WORK-DIVIDING CREW TO MAKE 2 SHIFTS ?

[escavader]

Ive been brow beating myself to try to come up with a solution ,or suggestion for a problem at work ive been asked to solve.Ive hemmed and hawed about asking here,rather than try to solve myself,but im out of ideas.Let me give you a little background:
We have a 7 man crew in the production facility i work at.Over the years our company has grown fast,making our mill pick up the pace and become more efficient. The crew worked saturdays half day during busier months,when i first started,no one really enjoyed this,we all would rather have two days off.So a few years ago I had the crew work 1 hour extra[10 hour days]all year long,so we could have our weekends with our familys.
We grew and grew.Soon we were getting behind again.The owner and my supervisor approached me[kind of quality control,and lead person]to once again make the guys work all day on saturdays too.I knew it was coming ,and had previously talked to the guys about if it happened asked to work a couple longer days a week to keep our saturdays for our self. This was to be a temporary thing ,making our already crueling 10 hour day[very physical work]to 3 -13 hour days and two 10s.He agreed and away we went.First few weeks ok,then the crew started getting moody.Even myself,finding myself physically exhausted at the end of the day,and dead on my feet at weeks end.Ididnt enjoy the fact,never seeing my kids 3 days per week,eating cold suppers ,at 8.00 at night.or just being gone from 4.30 in the morning and arriving home at 8.00.All the guys let me know of these issues with ,them,but i never let on that i was experienceing the same issues.
About 4 weeks in two of my most experienced co workers bowed out-refused to do it.Iscrambled to get volunteers from other departments.Ididnt want any one clamping down on these two,we couldnt afford to lose them.
Then the ball dropped.The owner said we had to work weekends too.The whole crew got sour.Myself being diagnosed with carputunnel ,and having worked since may with no feeling in my right fingers,was trying to get through to my surgery,without having to leave my job,for an easier one.The extra hours and the physical part was taking its toll.Even my left hand trying to do more to relax the left was tiring.Well the whole thing went to pot ,and weve gone back to 50 per week,and the OWNER IS SCREECHING.Weve heard every comment under the sun,to humilating" ill hire a whole new crew" "i CANT UNDERSTAND WHY YOU GUYS WOULDNY WANT ALL THAT OT" Weve recieved leaflets how others have gone out of business.etc etc.
2 of our 7 have gone out with back injurys,myself im having surgery on the 30th coming back on 31st one handed.Last week one of our best machine operators gave his notice.The owner immediately notifyed me not to make him work any more hours than he wanted,He sent personel to me an asked me to come up with a plan to divide the crew into two shifts.
Heres what we got .MYSELF im capable of all jobs,and repairing and troubleshooting ets
EMPLOYEE 1- ive trained him 5 years,fair to good at machine work,cant solve advanced problems,refuses certain tasks,does not like to job swap
Employee 2- Pretty much same boat,not as experienced on machine,has bad temper,i seem to be only one in company whom can keep him calm
EMPLOYEE 3 ROOKIE IM teaching has several months more training to be worth any thing basic production skills,eager to learn
EMPLOYEE 4 GREENER THAN GREEN good kid though.
EMPLOYEE 5 our 'supervisor' MISSES several weeks at a time calls in sick often,makes excuses not to be there Has almost the skills i do,but complains of health issues,so doesnt have to do them.Is out now for how long with injury.He gets paid even when hes there for while i run his crew
Employee6 out forever with permant injury.
SO what the .... do i do ? employee 1 and 2 [our best] refuse ot now,threaten to leave if forced.I believe them neither have skills good enough to fix anything ,nor have desire to do so.if im not there they stand and wait for me to return.
employees 3 and 4 unskilled and fit in the general rookie laborer pool
employees 5 and 6 mind as well not even be there.
So how do i split us up for two shifts,without skilled help? The owner will give me rookies to help,but what help could they be?The machine we are talking about takes years to learn,myself with 25 years experience cant be every where.My own job requires a licence in which only employee 2 and 5 have and neither want to do my job,because it is so physical and mentally challanging[wimps ]
Hours can only range from 5 am to 7 pm monday through saturday.employee 2 and 3 refuse saturday.they refuse after 4.30 ,because they cant see their spouse ,kids....me too! Iwas thinking a 4 day on ,four day off thing,cant figure it out.cant seem to hit everybodys sweet spot.What about when someone is sick ,or we all have 2 to 4 weeks vacation.
Idont think it can be done with what i got.
I dont know why im asked to solve this ,it should be up to personel,or my supervisor[ha ha ha ha ha yeah right]
Ive been offered employment in a factory coming on line soon,thinking about jumping ship
ICANNOT NAME MY COMPANY PLEASE DONT ASK.
HELP IF YOU CAN PLEASE
ALAN

