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An application of multi-discipline group working
O'iqEG4 The Int. JI of Mgmt ~ . Vol. 10, No. a,. pp. 391 to 400. 1982 Printed in Great Britain. All rights r e . f r e d
0305-0,183 82 0,~391-t0503.0~ 0 Copyright ~ 1982 Pergamon Press Ltd
An Application of Multi-discipline Group Working A HODGES Matthews & Yates Ltd, Manchester, UK
BG DALE University of Manchester, Institute of Science and Technology, UK (Received November 1981)
The paper describes the application of the concept of working in multi-discipline groups in a company manufacturing air-handling fans and customised air-handliog equipment on a jobbing type
basis. Thereasons for organising along these lines is explained together with the method used for formulation of groups. Operating experiences with this form of organisation are described and the results of an attitude survey of operatives and supervisors are discussed.
INTRODUCTION T H E END o f 1977 a critical review was made of the company's manufacturing systems and strategy. The company had survived some difficult years, orders had been available but on many occasions the works had not been able to respond quickly enough to the demand. In spite of this the business appeared to be on an even keel. Investments had been made in a new guillotine, two new presses, and an NC punching and nibbling machine. A building constructed in 1973 and used for storage was equipped with cranes enabling the area to be used for manufacture and considerable improvements were made to office accommodation. In addition new products were planned. The major problems bedevilling the company appeared to be that the works had grown, like 'Topsy', resulting in inefficient plant layout and complicated and chaotic material flow, stores procedures and systems were non-existent, production control was barely able to cope and shop floor discipline was poor, particularly with respect to timekeeping. During 1978 the
TOWARDS
391
works was re-laid out by grouping like machines together i.e. functional arrangement and skilled fitters and sheet metal workers were moved into the best buildings. Stores procedures were established, and changes in production control had led to lead times being reduced, and firm control of all orders was achieved. Discipline was improved and timekeeping had been brought under control. By the end of 1978 the company had put down sound foundations, made a profit and looked set to go from strength to strength. At the beginning of 1979 the company had a slack order book, which led to poor bonus earnings and a drop in morale. The company's trading position had picked up by the middle of the year but the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers National Pay Dispute had considerably disrupted production. At this time it became apparent that the product mix was changing. Traditionally the product mix had been 30% air-handling equipment and 70% fans. The air-handling equipment was now consuming more than 50% of the business and these products demanded more management
392
Hodyes. Dale--Multi-discipline Group Workimt
time and were less straightforward from a manufacturing point of view. Due to this change in product mix the new layout, systems and controls were found to be not as sound as previously felt. The sort of problems encountered were as follows: (a) Low morale leading to employees not taking an interest in their work from both a quality and timekeeping point of view. (b) Certain cliques had developed on the shop floor with considerable power to disrupt the flow of production. For example, one group of tradesmen would insist that they would only work overtime if all members of their group were given the opportunity to work overtime. Particular groups of workers could control the flow of work to influence decisions with regard to overtime, to apply presure to gain concessions, etc. (c) The hard core, long serving employees did not seem to be getting a say in the development of events on the shop floor, younger, less experienced men seemed to hold sway. (d) Experienced men were leaving the company and younger skilled men were not adequately prepared to take over the more complicated jobs. (e) Initially each tradesman had a mate, an unskilled assistant, who would fetch and carry for the skilled craftsman. By 1979 this ratio had been reduced to one assistant per two tradesmen but often this indirect labour had nothing to do or was badly utilised, for example, sweeping and cleaning areas that were already clean. (f) Fitters and sheet metal workers in particular would not permit other personnel, even if capable of performing tasks, to do work traditionally carried out by them. Some tradesmen would not work without a mate or would refuse to do work which he considered was the province of another tradesman or employee. In short, employees were not flexible in their approach and lines of demarcation between trades and specialisations were as firm as ever. (g) The complexity of work going through the works was such that a strain was being put on foremen and production control to
organise the work and meet the required delivery dates. ih) Whilst the quality of one-off items had been reasonable, the quality performance on large complicated contracts left much to be desired. In summary, the high hopes and aspirations the company had felt at the end of 1978 had not been realised in 1979. The improved planning, improved procedures and systems, greater control, more up-to-date methods, a better plant layout, and improved discipline had not resulted in a sustained improvement in productivity. There was some evidence which suggested that individual performance had fallen off since the old piece-work system had been replaced with a day-work scheme, but the results were not conclusive since anomalies in booking, method changes and recording errors had distorted the figures. Following from this the workers on the shop floor were not achieving bonus earnings and had lost faith in the bonus system. Coupled with the problems outlined above, it was evident that some new system had to be tried which would increase skilled men's flexibility, reduce manufacturing lead time, improve delivery performance, improve the incentive effort of bonus payments, and motivate the people on the shop floor. In retrospect, it is probably true to say that the company's developing problems were as much a function of a fall in order cover and changing product mix as anything else. FORMULATION OF THE MULTIDISCIPLINE GROUP CONCEPT Traditionally, batch and jobbing manufacturing industry has arranged its shop floor into functional groups, i.e. like skills or machines together, led by a supervisor who is generally skilled in the work being performed in their particular group. The authors believe that whilst this system is logical and has much to recommend it with respect to carrying out repetitive tasks, it has some distinct shortcomings when applied to the manufacture of customised products, the main ones being outlined below: (a) Each supervisor has to learn the peculiari-
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ties of each order insofar as it affects his function, this obviously leads to a duplication of this type of work. (b) If a tradesman is required by a functional head who does not control that operation, he must await the pleasure of another functional head in charge of the tradesman required. (c) There are distinct possibilities of work lodging between two tradesmen and being neglected. (d) Tradesmen are reluctant to move from one discipline to another without pressure. (e) Manufacturing lead times are often long and variable resulting in high levels of work in progress with its associated cost. The main manufacturing areas at the company in question were laid out along functional lines and experienced the above type of problems. In the heater shop, impellor shop, and component preparation section, which tended to be self-contained manufacturing units, the interchange between operatives and skills was more flexible. The result of this flexibility was a quicker and less complicated throughput of work. The concept of working in groups on the shop floor has typically been applied to different industries and for distinct reasons. The major types being group technology (GT) applications used in small batch multi-product manufacturing industries and autonomous working groups used in assembly line manufacture and continuous process production. GT is an arrangement of machines, tools, and services to manufacture complete a defined range of similar components, sub-assemblies or products, generally under the control of one supervisor, as opposed to the more traditional functional grouping. The main benefits claimed [1,4,6] for GT include: reductions in manufacturing lead time, work in progress (WIP), stocks, production planning and control effort; writers [3, 6, 8] on GT have also suggested it is a 'social" innovation with advantages accruing from organising the labour force into small groups in which they enjoy all the benefits of group cohesion and membership. Over the past few years a great deal of publicity has been given to the Volvo, Fiat, Philips,
