnecessary expense item and increase the efficiency of smokers, companies can be advised. (Follow the link to find a calculator that will help you calculate how much your company will save if employees quit smoking.)

Where do you start?

To understand what work needs to be done to improve production efficiency, a thorough analysis should be carried out. The head of the company must have a rationale for future management decisions, therefore, it is required:

collect statistics for previous years on product output, sales, number of employees in the state, payroll, profitability, etc .;
find out the industry average or competitors' performance;
to compare the economic performance of the enterprise and other market participants;
depending on which indicator lags more behind, conduct an analysis of the factors that led to such a result;
determine the persons responsible for the development of measures that should change the situation, and the time frame for achieving new indicators.

It is possible that management will have to make many decisions about themselves. For example, transform the functions and management style, the distribution of responsibilities, the scope of delegated authority, methods of working with personnel and transferring information within the company.

What can hinder efficiency gains?

Even if management sees sense in the changes that should lead to more efficient company performance, there may be no results. Oddly enough, the problems lie in the psychological perception of managerial changes, as well as in their legal support.

For example, the introduction of new technologies and the installation of equipment almost always leads to a reduction in staff. Naturally, the employees of the enterprise will not want to be left without work. Their task is to delay such changes as much as possible. They can also resort to economic arguments, saying that reinstalling equipment for some time will require stopping work.

From the point of view of legislation, the process of dismissing employees is strictly regulated. If the procedures are violated, the enterprise is doomed to incur additional costs, which lowers the indicators of economic activity.

In order to overcome all these resistances, it is necessary to think over a system of notifying employees about changes, demonstrating positive sides from the introduction of changes.

Additional difficulties may be associated with:

lack of funding or inability to access investment sources;
lack of competencies among the employees of the enterprise, which does not allow the implementation of the plans;
with the lack of a strategic planning system in the organization and analytics for previous years of work.

To achieve economic efficiency, systemic and large-scale work will be required. It cannot be ruled out that it is necessary to involve outside specialists who can save time on implementing changes.

In general, with a competent approach and the application of reasonable measures, it is possible to increase the efficiency of each enterprise, regardless of the situation and at what stage of its development it is.

"Company number one" or ideal company If the company is part of a community, a country, if the company has high ethical standards, financial strength, attractive locations, progressive working conditions in the long term - this will be my ideal of the company And also if the company has flexible working conditions, a clear path of promotion, competitive remuneration, international career and career opportunities followed by a solid financial base with full-time employment is most important to me. To be an ideal company, it must have a clear vision of the mission and ideas for running the company in order to carve out its place in this big world.

There are many benefits of a good corporate culture. Some of these benefits include productivity, employee morale and motivation, increased communication and collaboration, employee turnover, and company profits. Companies must work to achieve a "good" corporate culture, but as a potential employee, you can be matched by culture quite quickly during the interview. Ask yourself the following questions to help determine company culture:

Will I take part in decisions that concern me?
Do company employees focus on getting jobs rather than politics?
Will I be personally responsible for my work?
Will I look forward to joining this company?

If you can answer “yes” to these questions, you can be absolutely sure of the bet, then this company is close to ideal. What do I need to do?

Improving organizational culture

Teaching your people in the right direction is an important step towards enhancing an organization's culture. When your employees know how to do things right and what the company expects from them, conflicts and mistakes can be significantly reduced.

Discuss with team members about the current culture of the organization. Make the changes you find warranted. Maintain healthy communication with your team. Tell the team about the leadership of the organization and the strategies adopted to create a more engaging company culture. Conflict is an integral part of any organization and is directly related to the health of its culture. Therefore, when conflicts arise, the leadership must resolve them quickly and amicably.

Creation of an objective, transparent and fair system of conflict resolution.

A positive company culture can do wonders for your business by transforming ordinary employees into super workers who go further and above your competitors.

Provide easy access to information

Allow employees quick access to information so they can accept independent decision possessing the necessary information. Failure to do so can lead to loss of opportunities and income.

Increased employee engagement

Without frequent interactions between employees, are overlooked good ideas and opportunities. Result: Valuable workers frustrated at their insignificance, which can be disheartening as a result of poor collaboration. Still, how do you develop employee engagement when many people work remotely? An IP network with integrated voice, video and wireless connectivity provides interactive web video conferencing, IP telephony, and other tools that facilitate collaboration.

Improve the quality of customer service for your company

In a tough economic climate, improving customer service can be the key to survival. A company's reputation depends on the quality of customer service. Complain customers and your customer base will grow at the expense of their relatives and neighbors, who will be recommended to them by satisfied customers who work with you. But if one is unhappy, it can also trigger word of mouth. “The experience people have gained working with your company, and then what they hear from friends and family members, influences their perception and likelihood of doing business with the company. Understand what's important to customers. The speed and availability of services are universal truths. Improving customer service - starts with your employees. The most important person in the customer service scheme is the manager, since staff turnover is directly managed by the manager. Others important qualities are empathy, consistency and patience. Experience is vital, but it can be a double-edged sword: too much, and the spokesperson can appear pedantic or condescending; too little and the representative will not know how to handle sensitive situations. Improving Customer Service: Use Online Tools to Personalize Help Your website is usually the first time customers get to know your company, so your home page should be user-friendly.

