Article list
Gemba, Gembutsu, Genjitsu
The real place, the place where things happen: that's where we have to go, if we really want to understand the problems in production and find opportunities for improvement. For example, if we have a quality problem, we will not be efficient in finding the necessary solutions in a meeting room. We have to go to the production area to observe and identify what is happening. That means Gemba.Originally "Gemba" (using the Latin script to translate the Japanese language) became known as Gemba,...
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Work norm and types of norms
Generally speaking, when we talk about standardization, we refer to time, production or personnel norms. Could we consider the work norm as an important factor in the organization and planning of production? Does this have an impact on the salary system?The time norm represents the time allocated for the execution of a work task by a worker with a certain qualification, in certain technical-organizational conditions. It is the most important norm because other types of norms are...
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Strategies to reduce stress at work
Stress at work is no longer a novelty for those who have a job. The perception of stress by each person is determined, on the one hand, by the complexity of the position held, by the external conditions and, on the other, by the capabilities of the person facing the stressors.Strategies for reducing stress at work aim at both defining dimensions for the perception of stress by employees. At the primary level, we can talk about a prevention model, which aims to reduce the number of stressors...
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Lean System -
The price of a product cannot be controlled from within a company, but when it comes to the cost of the product, we know that it can be controlled. We can say that this cost consists of activities with Added Value and Loss or Waste.By definition, Value Added is an attribute of the product or service that the customer is willing to pay for.
According to the Lean system, the activities in a process fall into three categories:
- value-added activities: necessary to transform a product /...
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Change Blockages at the organizational level
Change in the organizational environment is a common and unavoidable phenomenon. Although you often experience these changes, there are times in an organization's life when the change seems unattainable. This is due to blockages, with various causes, at the level of the organization, which prevent short or long term changes.Failed changes increase the resistance to change of change agents, by diminishing confidence in the positive effects of change.
Organizational myths, statements...
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Listening errors in the communication process
Effective communication is the process in which the transmitter and receiver make a fluent exchange of information. In order for this to take place in an optimal way, it is necessary for each participant to the communication process to be able to listen to what his interlocutor has to convey.Active listening skills are much discussed, but it is important that when we communicate we should avoid erroneous listening as much as possible. We noted below some of the most common barriers to...
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Nonviolent communication and conflict in organizations
The communication process is, perhaps, the most important organizational process considering that the quality of the work, services and / or products of the organization depends on it. It impacts every aspect of organizational life because without communication none of the organization's activities’ are possible.The absence or poor quality of communication generates more or fewer conflicts, explicit or implicit, direct or indirect, conflicts that we constantly try to avoid or resolve,...
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Resistance to change in the organization - Causes and attitudes -
Especially in 2021, the changes we face every day, both in personal and professional life, appear and follow one another very quickly. We have to deal with them, adapting and fulfilling the best version of our own personality. Adaptation to change involves overcoming and resolving the mechanisms of resistance to change.To overcome this resistance it is important to know the causes that make us resistant to change, which prevent us from embracing change which turns it into opportunities for...
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Consequences of overqualification at work
We are constantly looking for qualified people for the positions that are available within the companies we represent. Employee qualification is a fashionable topic in any season, in any company, for any self-respecting management team. Out of this need to have qualified employees, companies sometimes invest in unskilled people by qualifying them right at work. And here we are not just talking about people who hold directly productive positions, we are also talking about insufficiently trained...Read this article...
Today’s HR and the HR of the future
The functions of the human resources department have changed and are constantly changing depending on the business architecture, but also on the needs and transformations at the individual level of the business professionals.According to https://www.mvorganizing.org 'by 2025, we can expect human resources professionals to take on the role of coach for success, to guide the business based on anticipation of major events with negative impact that may occur, to becomes an essential part of the...
