Taking Palm to the Factory Floor

Taking Palm to the Factory Floor

Illustrative Response

Q. How is work-in-process tracked now?

Tool: Interview

Describe how you currently track raw materials, components, work-in-process, finished goods, defects, and worker time.

How is this information used to measure productivity?

Q. How much “slack” is in the system

Defects getting through, idle raw material, work-in-process, or finished goods, idle workers, late deliveries, breakdowns in the production line?

Tool: Controlled observation.

Develop quantitative metrics of slack.

“Instrument” the assembly line or cells (observers, cameras, tracking devices, etc.)

Run the operation for several periods and record metrics.

Observe when, where, and how breakdowns occur.

Calculate baseline performance levels.

Identify opportunities to reduce slack (ask workers and front-line supervisors).

Q. How much of this slack could be reduced by introducing portable data communicators?

Tool: Trial on one of the assembly lines or cells

Establish improvement targets.

Design data communication system to capture, aggregate, and process real-time information (e.g., bar code reading function, programs to communicate with a centralized data base)

Develop procedures.

Train operators

Run the revised operation for several periods and record metrics

Calculate trial performance levels and compare results with baseline performance.

Q. What are the impacts on the business?

Tool: Observation and interviews

Observe changes in behavior and performance at the operational level.

Interview operators and first-line supervisors (e.g., how hard was it for you to learn the new system, is it working for you, what problems are you having, what improvements need to be made?)

Interview managers (e.g., is the system meeting your expectations, has it disrupted operations, what new opportunities or problems have surfaced as a result of having instantaneous status and performance information, what suggestions do you have for improving the system, has it improved customer satisfaction, to what operations should it be extended?)