 

[Egon]

Sounds like a rock and a hard place you betwix.

Maybe staff numbers have to grow to accomadate the business at hand.

 

[the_sandman_454]

What are the laws governing employment and overtime there? I guess that would be the first place to start looking. I would think the only real answer would be hire or transfer a few additional people to run the equipment. Especially with a variety of individuals going out for medical issues.

How about getting someone well versed in workplace ergonomics involved to see if there are any methods that can be employed to help cut down the health issues this is causing (i.e. back pain, etc). Repetitive stress is nothing to play around with. I would think if the employer refuses to at least look into measures of that nature, I would jump ship at the next available opportunity.

Does your "supervisor" make more than you? If so, I would be pressing to get the added wages while you're covering for him. Either that or his supervisor should be covering his job, at least to the extent of scheduling while the alleged supervisor is absent.

You could always set it up so everybody does a week on the early shift, and a week on the late shift rotating through. Clearly the two licensed people have to be on seperate shifts, since they're the only two who can do whatever it is you're licensed to do. The others I would have to say, one experienced guy and one green guy on whatever shift they work out better on. The green guy you're breaking in should probably stick on whatever shift you are on. It's about the only real way to distribute things somewhat fairly. I'm not sure how it is in Maine, but if that were in MI the best choice would be to just pick something like that and suck it up, because there aren't a whole lot of jobs around. If jobs are plentiful, just implement the rotating shift anyhow and those who don't like it can leave and be replaced. Such are the realities of work, one cannot always have everything his or her way.

 

[RonMar]

You need more people and another lead man for the second shift, especially if a particular skillset is required. Without a goto guy on the second shift, a second shift won't be productive. Weekly turnovers is real hard on a crew. Any rotation should be at least on a 2 week basis. If worked right, you could almost give a 3 day weekend at rotation time. OT is great to meet a surge demand, but if an employer is willing to pay it on a regular basis, something is wrong!

I was always taught to bring solutions not problems up the chain. In this case, I would suggest you bring in a plan to the boss(not your super) but to the boss/general manager/owner. It won't be a complete plan as it needs a second shift lead man. Then it becomes a matter of not having the resources to accomplish this plan. You have to make it perfectly clear that green bodies and people who are not consistent performers will not be able to do some of these jobs. If you lay out your resource issues like you just did to us and make them understand what the impact of denial might be, loosing the good workers that you currently have and even poorer production will result, perhaps they will listen. If they want to increase production and expand, and particularly retain people of value and experience, they won't work them into the ground. All the pay in the world can't make up for time away from family(I know this very well) and that appears to be what you are experiencing now.

As for the workers that are valuable but refuseing, ask how they would meet the needs. Perhaps they have some good ideas. Unfortunatly if you come up with a plan, you may have to be a little rough on them. If they can't handle the shift plan, perhaps they should seek employment elsewhere. If it is an equitable plan, they will come around. It all comes down to manhours. Plan a 40 hour week followed by a 32 hour week and then a shift change(the 3 day weekend really helps with the schedule change).