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The effects of micromanagement in the organization
Micromanagement is management focused on excessive control of details. This control is reflected in the permanent pursuit of employees' activities or the emphasis with a negative connotation on every detail of a person's work. Moreover, micromanagement implies the lack of freedom of employees to make decisions independently of the formal manager, even in those aspects related to the daily activity in the field of expertise.This control and focus on excessive details severely limits the...
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The importance of identifying the evaluation errors in the performance management process
We are already familiar with the performance management process, which in one of the stages involves evaluating the performance of the organization's members. Establishing performance criteria is essential in this process, but no matter how clear the criteria is, we often face the dissatisfaction of those evaluated, who accuse the evaluator's subjectivism.Even if the evaluator aims to be as objective as possible, as a human being he is subject to evaluation errors, in an unconscious way....
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Standardization as a challenge between efficiency and human capacity
Performance orientated Managers know that time is measurable and continuous and time management is a priority for the success of a business.Frederick Winslow Taylor's philosophy focused on the belief that getting people to work as hard as possible is not as effective as optimizing the way they do that work. Thus, in order to be able to optimize a job, we must be able to analyze it through different methods and standardize it.
Starting from work tasks, which should be designed in such a way...
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Lean Manufacturing - 3M: Muda Mura Muri
3M comes from the first letters of the three words: Muda, Mura, Muri. These are Japanese terms that refer to the three categories of waste that can be found in a business.Lean Management or Lean is the best way to manage waste disposal and deployment flow. Lean management, which comes from the Toyota Production System, is one of the most dominant management philosophies, both in the industrial environment and in the service environment. One of the reasons for the success of this system...
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The Objective - Motivational factor
“It is not enough to take a step every day that leads us to a goal; each step must be in itself an objective and a step towards the fulfillment of the goal at the same time. "- Johann Wolfgang von GoetheAre my goals well established? What about my subordinates' goals?
Do we use objectives to motivate the staff?
The objectives that have been established transform the strategic objectives of the entire company into the objectives of each organizational unit and, ultimately,...
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The typology of the authentic candidate - Self-presentation in job interviews -
We are trained to make the best impression possible when we apply for a job interview. There is nothing wrong with this, but sometimes the candidates who appear for the interview manage to pull of an entire act when they meet the interviewer, assuming the role of the ideal candidate.
From the moment they shake hands with the person who invited them to the interview (the human resources manager or specialist), the behavior of some candidates undergoes visible changes even for a...
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Mobbing and work ethic
The term ‘’mobbing’’ does not yet have a legal definition, but, according to doctrine and jurisprudence, it refers to a behavior with persecutory and harassing content, meant to determine the worker to resign or to penalize, humiliate or isolate him in the enterprise team.In 2020, the Romanian Parliament regulates through Law 167 / 07.08.2020 published in the Official Monitor no. 713 of August 7, 2020, moral harassment (without calling it mobbing):
“5.1) It...
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HR Analytics for the right business decisions
As human resources professionals, we are accustomed to remarks such as: "I did not select this CV because it did not convince me / it does not have the" vibe I am looking for" or "We do not increase the salary by 30%, we better recruit someone else on the current salary…". In our daily routine, these kinds of statements intrigue us, sometimes irritate us, because we can't offer clear arguments when someone else is guided by instinct.Human resources management, long assimilated to...
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Resiliency - an important trait of the ideal candidate in 2021
Constantly concerned with identifying the ideal candidate, current recruiters are taking into account a newly-defined feature: anti-fragility. The pandemic situation brought changes in organizational structure, changes in the type and schedule of work but also highlighted certain features of the candidates and employees that companies want.One of the most sought after features since 2020 is to be resilient. Organizations, individuals and societies must be resilient in the existing pandemic...
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The digital leader - the modest leader
We are familiar with the image of the charismatic leader, the image of the person who takes over the company through the skill of his words, of the wide and confident smile. Recent research in the field of leadership, especially in the digital age, shows that the charismatic leader is overtaken by the modest leader, apparently at the opposite pole.The main trait of the digital leader is modesty. Modesty is the ability to put other people’s interest above yours.. Thus, the modest leader...
