New Paradigms

Ravinder Gilani, as manager at Eicher Motors' Parwanoo plant, would often meet workers at the union leader's residence to discuss problems of quality and safety over a cup of tea. Now chief consultant with Eicher Consultancy Services, Gilani advises his clients to do the same.

And K.N. Ratan, executive director of Shriram Pistons & Rings, can often be seen on the lawns of the company's Ghaziabad plant sharing a light moment with the company's workers. His wife teaches the children of the workers at a nearby school.

These are not isolated examples. They are prototypes of a growing tribe of hands-on executives who are defying conventional norms and redefining the management-worker relationship in a changing business environment. Of course, lip service to par-ticipative management, empowerment of workers and dignity of labour has always been paid at seminars and HRD conferences in our country—a nation nurtured on socialist ideology. Ironically, it's the dynamic forces of a market economy that are forcing managements across the country to take a new look at the man behind the machine in a bid to restore the self-worth and self-respect that mass production had robbed him of. The result: companies are now reaping tremendous payoffs in productivity, improved quality and quicker manufacturing.

Outlook visits the shopfloor of auto and automotive ancillary companies like DCM Daewoo Motors, Escorts Motors, Hero Honda, Eicher Motors, and Shriram Pistons & Rings and discovers innovative and exciting ideas on managing blue-collar jobs. Some of these precepts could shift the paradigm of industrial relations in the country.

FAMILY-ORIENTED APPROACH:

DCM Daewoo Motors (erstwhile DCM Toyota), set up in 1984, has borrowed heavily from Toyota's Kan-Ban production technique—a system based on cooperation, sharing of responsibilities andmotivation, while adapting it to the Indian socio-cultural milieu. For example: Kan-ban dictates that there be no visible dividing lines of responsibility and status through common uniforms, a common canteen and a flatter organisational structure. This was achieved by blowing off hierarchies. At DCM Daewoo's Surajpur plant, job titles like welder, turner and mechanic are absent. Instead all workers up to a certain grade—both semi-skilled or skilled—are called operators, who report to a supervisor. However, distinctions have been maintained by appealing to the family ties and value system each worker identifies with. For instance, the management is the patriarch of the joint family which loses no opportunity to demonstrate it. "When we felt that certain operations required that workers wear gloves, we went beyond cost considerations to give the gloves that were the most effective in operations," says Awasthi.

Gestures like these have gone down well with the blue-collar workers. And are reflected in the increased productivity. Sample this: in 1986, the paint shop at the company catches fire. The situation is seri-ous with a pending export order that carries a penalty clause. The entire team of workers—from operators to security, planning and marketing personnel—work on a 20-hour excruciating schedule. As the last truck rolls out, the then Toyota chief in India, K. Takahashi, says emotionally: "We could not have done this in Japan. " Any better tribute to a motivated workforce? Check out some other payoffs: the company doesn't pay bonus for five years. Workers do not protest but also volunteer a 10-per cent deduction in salaries, ask forreduction in Diwali gifts and plant trees in the factory complex to save the company the cost of casual labourers. "The biggest payoff, of course, is that we have rolled out the Cielo pat-on-schedule on account of our work culture," says Awasthi.

Lesson 1: Pushing soft values on the hard shopfloor can turn the worker into the cheap -est, most flexible and most reprogrammable machine that money can buy.

ORGANISED WORK TECHNIQUES:

The factories of Hero Honda and Shriram Pistons & Rings present a rather uncommon sight. Workers move about performing their task without any wasted motion. The equipment is state-of-the-art, the shopfloor is as clean and orderly as a doctor's examination room and green plants bear testimony to the fume-free atmosphere. The secret of this orderliness: the five Ss— Seiri , Seiton , Seiso , Seiketsu and Shitsuke . Translated on to the shopfloor these concepts mean that each worker uses the right tools, in the right order, cleans them himself, maintains them properly and follows the work cycle meticulously, more as a matter of habit than compulsion.

"The 5S approach is nothing but a common-sense approach which we have pushed to the limits,'' says Anupam Bhasin, associate vice-president, Hero Honda. For example, as per Seiri , each subsection of the company's Dharuhera plant is dotted with red, green and blue bins which indicate rejected, okay and reworkable material, ensuring that no rejected part goes into the production line. Besides, it makes for more material accountability, streamlines reworking/disposal and ensures timely availability of material to the customer cell. It cuts down on congestion and confusion. "The system not onlyorganises the production line but more importantly, changes the notorious ' sab chalta hai ' mindset of Indians. Workers have a sense of responsibility, imbibe the value of time and find their work less tedious because of smoothened operations," says A.K. Taneja, senior executive director at Shriram Pistons.