Each new day gives you the opportunity to move forward. You can improve your business on several fronts: by increasing profits, reducing losses, gaining more customers, expanding markets.

1. Determine your core values What's your mission? What makes your business the most valuable?

2. The right people Assess the potential of the people you hire and their alignment with core values and corporate culture. Ask specific questions in interviews that focus on loyalty, passion for your job, and your ability to communicate and work with others. These traits can have a significant impact on the productivity and cohesion of your employees.

3. Build a system of trust and accountability Your employees need to know that you respect them and trust their abilities. Let's start by empowering skilled employees to exercise a stake in decisions affecting the company. A small amount of additional responsibility shows your confidence. If your employees make a mistake, hold them accountable - not punishing them for their failures, but by analyzing the mistakes. Be clear about what went wrong, how to fix it, and how to make sure it never happens again. Trust and responsibility goes beyond the interaction of employees; relationships with customers are also very important. If your business is not honest with its customers, it can damage employee-customer relationships. Learn from mistakes and keep your promises.

5. Reward People usually respond well to well-earned praise and are motivated to keep doing good work that upholds your core company values. The best way for you to use this fact to create performance incentives that reward employees when they achieve a goal. The award does not have to be monetary - you can alternatively offer small, unique perks, such as the best parking space or an honorific title (eg Employee of the Month). The strength and vitality of your culture comes down to your people doing work that fosters your core values. This positive attitude will extend to everything - improving customer relationships, getting a new order, and improving your brand as perceived by people outside of your company.

How to improve company morale without spending money

Company morale is a key indicator of employee satisfaction. Tax breaks are critical when hiring talented employees. Nonetheless, non-monetary rewards remain a critical resource that directly contributes to improving company morale.

1. Determine what motivates employees by interviewing them in areas of importance to career development: leadership, praise, recognition, status, accomplishment goals, and the leadership of others.

2. Link the vision of the company and its mission by connecting the individual goals of the employees. Create an atmosphere that expresses genuine concern for your employees. Ask staff to bring photographs, short stories, and memorabilia. The life of the employee and the general well-being fit into the big goals, mission and vision of the company.

3. Instill a sense of confidence in the company's ability to provide resources for employees to succeed.

4. Highlight the achievements and success stories of employees by posting them in a prominent place.

5. Show an example. The behavioral model that you are looking for in your employees.

6. Promote open communication towards achieving your goals.

7. Increase the level of responsibility. Set clear goals to accomplish. Be prepared to explain to your employees how to achieve the goal. Be available to employees. Help them identify problems by working together to overcome obstacles and explain how to achieve personal success. Encourage employees to be proactive in solving problems and welcoming their contributions.

Be creative in creating a productive and engaging work environment. Print posters with inspirational messages and display them prominently.

1. Make sure your employees understand what you expect from them. Employees who understand what is expected of them are much more satisfied and productive than employees who have to guess what it takes to successfully complete their work.

2. Smiles. Smiles are contagious; if you smile, your employees smile too. The converse is also true. If you spend your day with a grimace on your face, your employees will adopt your sour mood.

3. Provide positive recognition. Employees need to hear that they are doing a good job in order to continue to do a good job.

Surveys show that many employees are more motivated, valued and appreciated for their work more than salary increases or additional incentives.

4. Let your employees leave early on occasion if they finish their work earlier. Some employees don't want to go home, and that's okay.

5. Make your work environment fun. For example, contests are great for raising the spirits and, as a result, work productivity. Sooner or later, people will stop being afraid of work. You can increase the motivation and loyalty of the company by introducing a less rigid schedule, linking the time of work to the result. An employee can feel responsible for the productivity of their time.

Determine what your company can offer to improve the work environment. Incentives, additional training and other benefits increase productivity.

1. Find out what motivates your employees. Give them the opportunity to self-assess to see what is impeding productivity in the workplace. Perhaps the working conditions need to be improved (Internet speed, the presence or absence of devices important for the operation, etc.).

2. Making effective changes in as soon as possible can improve productivity at no other cost. Adding new resources, flexible time, education of people are also important components of motivation and productivity.

3. Remove inefficient resources. It can be equipment or people. Sometimes, bad equipment or a bad worker can create less desired results from an activity. Upgrade tools that are essential to the manufacturing process, or replace a worker who refuses to meet the standards set by management. By improving the environment, you can change the end result in your favor.

Employers can increase productivity among workers by improving working conditions and removing barriers that prevent workers from performing. best qualities... Management should provide workers with the tools they need to carry out their duties.