393
and Saab experiments in grouping working on assembly line production. These, along with many other organisations in Europe. introduced changes which involved the break-up of assembly lines into individual or group assembly, coupled with significant increases in individual or group autonomy. Similar types of groups have been created by the amalgamation of existing jobs into a group task. The major reasons for such changes have been well reported [5, 7, 9] and include the need to improve flexibility, quality and productivity, to reduce absenteeism and labour turnover, subsidiary benefits mentioned are increasing job satisfaction, worker involvement and participation. The results which companies had achieved with such systems were impressive and coupled with the fact that the heater shop, impellor shop and component preparation sections had always been more efficient than the main manufacturing areas it was decided that a number of multi-discipline teams would be created. It is interesting that in [2] Dale & Willey report that published material was the principal origin of a company taking its initial interest in GT. The quest for work system improvement in this case was fed by a desire to reduce manufacturing cost and improve workers' ability to improve goals rather than work structuring to improve workers" job satisfaction, involvement and participation, work cycle enlargement etc., although these were seen as subsidiary benefits. Consequently the approach described is more akin to GT than to autonomous work groups within assembly lines. It was proposed that the multi-discipline teams would be comprised of sheet metal workers, welders, fitters, and supporting semiskilled assistants, Each team would be located in its own area and be set output targets comparable with the capacity of the team. Each member of the team would be expected to assist in areas of work whether or not they possessed the relevant skills. A supervisor, termed a management representative, would control each multi-discipline team created. The main benefits expected of the multi-discipline group system of working were as follows: (a) Operators should not need to wait for a specially skilled tradesman to perform a
394
Hodqes. Dale----Multi-discipline Group Working
simple task, which by tradition has always been performed by that trade, even though almost anyone could carry out the work. (b) The supervision learning curve is only performed once and there is less chance of aspects of the work being neglected. Supervisors have control over most operations that are required to build the product. (c) Indirect labour would be reduced. Traditionally each tradesman had a mate, although there were large amounts of work where a mate was not required. With the introduction of multi-discipline groups tradesmen could assist one another from time to time as the need arose. It was proposed that each group would have one or two assistants as a maximum. (d) By spreading the younger men and stable employees evenly amongst the groups, the younger men would benefit by being given greater experience of the range of work carried out and hard core employees would tend to stabilise attitudes in each working area. (e) Certain cliques which had developed in the functional system would be neutralised. (f) There should be a reduction in manufacturing lead time and WIP with an associated improvement in delivery performance. (g) The flexibility and self organisation within the group is likely to lead to easier a d a p tation to change, particularly to changed production schedules and work allocations. (h) The groups should facilitate the establishment of targets and standards, as there are fewer units to cope with. The following disadvantages were envisaged: (a) Difficulty in keeping the work loads for each group balanced.
(b) Extra equipment, e.g. radial arm, pillar and hand drills, hand grinders, nut inserting tool, would need to be purchased to make each group as autonomous as possible.
Discussion with shop stewards on the new arrangements was protracted and tended to revolve around a payment for what became known as 'complete flexibility'. Finally it was agreed that the day rate payment be continued with a flexibility allowance.
MATCHING PERSONALITIES OF I N D I V I D U A L S IN T H E G R O U P S From discussions held with shop stewards it became clear that they would have liked to select groups to suit themselves, e.g. all friends together. If the men had been allowed to have some say in the group to which they were assigned this would have resulted in the better skilled men coming together in a group which would have operated at a very high level of efficiency and less skilled men being placed in another group which would have struggled to achieve the targets set. The choice of operatives in a group is critical to its success, the need for group members to co-operate with each other and develop a team spirit is vital. This is especially true for pilot groups since the results from such groups dictate whether or not the company changes its total system over to that mode of operation or abandons the idea. The operatives for the first two pilot groups were prescribed by management who took a selection of good and bad tradesmen in terms of skill and discipline and young and long serving employees to give an 'average' mix.
SELF-DISCIPLINE WITHIN THE GROUPS Initially it was felt that the multi-discipline groups could be self-disciplining, i.e. that group members would be sufficiently concerned about the reputation of their groups that traditional discipline, as exercised by the foremen, would be unnecessary. There was provision, however, for the Production Manager to intervene if a situation required his attention. It was thought that the group would tend to exert pressure on the group members to 'pull their weight', so insulating conscientious individuals from difficulties, but imposing, perhaps, an unwelcome constraint on others. Unfortunately, this expectation was not fulfilled. Groups did not exercise self-control on
395
Omega. Vol. I0, No. 4
group members and it soon became necessary to reinstate the traditional disciplinary procedure, the first stage of procedure being executed by the management representative. Interestingly, the workforce was never enthusiastic about being responsible for discipline and did not object to the return of the status quo.
OPERATING EXPERIENCES From a management point of view, operating experiences have been good. (a) Management representatives do have control over an order.
(b) IMPLEMENTATION OF MULTI-DISCIPLINE GROUPS It was decided to set up two groups as a pilot scheme, these groups to consist of three sheet metal workers, three fitters, a welder, three assistants, and a supervisor, known as a management representative. The management representative was considered to be senior to a foreman and was expected to be supervisor, project engineer, and planner all rolled into one. He was expected to become committed to the delivery and quality performance of his group. The management representative had to be a high calibre manager with the ability to co-ordinate, assist and harness the undoubted talents of some very strong-willed skilled personnel in his group. One of the two pilot groups did 'gel', operators did make an effort to be flexible and extend themselves. The result of this was that group members were generally happy, throughput of work was satisfactory and targets were being achieved. The other group did not come together, mainly because some workers resisted the changes imposed by the new system. As a result of the promising results from the successful pilot group, it was decided that three other groups be established, once again the operatives for each group being prescribed by management. By the middle of 1980 the company had five multi-discipline groups in operation, but due to a falling order book (towards the end of this year) it meant that cuts in production workers had to be made. It was decided to reduce the groups to four. The re-allocation of workers was on the same basis as previously, i.e. an average mix of skill, youth and experience, but the employees who had shown the most resistance to the new system were put into a particular group who had the most experienced supervisor.
Works management have only one person to approach to change priorities and control of orders has improved.