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Dedicated employees - short argument
Most companies are constantly concerned, at least declaratively, with the degree of involvement of their employees because it is known that a person involved in the activity achieves better results, increased performance, which translates into organizational performance.One of the major difficulties of companies concerned with this issue is defining the "involvement" of employees. The inability to define involvement leads to the failure of proposed programs that are meant to increase job...
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Top 3 skills valued by the employer
Competitivity at work is what keeps us in the professional race. But what makes us competitive for the employer? Below are the top three skills most valued by employers:Critical thinking
We are tempted to make decisions quickly, as quickly as possible, so that we can move on to the next item on the to-do list that we have to close, but which we will never close anyway. The analysis of options seems to be a waste of time - which is insufficient as it is. However, critical thinking helps...
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Evaluating individual performance or team performance?
Looking for ways to facilitate teamwork, the decision is often taken to evaluate the team's performance, but is this decision one that leads to increasing the organization's performance or achieving business objectives?An answer can be found in social psychology, which defines social facilitation and social laziness. Social psychology is “in a sense of maximum generality, […] the scientific study of the real or imaginary interaction between social actors (individuals, groups)...
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How to approach staff selection criteria
The selection criteria are established based on the job description, depending on the specific knowledge necessary for the successful performance of the job, in order to choose the best potential occupant of the job. Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it?Every day we read recruitment announcements that state "beautifully" written criteria and that promise candidates that their fulfillment will help them to be successful and appreciated in that position. Speaking of "technical" criteria, there...
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The Exit Interview
The professional relationship of employment, like any relationship that people initiate, goes through certain stages of life: from initiation to development and conclusion. In any relationship, including the professional one of employment, the way we separate from the other, the way we close the relationship, reflects the quality of the relationship itself."The Exit Interview" is the discussion that the employer has with the employee who leaves the organization. It's not an interview in...
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Persuasion or manipulation in the organizational culture?
We usually give a positive connotation to persuasion and a negative one to manipulation. However, both behaviors, either that of persuasion or manipulation, are under the umbrella of the same attitude, that of influencing.We influence those we come in contact either by manipulating them or by persuasion. The influence itself is not positive or negative, but what polarizes it are the two types of behavior. The difference between persuasion and manipulation is the interest of one who influences...
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Three best strategies of staff retention in 2021
Staff turnover is expensive. In general, it costs us 3 times more to hire a new person in the department than to retain an employee.About 50% of employers consider talent retention to be one of the biggest challenges they face, and around 40% consider recruitment to be the biggest challenge for them during this period (sparkbay.com).
If salary increases are one of the main reasons for accepting a new role in a new company, these increases do not play a major role in staff...
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The assumed role - the premise of happy teams
Rapid changes, the need and the ability to constantly adapt to new technologies, which bring with them new needs of consumers, customers, bring a new perspective to the understanding of organizational structures and production processes.In this context, in Lean / Agile companies, roles are more important than jobs / positions. Why? They bring more flexibility being associated with flexible processes, they can be taken over by people with various functions (managerial or not), they enhance the...
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Active listening and the success of a professional relationship
Our life revolves around relational structures: we relate to family, friends, co-workers, people on the street, in the store, we relate to ourselves. Relationships exist only in the context of communication. Without communication the relationship disappears. Communication can be healthy, fluid or on the contrary - it can be difficult, and as a result: the quality of the relationship depends on how well we communicate.The professional environment regulates, through communication policies, the...
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The interpretation of the communicated message or active listening
Human communication, the process by which we exchange information with peers, is essential in the development of life, profession, in the relationships that we initiate, maintain or even interrupt. Communication involves a permanent transmission and reception of information, and when the permanence of these two processes is interrupted, communication disappears.The transmitted information is encoded in symbols (words, numbers, images, etc.), and decoded by the receiver, the one who receives...
