TWI Case Studies

Standard Work, Continuous Improvement, and Teamwork

Donald A. Dinero

• Publisher: Productivity Press
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9781138463578
• eBook ISBN: 9781439893647
• Topic: Commerce
• Subtopic: Commerce Général

TWI Case Studies: Standard Work, Continuous Improvement, and Teamwork provides the insight of leading experts to assist in the execution of Training Within Industry (TWI) the game-changing business tool. Presented as a series of case studies from a range of corporations with a variety of products and needs, it illustrates the rebirth of TWI program

Chapter 1

Use and Misuse

The Training Within Industry (TWI) programs are not a panacea. The adage “if something is too good to be true, it probably is” still applies. The downside of these programs is that they take time, discipline, work, and some money. However, the amount of these factors is no greater than that of any other worthwhile endeavor. Although the rewards can be great for any organization, one must have the vision to see those rewards in order to realize them.

These programs contain a set of skills and they can be thought of as any other skill one might learn. A common analogy used compares the skill development to that required for more common activities such as the game of golf. If one is not familiar with golf, other games and skills are just as valid as analogies. The concept of golf is easy; the execution is another matter, to which most people who have played golf will attest. This is how you play golf: One must use a club to hit a small ball into holes in the ground. The holes are numbered from one to eighteen and the player puts the golf balls into the holes in numerical order. The grouping of holes is called a course and the holes are usually several hundred feet apart. The objective is to hit the ball as few times as possible. The lowest score would be eighteen, but professional players usually use between sixty and eighty strokes or hits to complete all eighteen holes. Now you know how to play golf. There are professional organizations that sponsor matches where people will pay to see professional players play this game. Those players who routinely use the fewest strokes become millionaires by doing just this. Some will argue that the best players have a natural talent for the game, and there is some truth to that. However, the most important factor is devotion to the game, and that is revealed in the amount of practice and time one spends in its pursuit. Many books are written on how to play golf and improve one’s game, but there is no substitute for picking up a club and hitting a thousand golf balls. In addition, you are not going to improve just by hitting golf balls. You must also receive feedback when you do. Without feedback, there is no learning; thus, people who are serious will hire a coach. You may know the correct thing to do, but it is difficult to recognize corrections as you are doing something. In the instances where it is possible, it takes much longer.

Our society seems to encourage instant rewards, but we must keep in mind the old adage “practice makes perfect.” Thomas Edison said that genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration, and Malcolm Gladwell reinforced that in his book Outliers. He stated that in order for a person to be truly successful, she or he must have some talent and intelligence, but the key is committing 10,000 hours to the endeavor. Another source that repeats the “10,000-hour rule” and goes into more detail about practice is The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle. He posits that “Greatness isn’t born, it’s grown” and supports his thesis with some surprising facts. The book supports very well the principles exposed in the “J” programs. These principles include breaking down a task into fine components so they can be learned and retained better, repeating simple actions so that they become ingrained in our minds, and building one simple action upon another to achieve the final product. The result is that “talent” is actually the result of hard work.

Reasons for Lack of Success

Lack of Commitment

One company that was asked to be included in this text declined to contribute because the manager felt that they were not using the programs sufficiently. For various reasons, they did not spend the time and money required and thus the programs never “took hold” after the initial ten-hour training session. This is a shame for at least two reasons. First, they wasted the money spent by paying the trainer and the participants because they got nothing in return. Second, they reinforced the organization’s culture of “the program of the month,” so any future programs will be that much more difficult to implement.