(c) Lead times have been reduced. Table 1 gives examples of the improvements. (d) There is greater flexibility between trades. (e)
There has been a reduction in indirect operatives employed on fan manufacture of at least 60~.
(f) Younger skilled men have improved. (g) Hard core employees seem to be successful in influencing attitudes. The major problem faced has been lack of order cover preventing the company from seeing just what can be done with the multi-discipline group scheme. Also it has been difficult to balance the load on each group and the company have not yet introduced an incentive scheme. TABLE 1. Currellt
Product Small single inlet VCB, SS fans Large single inlet VCB, SS fans Small double inlet VCB, SS fans Large double inlet VCB, SS fans Small single inlet V/aero fans Large single inlet V/aero fans
Small double inlet V/aero fans Large double inlet V/aero fans Air-handling equipment depending on complexity
Lead time early 1980 (weeks)
lead time late 1981
(weeks) 3-5
10---12
6-10
4--6
3-5
12-14
6-12
10
6-8
12-14
8-12
10
6-8
12-14
8-12
6-16
3-12
396
Hodqes. Dale--Multi-discipline Group Workimt
ATTITUDE SURVEY A great deal of publicity has been given to company experiments in group working where the previous system has required operators to expend their efforts doing "dumb-dumb' jobs: where work has become meaningless, boring, degrading, soul-destroying, or even physically harmful. Unlike such schemes, work methods in this company were not based on short repetitive cycles, operators were all highly skilled and, in general, were happy with their job in the previous system as indicated in Table 2. The multi-discipline group concept has provided an environment where supervisors and operators can exercise autonomy and interact in a group with colleagues. These changes include giving the worker greater responsibility for quality, pace of work, greater autonomy, increasing closure (making the work unit more complete), providing the environment to learn more skills etc. It was of interest to determine what, if any, changes had taken place in operators' and supervisors' job satisfaction by the different form of work place arrangement. An attitude survey of 26 operatives, representing around 80~ of skilled tradesmen, and all four management representatives has been carried out. Because of this small sample size, none of the relationships indicated in this paper have been statistically proved.
OPERATIVES' VIEWPOINTS The operative profiles depicted in Table 2 show a marked improvement in happiness with supervision, co-workers, and their job after introduction of the multi-discipline group system. The greatest change registered was the relationship with supervision. The supervisory organisation structure has changed from a chargehand and foreman type arrangement to that of a management representative, whose role is that of planning and controlling, progressing, liaison etc., rather than of direct supervision in the traditional sense. Previously, supervisors used an authoritarian type approach which was resented by the majority of operatives, as was the power of supervision to control their earnings by allocation of 'good' and 'bad' bonus jobs. A few older workers thought that the self-discipline expected in the
group system was bad for the younger workers, preferring a more authoritarian foreman. This feeling was heavily influenced by their upbringing rather than by the choice of production system. The authors believe that the change of emphasis in supervision is helping to break down the "them and us" attitudes; a number of workers commented that the atmosphere between workers and supervisors is more friendly and there is a tendency to work together. Table 2 suggests that there has been a slight improvement in relationship between coworkers. Workers are now more prepared to help each other, whereas previously they had tended to act as individuals, an attitude reinforced by the piece-work system in operation at the time. The comments of 'backbiting" and 'dog eat dog" were often made by operatives when questioned about the previous system. Workers are now more happy with their job, the main reasons for this being: (a) They are more aware of what is going on around them, they can see the product as it is being worked on by other tradesmen in their group. This helps them visualise what requirements the job will make on them when it is their turn to work on it.
(b) Sheet metal workers and welders can readily identify with the job as they see it being fitted together. These workers in particular can see the results of their labour in a finished product from start to finish of manufacture and thus can measure the effect of their contribution to the group.
(c) The majority of workers said that they would rather be doing something than standing about with nothing to do. The group system provides this type of environment, e.g. if there is no work for a welder he can carry out fitting or sheet metal work. Initially, use of other skills is restricted to assisting other tradesmen but there is evidence from the workers themselves that they are learning new skills and are more aware of the other trades practised in their group. This is indicated in Table 3 where the median value is that the group system provides some more use of skills and abilities and that there is some more scope for learning and development. It is felt that the
4
.
--
4
--
4
19
.
--
.
3 (some)
Less ('),~,)
4
8
.
4
--
--
4 (a lot)
4
5 (a great deal)
--
4
4
4
4
4
8
3 (some)
Unhappy ('.',~,)
-
27*
--
4
11
23 39
39* 27 34
-8
12 4
--
8
19
--
8 15 8*
4
(very little)
0
(very little)
1
4
--
No change (')(,)
8
12
1
8
8
-
4
4
13
1 (very little)
50*
30 46*
27
27* 31
12 4
12 23* 8
.
15
15
(little)
.
3
22 12 35
23*
23*
.
(some)
.
4 19 4
27
27
(a It)t)
4
35
35*
2
42
35*
M o r e ("{3
23
19
8*
4
(a lot)
3
(some)
2 (little)
Ilappy ('!,,)
PROFILE OF A]-flTUDI- CIIANGES
4
0
(%)
Indifferent
SURVEY SIIOWING
1 (very little)
A]qIIUI)I!
2 (little)
--
--
--
4
(little)
2
ANALYSES OF OPERATOR
8
4
8
deal)
4
(a lot)
5
3.
(a great
TABLI-S 2 AND
The percentages may total from 99 to 10I'~,~, due to rounding. * = median.
Use of skills and vbilities Scope for learning and development Interference from "outside the group' specialists Communications Control over quality Job satisfaction
Table 3
Relationship with supervisor in the old system Relationship with supervisor in the new system Relationship with co-workers in the old system Relationship with co-workers in the new system Job in the old system Job in the new system
Table 2
4
4
4
(a great deal)
5
8
15
5 (a great deal)
4.
