Unit 14 - Final Paper/ Presentations

In any working environment, there are expectations that are supposed to be met, failure to which, the work flow will not be as smooth as is expected to produce any viable results. The documented work instructions in place need to be followed to the letter in order to ensure productivity at the end of the day, maximize the use of resources, and minimize losses incurred in form of time wastage and destruction of the machines (Hafey, 2017). The more the workers who understand these processes, the more the chances of reduced accidents at the work place as well. When walking through the Gemba, extra care should be taken to observe safety of the individual and the safety of the employees based on the activities they are engaging in at that point in time. As one walks through the Gemba also, they should take note of the activities of the workers about how they are using the machines provided to them and take note also of the improvements that can be made to streamline work processes and increase productivity at the end of the day.

Execution

I took a walk through the two main sections of the factory, namely the receiving bay where raw materials are received and sorted into different categories based on the sections in which they are used during the production process. The second section was the finishing line where the final product is released to the sales department after having passed internal controls and tests to ensure the product conforms to the in-house standards of quality. While doing the walk, I was noting how the workers were interacting with one another, trying to assess how their interactions impact on their work. I was also keen to observe how the workers used the various resources at their disposal to carry out their work. Lastly, I looked at the environment in the Gemba to assess the condition of the Gemba alongside established levels of cleanliness and safety in the work place.

Findings

As the curing and drying chambers were sounding their alarms, few of the workers even took note of the alarms, and it was only a select group of people who were responding to the alarm and doing something towards resolving the issue. The floor was clean, but there were a lot of unnecessary materials on the floor such as used carton boxes and tool boxes used by the engineering team were not stored in their rightful place. Workers could be seen gathered into groups laughing and talking, while the machines were running, something which put their safety at risk. Some of the workers were operating machines in the wrong manner, clearly showing they did not have the technical know-how on how to carry out the tasks they were doing.

Plan to Remedy the Gemba Findings

The first will be to conduct a health and safety training on all the employees. Both new and older employees will be trained on the aspect of safety at the workplace, with emphasis being placed on their own personal safety as they interact with the machines. They will be trained on the kind of attire they should wear when operating a specific machine, and the do’s and don’ts of the machines they are operating. Additionally, workers will be expected to ensure their work stations are clean, and that the immediate environment around their work station is clean. The floor will be cleaned regularly during the day, and the engineering team will be expected to store their maintenance tool boxes at the right locations in the Gemba (Imai, 2007). Lighting will also be improved in the Gemba to enhance security for those working at night or late into the evenings. Machines are the responsibility of all the employees and the workers will be taught on the basic responses they should put in place to ensure that alarms do not sound for extended periods of time without someone attending to them.

References

Hafey, R. B. (2017). Lean safety Gemba walks: A methodology for workforce engagement and culture change. Productivity Press.

Imai, M. (2007). Gemba Kaizen. A commonsense, low-cost approach to management. In Das Summa Summarum des Management (pp. 7-15). Gabler.