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The integration of new employees
According to the Society for Human Resources Development (SHRM), the integration of new employees is the process by which new employees adapt to the social and performantial aspects of the new job in an easy and natural way and acquire knowledge, attitudes, skills and behaviors appropriate for the actual activity within the company ”.In short, the integration of new employees is the process by which the company ensures that newcomers start their activity "the right...
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ISO 9001 - The Challenge of Certificates
You have successfully completed the Quality Management System certification process and are the proud holders of an ISO 9001 certificate for your organization… one of the approximately 10,000 ISO 9001 certificates in Romania and one of the approximately 900,000 ISO 9001 certificates worldwide.Well done, congratulations… but as you can see you are not unique at all but just one “of the many”
What are you going to do next?
The answer to this question is the real...
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Standardization - an important step in any organization. Why do we use it?
We all know that the basis for continuous improvement is standardization!In addition to making our work easier, it reduces losses, improves quality and safety at work, and helps us be disciplined.
Each of us wonders about the standards and goals of an organization as we cross its threshold.
The standard makes it possible to master the technical characteristics, to satisfy the customer, to validate the manufacturing methods, to increase productivity, offering a sense of security to...
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Employees' benefits' system
The system of benefits offered to employees represents the indirect and non-cash compensations paid in addition to the salary package.The 2021 employer knows that the motivation, involvement of employees and their productivity depends on how appreciated and recognized they feel at work. At the same time, the employees link the appreciation granted to the package of benefits granted. The better it is adapted to their needs, the more they feel appreciated and respected.
To have the desired...
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Professional development needs' analysis
- The starting point in achieving workplace efficiency -Identifying and analyzing professional development needs are processes through which companies harmonize their own needs and individual professional development needs in order to reach the maximum potential of employees and the organization.
The identification of training needs takes into account:
- The level of knowledge, skills, competencies that are necessary in order to achieve business objectives and maximum individual...
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Leading the problem solving workshops
A problem is any deviation from standards or expectations that carries negative connotations.In everyday life, problems can lead to situations that cause us failure to achieve our goals.In business, problems can lead to low productivity, poor quality, high costs or even loss of customers.As with any methodology, there are obstacles in the process of solving problems. Among them we could list: Lack of problem solving tools, lack of time, resources, fear of failure or failure, lack of teamwork...Read this article...
Maintenance KPIs
If you want to achieve any goals in life - whether personal, group or organizational - then you need to know where you are going, how you will get there and how well you accomplish the tasks that lead you there. This also applies to maintenance work.Maintenance performance can be analyzed through key indicators (KPIs), which give us an immediate sense of direction, performance and perspective. Maintenance performance information is a source that can put you ahead of the competition. Modern...
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QMS: The benefits of process based approach
All the standards used in the management of Quality Management Systems (ISO 9001: 2015 or IATF 16949: 2016) require and use the process-based approach according to the PDCA methodology.PLAN - the top management of the organization establishes the context and stakeholders, its scope and limitations, objectives and quality policy of the SMC. SMC processes together with the risks involved, the interactions between the processes, the objectives and the programs to achieve them are established.DO -...Read this article...
The focus of great mentors
Mentoring is that relationship that is formed between an expert and another person who sets goals within the mentor's field of expertise.The mentoring relationship does not imply a power ratio, the position of the mentor or the mentee being unimportant. According to the Harvard Business Review, 75% of the workforce in a professional setting says they need a mentor, while only 37% actually have one. We are used to mentoring relationships only when we think of junior colleagues who join us...
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Top 3 performance indicators of staff recruitment and selection
In the competitive environment in which we operate during this period, the performance of human resources processes becomes a mandatory and defining topic in business decision-making processes.Although recruitment and selection of staff is still something that happens within many companies anyway, remaining unmeasurable processes, monitoring them brings visible benefits to the company and has a considerable impact in motivating HR specialists, giving them the opportunity to acknowlege the...Read this article...