398
Hod#es. Dale--Multi-discipline Group Working
younger workers have more to gain from this type of scheme: having been taught at college particular skills, use of equipment etc., they now have the incentive and opportunity to practise new skills. All the younger fitters and sheet metal workers questioned said they had been able to improve their welding skills. Older workers are able to devote more time to instructing and passing on their skills to younger workers, where previously there was not time for this type of instruction. (d) If, say, a fabrication problem is found on final fitting, it can be rectified more or less immediately by sheet metal workers in the group. In the previous system, fitters building the product had to wait for a sheet metal worker to be allocated to the problem. This has helped to improve throughput efficiency, reduce WIP, and lessen frustration amongst fitters in the group system. (e) Table 3 shows that operatives experience less interference in their work. It would appear that there are fewer changes in schedules by production control, less chasing of shortages by progress chasers and less interference from both supervisors and inspectors. The median value of communications in Table 3 shows that no change has taken place, although the trend suggests some improvement. Any improvement appears to come from a better relationship with supervisors: previously, operatives had a number of lines of accountability, this has now been reduced to one, i.e. a management representative. Communications between co-workers have also benefitted: workers are forced to have face to face communications because in all probability they will be working on the same jobs and any potential snags are readily passed on, whereas previously each operator had to learn the peculiarities and characteristics of each job insofar as it affected his trade. Operatives feel there has been a little improvement (median value in Table 3) in control of quality. The main reason for this was that in the previous system, due to pressure on bonus
earnings, jobs were sent out which operatives were not completely satisfied with; whereas now they can spend time getting the job exactly right, for example fitters will modify a guard on final fitting. One fitter made the comment that on final fitting he paints parts which cannot be reached by the painter when the assembly is complete. It is also felt that control of quality has improved due to greater job interest and better feedback between operatives since mistakes and features to watch out for are being highlighted more quickly. Over 60% of operatives questioned said they would resent moving to another group if asked. Within a group, personal working relationships are developed between members and group cohesion and membership has built up: such movement to another group would destroy group feeling and, for the worker involved in the move, it would take time to build up similar relationships with workers in the new group. Each operative questioned did not mind work being transferred to another group, while around 30% of operatives did resent work being transferred to their group. This was chiefly owing to the problems of deciding what has been done on the job and of following another tradesman's method of working. There was also a feeling amongst workers that, in one particular group, jobs which workers do not like doing are left in the hope that they wilt be placed in another group. In summary it can be seen from Table 3 that operatives claim there has been some improvement in job satisfaction. The main reasons for this have been discussed. This view is important since job satisfaction is a subjective reaction to a task, and-a-~ob can only legitimately fie regarded as enr~claed if it is -felt to be so by the individual performing the task. Operatives' satisfaction with their job varies with the group they are in and their particular trade. Only three operatives from one particular group said that they experienced less job satisfaction in the group scheme compared with the previous • system; these were the employees who exhibited most resistance to change as mentioned previously. It was fitters and younger tradesmen who experienced the greatest increase in job satisfaction--this was mainly due to the chance to learn and practise new skills.
* = median.
Use of skills and abilities Scope for learning and development Responsibility Prestige or status Work load Communications Job satisfaction
Table 5
Relationship with workers in the old system Relationship with workers in the new system Job in the old system Job in the new system
Tuhle 4
I
5 (a great deal)
5 (a great deal)
TABLES 4 5.
m
m
4 (a lot)
OF
I
3 (some)
Less ('yo)
3 (some)
2 (little)
I
2 (little)
S U P E R V I S O R
Unhappy (~o)
A N A L Y S E S
4 (a lot)
AND
S U R V E Y
I
I (very little)
I
I (very little)
A l q l F U D E
25 25
I
25 25
I
I
0
(~)
No change
I
0
Indifferent (~o)
SItOWING
OF
25
50*
25*
I
1 (very little)
25
I (very little)
PROFILE
25
I
I
75* 25 25*
25
25
50* 25
25
I I
25
m
25 75* 75*
4
(a lot)
3
(some)
2 (little)
More ('Y,,)
25 75'
I
25
5 (a great deal)
25
75*
25
50*
25
5 (a great deal)
50*
4
(a lot)
3
(some)
Happy (%)
CIIANGES
2 (little)
A1-FITUDE
Hodges. Dale--Multi-discipline
400
SUPERVISORS" vIEWPOINTS The results of the survey summarised in Tables 4 and 5 suggest that the supervisor's job has been enriched by the introduction of multidiscipline group working. The main reasons for this is that in the previous functional system the supervisor was accountable for one process, whereas in the group system he is accountable for the complete production of a product requiring several processes. In fact, the supervisor can be compared with a departmental or product manager since, in general, he has all the means of production under his control. He is less dependent on other supervisors and departments for the supply of work and use of facilities. This reduces the number of people responsible for a product's manufacture, giving greater control and improving autonomy. All supervisors said that a more personal relationship was established between the supervisor and the shop floor and that team spirit can be achieved quickly owing to the small group environment. One supervisor said that he was happier with his job in the previous system---controlling the functional skill of sheet metal working made more use of his abilities than did the multi-discipline group system. The areas in which supervisors said they had more responsibility, accountability, and control are as follows: (a) Quality control. (b) Production control. (c) Progressing of work from drawing to final despatch. (d) Meeting of production targets. (e) Supervision of more than one process skill. (f) Preparation of information. It is encouraging that the jobs of supervision can be enriched by changes to the production system; since over the last decade the increase
Group Workiny
in power of trade unions, combined with the growth of personnel departments, has substantially contributed to a removal from supervisors of much of their earlier prestige and authority. The main problems experienced by supervision under the new system were:
(a) Supervision of different process skills. (b) Marshalling of sub-assembled parts. (c) Getting familiar with purchasing and production control systems. (d)
Balancing of work between fitters and sheet metal workers, since the job times for sheet metal are generally longer than those for fitting.
(e) Mix of work allocated to the group. (0 In the event of sickness or holidays the output of the group is considerably affected. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to thank the Board of Directors of Matthews & Yates Ltd for permission to publish this paper.
REFERENCES 1. Bt)RaIDGE JL (1975) The Introduction of Group Technology, pp. 35-55. Heinemann, London. 2. DALE BG & WtLLEV PCT (1977) Manufacturing characteristics and management performance of companies under Group Technology, pp. 777-792. 18th MTDR Conference, Imperial College, London. 3. FAZACKERLV GM (1974) The human problems of group technology. Eur. Bus. 50-56. 4. HALL PD (1975) GT gets production into top gear. Metalwk9 Prod. 119(2), 49-51. 5. HMSO (1975) Makin 9 Work More Satisfyin 9. HMSO, London. 6. NEDO (1975) Why Group Technoloyy? NEDO, London. 7. WXLD R (1974) Job restructuring and work organisation. Mgmt Dec. 12(3), 117-126. 8. WtLFORt) JS (1974) Human aspects in GT systems, pp. 1-8.4th Annual Conference, I. Prod. E GT Specialist Division. 9. WILSON NAB (1973) On the Quality of Workiny Life, HMSO, London.
