In manufacturing, one of the manager’s never-ending duties is to find ways to continually streamline and streamline facility operations. Even small incremental changes can have a huge effect on improving worker efficiency and production flow. Each level of the assembly line must be analyzed for weaknesses and problems so that problems can be adequately addressed.
Anything that can cause a slowdown or pause during any phase of production is the enemy of any factory setting. A common source of work stoppage is routine shift and employee changes. In addition to creating a delay that can be very difficult to recover from, these events also cost the business valuable time and money. Lost earnings can easily run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars through accumulated outages.
An excellent way that managers can deal with this issue is by introducing Quick Change Simulations into the curriculum of their HR department employees. Also called SMED games, these simulations are classroom activities that can be practiced during regularly scheduled HR appointments or dedicated team building field trips across the company.
An SMED kit offers many advantages to any company that has an assembly line in the manufacturing industry. Chief among her many gifts is her ability to instill in employees the proper techniques that can minimize downtime due to shift changes. Through constant practice and repetition, workers come to understand firsthand the real reason why certain protocols exist rather than blindly following their boss’s instructions. This is useful when you want to institute stricter measures, but don’t want it to negatively affect workforce morale.
Running an SMED game will also provide employees with a safe place to fail and disrupt operational processes without threatening the well-being of the company or the workers themselves. In this way, people can learn to avoid repeating their mistakes without hurting anyone.
Lastly, a SMED game is also an effective team building tool. It allows workers to build relationships and a sense of camaraderie with one another. This leads to an increase in employee morale which statistically has a direct effect on a person’s work rate, efficiency and output. Never forget that happy companies are profitable companies too.