THE INDUSTRY ADVISOR
PROFESSIONAL
PRODUCTION SUPERVISORS;
THE KEY TO SUCCESS
By Gene Levine - http://www.genelevine.com
Much literature has been published regarding why supervisors need training and what these training programs should cover. I'm going to provide a new spin on this subject and continue where most articles seemingly stopped. First I am going to provide a list of specific goals and standards by which professional supervisors are measured.
It is accepted that a production supervisor deals with people, data and events in order to help the company meet its goal(s). What are these supervisor's goals? Well, just as we measure the normal temperature of a healthy person to be 98.6° among the standards that present-day professional supervisors are measured by, one would expect (at least) the following seven (7) major goals. I’ve provided the formulas for each target to help you understand how these benchmarks were calculated:
1. Efficiency of direct labor work force to exceed 100%: (Average direct labor worker earns more than 60 Standard allowed minutes [“S.A.M.s”] per hour).
2. Meet or beat scheduled workloads: Total Produced SAMS =< Total Scheduled SAMS
3. Quality rejects not to exceed 1/4 of 1% of total production: (Total Defective Units ÷ Total Production Units X 100 – Limited to sewing rejects discovered at final Quality Audit)
4. Total Direct Labor Variances (time work, make-up, overtime premium) not to exceed 15% of Total Incentive Payroll:
5. Annual direct labor turnover, not to exceed 30%:
LABOR TURNOVER % = Number of Separations X 100%
Average Direct Labor Work Force
6. Absenteeism not to exceed 3%: (Total number of available work days [all direct labor employees] ÷ Total number of annual absence days [all direct labor employees] )
7. Tardiness not to exceed 2%: (Total number of available annual minutes [all direct labor employees] ÷ Total number of annual tardiness minutes [all direct labor employees] )
Let me guess, as you review this list you’re thinking to yourself, “Where did he get these measurements?” Well, it’s a known fact that you can’t manage unless you can measure. So, the above standards were developed by my firm using our manufacturing client’s information coupled to information provided to us by elite sewn product’s companies and organizations and statistical information from Government agencies. We distilled all the information into these benchmarks in order to compare our manufacturing clientele and to give our new clients some targets. The actual studies are beyond the scope of this article and their contents very proprietary so they cannot be shared in the public domain.
For purposes of this article let us say that you have supervisors who aren’t reaching one or more of these goals. To help you, I’m now going to shift thoughts by offering you a proven solution for misguided supervisory activities or any business issue that needs solving then, I’ll come back to the above standard’s list.
Here’s the solution: Just trace the issue to the one person who controls the area in which that concern exists and you’ll arrive at not one but two answers. The first answer is that you’ll learn your concern is just a symptom. The second answer is the real problem and it is that the person controlling that area was insufficiently trained to avoid the symptom. In other words, if your supervisor(s) could be more effective at what they do and these supervisors work for you (;) then you are the problem. You can’t duck your responsibility if you want your company to compete world-wide.
Maybe I have to give you a new way of thinking towards bottom line improvement to help you understand why you can no longer avoid training: I’ll ask you a question: If I had a magic pill that I put into your company’s water supply and after it dissolved each and every one of your employees took a drink. After drinking miraculously they would instantly get motivated to work up to their potential. How much more production would you get out of them? Go ahead; answer that question for me right now!
I don’t know what your answer is but I’ve asked that same question to hundreds of business owners. Their replies averaged about 30% more production was available to them, right now, from their direct labor work force — if they were properly motivated. What’s interesting is that even though they are aware of the potential increases and the additional profit these increases represent; they admit that they are unsuccessful in getting that lost money. They seem to blame everyone and everything except themselves for the shortfall. Who do you blame for your lost production?
Regardless of your percentage, your more successful competitors are teaching you a lesson on how to get things done more effectively. What do they do that you don’t? They all utilize professionally developed supervisors.
So, don’t curse the dark. Light a candle and know that you can capture that lost production only if you are willing take the necessary steps to get it. That’s what this article is all about; helping you get motivated to put the lost money now going out your door into your pocket.
Well, we at Gene Levine Associates (“GLA”) know the answer on how to help you get that 30% increase and will share some of our expertise with you now. First, let me state that there is no right way to do a wrong thing. As you will soon hopefully learn, the wrong thing is to expect that you will have a profitable, smooth running, growing business without first developing your supervisors into professionals.
One exercise in bottom line development is to think about your company’s assets. Almost every one of your assets depreciates every year; machines, buildings, fixtures, etc; all lose value. But there is something most business owners don’t think about that appreciates every year; generally on a logarithmic basis. It is simply that well trained employees increase in value year after year.
Ok, I made my point. You know you need training along with your supervisors. The question now is what should your training program look like and how should it be prioritized? I have found that every company or factory within a large company has a different culture and uniqueness and therefore no one training program fits everyone. You must develop your own program and here’s how:
I will have you begin by giving the following two part questionnaire to each of your supervisors – which they must answer anonymously. It is important that you and your top management also complete questionnaires but those need not be confidential. The statistical results can be used to establish your training curriculum.
Most Critical Least Critical
Direct labor turnover........................................ ___________............. ___________
Direct labor absenteeism.................................. ___________............. ___________
Operator training............................................. ___________............. ___________
Supervisor training........................................... ___________............. ___________
Management training........................................ ___________............. ___________
Etc........................................
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