Dr BG Dale, Department of Manaoement Science, The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technoloqy, PO Box 88, Manchester M60 IQD, UK.
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE:
0305-0,183 82 0,~391-t0503.0~ 0 Copyright ~ 1982 Pergamon Press Ltd
An Application of Multi-discipline Group Working A HODGES Matthews & Yates Ltd, Manchester, UK
BG DALE University of Manchester, Institute of Science and Technology, UK (Received November 1981)
The paper describes the application of the concept of working in multi-discipline groups in a company manufacturing air-handling fans and customised air-handliog equipment on a jobbing type
basis. Thereasons for organising along these lines is explained together with the method used for formulation of groups. Operating experiences with this form of organisation are described and the results of an attitude survey of operatives and supervisors are discussed.
INTRODUCTION T H E END o f 1977 a critical review was made of the company's manufacturing systems and strategy. The company had survived some difficult years, orders had been available but on many occasions the works had not been able to respond quickly enough to the demand. In spite of this the business appeared to be on an even keel. Investments had been made in a new guillotine, two new presses, and an NC punching and nibbling machine. A building constructed in 1973 and used for storage was equipped with cranes enabling the area to be used for manufacture and considerable improvements were made to office accommodation. In addition new products were planned. The major problems bedevilling the company appeared to be that the works had grown, like 'Topsy', resulting in inefficient plant layout and complicated and chaotic material flow, stores procedures and systems were non-existent, production control was barely able to cope and shop floor discipline was poor, particularly with respect to timekeeping. During 1978 the
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391
works was re-laid out by grouping like machines together i.e. functional arrangement and skilled fitters and sheet metal workers were moved into the best buildings. Stores procedures were established, and changes in production control had led to lead times being reduced, and firm control of all orders was achieved. Discipline was improved and timekeeping had been brought under control. By the end of 1978 the company had put down sound foundations, made a profit and looked set to go from strength to strength. At the beginning of 1979 the company had a slack order book, which led to poor bonus earnings and a drop in morale. The company's trading position had picked up by the middle of the year but the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers National Pay Dispute had considerably disrupted production. At this time it became apparent that the product mix was changing. Traditionally the product mix had been 30% air-handling equipment and 70% fans. The air-handling equipment was now consuming more than 50% of the business and these products demanded more management
392
Hodyes. Dale--Multi-discipline Group Workimt
time and were less straightforward from a manufacturing point of view. Due to this change in product mix the new layout, systems and controls were found to be not as sound as previously felt. The sort of problems encountered were as follows: (a) Low morale leading to employees not taking an interest in their work from both a quality and timekeeping point of view. (b) Certain cliques had developed on the shop floor with considerable power to disrupt the flow of production. For example, one group of tradesmen would insist that they would only work overtime if all members of their group were given the opportunity to work overtime. Particular groups of workers could control the flow of work to influence decisions with regard to overtime, to apply presure to gain concessions, etc. (c) The hard core, long serving employees did not seem to be getting a say in the development of events on the shop floor, younger, less experienced men seemed to hold sway. (d) Experienced men were leaving the company and younger skilled men were not adequately prepared to take over the more complicated jobs. (e) Initially each tradesman had a mate, an unskilled assistant, who would fetch and carry for the skilled craftsman. By 1979 this ratio had been reduced to one assistant per two tradesmen but often this indirect labour had nothing to do or was badly utilised, for example, sweeping and cleaning areas that were already clean. (f) Fitters and sheet metal workers in particular would not permit other personnel, even if capable of performing tasks, to do work traditionally carried out by them. Some tradesmen would not work without a mate or would refuse to do work which he considered was the province of another tradesman or employee. In short, employees were not flexible in their approach and lines of demarcation between trades and specialisations were as firm as ever. (g) The complexity of work going through the works was such that a strain was being put on foremen and production control to
organise the work and meet the required delivery dates. ih) Whilst the quality of one-off items had been reasonable, the quality performance on large complicated contracts left much to be desired. In summary, the high hopes and aspirations the company had felt at the end of 1978 had not been realised in 1979. The improved planning, improved procedures and systems, greater control, more up-to-date methods, a better plant layout, and improved discipline had not resulted in a sustained improvement in productivity. There was some evidence which suggested that individual performance had fallen off since the old piece-work system had been replaced with a day-work scheme, but the results were not conclusive since anomalies in booking, method changes and recording errors had distorted the figures. Following from this the workers on the shop floor were not achieving bonus earnings and had lost faith in the bonus system. Coupled with the problems outlined above, it was evident that some new system had to be tried which would increase skilled men's flexibility, reduce manufacturing lead time, improve delivery performance, improve the incentive effort of bonus payments, and motivate the people on the shop floor. In retrospect, it is probably true to say that the company's developing problems were as much a function of a fall in order cover and changing product mix as anything else. FORMULATION OF THE MULTIDISCIPLINE GROUP CONCEPT Traditionally, batch and jobbing manufacturing industry has arranged its shop floor into functional groups, i.e. like skills or machines together, led by a supervisor who is generally skilled in the work being performed in their particular group. The authors believe that whilst this system is logical and has much to recommend it with respect to carrying out repetitive tasks, it has some distinct shortcomings when applied to the manufacture of customised products, the main ones being outlined below: (a) Each supervisor has to learn the peculiari-
Omeya. Vol. 10. No. 4
ties of each order insofar as it affects his function, this obviously leads to a duplication of this type of work. (b) If a tradesman is required by a functional head who does not control that operation, he must await the pleasure of another functional head in charge of the tradesman required. (c) There are distinct possibilities of work lodging between two tradesmen and being neglected. (d) Tradesmen are reluctant to move from one discipline to another without pressure. (e) Manufacturing lead times are often long and variable resulting in high levels of work in progress with its associated cost. The main manufacturing areas at the company in question were laid out along functional lines and experienced the above type of problems. In the heater shop, impellor shop, and component preparation section, which tended to be self-contained manufacturing units, the interchange between operatives and skills was more flexible. The result of this flexibility was a quicker and less complicated throughput of work. The concept of working in groups on the shop floor has typically been applied to different industries and for distinct reasons. The major types being group technology (GT) applications used in small batch multi-product manufacturing industries and autonomous working groups used in assembly line manufacture and continuous process production. GT is an arrangement of machines, tools, and services to manufacture complete a defined range of similar components, sub-assemblies or products, generally under the control of one supervisor, as opposed to the more traditional functional grouping. The main benefits claimed [1,4,6] for GT include: reductions in manufacturing lead time, work in progress (WIP), stocks, production planning and control effort; writers [3, 6, 8] on GT have also suggested it is a 'social" innovation with advantages accruing from organising the labour force into small groups in which they enjoy all the benefits of group cohesion and membership. Over the past few years a great deal of publicity has been given to the Volvo, Fiat, Philips,
