Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/66658
BEST PRACTICES Rosie the Revolutionary TWI model used during World War II can teach companies to go lean | BY DOUG BENGSON IT SEEMS THAT ALL OF THE lessons in my life come with a degree of pain and/or frustration. This is the story of one painful lesson. I was asked recently by a client "I've seen too much training done for the sake of training, and prefer 'learning while doing.' That being said, I find the straight- forward, results oriented methods used in TWI to be very effective." "what do you know about Training Within Industry, also known as TWI?" Some of their other divisions had implemented TWI, and they were wondering if it could help them, but didn't quite understand what TWI was all about. I had to admit at the time that I wasn't an expert on TWI, but what I've learned since has me excited about what Rosie the Riveter can teach today's modern, high-tech manufacturers. TWI 101 TWI was introduced during World War II to help American manufacturers meet increased production demands for the war. Manufacturers were faced with the challenge of dramatically increasing production at a time when many of their employees were being conscripted, and new employees without previous factory experience (i.e. Rosie) were entering the workforce. It was apparent that the shortage of trained and skilled personnel at precisely the time they were needed most presented an obstacle to manufacturers, and that only improved methods of job training would address the shortfall. The focus of TWI is training supervisors to more effectively train the people working for them. TWI defines a supervisor as anyone who 22 | INSIGHT on Manufacturing • May 2012 directs the work of others. TWI consists of three main training modules, all of which follow a process similar to Deming's PDCA (plan- do-check-act): » Job Instruction (JI) – Trains supervisors to more effectively train workers to do a job correctly, consistently, and safely. JI gets inexperienced workers up to speed faster. » Job Methods (JM) – Trains supervisors how to improve work processes to improve quality and productivity. » Job Relations (JR) – Trains supervisors to prevent problems and deal with them when they do come up. JR teaches supervisors to deal with workers effectively and fairly, emphasizing the lesson, "People must be treated as individuals." www.insightonmfg.com