Machine Work vs. Human Work
This article relates to the concept of Jidoka (I recommend reading the article Jidoka published in this column), one of the pillars of TPS (Toyota Production System).
In the companies I have visited, and even helped implement the lean philosophy, it is common to observe on the shop floor that, for each machine in operation, whether automated or not, there is an operator present as if he were the machine's watchman.
A machine is designed and built to perform a given operation with the aim of replacing and easing human effort and being much more productive, precise and fast. Looking back and observing the evolution of machine engineering, one notices great progress in both qualitative and quantitative terms, and today it can be said that almost everything in series production can be done with machines, with or without automation. If they are equipped with automatic mechanisms, well cared for (maintained) and properly used, they are capable of performing work without the need for a watchman literally looking after them.
So why this watching? There are several arguments and justifications.
By tradition, most manufacturing companies, from the beginning of the design and purchase of machines, size the workforce considering one operator or employee per machine unit, and this has become a completely trivialized commonplace.
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In our country, where some years ago the cost of labor was relatively cheap, it was very common for planners to consider this normal. But nowadays reality has proven different, and to be competitive one must reassess the cost of using labor down to the smallest detail. Today we already feel the fierce competition firsthand, in almost all segments, when facing the onslaught of developing countries such as China and India. Today, they have cheaper labor costs than Brazil and a much larger labor pool, eager and available for work.
In calculating the cost of production activities, machines and equipment, due to the depreciation factor, cost less and less over time; normally, within ten years, they are fully depreciated.
Labor behaves in a diametrically opposite way. Over time, it costs more and more, and if there are no productivity improvement activities through kaizen, the company is doomed to bankruptcy. Here lies one of the strongest reasons for the need to introduce the Jidoka concept into production processes.
When hiring anyone, the company should be greatly concerned with how best to use that person from a long-term perspective. Not hire simply because demand has increased and dismiss them at the first drop in demand. Besides costing the company, this practice generates labor disputes that should be avoided.
So how should one deal with an increase in demand? One way is to implement kaizen, improving the productivity of the entire operation by introducing Jidoka concepts. If the increase in demand is seasonal, work more hours keeping the takt time constant (unchanged), and if the trend of increasing demand is lasting or long-term, move on to new planning of the entire production structure. Conversely, if demand decreases and this situation is temporary, reduce working hours while keeping the takt time constant. In this way the stability of the production system is maintained, which is very important so as not to undermine the level of quality and workplace safety.
When purchasing machines and equipment, always keep in mind matching their production capacity to the takt time, that is, their operating cycle time should be slightly less than and very close to the takt time. If they have a production capacity much greater than necessary, they will certainly cost more and will be a source of inventory, which is a great waste, besides not contributing to a balanced flow of operation.
In the relationship between man and machine, the lean philosophy seeks maximum utilization of the labor resource, more than of machines and equipment. Have machines and equipment perform as many of the possible operations as they can and leave to people what the machine is not capable of doing. In this way, labor is freed up and directed to activities that add more value than being a machine watchman. Obviously, in this maximum utilization of the labor resource, the idea is to have the worker perform his activities at a pace that does not put him at risk of accidents, overburden or fatigue. To carry out his duties according to a previously established standard called standardized work, which takes into account factors such as quality, workplace safety and ergonomics, emphasizing respect for the worker.
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