393
and Saab experiments in grouping working on assembly line production. These, along with many other organisations in Europe. introduced changes which involved the break-up of assembly lines into individual or group assembly, coupled with significant increases in individual or group autonomy. Similar types of groups have been created by the amalgamation of existing jobs into a group task. The major reasons for such changes have been well reported [5, 7, 9] and include the need to improve flexibility, quality and productivity, to reduce absenteeism and labour turnover, subsidiary benefits mentioned are increasing job satisfaction, worker involvement and participation. The results which companies had achieved with such systems were impressive and coupled with the fact that the heater shop, impellor shop and component preparation sections had always been more efficient than the main manufacturing areas it was decided that a number of multi-discipline teams would be created. It is interesting that in [2] Dale & Willey report that published material was the principal origin of a company taking its initial interest in GT. The quest for work system improvement in this case was fed by a desire to reduce manufacturing cost and improve workers' ability to improve goals rather than work structuring to improve workers" job satisfaction, involvement and participation, work cycle enlargement etc., although these were seen as subsidiary benefits. Consequently the approach described is more akin to GT than to autonomous work groups within assembly lines. It was proposed that the multi-discipline teams would be comprised of sheet metal workers, welders, fitters, and supporting semiskilled assistants, Each team would be located in its own area and be set output targets comparable with the capacity of the team. Each member of the team would be expected to assist in areas of work whether or not they possessed the relevant skills. A supervisor, termed a management representative, would control each multi-discipline team created. The main benefits expected of the multi-discipline group system of working were as follows: (a) Operators should not need to wait for a specially skilled tradesman to perform a
394
Hodqes. Dale----Multi-discipline Group Working
simple task, which by tradition has always been performed by that trade, even though almost anyone could carry out the work. (b) The supervision learning curve is only performed once and there is less chance of aspects of the work being neglected. Supervisors have control over most operations that are required to build the product. (c) Indirect labour would be reduced. Traditionally each tradesman had a mate, although there were large amounts of work where a mate was not required. With the introduction of multi-discipline groups tradesmen could assist one another from time to time as the need arose. It was proposed that each group would have one or two assistants as a maximum. (d) By spreading the younger men and stable employees evenly amongst the groups, the younger men would benefit by being given greater experience of the range of work carried out and hard core employees would tend to stabilise attitudes in each working area. (e) Certain cliques which had developed in the functional system would be neutralised. (f) There should be a reduction in manufacturing lead time and WIP with an associated improvement in delivery performance. (g) The flexibility and self organisation within the group is likely to lead to easier a d a p tation to change, particularly to changed production schedules and work allocations. (h) The groups should facilitate the establishment of targets and standards, as there are fewer units to cope with. The following disadvantages were envisaged: (a) Difficulty in keeping the work loads for each group balanced.
(b) Extra equipment, e.g. radial arm, pillar and hand drills, hand grinders, nut inserting tool, would need to be purchased to make each group as autonomous as possible.
Discussion with shop stewards on the new arrangements was protracted and tended to revolve around a payment for what became known as 'complete flexibility'. Finally it was agreed that the day rate payment be continued with a flexibility allowance.
MATCHING PERSONALITIES OF I N D I V I D U A L S IN T H E G R O U P S From discussions held with shop stewards it became clear that they would have liked to select groups to suit themselves, e.g. all friends together. If the men had been allowed to have some say in the group to which they were assigned this would have resulted in the better skilled men coming together in a group which would have operated at a very high level of efficiency and less skilled men being placed in another group which would have struggled to achieve the targets set. The choice of operatives in a group is critical to its success, the need for group members to co-operate with each other and develop a team spirit is vital. This is especially true for pilot groups since the results from such groups dictate whether or not the company changes its total system over to that mode of operation or abandons the idea. The operatives for the first two pilot groups were prescribed by management who took a selection of good and bad tradesmen in terms of skill and discipline and young and long serving employees to give an 'average' mix.
SELF-DISCIPLINE WITHIN THE GROUPS Initially it was felt that the multi-discipline groups could be self-disciplining, i.e. that group members would be sufficiently concerned about the reputation of their groups that traditional discipline, as exercised by the foremen, would be unnecessary. There was provision, however, for the Production Manager to intervene if a situation required his attention. It was thought that the group would tend to exert pressure on the group members to 'pull their weight', so insulating conscientious individuals from difficulties, but imposing, perhaps, an unwelcome constraint on others. Unfortunately, this expectation was not fulfilled. Groups did not exercise self-control on
395
Omega. Vol. I0, No. 4
group members and it soon became necessary to reinstate the traditional disciplinary procedure, the first stage of procedure being executed by the management representative. Interestingly, the workforce was never enthusiastic about being responsible for discipline and did not object to the return of the status quo.
OPERATING EXPERIENCES From a management point of view, operating experiences have been good. (a) Management representatives do have control over an order.
(b) IMPLEMENTATION OF MULTI-DISCIPLINE GROUPS It was decided to set up two groups as a pilot scheme, these groups to consist of three sheet metal workers, three fitters, a welder, three assistants, and a supervisor, known as a management representative. The management representative was considered to be senior to a foreman and was expected to be supervisor, project engineer, and planner all rolled into one. He was expected to become committed to the delivery and quality performance of his group. The management representative had to be a high calibre manager with the ability to co-ordinate, assist and harness the undoubted talents of some very strong-willed skilled personnel in his group. One of the two pilot groups did 'gel', operators did make an effort to be flexible and extend themselves. The result of this was that group members were generally happy, throughput of work was satisfactory and targets were being achieved. The other group did not come together, mainly because some workers resisted the changes imposed by the new system. As a result of the promising results from the successful pilot group, it was decided that three other groups be established, once again the operatives for each group being prescribed by management. By the middle of 1980 the company had five multi-discipline groups in operation, but due to a falling order book (towards the end of this year) it meant that cuts in production workers had to be made. It was decided to reduce the groups to four. The re-allocation of workers was on the same basis as previously, i.e. an average mix of skill, youth and experience, but the employees who had shown the most resistance to the new system were put into a particular group who had the most experienced supervisor.
Works management have only one person to approach to change priorities and control of orders has improved.
