The Harada Method – A Method for Employee Development during Production Ramp Up

Caused by shorter product life cycles and higher product variety the importance of production ramp ups is increasing. Even though companies are aware of that fact, up to 40% of the ramp up projects still miss technical and economical requirements. The success of a ramp up depends on the planning of human factors, organizational aspects and technological solutions. Since only partly considered in scientific literature, this paper lays its focus on the human factor during production ramp up. There are only incoherent methods which address the problems in this area. A systematic and holistic method to improve the capabilities of the employees during ramp up is missing. The Harada Method is a relatively young approach for developing highly-skilled workers. It consists of different worksheets which help employees to set guidelines and reach overall objectives. This approach is going to be transferred into a tool for ramp up management. Keywords—Employee Development, Harada, Production Ramp Up. I. CURRENT SITUATION ANY companies face heightened pressure of competition in the face of advancing globalisation. This has resulted not only in a price war but also in a competition of new technologies and products. Ultimately, this situation leads to increasingly short product life cycles, accompanied by a reduction in the amount of time available for new innovations to be launched on the market [1]. As a result, more and more importance is being attached to the production ramp-up phase, as a link between the development and serial production phases, hence making it a competitive factor of central significance [2]. Despite the major importance of ramp-up management, a study from 2004 showed that only about 40% of all ramp-up projects conducted at European automobile parts suppliers were successful from an economic and technical point of view. The remaining majority of 60% of ramp-ups failed for either technical or economic reasons [3]. The problem of being unable to meet the technical and economic requirements of ramp-ups, despite their importance, shows that there is still a need for action with regard to the way they are managed. The success of a ramp-up is determined by the form of the human, technological and organisational factors involved, as well as their interrelations, Matthias Goerke is research fellow at the Institute of Production Systems and Logistics, Leibniz University of Hanover, Garbsen, 30823 Germany (corresponding author to provide phone: +49 511 762 18181; fax: +49 511 762 3814; e-mail: [email protected]). Johannes Gehrmann is consultant at Vollmer & Scheffczyk GmbH and founder of Harada Institute Deutschland, Hanover, 30175 Germany (e-mail: [email protected]). whereby the human factor is of the greatest significance [4]. For this reason, the human factor is considered one of the main fields of action to be taken into consideration in ramp-up management when it comes to achieving success under prevailing market conditions [5]. It must be noted, however, that to this day, no satisfactory solution has been found for a field of action relating to the human factor, which only serves to further increase the need for a course of action. II. THE PROBLEMATIC HUMAN FACTOR There are numerous reasons for the lack of success experienced in ramp-ups. Table I below lists the various disturbance factors that are involved; these have been subdivided into categories [5], [6]. TABLE I DISTURBANCE FACTORS AFFECTING THE RAMP-UP PROCESS Supplied parts Employees Equipment Production/ project space Services Information Supply delays Scheduling delays Lack of availability Deficiencie s in equipment Quality control loops not implemented Data incorrect or not available Product changes Personnel bottlenecks Insufficient quality Scheduling delays Logistics system not initiated Scheduling delays Insufficient maturity Lack of motivation/ qualification Programmin g errors Lack of transparenc y Scheduling delays Experiential knowledge not available Deviations in quantity Lack of experience Scheduling delays Space bottlenecks Quality deficiencies Planning errors Quality deficiencies Compatibilit y problems In the study 'fast ramp-up – schneller Anlauf von Serienprodukten' [5], five fields of action were identified to reduce disturbance factors during the ramp-up phase and increase the success of the ramp-up process. Planning, controlling and organising ramp-ups 1. Ensuring production systems are robust for ramp-up 2. Change management 3. Cooperation and reference models 4. Knowledge management and qualification of personnel involved A common factor of four of these five action fields is that they all require consideration of the human factor. In the first field of action, the organisation of ramp-ups necessitates an interplay between various partners, i.e. people [7]. The second requires employees to acquire the appropriate methodical qualification for conducting a ramp-up, since a suitably robust production system can only be created by adequately qualified The Harada Method – A Method for Employee Development during Production Ramp Up M. Goerke, J. Gehrmann M World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering Vol:8, No:11, 2014 3521 International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 8(11) 2014 scholar.waset.org/1999.10/9999739 