Small things sometimes make a huge difference
Posted : May 21, 2004 at 9:48 pm [IST]
Allow me to narrate a few instances of these from my days at HM:
There used to be a steep spiral staircase that went all the way up to the mezzanine floor, almost 25 metres above the road level. The department of Production Engineering (a part of Sheet metal division) worked from there. Some 50 or so engineers, draftsmen and sometimes even guests were using the staircase everyday. One day I saw a man getting up the staircase with a lot of difficulty and resting at every third or fourth step. Later on I found he was having a heart problem. It was quite a difficult climb for many. As a routine I used to visit the department once, or sometimes, even twice a day. Needless to say, I was young and would almost run up the stairs. However, after seeing the difficulty of this man, I thought the staircase must be dismantled and modified to make it convenient for use. The company was going though some real restriction on expenditure, but I managed to get it done in two months time from the department budget. People were very happy although most of them were active members of CPM union (that of West Bengal) and as such their main job was to oppose any thing being done without their permission. They never raised any question about this modification.
Lesson:
If what you’re doing is ultimately going to help others, don’t worry about the immediate repercussions. In the end, people appreciate it and will gradually come on your side 
In the same department, one day I was walking through the jig and fixture manufacturing section. A group of workers were working on a huge main body jig that was used to assemble all the main panels of car body. I stopped for a while and asked the workers if they knew where the jig will be used. They did not know it. I was shocked. They were never told or taken to the place where the actual production work goes on and for whom they were building the jig. The manager concerned never thought it to be necessary. How can they build a jig error-free and user-friendly if they do not know where and how will it be used? Needless to say, soon after this incident, the interaction between the design, jig manufacturing and production shop improved. It resulted in better and ready acceptance of the jigs built by the section.
Lesson:
Every individual working in a company should know their customer and understand how their work will ultimately be consumed by them. It will lead to a better quality of output, irrespective of whether the output is a complex jig or a simple document
In another case at the Sheet metal stamping division, the responsibility of die proving for ‘first off’ production was that of a separate die try-out department. The production setup men used to complete loading of the dies on press. Thereafter, the technicians of die try-out department used to rectify all the defects in these dies by manual grinding and matching and get the first part made and okayed by quality control personnel for starting production run. The supervisors in this try-out department, though engineers, were hardly skilled enough to make any major contribution. When we outsourced some dies to a Mumbai vendor, they requested to send some one to get them tried out for acceptance at their end. Though the departmental head wanted the engineers to go, I convinced that the die try-out technicians were better choice. We sent them for such a responsible work outside the company for the first time. It resulted in real good moral boosting among the die try-out workmen. The labor related problem got reduced, as they understood we were fair in our approach and appreciated their technical know-how as well as their contribution.
Lesson:
Give due recognition to those who deserve it
- Indra
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