Random Thoughts - Part Deux [NO POLITICS]

[Ashikabi]

Originally Posted by soulreapersteve

Hard to when I still care about the work I do and the place as a whole, especially when I spend 12 hours a day (night) working there.

And they wonder why attrition levels are high. All the people who care leave and take their deep tech knowledge along with them.

It's the same everywhere. Whoever picks up my gf is going to get a hell of a worker. Our current employer will be scrambling. RIP them...

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Boomerang

Ahh, that's why the forum was so quiet today

Seriously though, good work. Glad you got out there on the "floor".

I work in a similar manufacturing environment and the best thing to identify improvements/bottlenecks/hazards is to get out there amongst it.

Did you take away any learnings?

I spend a good part of my day on the plant(s) floor but not standing on the line doing the actual assembly so there isn't much going on that I am not aware of. All of my 4 plants are relatively small (50 to 200 people each) and I know most of the workers names and all of their faces.

I did learn that a $40K piece of equipment that is supposed to speed things up and be more ergo friendly was a total waste of space, ate up cycle time like mad and was harder to use than just grabbing and flipping the 3 pound part. It was on the way to the equipment graveyard before I left the line. Nobody had said a word about it to anybody but apparently as soon as the supervisors looked away they stopped using it and I don't blame them one bit. The hourly Leadhand that showed me what to do was a bit sheepish when she said "You want to see the real way we do it?" Made it very clear that in the future if something isn't doing what it should and we ask how it is not to say "Oh it is great" but to let us know the reality so we can change it. This is a brand new facility with all state of the art and even some first use technology so we need honest reviews not just say what they think we want to hear.

I also learned that the really hot Accounts Receivable clerk's professional yet sexy office wear is not suitable attire for bending over and grabbing sway bars out of a rack. Since she was working right across from me I didn't have the heart to say anything though.

[Boomerang]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I spend a good part of my day on the plant(s) floor but not standing on the line doing the actual assembly so there isn't much going on that I am not aware of. All of my 4 plants are relatively small (50 to 200 people each) and I know most of the workers names and all of their faces.

I did learn that a $40K piece of equipment that is supposed to speed things up and be more ergo friendly was a total waste of space, ate up cycle time like mad and was harder to use than just grabbing and flipping the 3 pound part. It was on the way to the equipment graveyard before I left the line. Nobody had said a word about it to anybody but apparently as soon as the supervisors looked away they stopped using it and I don't blame them one bit. The hourly Leadhand that showed me what to do was a bit sheepish when she said "You want to see the real way we do it?" Made it very clear that in the future if something isn't doing what it should and we ask how it is not to say "Oh it is great" but to let us know the reality so we can change it. This is a brand new facility with all state of the art and even some first use technology so we need honest reviews not just say what they think we want to hear.

I also learned that the really hot Accounts Receivable clerk's professional yet sexy office wear is not suitable attire for bending over and grabbing sway bars out of a rack. Since she was working right across from me I didn't have the heart to say anything though.

Glad to hear you took away some learnings, and got some eye candy

[Cole]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I spend a good part of my day on the plant(s) floor but not standing on the line doing the actual assembly so there isn't much going on that I am not aware of. All of my 4 plants are relatively small (50 to 200 people each) and I know most of the workers names and all of their faces.

I did learn that a $40K piece of equipment that is supposed to speed things up and be more ergo friendly was a total waste of space, ate up cycle time like mad and was harder to use than just grabbing and flipping the 3 pound part. It was on the way to the equipment graveyard before I left the line. Nobody had said a word about it to anybody but apparently as soon as the supervisors looked away they stopped using it and I don't blame them one bit. The hourly Leadhand that showed me what to do was a bit sheepish when she said "You want to see the real way we do it?" Made it very clear that in the future if something isn't doing what it should and we ask how it is not to say "Oh it is great" but to let us know the reality so we can change it. This is a brand new facility with all state of the art and even some first use technology so we need honest reviews not just say what they think we want to hear.

I also learned that the really hot Accounts Receivable clerk's professional yet sexy office wear is not suitable attire for bending over and grabbing sway bars out of a rack. Since she was working right across from me I didn't have the heart to say anything though.

I don't blame the line people for not telling you how bad a piece of equipment is though. I'd be worried to make mention of something like that.