In te rn at io na l S ci en ce I nd ex , I nd us tr ia l a nd M an uf ac tu ri ng E ng in ee ri ng V ol :8 , N o: 11 , 2 01 4 w as et .o rg /P ub lic at io n/ 99 99 73 9 and capable personnel [7]. The fourth aspect refers mainly to a cooperation model that is intended to secure both the horizontal and vertical cooperation of all partners involved in the ramp-up [7]. Here too, it is not possible to ignore the human factor. The final field of action underlines the significance of the human factor in the ramping up process, since it is here that a course of action is expressly indicated for this factor. This action field includes knowledge management that relates specifically to the ramp-up and addresses all departments and areas of the organisation. It also includes the aspects of employee motivation and qualification [5], [7]. For the reasons stated above and due to the aforementioned disturbance factors, it is evident that people have a great impact on the ramp-up process. When one considers the role of the human factor somewhat more closely, a number of different causes of ramp-up failure can be identified; these can be condensed into eight problem areas, as summarised in Table II. [4]-[6], [8]-[12]. TABLE II PROBLEM AREA: THE HUMAN FACTOR Problems associated with the human factor Frustration caused by multitasking Ability to respond quickly and self-reliantly Creation of a constructive ramp-up culture Lack of personnel availability Qualification of employees involved in the ramp-up Motivation of employees involved in the ramp-up Consideration of social and human aspects Regularity of communication This overview shows how diverse the problem fields are in relation to the human factor. Reducing these problems requires an improved command of the ramp-up phase. There are already a number of approaches in ramp-up management that address these problem areas. These will be presented in detail in the following. This will be followed by a presentation and investigation of the Harada method, which is a new and comprehensive procedure that aims to reduce problems resulting from the human factor. III. EXISTING APPROACHES RELATING TO THE HUMAN FACTOR PROBLEM Occasionally, ramp-up management makes use of methods that have been devised for the purpose of enhancing the integration of persons in the ramp-up process. Of particular relevance are the Ishikawa diagram, lessons learned workshops, the listing of open points, and regular communication; these will be discussed briefly. The Ishikawa diagram is a compact method of illustrating the interrelations between problem triggers in various groups and their subsequent effects [13]. It makes it possible to identify problems encountered in the context of the human factor in a systematic and structured manner. The aim of lessons learned workshops is to reflect on the experience made in the course of the run-up process, with the aim of learning from the experience and conveying it to other employees. This is useful as it allows any negative experiences identified to be avoided in future and positive experiences to be repeated [3]. To maintain an overview of the tasks that can be derived, for instance, from the Ishikawa diagram, it has proven expedient to draw up an ongoing list of open points in rampup management. Among other things, it indicates a task's status and who is responsible for it; moreover, it helps people to focus [14]. Communication is the most important element in project management and is consequently of great significance in a ramp-up project. In line with its significance, the method of regular communication is used to establish routine communication as a good habit and a matter of course [15]. By mirroring the characteristics of the methods just stated with the identified problem fields relating to the human factor, it becomes clear that the interplay between the existing methods address a large number of the problem areas. Exceptions are the lack of employee availability and the ability to react quickly and self-reliantly; these can barely – if at all – be covered by the Ishikawa diagram. If one considers the methods independently of each other, the ability to have a positive impact on the problem fields appears much less likely, because taken alone, they are only able to cover a small number of problem areas. Consequently, even if the methods presented already cover several problem fields, there is still a need for further methods that can help to resolve these problem fields. This is based on the assumption that the more methods exist with a positive effect on a problem area, the easier it will be to resolve it. Moreover, there are two problem fields that are not addressed at all, or at best only partly; it is therefore vital that they are taken into consideration in the requirements for new methods. These statements are summarised in Fig. 1. Fig. 1 Problem areas that can already be influenced It is evident from the investigation of the existing ramp-up management and its effect on the problem areas, that there is a need for a further course of action. This can be applied specifically to the following nine requirements for new methods. These requirements arise in turn from the three Method Q ua lif ic at io n of e m pl oy ee s in vo lv ed in ra m pup M ot iv at io n of e m pl oy ee s in vo lv ed in ra m pup C on si de ra tio n of so ci al a nd