Team building

Events such as corporate parties or outings will improve employee morale and allow employees to get to know each other better outside the office. Relationships built outside the company can enhance team spirit at work. Events and activities also improve employee satisfaction, which can lead to increased productivity.

Connection

To reward employees, management must communicate its goals to employees. Regular meetings will help maintain a clear vision of employee goals. Workers without a clear understanding of the company's goals are less likely to work towards meeting them.

Recognition Officer

Managers and supervisors can motivate employees by encouraging and motivating them to achieve their goals. Praising employees for a job well done will help inspire employees to do their best. This employee can also inspire other employees to achieve goals productively. Monetary and other incentives are also good ways to increase productivity.

Environment

The work environment can play a large role in productivity among workers. The location of the office must be efficient and allow workers to do their job without hindrance or hindrance. In addition, by providing workspace in the office, for example, a personal desk encourages a sense of belonging, which can improve employee morale and satisfaction. Improved morale and job satisfaction leads to increased productivity.

Limiting communication time both among employees and on the Internet can increase your productivity. It's hard to be productive in modern world where distractions and situations go from television to the Internet to home computers and smartphones. Add to that the traditional distractions of family, children, friends and colleagues, and it's amazing that we can get anything done in no time. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to quell distractions and improve productivity. Get rid of the time thieves. Turn off your TV, log out of your email, log out of social networks and other sites like Twitter and Facebook, stop recklessly surfing sites and blogs. The Internet can be seen as a wealth of useful information or a major waste of time, depending on how you use it. If you can completely disconnect from the Internet, do so. If your job, on the other hand, requires you to use the Internet to respond to emails or research, limit your use of social media and reading unnecessary literature and newspapers. Find a quiet place to get your job done. Noise and traffic can be distracting. There can be a quieter place without distraction, such as a public library or your own home office.

Workplace communication

Chatting with employees on a coffee break is fine, but constant distractions by personal email, text messages, instant messages, or visitors can be detrimental to your productivity. Tell employees not to be disturbed during certain hours during which you should be more productive. Let your friends and family know about it.

Organization

Organize your desk to rid it of the clutter that can leave you distracted. Make sure to remember where you have everything, right down to the paper clip, pen, and notebook. A clutter-free workplace will help make you more productive. Don't forget to organize your time as well. Marking important appointments and project deadlines on a calendar will contribute to your productivity and allow you to see specific goals.

Incentives

Form a system of rewarding yourself for achievements. For example, if a 10-page document needs to be submitted within two weeks and you want it to be done on time, create incentives to write at least one page a day. The incentive could be the time spent on your favorite site after completing the page for that day, or it could be a movie or meeting with friends. Rewarding yourself for your hard work will increase your chances of being productive.

What questions can you find answers to in this article:

Why To CEO need to listen to the workers?
How do you motivate staff to improve their performance?
What practical tools are there to improve production efficiency?

You will also read:

How did the working group solve the problem with the marriage in the VSMPO-Avisma corporation?
What caused the decrease in the total production cycle time at the Kaluga Automotive Electrical Equipment Plant?
Expert Advice: How to Implement Kaizen in Five Days (Comment by Michael Weider)?

Before assembling the engine, the engine armature is balanced to eliminate vibrations - pieces of paste are attached, which break off from a whole piece, like plasticine.

Periodic work is an activity that is not included in every cycle of manufacturing or processing a part: inspection, changing tools, oils, receiving parts, materials in pantries, cleaning the workplace, etc.

For production to work efficiently, it is not enough to purchase equipment and adjust the production technology. The main part of the production process is the work of the personnel. If you can not only train people to perform their daily routine work with high quality, but also motivate them to continuously improve their performance, then your production will work smoothly and efficiently. It is important to choose the right control technology.

Western management techniques recommend standardizing processes, describing them in regulations and communicating them strictly “from the top down” to the personnel. But such techniques almost exclude the manager's feedback from people. As a result, the General Director is not often in production and does not consider it necessary to listen to the opinions of workers or technical personnel. As a result, many production processes run ineffectively, and it does not occur to a worker or specialist that he can change the situation. For example, the button of the machine is at the worker's right hand and in order to perform the operation, he has to turn around, spending about a minute on the whole process. On an enterprise-wide basis, this is a significant time investment. If the button is moved under the left hand, the procedure will take no more than 15 seconds. The problem is that, as a rule, such questions do not reach the top management level.

A worker who feels interested in the process would tell the manager how to speed up production operations. And the time savings would be obvious.

How does the CEO motivate staff

The staff will treat the improvement of production processes at their site as a daily and necessary job if you create an atmosphere in the team that is constantly looking for ways to develop. How to do it? Try to convey the following thoughts to subordinates:

I am interested in the opinion of all employees of the company.
Everyone is responsible for their own workflow and can suggest improvements. Everyone will be heard.
The decision to change production processes will be discussed in working groups and taken collectively.
Proactive workers will be encouraged.

