The Fix-it Cell

Yesterday's post reminded me of a plant tour several years ago. The company prided itself on its well-organized and highly efficient facility. All production was organized using cellular manufacturing concepts where manufacturing employees had everything they needed to do their work at their fingertips. Company managers boasted of the ever increasing levels of productivity in each cell.

The shock came when we visited the final and largest cell. It was called the rework cell. All other cells, working just as fast as they could, would send their finished products to an inspection cell for a final inspection. Any part failing final inspection would then be forward to the rework cell where the problem was corrected! Is that incredibly stupid or what?

Production cells were recognized for improving productivity. Because mistakes were corrected in the rework cell, they had little knowledge of the magnitude of their mistakes. Even if they did, it wouldn't matter as it was the job of someone else to fix those mistakes. The production cells knew they were recognized for increasing production, and so production increased. As production increased, so did the rejects!

About me: Before becoming a full time educator, my career experiences included being vice president of a consulting firm, vice president - finance of a publishing company, vice president - sales support services for a manufacturing company and vice president - operations for a distribution company. As a full time educator working principally in Rhode Island (RI), Connecticut (CT) and Massachusetts (MA). I am pleased to share my experiences and business philosophies with managers at all levels.

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
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