Transcript Exploring Industrial Workers Innovation

Innovations of
Industrial Workers
Abhijit Roy
CINE
21.02.2009
Shop Floor – Source of physical labor
or Continuous innovation?
 Innovation only in R&D lab?
 Shop floor - one of the major source of
innovation
 Exploring shop floor innovations and
integrating them with company’s long term
strategy
 lead to long term sustained competitive
advantage
Source of innovative ideas
http://www.killerinnovations.com/blog/reblog/2006/06/
Share of innovative ideas among
employees
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=Article
&Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0680070104.html
Obstacles to corporate innovation
efforts
http://www.killerinnovations.com/blog/reblog/2006/06/
Barriers to tap shop floor innovation
 Lack of sharing
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Generation gap – New age workers vs. old
age workers
Rigid hierarchy
Language barrier
 Lack of corporate culture
 Dependency on latest technology
 Dependency on external consultants?
 Lack of investment
Importance of promoting Shop floor
innovation
 Cost saving
 Proper utilization of limited resources
 Developing a harmonious corporate culture
and promoting team spirit
 Drives culture of innovation
 Improving productivity and process quality
 Develop a sense of ownership among
workers – more invovlement
Some corporate initiatives to explore
shop floor innovation
 Philips Electronics Company
 New form of organizational structure to promote
innovations from shop-floor workers
 Mini-company concept at Roermond factory in The
Netherlands
 Product made in the factory - Ceramic multilayer
actuators, an important device for inkjet printers
 Rapid increase in demand for the product
 Dynamic nature of market - Short time-to-market, high
flexibility and tough competition
 Close co-operation with the customer on product
development
Source:
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?Filename=Published/EmeraldFu
llTextArticle/Articles/0440100709.html
Philips – Contribution of MiniCompanies to Improvements/Innovations
Source:
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?Filename=Published/
EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0140310305.html
Corporate initiatives to explore shop
floor innovation
 Tata Steel
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Knowledge Manthan to promote innovations
“Aspire knowledge Manthan” launched in
March, 2004 to capture tacit knowledge
present in the shop floor and promoting
sharing of the same with others
Mainly for non-IT literate workers
Workers will know best practices avilable in
the organization itself
Source: http://www.allbusiness.com/management/1081362-1.html
Corporate initiatives to explore shop
floor innovation
 I/N Tek, JV of Inland Steel and Nippon Steel
in Indiana
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Transformation of cold rolling steel process
into a continuous process
Lot of time saved – from 12 working days to
10 minutes from start to finish
Unleashed collective intelligence of shop floor
workers
Source: http://creativeclass.com/rfcgdb/articles/When_lacocca_balked.pdf
Corporate initiatives to explore shop
floor innovation
 Honda
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Automotive assembly complex at Ohio
Value shop floor workers knowledge due to
their hands-on knowledge
Managers need to compulsorily listen to
workers points and implement them
Source: http://creativeclass.com/rfcgdb/articles/When_lacocca_balked.pdf
Corporate initiatives to explore shop
floor innovation – Indian Experiences
 Indian Oil
 Workers involvement widened after implementation of
Kaizen in refineries
 One Point Lesson (OPL) scheme was promoted to tap
workers subsist innovation
 Proper recognition – good monetary incentive, best
staff award etc
 BHEL
 Standing meeting to encourage sharing innovations of
shop-floor workers
 Encouraged sharing of ideas among shop floor
workers
Corporate initiatives to explore shop
floor innovation
 TATA Group
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Tata Group Innovation Forum to promote
innovation – to explore different ideas and to
explore lessons
Suggestion schemes
 NTPC
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Frequent workshops
Suggestion schemes
Recommendations to promote
innovation
 Proper utilization of suggestion scheme
system
 Close interaction between executives and
workers
 Recognition
 More exposure to latest technologies and
systems
 Investment on human capital particularly
shop floor workers is need of the hour
Contd…
Recommendations to promote
innovation
 Meeting presided by shop floor worker at shop floor
itself
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Showing respect
Giving recognition for his work
Encouraging sharing of information
 Presentations by shop floor workers at the workshops
to the management executives
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Sharing knowledge inputs
Honing skills of presentation
 Informal meeting between executives and workers