When employees see that you support the transformation, that the entire enterprise management system is focused on them, they will actively look for ways to improve. own work... It is equally important that employees have confidence in the future. It is impossible to take responsibility for the work process and improve it if the threat of dismissal is in the air. For example, in our company, I promised people that as long as I manage production, none of them will be fired. We are talking about a team of like-minded people that I have been forming over the course of several years. For a company that is a participant in the alcoholic beverages market, where staff rotations occur frequently, such guarantees are very relevant.

Another incentive for development is the opportunity to acquire professional skills at the plant. When the production was opened, there were few specialists. We took university graduates for the position of technologists and trained them from scratch. I spent up to 70-80% of the time in the shops, talking with managers and workers, advising on how to solve systemic problems. This is what we do to this day. In addition, we support employees in their pursuit of career growth... All this allows our people to believe that improving production efficiency (improving quality, productivity, reducing time costs) depends on each of them.

How the working group reduced manufacturing waste

In the VSMPO-Avisma corporation, there was a lot of defects in one of the shops. To deal with the problem, we created a working group.

1. What has been done:

collected and analyzed data on the causes of the appearance of nonconforming products;
highlighted the main "problem" products (forged rods
and rolled rings) and “problem” stages of production (forging and cleaning of rods, production of blanks for rings);
conducted a questionnaire survey of workers associated with the release of these products;
an action plan was created to reduce the number of defects;
the existing technological documents were amended to clarify some important production points;
recommendations were written on the loading of furnaces, allowing for high-quality forging and obtaining quality products;
the forging procedure on the press is detailed and painted;
“forging maps” have been created, in which the sequence of transitions and the time allotted for each transition are indicated;
an instruction was written explaining how to improve the quality of metal forging by optimizing the cleaning process;
the system of motivation for workers of the forging section has been changed: now defects are analyzed at meetings of the brigades, this information is taken into account when making decisions on bonuses;
training of operators, blacksmiths, craftsmen in new work standards was carried out, certification was organized;
training of foremen in the system of lean production was carried out, which contributed to a change in views on production and the emergence of employees' desire to suggest improvements.

2. Outcome. During the year, the number of defective products decreased by 46%. We did not come to such a result right away. At first, due to misunderstandings on the part of the shop workers, difficulties arose with the implementation of the project. But then, in the process of teamwork and training, the need and the possibility of changes became obvious, and then the work went quickly and amicably.

Based on materials provided by Antonina Sokolova, business coach of CenterOrgProm

Expert opinion

Michael Vader
President and Lead Trainer of Leadership Excellence International Inc, Colorado Springs, USA; Certified Lean Implementation Expert

People should not be afraid to suggest improvements; on the contrary, they should be reassured that their efforts will be rewarded. To keep employees interested in looking for optimization methods throughout long period, it is necessary to gradually connect material motivation. For example, pay bonuses at the end of a quarter (year) based on the funds saved due to transformations. It is important that all employees receive an equal percentage of bonuses and are aware of this. If a top manager receives, for example, an incentive bonus at the end of the year - 15% of the salary, then the worker must receive at least 15%.

Leadership Excellence International was founded in 1995. Provides consulting services for the optimization of production and business processes, elimination of hidden losses in production, in service organizations. It has branches in India, Malaysia, Singapore, and is active in the Russian market.

How to implement lean manufacturing

The main task of the General Director is to be the initiator of the implementation of the lean manufacturing method and an active supporter of it. In practice, you can entrust the implementation to the production director.

There are management tools that encourage staff to take an interest in the work process, as well as constantly improve performance. All of them are aimed at introducing lean thinking in the enterprise. This means that each participant in the process should strive to do their work faster, better and with the least effort. We use five tools in our factory:

1. Creation of an autonomous working group to solve problems.

2. Visual management.

3. Rational use of the production site.

4. Change of types of personnel activities.

5. Maintenance of equipment (workplace).

1. Creation of an autonomous problem solving working group

As a rule, information from the worker goes to the General Director along the following chain: worker - foreman - foreman - process engineer - department head - shop manager - production director - general director. As a result, information may be distorted or delayed.

To speed up the exchange of information, I have created working groups in the enterprise. They are made up of representatives from all production departments. The groups meet about once a week. Employees are assigned daily, weekly, monthly tasks. Each group solves the issue at its own level, regulates it and then comes to me with a solution. Let me give you an example. Preparing the activated carbon before loading it into the coal columns was a laborious and messy process. At the initiative of the employees, an installation was developed and constructed that allows this operation to be carried out with less labor costs and more efficiently. Now the technology of coal preparation is the know-how of our company

What gives. As a result of this practice, last years the loss of raw materials and auxiliary materials has decreased several times.

