Changing and Improving

While working on a production line for a major vehicle manufacturer, it was important that processes were optimized to ensure components were delivered efficiently and to the highest quality.

On one occasion, my section was experiencing regular problems with seals on doors coming away when the glass was inserted. I flagged the issue with the quality team, but their initial suggestion for what was causing the issue made no sense. Therefore I spoke with experienced colleagues from different sections of the line to get their views on what could be going wrong.

Together, we reached consensus that the issue could be improved if the glass was partially inserted prior to the seals being added. While this was a straightforward alteration, I realized it required significant changes in the way in which different parts of the line interacted. I also, however, realized that these changes could deliver other benefits by improving how different teams communicated with one another, which had been affecting morale.

I developed a proposal for how this could work which I discussed with the production manager. Despite being initially concerned about disrupting existing processes, he agreed to pilot the change. The new procedure worked and a wider roll-out was agreed. I developed training for existing staff and reviewed procedural manuals to make sure the new processes were implemented correctly now and in the future.

As a result, the number of issues with seals dropped significantly and the different sections developed a renewed sense of joint-ownership for their work.

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