In giving advice, seek to help…-Solon
So what is the Ideal Factory? If you go online we find Ideal defined as “perfect, or best possible” and Factory as “a building where people use machines to manufacture a product.” This seems straightforward, but within those words we’ve found a lot of disparity in how they are applied in manufacturing.
I know for many of us the Ideal Factory would resemble a coffee shop…some place where we could meet up with our friends, access free WiFi, and work at our own pace…while enjoying significantly less stress.
Yet the Real Factory, the place where we actually work, probably feels more like the above photo. A bumper-to-bumper, stress laden, grind where you hope and pray you don’t cause a massive pile-up. I know my own days in manufacturing were more like eight lanes of traffic that was either traveling at break neck speed or inching along at a snail’s pace…both conditions produced incredible stress.
Fifty plus years ago Bob Dylan wrote an anthem for a generation entitled “The Times They Are a Changin’.” And those words are no less as relevant today. The times are definitely changing. Silicon Valley has created an entirely new kind of work. Although computers and robots have changed the manufacturing world forever, the factory worker remains an essential part of how everything gets produced. Factories must move forward. We can’t compete for the brightest minds if we continue as we have. Every year we experience less and less young people looking at manufacturing as a career choice…and who can blame them? Where would you rather work…in a poorly lit, cobweb encrusted, questionable air quality, incredibly loud factory or at a desk decorated with photos of your loved ones and a kitchen with refrigerator, microwave and coffee close by?
The pathway forward will not be a straight line upward, starting with our current situation and finally topping out at an area marked SUCCESS…although that would be nice. The reality will resemble a ball of twine thrown on the floor and played with by three cats. The way forward will twist and turn, fold back on itself, move up and down with all kinds of mistakes made along the way, but ultimately it will be progress. Each factory’s road to the Ideal Factory will definitely be unique to their situation, but there are guidelines. These guidelines are not set in stone, nor are they completely comprehensive. However, they are applicable to every manufacturing environment. If allowed to be guiding lights they can and will produce environments where people want to come to work, raise productivity, increase profitability, and yes, even creates peace of mind.
Sound like I’ve been listening to the Grateful Dead far too long? Or worse yet, one of those emails in your inbox screaming you can make one million dollars within eighteen days by simply purchasing this internet package all for the low, low price $349.00. Well I invite to read on.
Steve Jobs once said, “Think different.” I believe that is the point we are at today in manufacturing. So how do we start to think different about factories?
I have what I call the 4P’s…not terribly original I know, but stay with me. The 4P’s are:
- Paint
- Process
- Planning
- People