This is the CEO speaking

Alexey Baranov

In one Russian car assembly company, the work is organized as follows. In a weekly meeting, the assembler team reviews operator suggestions for process improvements. Then a decision is made to implement one or more proposals. What would happen after that in most companies? Multi-week approval of rationalization proposals, visas in many offices. What's going on here? The decision of the brigade is mandatory for the management. And the head of the shop is given one month to implement it. If you don't meet it - blame yourself. The team will meet again in a month and will demand a report.

CenterOrgProm LLC is a Russian provider of services for the development of Lin systems (lean manufacturing, kaizen, Toyota Production System). Clients - Rusal, KamAZ, VSMPO-Avisma, AvtoVAZ, Uralmashzavod, 1 Maya confectionery, Uralsvyazinform and other companies in Russia and neighboring countries.

2. Visual management

Visual management tools can be different depending on the specifics of production. The development and application of visual management tools in production is usually the responsibility of the quality department staff. At our plant, in front of the workshops, there are histograms, and all employees can get acquainted with the status of the production line in shifts. Indicators below the norm are marked in red. Next comes the analysis of downtime, all performers identify its causes. They can be organizational, related to supply, functional, etc. The employees of the quality department document the operation of the filling line per shift, the operation of machines, analyze why stops occur. All this is noted on the primary accounting sheets, compiled and then analyzed at meetings with the head of the shop. Another useful visual management tool in manufacturing is distinctive color. work clothes OTK employees. In our production, the specialists of this department are dressed in bright clothes so that each employee can quickly seek advice if a problem or question arises.

What gives. Saving time and labor.

This is the CEO speaking

Alexey Baranov
General Director of LLC "CenterOrgProm", Yekaterinburg

Along with histograms, you can use the “andon” system (English andon board) - a device for visual control of the production process. It can be a board that shows what is happening at the enterprise, or several lights that come on, notifying about certain processes. For example, a red light signals that for some reason the equipment has stopped, a light of a different color is on if the equipment needs to be loaded, that is, the materials have run out or the intervention of workers is needed.

3. Rational use of the production site

Rationally organized workplaces meet the following requirements: free space around the worker, absence of obstacles (nothing should interfere with his movements), aisles between machines and workshops are designed so that workers do not have to spend a lot of time on moving.

What gives. Increasing the utilization rate of equipment, saving time and labor costs, freeing up production areas, reducing losses during transportation and movement.

Practitioner tells

Marina Antyufeeva
Director for Development, Production Optimization and Quality Management System of the Autocomponents Division, Avtokom OJSC, Kaluga

In 2005, at the Kaluga Automotive Electrical Equipment Plant (KZAE), I headed the production development center. We began to introduce improvements from the assembly areas, since there was equipment there that was easy to move, and small operations were performed. There is a shortage of personnel at all factories in Russia, and there was a shortage of balancers at the assembly sites of this enterprise. When observing the operator's work, it turned out that the balancer receives paste in the shop warehouse four to five times per shift (which is 1.66 seconds per one part). If the balancing paste is delivered to the workplace, this will reduce the periodic work by 35 hours.

Another example. Analyzing the work of the assembly section of the unit, it was revealed that the equipment was placed not according to the technological chain, but according to the principle "where there was free space." We made a new layout, arranged the equipment sequentially - in accordance with the technological process. Now the part moved from machine to machine and passed from hand to hand. The need for a large number of containers and a stock of parts has disappeared, 90 sq. m of area, the total production cycle time decreased from 420.11 sec. up to 331.86 sec. This increased the throughput of the site by 20%. And most importantly, the operators, mostly women, stopped carrying heavy loads from one workplace to another.

OJSC "Autocom"- one of the suppliers of AvtoVAZ, manages the Kaluga plant of auto electronics, the plant Avtopribor (Kaluga), the Kozelsk mechanical plant (Kaluga region), the Lyskovsky electrical engineering plant (Nizhny Novgorod region), the Serpukhov automobile plant, owns a 50% share of the Kinelagroplast plant (Samara Region). The company was founded in 2000. The number of employees is 16.5 thousand. Annual turnover- USD 300 million.

4. Change of activities (staff rotation)

After you have explained to people that it is possible and necessary to propose improvements, it is necessary that this should be done not from time to time, but systematically. It is important that employees understand what depends on the result of work in their production area, so that they become familiar with related processes. If an employee produces low-quality products and it ends up in the next workshop, the workers of this workshop will have no time to think about whether to improve the process - they will have to eliminate the defect. You can solve this problem by rotating your staff. Recommend to the production director to move specialists from one workshop to another several times a year.

At our plant, specialists from one workshop periodically move to another and work there for some time. For example, the technologists of the blending shop move to the bottling shop, where more issues are related to the organization of labor and assembly. So far, this practice is only common in production, but over time, I hope it will be applied throughout the company.

What gives. Employees become familiar with related processes, communicate, work together to solve cross-functional problems, and then standardize the procedure to prevent future recurrence of these problems. In addition, such an approach disciplines personnel, makes it possible to understand what exactly slows down the work at the enterprise, which specialists duplicate or redo each other's work.