Unfortunatly, these are the type issues that make heroes, villians and the unemployed, so plan accordingly. It is also hard to impliment them without the power base to do so. It almost sounds as if you are a middle super being asked to solve this problem when you may not have the authority/control to make any plan work. That might be the biggest source of your frustration. IF you are wrenching and operating gear in the trenches, it surely sounds like you are not getting paid enough to solve this problem. If you have injuries from the work, perhaps they should put you in a position to oversee and solve the problem.

Good Luck

 

[motepoc]

You are definitely in a tough position. You are being asked to do more than can be done with the number of people you have. OT is an answer to a short term problem or emergency situation, not a common everyday occurance in the workplace.

I would do as Ron suggested and come up with a plan that you present to the top man in the organization, anyone below him will go to him and take credit for it themselves, or at least it sounds that way.

There's an old saying that as long as the donkey pulls the cart, you keep loading it. That is how I see it at your plant. All the things that Ron said about having a second person matching your skills and licenseing makes the most sense. You would also have to have the same number of skilled and semi skilled workers on this second shift. When you make the pitch for this new plan you must show where this will improve productivity and quality (because you won't have tired employees trying to do more with their minds not really on their jobs). It's hard to tell too much because we don't know all the pertinent data, but I hope you unserstand what I'm saying. When you make the pitch, it has to be beneficial to the company to consider it.

 

[frank_f15]

this may not be well taken by some folks, BUT your post say that this has been going on for years? seems to me you are all being taken advantage of in many ways, seems like the owner is holding your jobs over your head. our company did that for years then still finally moved to mexico AFTER THEY got concessions from us, worked us to death then still finally left us to suck hind t____t. i was one of the lucky ones that was old enough to retire and forget it,. My personal opinion would be to tell them to hire a new crew (as he threatend) don't think that will happen as the crew he has is not able to do all the work . Mabey i am a bit jaded but what the heck, at my age i am entiled!!!!

 

[BB_TX]

I agree with those above. It ain't gonna happen with the few people you have, especially with the quality of the people you have. I also agree with you that this should not be a problem dumped on you. You have a choice to make an unworkable split of personnel, or jump ship and let those who should be making the decision handle it.

 

[escavader]

THANKS WITH REPLYS SO FAR KEEP THEM COMING!!!
EGON; Company has grown 2 fold since ive been there.New stores ,double the salesman,outside crews etc.Twice the secretarily pools.Same amount of manufacturing crew[minus two who are hurt] same equipment,although we keep it in good shape.Technology is there to up grade to improve production ,and eliminate alot of physical work.Owner will quickly say "in the 70s we always ran the operation with 3 guys,now they cant get by with 5!!'
its even tough to train someone,when you got 5 guys to do 5 jobs ,and one of them is the trainee.
SANDMAN:I got the safety director on my butt all the time to get us to job swap.Dont have experienced people enough ,or willing to do so.He knows the only way is to get my boss to participate,and now relizes hes not gonna do that.Director is terrified of owner and has giving up i believe.Doesnt come by mill at all anymore.My opinion,just a hired bean counter,who trys to make excuses for you being hurt,so company not liable.ill leave it at that.
I dont know what he makes dont want to im sure if its more than farm wage its too much
two licenced people on each yes,i think myself and employee 1.wrote it down i agree employee 2 to stay with 1,temper tantrum or not.3 to stay with me as machine operator,ill just have to run back and forth.INJURYS AT WORK? Idont have an adequete plan to rotate now due to unskilled people,but i try.will be no job swapping with splitting .More injurys to follow from repetition im sure.Cant swap people if cant do work,hate to see someone lose a limb from running a machine being un skilled.
RON MAR:Employer is willing to pay any amount of ot,you can never work enough.employees now rebelling has the owner telling me[me why me?]to split up the crew.I know your trying to help on the hour thing,but im not getting it.SAY team A works monday thru thursday 10 hours,that only leaves 2 days for team b
OR team A works 3-10s has thursday off comes back for 10 on saturday
team be works thurs and fri thats 24 you see i cant figure it out
MOTEPOC-the old man will only be happy unless i come up with a plan to run two shifts,not hire any one but minum pay people,not po any of the guys,not increase any salarys[did i mention we had a company salary freeze this year]produce the product to meet demand ,and have no injurys.
Is it my imagination,but shouldnt company sales exceeding production be a good problem?
FRANK-yes for years.no he couldnt find people to replace us ,for any where near the wages we get.I think if we strong armed him ,he would close the plant and buy his product.We do have good benefits,and bring home an ok [just ok]check,but we have to live there to do it.
Im really thinking of saying bye bye,when my hand heals up.
keep the ideas coming
ALAN