Lesson 2. A clutter-free environment makes for tension-free minds. Strikes, protests and dharnas move to the casualty list.

NURTURING CREATIVITY ON SHOPFLOORS:

At Eicher's Parwanoo plant, a 5,000-strong workforce carries out about a 1,000 Kaizens per month. The Japanese word signifies small work improvements that contribute to overall productivity or result in cost-effectiveness. This means that each worker thinks of a technique to improve work, executes it and records it. He then gets a symbolic token as recognition of his contribution to process improvement.

This is subsequently passed on to another worker who makes a similar improvement. " Kai -zen gives the worker a feelingof self-worth by removing the feeling of emptiness which is at the root of industrial disruptions," says Gilani. At companies like Escorts Tractors and Hero Honda, suggestions are solicited from workers. The belief is that the man who works on the machine knows it best. At Hero Honda, every worker gets Rs 5 when he makes a productivity suggestion regardless of its value. However, if it is implemented and its value cannot be quan-tified, he gets Rs 650. In case the suggestion results in a quantifiable payoff or saving, the worker is rewarded 1.677 per cent of the net saving accruing to the company.

Some productivity gains from suggestion schemes: at Escorts Tractors, a Rs 2.5-crore shaving and grinding machine was lying waste for three years. Under the suggestion scheme, three workers hammered out a solution and made the machine operational in a month. At Shriram Pistons' engine valve factory, an operational tool needed regrinding. Cost of importing the tool: Rs 3 lakh. By changing one fixture, aworker made it operational for only Rs 700. As a token of his contribution he was given a watch and his photograph was published in the company magazine. The outcome: a proud worker and cost-saving for the company.

Lesson 3: Creativity makes for inner fulfil -ment which translates into outer calmness. Hordes of calm workers make for a turbulence-free industrial

MULTI - SKILLING AND ROTATION OF JOBS :

At Shriram Pistons, each worker is trained to handle the jobs preceding and following his present job, enabling him to understand the context of his job better and appreciate what fellow workers do. Besides, the worker cannot pass on blame or find fault with co-workers and is betterequipped to replace absentees. At DCM Daewoo, work -ers are rotated not only from one workstation to another, but from one production line to another, and from one department to the next. Multi-functionality and reducing job divisions do away with strict job descriptions. No 'my-job-his job'mindsets, points out Gilani. More importantly, the workers are not left idle.

Lesson 4: Gainfully employed workers mean fewer idle brains for the devil to work on.

WORKERS TRAINING:

Hero Honda holds quality conventions every three months to discuss all aspects, ranging from machine breakdowns to technology upgra-dation and innovations. At DCM Daewoo, a minimum of 12 working days in a year are devoted to training involving two aspects—basic attitudinal training relating to behavioural improvement, and hardcore skills training relating to job improve-ment. Shriram Pistons holds workshops where workers are put in the shoes of a customer to understand customer perception and satisfaction. For example, the worker is made to understand how a small scratch on the engine valve could render it ineffective for use in the larger engine. Result: heightened consciousness about the larger impact of a seemingly minor defect.

IMPROVING PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS :

At Escorts, the personal problem of the worker is also the company's. Industrial psychologists like Dr Salim Sharief and Dr S. David hold regular programmes for workers to discuss personal problems including alcoholism, marital problems, job conflicts. A worker, after all, is not a machine. Counselling not only helps solve personal problems but helps give vent to feelings. It's a safety valve to reduce industrial problems, says Mehta.

Lesson 6: Socially well-adjusted workers also make for better machine operators.

DIRECT INTERFACE WITH WORK - ERS:

Shriram Pistons holds six functions every year, on days like Raksha Bandhan and Shriram Jayanti, to enable the workers and the management to mingle freely. These provide a sense of participation to workers and their families. The company also benefits as it finds an ideal avenue todiscuss productivity targets and areas of concern. "Only when the workers know what is expected of them can they come up to your expectations," says Taneja. Direct communication also reduces chances of information being distorted.

Lesson 7: Direct interaction puts workers and managers on the same wavelength.

PS: These lessons are for managements with a vision. Those ignoring these precepts would be doing so at their own peril.