Unforeseen Circumstances

Another company had a similar outcome but for different reasons. It is an international company with facilities around the world. A manager from Europe was relocating to the United States to support a facility recently acquired by the company. He had heard about the TWI programs and knew that he would need help in getting the newly acquired plant “turned around.” Once he learned more about the programs he decided to start by implementing job instruction training (JIT). He became the champion and scheduled two weeks of training where thirty-seven employees received the ten-hour session. He included himself in these sessions and subsequently he and two others were developed to deliver the ten-hour JIT. The potential gains were great. The company had recently obtained several large contracts and had hired several employees. The purchasing department now consisted of five experienced buyers who had experience from five different companies. All their experience was valuable and pertinent in that they knew best how to obtain the goods the company required, but because they came from several different companies, their methods were all different. As a result, the purchasing was being done well, but problems were being created down the line in inspection and receiving. For example, a buyer omitted some information from a purchase order, but it did not hinder the parts in question from being ordered and shipped. When the parts were physically received, the receiving clerk had a difficult time finishing the paperwork because of the missing information. Indeed, she may have spent the majority of her time routinely correcting errors that should have been an exception. Multiply this example by all departments and all employees and the need for standard work is readily apparent. The employees were not lazy, lacking intelligence, or unmotivated. They simply were not working together. They were doing it the best way they knew how, which would be acceptable if there were only one person doing a given job. When five or six people are doing the same job differently, however, the result is low aggregate performance. This was discovered during a JIT session, which included three buyers. One did a training demonstration of completing a purchasing form and the other two noted the differences between the demonstration and how they completed the form. This had been going on for some time and the receiving clerk had just taken it on as part of her job. If the results had been catastrophic, it would have been more visible and thus would have had a higher chance of being corrected. However, because the workload had increased for only one person (the receiving clerk), no one else knew of it. Feedback sheets returned after the training revealed that similar occurrences happened in the shop. Because of JIT, the buyers got together and reviewed several procedures they all did and arrived at standard methods for them. Once the buyers standardized their work, the receiving clerk became more productive. The bad news is that two years later, because of lost contracts due to the recession, this facility is facing closure. This shows that TWI is not a “silver bullet” that is a “cure all” but only forms a firm foundation on which to build success. The successful use of TWI’s JIT could not save the facility from closure. The successes at this facility have been noted by the corporate quality team and they are investigating initiating TWI in other facilities.

Underestimating the Required Effort

Other organizations contributed some time and money but underestimated the total effort required. Again, management was not able to see the total rewards available with a correct implementation. For example, one company received the ten-hour JIT program. Its management was involved and all participants believed that the method was sound and the right method to use. The participants learned the four-step method and how to create and deliver instruction using a job breakdown sheet (JBS). However, developing and finalizing JBSs was not made part of the company’s strategy, so consequently these were not done. The participants are using the four-step method whenever they train someone and they are seeing significant benefits from just that part of the program. Previously the training had been conventional where the learner would shadow the instructor. Using the four-step method standardized the training to a certain extent. Just by using the four-step method, fewer errors were made, productivity improved because jobs were done right the first time, and the learners felt more confident in what they did. The manager who initiated the JIT recognizes these gains, but he also has the vision to see additional benefits that would occur if the JBSs were used. Using a JBS will fully standardize the training and improve its quality. Standard training will lead to standard work, which leads to improvements in quality, productivity, safety, and cost. Getting consensus on a JBS before it is used will help ensure that the best methods (known at this time) are used whenever and wherever the job is done. This manager is thus planning on an additional session to restart the program and use all of its features.

Insufficient Experience

Another company had a different experience. Its situation was that it had not been doing JIT long enough for it to be a part of their culture. The employees could use JIT but they had not done it long enough for them to be natural and proficient at it. When time was allowed, it was used successfully. When time was a constraint, however, they resorted to what they had known before. Again, management was involved and participant acceptance was high (as usual). The situation was that they were consolidating facilities and were moving two manufacturing lines to another plant. The two plants were far enough away that they knew all employees would not make the move, so they faced the classic case of having to transfer knowledge from one group of people to another. Some documentation was available but not to the detail required for a JBS. The move was to happen in two parts. The first move required fewer and less complicated operations than the second. The first move was satisfactory and JIT was used. Operators from the “home” plant visited the “move” plant and observed the operations. JBSs were created and the home operators learned the new jobs. The second move was not as successful. Being somewhat new at creating JBSs, they took longer to write than if an experienced person were writing them. Furthermore, the jobs were more complicated, there were more of them, and there was less documentation than with the first move. The operators resorted to what they could do faster: taking copious notes, videotaping operations, and not writing JBSs. The operations were relocated to the home plant and it took some time for them to work out the start-up problems. The manager knows that start-up would have been much smoother, faster, and easier if JIT had been used because he wants to establish TWI as the way of operating at his facility. At some point, JIT will be a part of their culture and if a similar move is needed again, it will be mush easier and quicker because of JIT.

Principal Reason for Lack of Success

Companies attain varying degrees of success with the TWI programs for a variety of reasons. Lacking a scientific study, it appears that the main cause is underestimating both the task and the rewards. When people see the benefits gained from using the TWI programs properly, the usual response is “Why didn’t we know about this before?” or “Where has this been all these years?” When the rewards can be envisioned, people will prepare for the task and expend whatever effort is required. Because the programs are often seen as “just another training program,” people do not anticipate any significant gain. Thus, when resources become scarce, the TWI program is not given preference. Today most people have experienced some form of training. When asked how much material people usually retain and use after a training session, most people (including trainers) say 30-40 percent at best. How can one expect significant gains when that is what is expected? The TWI programs are so succinct and structured that the participants take away exactly what the trainer intends. Because of the “learning by doing” principle, the participants can start performing immediately after the training concludes. In order for organizations to realize the benefits of these programs, the management must have the vision to see them before they become reality. This point is illustrated in the following case.

The Path to Success

Modern Woodcrafts, LLC (www.modernwoodcrafts.com) is a company of fifty employees in Plainville, Connecticut. They have been in business for about fifty years and produce made-to-order architectural millwork, cabinetry, retail interiors, and high-end jewelry cases. Their long-term, high-profile clients include Tiffany & Co, Bloomingdales, Faconable, Chopard Jewelers, as well as many of the largest interior construction companies in the Northeast. Joe Legere, the vice president of operations, joined the company a few years ago and brought with him a knowledge of Lean thinking. Joe learned about the TWI programs while receiving a continuous improvement champion certificate (CICC) and made Lisa Pelletier-Fekete, the president, aware of them. At this time they were less than nine months into their Lean implementation. CONNSTEP, the Connecticut manufacturing extension partnership (MEP) organization, is their Lean partner and they made Modern Woodcrafts aware that the TWI training was available in Connecticut. I developed Tom Southworth, the CONNSTEP Lean consultant who is working with the company, to deliver the JIT program. Because the product is high-end cabinetry, Modern Woodcrafts has a history of hiring talented craftsmen who can share their knowledge with others. But it is important to recognize that they also have a legacy of developing their employees, and this investment in its people sets Modern Woodcraft apart. Their interest in the TWI programs was a logical extension of their interest in employee development. Furthermore, they recognized that a Lean implementation would involve making significant changes to their operations and they believed that they needed to improve their training program in order for that to happen. All employees who have direct reports such as team leaders and managers received the ten-hour JIT program from Tom. Their goal was to increase quality and efficiency by adding standardization to their existing high quality operation. They are currently developing standard work, supported by JBSs, for all positions within the company. Although it is too soon to quantify any results, they have found out that the TWI training exposed the flaws of their traditional training methods. This might not have been so obvious to an organization that was not so heavily involved in training already. What may be even more enlightening, however, is that JIT exposed how much supervisors take for granted what the employees know and understand about the jobs they do. All organizations have personalities, much like people, and thus a job done in one organization will be done differently in another. When we hire an experienced person in any capacity, we assume that person knows how to do the job for which she or he was hired. Although that will be true most of the time if we do our hiring correctly, we have no assurance that the person knows how to perform that job in our organization. Thus, a person with experience in any job must know how to apply that experience to the new organization they have recently joined. A chief financial officer (CFO) has told me that she wished they had JIT when she was hired because her first large task was closing the books for the year. She knew how to do it but not at the company she had recently joined.

Before we look at some in-depth case studies, let us take a look at what the TWI programs can accomplish.

Chapter 2

A Variety of Improvements

Having read this far, some might be intimidated by enormity of the effort required to use any of the Training Within Industry (TWI) programs, let alone all three. However, the power of these programs lies in the fact that you can use just one of them or all of them; you can use them to a small extent or to a large extent. Also, there is no schedule during which they have to be implemented. Any such schedules should be part of an overall problem-solving plan. Consistent implementation is preferable to erratic bouts of effort. If you use any one of them as it was intended to be used, you will not only get the best results, but it will also be sustained and thus those results will continue and improve. No one really knows why these programs lay dormant in the United States for about thirty years, but one hypothesis is that people attempted to improve them. When they changed them, they did not work as well, and instead of reverting to the original programs, everything was discarded. For example, when people speak of excellent training today, they often are referring to what is really the job instruction training QIT) four-step method. However, when one looks at the training package of which they speak, there is no mention of a job breakdown sheet (JBS). Similar “improvements” have been made to job methods training (JMT) and job relations training (JRT). JMT can be seen in continual improvement programs, but they have been complicated to the point where they are difficult for everyone to use. Similarly, there is an abundance of human relations training available, but none is as simple, useful, and powerful as JRT. As we saw in the previous chapter, t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1 Use and Misuse
• 2 A Variety of Improvements
• 3 Green Mountain Coffee Roasters—Continuous Growth
• 4 IBM—A Revival
• 5 Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream—A Tale of Two Plants
• 6 Herman Miller-How Lean Are You?
• Case Study Sources
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author