 

[tallyho8]

"Employee 6 out forever with permant injury."
First, this employee must be replaced with a working employee.
Second, another employee must be hired and trained.
It costs the same amount to pay 5 employees 56 hours pay as it does to pay 7 employees 40 hours pay and the 7 would be happier and stay longer where they could learn their trade and be more useful in time to come.
Plus, with 7 employees if one is unable to work the others can work 1 hour and 20 minutes more a day to make up his work. With 5 employees if one is unable to work the other employees must work 2 hours more each day to make up his work. Show the facts and figures to your boss and tell him to start hiring.

 

[RonMar]

Factoring in a 1 hour meal break, 8 hours of work:
Week 1, Team A Mon thru Fri 6AM-3PM, Team B Mon-Fri, 3PM-Midnight
Week 2, Team A Mon thru Fri 6AM-3PM, Team B Mon-Thur 3PM-Midnight
Swap shifts:
Week 3, Team B Mon thru Fri 6AM-3PM, Team A Mon-Fri, 3PM-Midnight
Week 4, Team B Mon thru Fri 6AM-3PM, Team A Mon-Thur 3PM-Midnight
Repeat...

The offgoing evening shift gets a 3 day weekend followed by 2 weeks of dayshift every two weeks. They of course have a full week and a short week of being a troll, but getting off at midnight means that they at least get some quiet hours to sleep before spouse or kids or significant other wakes up, and early afternoon to take care of personel business before comming to work. When shifting from days to nights, you get to sleep in on Monday so you kind of get a long weekend in that respect also. You might be suprised that some will really like the night shift.

This type schedule gets you two shifts per day, 16 working hours per day at the site on monday-Fri on one week and Mon-Thur the next with a single 8 on every other Friday. That is 80 hours of operation on one week and 72 hours of operation the next week. Try getting that with a single crew and overtime... This of course requires two complete teams with fully qualified team leaders so both shifts are productive, and enough fill bodies to cover leave and illness/injury. It also means that the job pays slightly less as each person has one short week every 3 weeks. so one or two days less pay per month. Paying slightly moor when on the night cycle might also be an incentive as this would even out the pay(same average per hour from month to month.

Tired minds and muscles make poor decisions and have poor control. Working more than an 8 hour shift in a physical job is folly. Ask the owners if they like paying workmans comp claims?

 

[hazmat]

Alan,

Can you give us some more details about your company (what kind of product etc.).

Are you familiar with "Lean" manufacturing? A couple things you mentioned raised red flags - taking years to become proficient at a certain process/machine, many employees out with injuries, not to mention "losing limbs". It sounds to me like your company is in serious need of progress.

A resource for you could be Maine MEP: Lean Training | Performance Based Training | Lean Manufacturing

 

[3RRL]

Alan,
What kind of benefits does your employer pay besides wages?
Hospitalization insurance?
Life insurance?
Dental Insurance?
Sick days?
Vacation pay?
Retirement/401K?
Workman compensation insurance?
How much is that all worth? (How much does the employer pay for each guy?) Do they have an hourly figure or percentage of pay for this? In my company it used to be 38% of his pay rate in benefits.

Another question: Is overtime paid at time and a half?

These are all the benefits that have to be included when hiring additional personnel. Some times (usually) the employer is better off paying overtime at time and a half rather than hiring additional employees. When those employees work overtime, they get a better bang for the buck since the cost of those benefits don't increase (except retirement contributions). They are already in place and consumed over more hours worked by an employee.

There is a limit to the overtime guys can work productively too. Too many overtime hours and they'll see a loss of production for the extra hours worked. In other words, what your guys can do in say 9 or 10 hours will be much more then for a 13 hour shift after a while.

If your employer pays time and a half for overtime, then 5 guys working 56 hour weeks is not the same as 7 guys working 40 hours a week. A 56 hour work week includes 16 hours of overtime at time and a half in that case.
That is 16x1.5=24 hours pay plus 40 hours =64 hours pay.
5x64=320 hours paid. But the company gets only 280 hours of production.
Seven guys at 40 hour weeks = 280 hours paid to them. with 280 of production.
In this case the it costs the company (320-280 = 40) 40 extra hours for those 5 guys.
Now turn that into % of pay. 40hrs/280hrs =20%.
However, consider the costs of the benefits (38%) for the extra 2 guys too. 38% of 80 hours (2 extra guys) =30.4 hours. In this case of 56 hour weeks for 5 guys vs 40 hour weeks for 7 guys, the 7 guys would cost less to get 280 hours of work done. Plus, I would think they would be more productive since 56 hour weeks gets old fast and guys lose their productivity after the first week or so. Their (the company's) accountant could figure that out to limit the number of overtime hours so they find the maximum profit using overtime hours vs. hiring additional employees.

Next, I think you should get some new guys.
I can't blame those guys for not wanting to work all those hours, but man, you gotta perform for your company too. Refusing, tantrums, ignorance, lack of skill, constant absentee (or whatever) ... all those things are just wrong. If you've got guys who are like that, they CAN"T be loving their job. You gotta get some guys in there who love their job and need all the overtime you can give them. Happy gung ho workers makes for a great work atmosphere and translates into much better production and quality.

Have a meeting with your boss and lay out the overtime vs new hires to them to show them when it will be profitable to hire more guys vs too much overtime.
Hire 2 top men and 2 more medium guys and 2 more apprentices. Divide the new guys with the old guys into another shift with about 1 hour over lap so they can communicate where the 1st shift left off.
When things slow down a little, keep the good guys and send the bums packing to your competitor.
In your position, if you can get excellent production from your crew(s), it will be job security and if they are really good, your job will be ten times easier too.
Remember, if your company does not make any money, neither will you. Life is real.

Ok, that's my 2 cents worth. I'm ready to get flamed now.

 

[escavader]

RoN ,
Near the end of my first post is a line that says hours can only range from 5.30 to 7.oo moday thru saturday.SORRY SHOULD have made that clearer.WE cannot work sundays,or after 7.00 due to some local noise ordinances or some kind of ordinance.so you see im only looking at 78 hours for two shifts.I would somehow have to overlap the shifts.We had a night shift[until 7] crew,and a weekend crew[saturday]but us experienced people ended up having to be there both,or one with 4 rookies and that was enough to pull out anyones hair.
Years past at another company they had an after school shift and saturday shift,with one good operator.Back then no one needed a licence,and you didnt have to be 18 to work in this type of job.OSHA has stopped that.If we had one good experienced guy with no kids and a spouse who also worked nights we could do something similar,with each of us licenced people taking turns on overtime at night. Dont got that person. PLEASE KEEP TRYING
ALAN

 

[escavader]

hazmat,
i cannot give out much more info about my work[although from previous post ,you all know im a ........ ...... ........,and a ....... ..... person,and mechanic.]Idont want to give my companys name,they would probably chew my butt,if they knew i asked these questions on a public site.With all the vast knowledge on tbn,and having no one with ideas ,i finally chose to ask here.Idont want to give false impressions ,if i didnt like my job,i could easily choose another company and change.As far as the safety thing no one has ever lost a limb [it aint gonna happen on my watch],we have gone several years without incident,but it seems the more we work ,the more injurys are occuring.As for myself i have been flipping ...... for 25 years,plus every thing else under the sun,so it is my time i guess your body wearsout just like the bedplate on the ...... will.Istill have a strong back,and with a little snip snip the wrist should heal ,and according to the doctors some of the feeling will come back in my hand.Modern mills have ...... ........ so you dont have to turn ...... all day im looking into that ,although i dont think the boss will go for it.3RR ,we have all the benefits you stated plus normally good bonuses twice a year,and a profit sharing check dumped in our 401 k S.I have seen some amazing things from the owner -donations ,helping needy,paying all the hospital bills of a dyeing worker.giving money to a sick worker.I for one appreciate this and try to go the extra mile to make him successful,but it seems the extra mile is never enough.YES WE GET TIME AND A HALF
I dont agree with the new guy thing,cause im the one that has to train them,and my ...... ....... is challenging enough,without running back and forth figuring out why the ...... stopped and the ...... are burning ,or directing the ........ drivers every move,making sure the ..... are being loaded with the right product,and are not being over or under cooked.etc etc.rookie ...... i can deal with,but i need experienced people too,so let the attitudes fly i guess.Besides the crew does what i ASK them.but revolt when the supervisor does because he has no repect cause he is worthless.
ALAN

 

[billbill1]

I am a supervisor and have had to deal with these issues in the past. Your equipment will start breaking down on a more frequent timeframe with the additional hours of operation, no question, it's going to happen. You have 6 perople to do the work no matter how you divide it up. You can work 3 of the crew from 5:30 am until 1:30 pm Monday through Saturday and the other 3 work 11:00am until 7:00 pm Monday through Friday. Swap crews every week or two weeks or monthly. Let the late crew volunteer for Saturday if they want the overtime but don't make it madatory for them. Make this the schedule and anyone that doesn't want it or refuses it, let them leave, they aren't worth keeping. Present this to your co-workers and allow them to buy into it, knowing that this is how it has to be without any flexibility. Allow the late shift permanently if it is desired but it has to be a swap between willing workers. This will allow maximum production everyday Monday through Friday and 8 hours for Saturday with half the crew getting 2 days off per week. Overtime can be allowed for the early crew to stay over or the late crew coming in early but not madatory. Nobody gets worked to death unless they volunteer to do it and all get at least equal time off. The two licensed guys will have to be on opposing crews no matter what and any swapping between them has to be agreeable to both or it doesn't happen-period.

 

[WVaHillbilly]

Alan,

Can you give us some more details about your company (what kind of product etc.).

Are you familiar with "Lean" manufacturing? A couple things you mentioned raised red flags - taking years to become proficient at a certain process/machine, many employees out with injuries, not to mention "losing limbs". It sounds to me like your company is in serious need of progress.

A resource for you could be Maine MEP: Lean Training | Performance Based Training | Lean Manufacturing

That sounds like Lean, Lean Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing

We have been under that program for over a year and, well what I have seen I ah................

 

[RonMar]

RoN ,
Near the end of my first post is a line that says hours can only range from 5.30 to 7.oo moday thru saturday.SORRY SHOULD have made that clearer.WE cannot work sundays,or after 7.00 due to some local noise ordinances or some kind of ordinance.so you see im only looking at 78 hours for two shifts.I would somehow have to overlap the shifts.We had a night shift[until 7] crew,and a weekend crew[saturday]but us experienced people ended up having to be there both,or one with 4 rookies and that was enough to pull out anyones hair.
Years past at another company they had an after school shift and saturday shift,with one good operator.Back then no one needed a licence,and you didnt have to be 18 to work in this type of job.OSHA has stopped that.If we had one good experienced guy with no kids and a spouse who also worked nights we could do something similar,with each of us licenced people taking turns on overtime at night. Dont got that person. PLEASE KEEP TRYING
ALAN

Sorry, I missed the hour restriction parts. Unless there is room in the workplace to work 2 teams at the same time, this problem is a tough one to crack. You say you have a liscenced operator position? Is there more than one of these machines to operate so 2 of these people can work at the same time(2 teams on parallel shifts)? If not, this problem most likley can't be resolved. Sounds like time to relocate/expand to a location that can handle two parallel teams, or work 2 shifts without disturbing the neighbors. It is that or cut back production/profits to fit the available workspace and manhours or loose what good people you have to discontenetment or injury. Good people are smart, and smart people know when to move on...

