CORIO ‘The acerate department's product consisted of about 20 different kinds of viscous liquid acctate used by another department to manufacture transparent film to be lefc clear ‘or coated with photographic emulsion or iron oxide. Before the changes The department was located in an ‘old four-story building, as in Exhibit 13.16. The workflow was as follows: 1. Twenty kinds of povider arrived daily in 50-pound pa- per bags. In addition, storage tanks of liquid would be filled weekly from tank trucks. 2. Two or three acetate helpers would jointly unload pal- lets of bags into the storage area osing a lft truck 3.. Several times during a shift, the helpers would bring the bagged macerial up in the elevator to the third floor, Where it would be stored temporarily along the walls. 4. Mixing batches was under the direction of the group. leader and was rather like baking a eake. Following a prescribed formula, the group leader, mixers, and help- ers operated valves to feed in the proper solvent and manually dump in the proper weight and mixture of solid material. The glob would be mixed by giant egs- beaters and heated according to the recipe. EXHIBIT 13.36 art Sintra Factors and Des 5. When the batch was completed, it was pumped to finished-product storage tank. 6. After completing each batch, the ezew would thot ‘oughly clean the work area of dust and empry bas because cleanliness was extremely important to the fi ished product. ‘To accomplish this work, the department was stra tuced as in Exhibit 13.17 The helpers were usually 18 co 25 years of age: riers, 25 to 40; and the group leaders and foremen. 4 {0 60, Foremen were on salary; group leaders, mixers, 2 helpees were on hourly pay “To produce 20 million pounds of product per year department operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Fos ‘erews rotated shifts. For example, shift foreman A and {wo group leaders and crews would work two weeks 4 the day shife (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 rs.) then two weeks 4 the evening shife (4:00 p.at. to midnight), and theo ‘weeks on the night shife(midnighe to 8:00 a.m). The ‘were two days off beeween shift changes. During a eypical shift, a group leader and his re would complete two or three batches. A batch wou vation Vew of estate Deparment before Change | sna ace 4 ; tering aboretony TT A ees Wor oer ee IK AM? Elevator GEESE EE Material storage — 10 feet ” Source: HamgtoySummer/Webber, Organization! Bena Practice Management 4 2..© 1982. Reps are Eectroncally eprsune by oemChapter 13: Workplace Technology and Design errs Ae re eng ea Ea ered by the next There was slightly less work on the evening and because no deliveries were made, but these crews The shift foreman would leaders at the beginning of each shift as to the status of batches in process, batches to be mixed, whar deliveries were expected, and what cleaning was to be done. Periodically throughout the shife the fore: man would colleet samples in small bottles, which he would leave ar the laboratory technicians’ desk for testing. The management and office staff (e.g., department head, staff engineer, lab technician, and department clerk) worked only on the day shift, although the foreman might Lif an emer ° ency arose on the other shifts. Allin all, the department was a pleasant place in which to work. The work floor was a little warm, but well it, quiet, and clean. Substantial banter aud horseplay ‘oceutred when the crew wast actually loading batches, particularly on the evening and night shifts. There was = dartboard in the work area, and competition was fierce and loud. Frequently a crew would go bowling right af- ter work, even at 1:00 a.n., because the community's al leys-were open 24 hours a day. Department turnover and absenteeism were low. Most employees spént their entire career with the company, many in one department. The corporation was large, paternalistic, and well paying and offered atrractive fringe benefits, including large, virewally automatic bonuses for all. Then came the change. co Group Loader | Leader 2Mixers | 2Mixers 2Helpers I 2Helpers The new system: To improve productivity, the department was completely sedesigned; the technology changed from batches to continous processing. The ba- Sic building was retained but substantially modified, as in Exhibi 13.18. The modified workflow is as follows: 1. Most solid raw materials ate delivered via trucks ia large aluminum bins holding 300 pounds 2. ‘One handler (formerly helper) ison duty at all times on the frst floor to receive raw materials and to dunsp the hhins into the serniauromaric screw feeder. 3. The head operator (former group leader) directs the mixing operations from a control panel on the fourth floor located along one wall across from the depart: ment offices. The mixing is virwally an auromatie op- eration once the solid material has been sent up the screw feed; a tape program opens and closes the neces sary valves to add solvent, hea, mix, and so on. Sitting at a table before his panel, the head operator monitors the process to see that everything is operating within specified temperatures and pressures, This technical change allowed the department ro areatly reduce its workforce. The new structure is illus- trated in Exhibit 13.19, One new position was created, that of a pump operator who is located in a small, separate shack about 300 feet from the main building. This person operates the pumps and valves that move the finished product among various storage ranks,EXHIBIT 13.28) Elevation View of Acctate Department after Change Part : Intomal Factors and Design Cont panel Control panel oes cores ed foes 2 Head Operators ets ee oe Ds poe‘Chapter 18: Workplace Technology and Design Under the new system, production capacity was in- creased to 25 million pounds per year. All remaining ‘employees received a 15 percent increase in pay. Former personnel nor retained in the acetate department were transferred to other departments in the company. No one ‘was dismissed Unfortunately, actual ourpur has lagged well below ca pacity in the several months since the consttuction work and technical reaining were completed. 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