(c) Lead times have been reduced. Table 1 gives examples of the improvements. (d) There is greater flexibility between trades. (e)
There has been a reduction in indirect operatives employed on fan manufacture of at least 60~.
(f) Younger skilled men have improved. (g) Hard core employees seem to be successful in influencing attitudes. The major problem faced has been lack of order cover preventing the company from seeing just what can be done with the multi-discipline group scheme. Also it has been difficult to balance the load on each group and the company have not yet introduced an incentive scheme. TABLE 1. Currellt
Product Small single inlet VCB, SS fans Large single inlet VCB, SS fans Small double inlet VCB, SS fans Large double inlet VCB, SS fans Small single inlet V/aero fans Large single inlet V/aero fans
Small double inlet V/aero fans Large double inlet V/aero fans Air-handling equipment depending on complexity
Lead time early 1980 (weeks)
lead time late 1981
(weeks) 3-5
10---12
6-10
4--6
3-5
12-14
6-12
10
6-8
12-14
8-12
10
6-8
12-14
8-12
6-16
3-12
396
Hodqes. Dale--Multi-discipline Group Workimt
ATTITUDE SURVEY A great deal of publicity has been given to company experiments in group working where the previous system has required operators to expend their efforts doing "dumb-dumb' jobs: where work has become meaningless, boring, degrading, soul-destroying, or even physically harmful. Unlike such schemes, work methods in this company were not based on short repetitive cycles, operators were all highly skilled and, in general, were happy with their job in the previous system as indicated in Table 2. The multi-discipline group concept has provided an environment where supervisors and operators can exercise autonomy and interact in a group with colleagues. These changes include giving the worker greater responsibility for quality, pace of work, greater autonomy, increasing closure (making the work unit more complete), providing the environment to learn more skills etc. It was of interest to determine what, if any, changes had taken place in operators' and supervisors' job satisfaction by the different form of work place arrangement. An attitude survey of 26 operatives, representing around 80~ of skilled tradesmen, and all four management representatives has been carried out. Because of this small sample size, none of the relationships indicated in this paper have been statistically proved.
OPERATIVES' VIEWPOINTS The operative profiles depicted in Table 2 show a marked improvement in happiness with supervision, co-workers, and their job after introduction of the multi-discipline group system. The greatest change registered was the relationship with supervision. The supervisory organisation structure has changed from a chargehand and foreman type arrangement to that of a management representative, whose role is that of planning and controlling, progressing, liaison etc., rather than of direct supervision in the traditional sense. Previously, supervisors used an authoritarian type approach which was resented by the majority of operatives, as was the power of supervision to control their earnings by allocation of 'good' and 'bad' bonus jobs. A few older workers thought that the self-discipline expected in the
group system was bad for the younger workers, preferring a more authoritarian foreman. This feeling was heavily influenced by their upbringing rather than by the choice of production system. The authors believe that the change of emphasis in supervision is helping to break down the "them and us" attitudes; a number of workers commented that the atmosphere between workers and supervisors is more friendly and there is a tendency to work together. Table 2 suggests that there has been a slight improvement in relationship between coworkers. Workers are now more prepared to help each other, whereas previously they had tended to act as individuals, an attitude reinforced by the piece-work system in operation at the time. The comments of 'backbiting" and 'dog eat dog" were often made by operatives when questioned about the previous system. Workers are now more happy with their job, the main reasons for this being: (a) They are more aware of what is going on around them, they can see the product as it is being worked on by other tradesmen in their group. This helps them visualise what requirements the job will make on them when it is their turn to work on it.
(b) Sheet metal workers and welders can readily identify with the job as they see it being fitted together. These workers in particular can see the results of their labour in a finished product from start to finish of manufacture and thus can measure the effect of their contribution to the group.
(c) The majority of workers said that they would rather be doing something than standing about with nothing to do. The group system provides this type of environment, e.g. if there is no work for a welder he can carry out fitting or sheet metal work. Initially, use of other skills is restricted to assisting other tradesmen but there is evidence from the workers themselves that they are learning new skills and are more aware of the other trades practised in their group. This is indicated in Table 3 where the median value is that the group system provides some more use of skills and abilities and that there is some more scope for learning and development. It is felt that the
4
.
--
4
--
4
19
.
--
.
3 (some)
Less ('),~,)
4
8
.
4
--
--
4 (a lot)
4
5 (a great deal)
--
4
4
4
4
4
8
3 (some)
Unhappy ('.',~,)
-
27*
--
4
11
23 39
39* 27 34
-8
12 4
--
8
19
--
8 15 8*
4
(very little)
0
(very little)
1
4
--
No change (')(,)
8
12
1
8
8
-
4
4
13
1 (very little)
50*
30 46*
27
27* 31
12 4
12 23* 8
.
15
15
(little)
.
3
22 12 35
23*
23*
.
(some)
.
4 19 4
27
27
(a It)t)
4
35
35*
2
42
35*
M o r e ("{3
23
19
8*
4
(a lot)
3
(some)
2 (little)
Ilappy ('!,,)
PROFILE OF A]-flTUDI- CIIANGES
4
0
(%)
Indifferent
SURVEY SIIOWING
1 (very little)
A]qIIUI)I!
2 (little)
--
--
--
4
(little)
2
ANALYSES OF OPERATOR
8
4
8
deal)
4
(a lot)
5
3.
(a great
TABLI-S 2 AND
The percentages may total from 99 to 10I'~,~, due to rounding. * = median.
Use of skills and vbilities Scope for learning and development Interference from "outside the group' specialists Communications Control over quality Job satisfaction
Table 3
Relationship with supervisor in the old system Relationship with supervisor in the new system Relationship with co-workers in the old system Relationship with co-workers in the new system Job in the old system Job in the new system
Table 2
4
4
4
(a great deal)
5
8
15
5 (a great deal)
4.