But short term, I agree that you need some better people, or at least weed out the plodders/slackers. they drag everyone down and build bad attitudes "How come we get paid the same when I have to cover his *** so much".

The best performance I have ever seen is when people take ownership of the job. It is difficult to find and more importantly inspire people to take ownership, but when it happens, it is a beautiful thing.

Good Luck.

 

[escavader]

I am a supervisor and have had to deal with these issues in the past. Your equipment will start breaking down on a more frequent timeframe with the additional hours of operation, no question, it's going to happen. You have 6 perople to do the work no matter how you divide it up. You can work 3 of the crew from 5:30 am until 1:30 pm Monday through Saturday and the other 3 work 11:00am until 7:00 pm Monday through Friday. Swap crews every week or two weeks or monthly. Let the late crew volunteer for Saturday if they want the overtime but don't make it madatory for them. Make this the schedule and anyone that doesn't want it or refuses it, let them leave, they aren't worth keeping. Present this to your co-workers and allow them to buy into it, knowing that this is how it has to be without any flexibility. Allow the late shift permanently if it is desired but it has to be a swap between willing workers. This will allow maximum production everyday Monday through Friday and 8 hours for Saturday with half the crew getting 2 days off per week. Overtime can be allowed for the early crew to stay over or the late crew coming in early but not madatory. Nobody gets worked to death unless they volunteer to do it and all get at least equal time off. The two licensed guys will have to be on opposing crews no matter what and any swapping between them has to be agreeable to both or it doesn't happen-period.

Thats exactly what i was looking for!!! THANK YOU
And thank you to all,ive used a few of everyones ideas in the plan.On a personal note ,i can probably handle this shift and still have a family life.I had no choice ,but to pick myself to be a team leader.THATS GONNA COST THEM,DEARLY,OR THEY CAN LOOK ELSEWHERE
Ive divided the crew up in two teams,5 on each crew.Ihave kept 3 of my new guys with me,and thought of a former man.who i will recruit.hes not the greatest ,but he shows up every day.
Team 2 consists of 3 vetererns and 2 rookies
It even looks like there still might be possibilitys of job swappingon bothteams
company will have to give me 2 people from in house ,hire 2 from outside.
first shifters go on lunch at 11,covered by 2nd shifters.
2nd shifters go on break at 1.15 covered by ist shifters...then they go home. [SEE I JUST ADDED 45 MINUTES PRODUCTION TIME ]
Now help me with the last issue:
vacation time,alot of us get 2 to 4 weeks
people calling in sick
unless you make it mandatory,you have to cover for the opposite team,it seems impossible.with the past history we got we will be right back to square 1.WHATS THE ANSWER???
ALAN

 

[AlanB]

Out of the box thinking maybe but have you thought about peice production pay, or some other incentive such as that to make it work?

If you look at Lincoln Electric Company (Lincoln welders) they have a VERY different pay structure that works extremely well for them. I for one was VERY impressed when I went to school there and saw the production floor.

On a more conventional note, If I was faced with the problem you are, I would gather my guys together (I would probably buy Pizza) have everyone up in the front office, and say, HEY, we got a problem. We need to XXXXXXX how do we get there? Then listen, moderate, and try and temper the people that will come out with plain negative, it ain't gonna happen comments, and encourage the guys to talk that have some off the wall or goofy ideas.

If you can get the team to see the problem that you / management see's, often times they have a solution, and if they helped come up with it, it is that much easier for them to swallow then to deal with doing "what management said"

I guess I would tell you there is no "answer" probably a lot of partial solutions.

As my boss often says, we take two steps forward, figure out where we went wrong, back up a bit, then move forward again. All in all that is about as good as it gets from my experience.