5. Maintenance of equipment (workplace)

Work at the enterprise should be comfortable. To do this, it is necessary that the condition of the equipment is impeccable, everything you need (tools, workpieces) is at hand, and everything unnecessary has been removed from the desktop. Our company has a system of equipment care that requires the participation of not only employees technical department but also machine operators in their workplaces. It includes scheduled preventive maintenance and preventive inspections.

What gives. The changeover time is reduced, the risks of emergency shutdown of equipment are reduced, and the production safety is increased. The result of a careful attitude to the equipment in our company is that on domestic equipment we have achieved the maximum utilization rate of bottling lines - 0.88–0.90 (while in the norm it is 0.80–0.85). Some companies cannot achieve this with advanced German and Italian equipment.

Boeing's visual control system

The visual production control system at the Boeing Moscow Design Center is structured as follows. The designers are in the large hall, each with his own workplace, which is fenced off from the rest by small partitions. Each person works at his computer and is not distracted by anything, but if he gets up, then he can see the whole hall. The head's workplace is on a certain elevation, and he sees the whole hall. In the center, the following visual system is adopted: if the designer has completed the task, he raises a green flag. The manager sees that the employee is free and can perform the next task. If the performer has problems that do not require immediate intervention, then he raises the yellow flag. And the leader knows that when he has free time, he must approach this person. If the problem is serious (the designer cannot complete even half of his task), the employee raises a red flag - this is already a signal not only for the manager, but for the entire team of employees appointed in advance. Team members see a red flag and immediately go to a colleague in need of help, figure out what happened, and work together to fix the problem.

Based on materials provided by CenterOrgProm LLC

This is the CEO speaking

Alexey Baranov
General Director of LLC "CenterOrgProm", Yekaterinburg

At one of the enterprises light industry, located on the Volga, in the team of fitters-adjusters there was the following situation: each locksmith on duty had his own box, which contained all the tools, devices, components, including absolutely unnecessary ones. It took a lot of time to find the necessary tool for work - more than five minutes. When the company began to organize workplaces, the working group, together with the adjusters, analyzed the contents of their boxes. We removed everything that was rarely used and unnecessary and came to the conclusion that instead of boxes for each adjuster, you can have one for the entire brigade. So instead of twelve boxes with tools, there were only four. Since the number of tools and devices has been reduced, now it takes less time to find the necessary tool - just a few seconds.

How to implement kaizen in five days

Michael Vader
President and Lead Trainer of Leadership Excellence International Inc, Colorado Springs, USA; Certified Lean Implementation Expert.

You can start the implementation of kaizen at the enterprise with a five-day assault-breakthrough. The CEO can participate in the process personally, assign control over the process to the production director (in the case of a manufacturing enterprise) or engage an external consultant.

1st day. The CEO must set a specific goal for employees to achieve after five days (eliminate waste by so many percent, increase productivity by so many percent, reduce cycle time, etc.). It is especially important to show that you will listen to the opinion of not only the top manager, but also the worker.

The next step is to create a working group. It should include no more than six to eight people. Each member of the group has one vote, everyone has the right to express their own opinion. The approximate composition of the group:

two operators (performing mechanical work);
engineer or supervisor (manager responsible for a specific area where improvements are required);
the head of the quality service (if we are talking about the processes on which the quality depends) or the repairman (if these are production processes);
two people from other departments (accounting, purchasing or receiving and shipping department, supplier or customer representative); these people, not privy to the process, will ask questions, perhaps stupid from the point of view of specialists, but necessary for the emergence of new, breakthrough ideas.

The team goes to the shop floor and collects data on the efficiency of current operations as of one day (production volume, scrap rate, quality issues, hidden losses due to movement in the warehouse, machine downtime, etc.). It then describes the problems that arise in the process of achieving the goal set by the Director General. The task of the first day of the group is to understand the purpose and collect data about the process.

2nd day. The responsible person (CEO, production director, external consultant) should lead the team through the list of problems to solve on the way to the goal. All participants are involved in the discussion. Combine similar ideas and try to focus on two or three possible solutions. The proposed improvements need to be measurable.

3rd day. The working group is discussing the possibility of implementing the ideas. Have the team agree that small pilot improvements will be implemented in which all employees can participate. Someone on the team should start documenting the new procedures. Please note that the group will submit a transformation report to the CEO by the fifth day at the latest.

4th day. The group continues to implement changes and begins work on measuring the effectiveness of the new process. To communicate to management what improvements the team has made, they will need to compare performance before and after the change.

5th day. The team finishes documenting the new operating procedures and reports to the CEO (if he was not involved in the brainstorming session) exactly what improvements have been made.

The great importance of improving working conditions is explained by the fact that they basically represent the production environment in which human activity takes place during work. The level of a person's working capacity, the results of his work, his state of health, and his attitude to work are directly dependent on their condition. Improving working conditions significantly affects the increase in his productivity. In this regard, as practice shows, the costs of their implementation are recouped in an average of 3-5 years.

Factors shaping working conditions are divided into two large groups: factors that do not depend on the characteristics of production, and factors determined by the characteristics of production. The first group includes natural, socio-economic and other factors. Factors belonging to the second group are subdivided into production and socio-psychological. In this work, the second group of factors is considered, since they are of interest from the point of view of the scientific organization of labor and can change.

Production factors are the most extensive group of factors generated by the characteristics of a given production and forming specific working conditions. There are several subgroups among them: psychophysiological, sanitary and hygienic, aesthetic and some others (household, organizational, material, etc.).

Psychophysiological factors are determined by the content of labor and its organization, therefore they are sometimes called labor.

The main measures to reduce physical and neuropsychic tension are as follows:

1. Increasing the level of mechanization and automation of labor-intensive production processes, the use of modern high-performance equipment;
2. Improving the organization of workplaces;
3. Organization of techniques and methods of work;
4. Optimization of the pace of work;
5. Optimization of the mode of work and rest;
6. Improving transport services for jobs associated with heavy work items;
7. Scientifically grounded establishment of standards for equipment maintenance and standards for its maintenance, taking into account the amount of information that an employee can correctly perceive, process and make a timely and correct decision;
8. Alternation of work requiring the participation of different analyzers (hearing, sight, touch, etc.);
9. Alternation of work that requires mainly mental stress with physical work;
10. Alternation of works of varying complexity and intensity;
11. Optimization of work and rest regimes;
12. Prevention and reduction of monotony of work by increasing the content of work;
13. Rhythmization of labor (work on a schedule with a 10-15% lower load in the first and last hours of the work shift);
14. Computerization of computational and analytical work, the widespread use of personal computers in the practice of production management, the organization of computer data banks on various aspects of production activities, and others.

Sanitary and hygienic factors are, roughly speaking, the external production environment, namely, the microclimate (temperature, relative humidity, air velocity), air purity (presence of vapors, gases, aerosols), illumination, noise, vibration, ultrasound, various radiation, biological and other influences. Almost all of them are normalized by setting standards, sanitary norms and requirements and quantitatively assessed using methods of sanitary and hygienic research.

Numerous studies of labor hygienists and physiologists have established that the human body is significantly influenced by the sanitary and hygienic factors of the working environment. Some of them have an adverse effect on the employee, which reduces performance, worsens health and sometimes leads to occupational diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to know not only the cause of these factors, but also to have an idea of ways to reduce their negative impact on the body of workers. It is advisable to pay special attention to the influence of adaptable environmental factors (meteorological conditions, noise, vibration, illumination), the negative impact of which can be largely reduced through the use of active means of improving the labor process.

Considering the mechanisms of the impact of meteorological factors of the production environment (temperature, humidity, air velocity, action of the radiant energy of heated parts and assemblies) on a person, it should be noted that the human body seeks to maintain the relative dynamic constancy of its functions under various meteorological conditions. This constancy is provided primarily by one of the most important physiological mechanisms - the mechanism of thermoregulation. It is carried out at a certain ratio of heat generation (chemical thermoregulation) and heat transfer (physical thermoregulation).

To ensure normal meteorological conditions in production premises a lot of research work is being done.

Prevention of hypothermia of the working organism is of no less importance in production conditions. It is hypothermia that is one of the causes of colds. The main reason for the occurrence of a cold is the uncomfortable conditions of industrial premises and inappropriate clothing. The cause of colds, according to many researchers, is not in the strong effect of cold on the human body, but in the long-term effect of cooling on the skin surface.

Colds arise not so much from exposure to cold air as from its combination with high humidity. Humidity also helps to cool the body in cases where the surface of the skin is covered with sweat, since wet skin cools much more than dry skin. Heat dissipation is especially enhanced when the skin is covered with sweat in low temperatures or in the wind.

The main means of preventing colds are improving sanitary and hygienic conditions in the workshop, at the site and systematic hardening of the body.

In the cold period of the year, in closed industrial premises, it is necessary to eliminate everything that contributes to hypothermia of the body. A particular danger is posed by sharp currents of cold air rushing through open gates, doors, non-glazed windows, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to protect workplaces in industrial premises from sharp currents of cold air with frequent opening of doors and other openings with the help of locks, vestibules, air curtains, etc. If it is impossible to arrange vestibules in places where there are drafts, it is necessary to place screens-partitions up to 3 m high near the workplaces. For greater protection from cooling, heating batteries can be placed on the partitions.

An air curtain is also a good protection against cold air. From the bottom or side duct with a grille, a blower is blown into the entire width of the door by means of a fan. Depending on the mass and speed of air movement, it is possible to stop the access to the workshop of external cold air or to let some of it pass through. In winter, it is recommended to preheat the air supplied from the duct.