I remember back in my factory days, we had a robot arm come in, and what it did was take a raw piece, put it into a lathe, and take it out. When it came to my work station, I spent more time troubleshooting the damn thing than it would have taken for me to just do the operation myself. My superiors were so proud of it that I was afraid to speak up about it.

[Boomerang]

Originally Posted by Cole

I don't blame the line people for not telling you how bad a piece of equipment is though. I'd be worried to make mention of something like that.

I remember back in my factory days, we had a robot arm come in, and what it did was take a raw piece, put it into a lathe, and take it out. When it came to my work station, I spent more time troubleshooting the damn thing than it would have taken for me to just do the operation myself. My superiors were so proud of it that I was afraid to speak up about it.

Yep it's hard to speak out but after a while you learn you need to..

Sounds like you do it pretty well now

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Cole

I don't blame the line people for not telling you how bad a piece of equipment is though. I'd be worried to make mention of something like that.

I remember back in my factory days, we had a robot arm come in, and what it did was take a raw piece, put it into a lathe, and take it out. When it came to my work station, I spent more time troubleshooting the damn thing than it would have taken for me to just do the operation myself. My superiors were so proud of it that I was afraid to speak up about it.

They normally are very good about telling us stuff since we really encourage it and act when we can. I walk each plant at least twice a day when I am at them (look for my posting time gaps) and ask most of the guys if they have any issues. Some days there are none and some days several but everybody knows I will listen and pass on the concerns to whoever can fix it or tell them why it is the way it is and why it can't be changed. This is sort of a different situation though since we are just starting up the plant and ramping up the line speeds. It wasn't really a big deal to them until this week when we hit 50% of the goal production rate.

I had another $60K worth of equipment pulled and replaced by much simpler tools before we even started up production. The equipment design and manufacturer had a tendency to over engineer everything and make it far more complex then the task required (since they make more money that way). In the other cases they went beyond the drawings that I had approved so the money came out of their pocket but the one today looked great on paper and in theory and since I approved the plan we will eat the cost on it. Can't win 'em all.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I did learn that a $40K piece of equipment that is supposed to speed things up and be more ergo friendly was a total waste of space, ate up cycle time like mad and was harder to use than just grabbing and flipping the 3 pound part. It was on the way to the equipment graveyard before I left the line. Nobody had said a word about it to anybody but apparently as soon as the supervisors looked away they stopped using it and I don't blame them one bit. The hourly Leadhand that showed me what to do was a bit sheepish when she said "You want to see the real way we do it?" Made it very clear that in the future if something isn't doing what it should and we ask how it is not to say "Oh it is great" but to let us know the reality so we can change it. This is a brand new facility with all state of the art and even some first use technology so we need honest reviews not just say what they think we want to hear.

Did you put all that in your TPS report?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

Did you put all that in your TPS report?

Yep. Coversheet and all!

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Yep. Coversheet and all!

Did you use the new one? Because we're putting new coversheets on the TPS reports. I'll get you a copy of the memo.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

Did you use the new one? Because we're putting new coversheets on the TPS reports. I'll get you a copy of the memo.

I got the memo. I just forgot that one time. It is taken care of now.

[soulreapersteve]

Drove by a dealership on my way to get gas at the usual station. Was looking at the usual mustangs when I spotted the Focus RS.

They are trying to sell it for $60.8k. After tax, title, etc. probably close to 70K.


Gave me a slight chuckle.

[Ashikabi]

Originally Posted by soulreapersteve

Drove by a dealership on my way to get gas at the usual station. Was looking at the usual mustangs when I spotted the Focus RS.

They are trying to sell it for $60.8k. After tax, title, etc. probably close to 70K.


Gave me a slight chuckle.

Isn't that what a used gtr goes for?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Ashikabi

Isn't that what a used gtr goes for?

A really used one , yes.

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...attle+WA-98121

[soulreapersteve]

Originally Posted by Ashikabi

Isn't that what a used gtr goes for?

Yup. Also brand new base F-Type (MSRP) is going for that, seen plenty at dealerships going for little less or at msrp.

I hate to use other cars when comparing prices but in this case, WTF!! That's almost double MSRP. Unless they got a real hard-on for the car, who would pay that price for that car?

Hypothetical question ofc, people will pay anything to get what they want. Especially when loans are available.