Concurrent Utilization Of Human Capital In Manufacturing

Manufacturing operations have infused organic practices into mechanistic production operations to improve the utilization of human capital. In general, people in R&D labs are managed organically while those on the manufacturing floor are de-skilled and managed with mechanistic impersonality. As many routine operations have become automated and products have become more complex, better utilization of the know-how of operates doing work on the factory floor has become essential. Hewlett-Packard pioneered the integration of R&D with manufacturing operations which raised the status of production operatives. Japanese industries used the discipline of total quality management (TQM) instead of mechanistic bureaucracy to achieve cost-effective control over high quality operations. Many Japanese companies melded the antithetical advantage of organic and mechanistic organization designs. Collaborative teams in major Japanese corporations generate scores of suggestions ideas for continuous improvement compared to almost nil in the US. Analyses of 110 US manufacturers matched with similar counterparts in Japan show that the greatest hazard for death of a factory in the US is its underinvestment in human capital relative to capital equipment. Case examples are given for industries that develop products in corroboration with shop floor operatives such as Novellus Systems, Genie Industries, and Siemens PBX. Instances of improved utilization of human capital are also provided for a user group of six manufacturers in the Mississippi Delta. Appendix Table 15 excerpts a dozen principles and practices for integrating manufacturing into enterprise-wide operations.