Single glazing of windows in workshops does not protect well against the intrusion of cold air currents. In addition, large glass surfaces serve as a source of negative radiation. Therefore, in workshops where work is associated with a cold technological process, double glazing should be used. In hot workshops, in the presence of workplaces located near external glazed fences, there should also be double glazing of windows located at a height of at least 3 m. Double glazing protects not only from sudden air currents, but also from the cooling effect of window surfaces with a low temperature ...

For natural ventilation in winter, you should use transoms, which are usually located in the upper part of the window, which facilitates the passage of cold air into the upper zone of the room. Transoms should have lateral guiding reflectors.

Limiting the effects of noise and vibration.

Numerous studies have established that during the period of adaptation to sound stimuli, the sensitivity of the hearing organs to them decreases, and after the cessation of the action of the stimulus, the sensitivity is restored. If the stimulus acts excessively and for a long time, then fatigue quickly sets in.

The negative effect of noise leads to a slowdown in the speed of nervous reactions, lowers attention. Acting on the autonomic nervous system, excessive noise causes a change in the rhythm of the pulse, negative shifts in blood pressure, which can lead to fatigue and even some diseases.

One of the important preventive measures to prevent fatigue under the action of noise intensity is the alternation of periods of work and rest under the action of noise.

Rest reduces the negative effect of noise on performance only if the duration and amount of rest corresponds to the conditions under which the most effective recovery of irritated measures of exposure to noise in the nerve centers occurs. Therefore, when choosing rational means of increasing efficiency for a specific production, it is necessary to take into account the effect of rest on limiting the effect of intense noise on the human body.

To limit and eliminate the harmful effects of vibration in production, it is necessary: careful maintenance of the equipment, timely replacement of wearing moving and rubbing parts, the use of vibration-absorbing gaskets, the use of various types of mufflers, the elimination of contacts between the unit foundation and the building foundations and, most importantly, the possibility of changing the technology - replacing production operations associated with noise and vibration, silent production processes, rational alternation of periods of rest and work when exposed to vibration.

Instructions

Western management methods seek to standardize processes, regulate them and force staff to work according to these regulations. Such methods exclude management feedback from subordinates, management rarely happens and is not interested in the opinion of workers, and therefore production is ineffective. And the workers are unable to change the situation.

To create an atmosphere of continuous improvement of the quality of work in the team, employees must be sure: - that the management is always interested in the opinion of all employees of the company,
- that each employee is personally responsible for his work and has the right to suggest improvements,
- that all changes will not be discussed and accepted strictly collectively,
- and that initiative will always be rewarded. With this support for change and the orientation of the entire management system to it, workers themselves will strive to improve production efficiency. It is also important that workers have confidence in their future. The director should reassure subordinates that even in difficult times the company will not have employees. That every employee is invaluable to the company. Such guarantees are especially relevant after the past economic crisis and mass layoffs as a result of it. Another incentive is the opportunity to receive advanced training at the enterprise. Together with stimulating the desire for career growth, this increases the quality of work, its productivity and reduces the time spent.

To reduce marriage, you need to do the following: - collect and analyze all the causes of marriage;
- highlight the main products for which defects often occur, and the main stages of production, where they occur;
- interview all employees associated with the release of low-quality products on the subject: how to eliminate defects;
- create an action plan for improvement;
- make amendments to the technology of the required production processes;
- create instructions and recommendations for improving the quality of products, if necessary, detail the production procedures;
- to improve the system of employee motivation to eliminate defects;
- if necessary, conduct training and workers and even management.
All these activities must be carried out with the direct participation of a team of workers.

Implementation of lean production, which means that each employee should strive to perform their work faster, better and with minimal labor costs. First, it is necessary to create working groups to speed up the exchange of information between the management and the work collective and eliminate distortions and delays in the flow of information ... Working groups should consist of representatives from all departments and meet regularly to solve daily, weekly and monthly tasks. Each group should solve the issue at its own level, regulate it and represent ready-made solution to the head. The group's decisions to improve production efficiency must be implemented immediately. And the responsibility for their implementation should be borne by the middle management. Secondly, the rational use of jobs should be. This means that there should be free space around the worker, no obstacles to his movements, rationally designed aisles between machines and workshops. This will increase the utilization of equipment, save time and costs, free up production space and reduce losses during movement. Third, it is necessary to change activities (introduce personnel rotation). This will acquaint workers with related processes, clearly demonstrate what happens when the defective product enters the next workshop. Workers can communicate and collaboratively solve cross-functional problems and fix them. The staff is disciplined, understands what slows down production and which specialists are redoing each other's work. Fourthly, the implementation of a system for maintaining equipment and the workplace reduces changeover time, reduces the risk of accidents and increases production safety. As a result of careful attitude, the utilization rate of the equipment reaches its maximum value.