Staff recruitment - the reinvented wheel
Staff recruitment occurred during World War II. CVs and recruitment agencies also appeared in the next decade. Since then and until 2021, many aspects of staff recruitment have improved, refined, refined, but can we say that something has changed in recruitment activities? The answer is no.However, with a simple internet search, you can find dozens of trainings, courses, workshops on staff recruitment. Do these courses and workshops reinvent the wheel ? Yes and no.
In terms of...
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First Pas Yield vs Rolled Throughput Yield
Quality is the heart and soul of any production unit. And production means both productivity and efficiency of use of the materials used.Many companies aim, even through KPI (Key Process Indicators) at the company level, to reduce their costs in order to reduce prices or to be able to withstand competition in the market, but also to reduce their probability of delivering non-compliant products to customers.The first-pass yield (FPY), also known as the transfer yield, is an indicator of the...Read this article...
Process Engineer - Pilot of continuous process improvement
Immediately after the revolution, in that period of restructuring and nebulous in connection with the professional future, many engineers gave up the profession and started selling or went abroad after a better life.In recent years, with the return of economic growth that has revived the market, engineers have begun to be sought after again.Process engineers, the basic category in production, are among the most specialized engineers when it comes to execution technology but also when we talk...Read this article...
Case Study. Stratification in the selection of improvement projects
In problem solving, choosing projects by identifying the best opportunities in team actions often makes the difference between success and failure.Choosing too large an area can lead to loss of focus, unnecessary spending of resources and failure to meet proposed targets.To understand the mechanism for selecting improvement projects, let's take as a case study a company that produces cold-rolled stainless steel strips.From the data collected from the quality information system (ERP) it is found...Read this article...
Who is responsible for the OEE?
Identification of production bottlenecks is done using in-depth analyzes, provided by numerous reports, such as: job and operator performance, OEE, production cycle analysis, machine use and downtime history, which allow production managers to make decisions. objective and informed. Monitoring machine performance allows managers involved in production to analyze, interpret and make decisions based on the data received to maximize their efficiency. Relevant machine operating parameters are...Read this article...
What is Self-Maintenance and how does it help me?
Self-service is defined as a maintenance strategy in which machine operators continuously monitor their equipment, make adjustments and perform minor maintenance tasks on their machines. It is the first pillar of the TPM (total productive maintenance) strategy.An operator trained in self-maintenance means knowledge of routine tasks such as cleaning, lubrication and inspection.
Self-maintenance aims to reduce intervention times. Indirectly, the number of defects is reduced and the equipment...
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Process capability and equipment reception
The capability of the technological process represents its ability to make parts with characteristics within tolerances.W. A. Shewart defines the ability of the process as its property to ensure a field of variability of a certain measurable characteristic smaller than the specifications.A stable technological process is capable if the natural spread obtained under known technological conditions and defined by the difference between UCL (upper control limit) and LCL (lower control limit) is...Read this article...
Application of statistics in Maintenance
It often happens to us that we have a lot of data collected in tables and that we have to interpret. An example is the recording of downtimes on different equipment.We all know that the analysis of data in tables is difficult to do and that is why graphical representations are desirable.
The MINITAB statistical software provides us with graphical and statistical tools that process this data in a form that is easy to analyze. I mention some of the most used: Histogram, Box Plot, Pareto, Time...
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Benefits of implementing 45001
As we mentioned in the previous article, there are a number of real, measurable benefits in terms of implementing and carrying out the activity respecting the requirements of the ISO 45001 Standard.Thus, the key benefits of using the standard include:
Reducing incidents at work
Reducing absenteeism and staff turnover, which leads to increased productivity
Reduced costs of insurance premiums
Creating a culture of health and safety at work, employees being thus encouraged to take an...
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Implementation of the new product - takeover in production
Project takeover in the operational area is a transition process initiated when a project is completed or nearing completion and enters series production. This transition of a project into production must follow the plan established with the terms and activities corresponding to the project management.The introduction of new products that consumers and customers require requires detailed information, time and dedicated resources from an organization. Companies that successfully develop and...
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