How we increased productivity by over 100% in six months.

The pandemic lockdown is a great opportunity to analyze, measure, and improve processes throughout the organization.

These are a number of steps we implemented to double the average output per employee within six months. 

1. Establishing morning sessions for all employees - during these 5-15 minute sessions we gave lessons and training regarding the “LEAN” theory and also shared the production plans for the long and short term. These training and morning sessions led to greater employee engagement which was reflected in amazing and successful ideas for improvement and efficiency as well as greater motivation.
2. Determining a clear and simple metric that will describe performance for all stakeholders - for the purpose of creating a common language and a reliable database, we decided to create a metric that describes the performance of the plant in a way that is clear from the employee level to the management level. The measured index is the average output per employee per hour. That is, on average, the number of units manufactured by one employee in one hour. This criterion, in my opinion, helps another issue and is the promotion of teamwork in a workplace where the employees work individually. (Single worker on one machine). Presenting this point of view, which includes the performance of all employees, creates a mutual guarantee that is expressed in the help and assistance of the employees themselves.
3. Data Collection and Analysis - After determining the metric and collecting daily data, the accumulated information could be processed and analyzed, For example, if we noticed that Product A was produced significantly faster and more efficiently than Product B, we deciphered their differences and changed what was possible to streamline the process. I provide an example of visual analysis performed by POWER BI (in reality, a large number of different products and models were produced, the sample 2 products are illustrative only).
4. Believe in your plan and workers - As you can see in the main graph, At the first weeks of the new process there was a decline in the average productivity, one of the reasons is the “learning curve” and the time that was invested in training instead of “basic manufacturing”. Yes, it is scary and I asked myself if we are on the right path, What helped me to continue was the fact that I saw the messages were embedded better and better among the workers.

In summary, this is a synopsis of a real and successful process that combined elements of performance improvement theories (LEAN, SIX SIGMA) as well as parts of motivational theories.

If there is any interest in getting more details about the process I would be happy to provide more information.