398
Hod#es. Dale--Multi-discipline Group Working
younger workers have more to gain from this type of scheme: having been taught at college particular skills, use of equipment etc., they now have the incentive and opportunity to practise new skills. All the younger fitters and sheet metal workers questioned said they had been able to improve their welding skills. Older workers are able to devote more time to instructing and passing on their skills to younger workers, where previously there was not time for this type of instruction. (d) If, say, a fabrication problem is found on final fitting, it can be rectified more or less immediately by sheet metal workers in the group. In the previous system, fitters building the product had to wait for a sheet metal worker to be allocated to the problem. This has helped to improve throughput efficiency, reduce WIP, and lessen frustration amongst fitters in the group system. (e) Table 3 shows that operatives experience less interference in their work. It would appear that there are fewer changes in schedules by production control, less chasing of shortages by progress chasers and less interference from both supervisors and inspectors. The median value of communications in Table 3 shows that no change has taken place, although the trend suggests some improvement. Any improvement appears to come from a better relationship with supervisors: previously, operatives had a number of lines of accountability, this has now been reduced to one, i.e. a management representative. Communications between co-workers have also benefitted: workers are forced to have face to face communications because in all probability they will be working on the same jobs and any potential snags are readily passed on, whereas previously each operator had to learn the peculiarities and characteristics of each job insofar as it affected his trade. Operatives feel there has been a little improvement (median value in Table 3) in control of quality. The main reason for this was that in the previous system, due to pressure on bonus
earnings, jobs were sent out which operatives were not completely satisfied with; whereas now they can spend time getting the job exactly right, for example fitters will modify a guard on final fitting. One fitter made the comment that on final fitting he paints parts which cannot be reached by the painter when the assembly is complete. It is also felt that control of quality has improved due to greater job interest and better feedback between operatives since mistakes and features to watch out for are being highlighted more quickly. Over 60% of operatives questioned said they would resent moving to another group if asked. Within a group, personal working relationships are developed between members and group cohesion and membership has built up: such movement to another group would destroy group feeling and, for the worker involved in the move, it would take time to build up similar relationships with workers in the new group. Each operative questioned did not mind work being transferred to another group, while around 30% of operatives did resent work being transferred to their group. This was chiefly owing to the problems of deciding what has been done on the job and of following another tradesman's method of working. There was also a feeling amongst workers that, in one particular group, jobs which workers do not like doing are left in the hope that they wilt be placed in another group. In summary it can be seen from Table 3 that operatives claim there has been some improvement in job satisfaction. The main reasons for this have been discussed. This view is important since job satisfaction is a subjective reaction to a task, and-a-~ob can only legitimately fie regarded as enr~claed if it is -felt to be so by the individual performing the task. Operatives' satisfaction with their job varies with the group they are in and their particular trade. Only three operatives from one particular group said that they experienced less job satisfaction in the group scheme compared with the previous • system; these were the employees who exhibited most resistance to change as mentioned previously. It was fitters and younger tradesmen who experienced the greatest increase in job satisfaction--this was mainly due to the chance to learn and practise new skills.
* = median.
Use of skills and abilities Scope for learning and development Responsibility Prestige or status Work load Communications Job satisfaction
Table 5
Relationship with workers in the old system Relationship with workers in the new system Job in the old system Job in the new system
Tuhle 4
I
5 (a great deal)
5 (a great deal)
TABLES 4 5.
m
m
4 (a lot)
OF
I
3 (some)
Less ('yo)
3 (some)
2 (little)
I
2 (little)
S U P E R V I S O R
Unhappy (~o)
A N A L Y S E S
4 (a lot)
AND
S U R V E Y
I
I (very little)
I
I (very little)
A l q l F U D E
25 25
I
25 25
I
I
0
(~)
No change
I
0
Indifferent (~o)
SItOWING
OF
25
50*
25*
I
1 (very little)
25
I (very little)
PROFILE
25
I
I
75* 25 25*
25
25
50* 25
25
I I
25
m
25 75* 75*
4
(a lot)
3
(some)
2 (little)
More ('Y,,)
25 75'
I
25
5 (a great deal)
25
75*
25
50*
25
5 (a great deal)
50*
4
(a lot)
3
(some)
Happy (%)
CIIANGES
2 (little)
A1-FITUDE
Hodges. Dale--Multi-discipline
400
SUPERVISORS" vIEWPOINTS The results of the survey summarised in Tables 4 and 5 suggest that the supervisor's job has been enriched by the introduction of multidiscipline group working. The main reasons for this is that in the previous functional system the supervisor was accountable for one process, whereas in the group system he is accountable for the complete production of a product requiring several processes. In fact, the supervisor can be compared with a departmental or product manager since, in general, he has all the means of production under his control. He is less dependent on other supervisors and departments for the supply of work and use of facilities. This reduces the number of people responsible for a product's manufacture, giving greater control and improving autonomy. All supervisors said that a more personal relationship was established between the supervisor and the shop floor and that team spirit can be achieved quickly owing to the small group environment. One supervisor said that he was happier with his job in the previous system---controlling the functional skill of sheet metal working made more use of his abilities than did the multi-discipline group system. The areas in which supervisors said they had more responsibility, accountability, and control are as follows: (a) Quality control. (b) Production control. (c) Progressing of work from drawing to final despatch. (d) Meeting of production targets. (e) Supervision of more than one process skill. (f) Preparation of information. It is encouraging that the jobs of supervision can be enriched by changes to the production system; since over the last decade the increase
Group Workiny
in power of trade unions, combined with the growth of personnel departments, has substantially contributed to a removal from supervisors of much of their earlier prestige and authority. The main problems experienced by supervision under the new system were:
(a) Supervision of different process skills. (b) Marshalling of sub-assembled parts. (c) Getting familiar with purchasing and production control systems. (d)
Balancing of work between fitters and sheet metal workers, since the job times for sheet metal are generally longer than those for fitting.
(e) Mix of work allocated to the group. (0 In the event of sickness or holidays the output of the group is considerably affected. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to thank the Board of Directors of Matthews & Yates Ltd for permission to publish this paper.
REFERENCES 1. Bt)RaIDGE JL (1975) The Introduction of Group Technology, pp. 35-55. Heinemann, London. 2. DALE BG & WtLLEV PCT (1977) Manufacturing characteristics and management performance of companies under Group Technology, pp. 777-792. 18th MTDR Conference, Imperial College, London. 3. FAZACKERLV GM (1974) The human problems of group technology. Eur. Bus. 50-56. 4. HALL PD (1975) GT gets production into top gear. Metalwk9 Prod. 119(2), 49-51. 5. HMSO (1975) Makin 9 Work More Satisfyin 9. HMSO, London. 6. NEDO (1975) Why Group Technoloyy? NEDO, London. 7. WXLD R (1974) Job restructuring and work organisation. Mgmt Dec. 12(3), 117-126. 8. WtLFORt) JS (1974) Human aspects in GT systems, pp. 1-8.4th Annual Conference, I. Prod. E GT Specialist Division. 9. WILSON NAB (1973) On the Quality of Workiny Life, HMSO, London.
Dr BG Dale, Department of Manaoement Science, The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technoloqy, PO Box 88, Manchester M60 IQD, UK.
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE: