"As a supervisor, I’m
caught between the engineers saying the production standards are right and my workers and
their union saying the standards and piece rates are wrong. What should I do to solve this
conflict? SM, Wisconsin
"As a supervisor, I’m
caught between the engineers saying the production standards are right and my workers and
their union saying the standards and piece rates are wrong. What should I do to solve this
conflict? SM, Wisconsin
THE INDUSTRY ADVISOR
TIME STUDY
TRAINING
IS THE ANSWER!
align="right">Gene Levine - www.genelevine.com
Your company needs to train you until you have an in-depth knowledge of how piece
rates are set. Only then can you be expected to maximize the performance of the people who
work under their incentive system. So, first I’ll answer your question, then I will
offer a training curriculum.
After interviewing thousands of my time study seminar attendees – whose companies had problems similar to yours I’ve developed seven basic principles which, when any are violated, will cause piece rate problems. I suggest you use these basic explanations when examining the piece rates and\or standards–where the biggest disagreements exist. Get the original time studies and with the help of the engineer, look at each one with a critical eye to see if the:
1. Preferred method was being used, was manually recorded and also recorded on video tape, was been mutually agreed upon by management and employees and was thoroughly explained to employees.
2. Required quality was in-use, recorded and agreed upon.
3. Person being timed was close, or was the closest to normal (100%).
4. Person being timed was motivated to succeed and is motivated by money.
5. Person doing the time study was well-trained, creditable, believable and objective.
6. Personal, fatigue, delay and any special allowances were correct for the job being studied.
7. Supervisor approved the standard (and once approved was the one who gave it to the worker).
Here are some other questions you need to have answered:
Was there employee or union pressure to negotiate standards?
Time standards lose their objectivity if management, employees or union pressures are allowed to influence those rates. For example, the boss who tells the time study person (confidentially), "Lower the piece rate that you give them because it’s easier to raise than it is to lower" knows more about exploitation than about credible leadership. It must be understood that rate setting is not a negotiable procedure. It is based on mutual trust. What the time study says should be paid should be exactly what the worker receives. So look at the actual time studies to see if the piece rates that were given to workers are the same as the rates on the studies.Was the observer mislead by workers?
Ask the time study people if your workers "slowed down" during the time studies. If they do, this is part of your problem. This slowdown happens because unknowing workers believe the slower they go, the higher the piece rate will be. Actually, correct rating or "leveling" makes just the opposite happen. The worker receives a extreme "low" rating – by the engineer – causing the piece rate to be lower than it could have been, or should have been had the worker worked at a "normal" pace.Were the rates in question set by inexperienced time study people?
Major causes for standards or piece rate problems are . . .
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