We were working with a client who was struggling with a problem that’s far too common in todays manufacturing sector.
Another one of their key maintenance guys was retiring and they were extremely concerned about how they were going to replace him.
Production was at record levels, they were introducing new product lines, but their ability to maintain their equipment and keep their OEE within acceptable limits was becoming a real challenge.
They were getting behind on their % Pm compliance and more and more overtime hours were required to hit their targets.
The plant was suffering from what a large number of manufacturers are experiencing today.
An aging work force, a low unemployment rate, high turn over and no time or systems to develop the necessary skills in new workers to meet all the needs of a world class facility.
He wasn’t sure what to do, they had been trying to hire someone with the right credentials for a number of months.
Giving up on the idea of finding a “replacement” candidate, we decided to take a different approach to address the problem.
By treating the entire department as a whole, we were able to come up with a skills vs function matrix.
By categorizing tasks based on Skill required, level of urgency, potential impact on OEE and impact on cost, we were able to map out the functions that could be completely removed from that departments responsibility.
This freed up a significant amount of their time, making the replacement of the individual no longer necessary.
It also allowed their highly skilled resources more time to focus on the tasks they were uniquely skilled to address like process improvement and innovation.
By re-thinking how everyone was spending their time and aligning core capabilities with the task at hand, the facility moved from a reactive environment to one of continual improvement.
If you are interested in getting a copy of our Skills vs Function Assessment Matrix, please put the word matrix in the comments below.
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