Kate Bachman
Senior Editor

Muzzle at Your Own Risk: Give Voice a Chance

The first job I held in manufacturing was testing a new timing light at a Sears factory. The process was a typical assembly line, with human workers concentrating on one task multiple times, and the product moved down the line as each worker added a feature until the assembly was complete; then I tested them. 

My testing found a 40% failure rate—obviously unsustainably high. I remember that a team of company engineers walked out on the shop floor, surveyed the operation, and talked among themselves about how to fix the problem. One line worker spoke up. “It’s the tape. The way that we tape the piece isn’t secure.” The engineers barely acknowledged what she said, went back into their offices, and continued their analyses. Weeks later, after futilely trying different changes, they discovered the problem: It was the tape.

Listening; Giving Voice

Recently, I spoke with Keystone Fabricating president and owner Beverly Vogt as she recounted how she bought her company from its previous owners. 

“I started as office manager at that company, then became general manager of the fabrication division,” she says. “When the founder died, his sons took over but they ended up having to file for bankruptcy. My division was the only one making money. 

“As the company was going under, they had a meeting with the heads of the five divisions—the sons and myself,” Vogt continues. “They asked for input from everyone, and I listened and waited for my opportunity to offer suggestions to right the ship. Then when it was my turn to speak, they suddenly ran out of time. They didn’t want to hear what I had to say.”

Not being acknowledged for her expertise and success or allowed to voice her thoughts and suggestions really stuck with Vogt. “That’s an experience I’ll never forget,” she says. “I would not do that to someone.”

Shortly thereafter, Vogt bought the division from the owners and launched it as a company. That was 43 yr. ago. Keystone Fabricating is doing just fine today; thank you.

Clearing Roadblocks

Manny Resendes, head of engineering for Larson Tool & Stamping, relays his viewpoint on the importance of input from the shop-floor staff:
“You don’t fix a broken process by waiting for last month’s scrap report,” he says. “You fix it by walking the floor, talking to the people who live it every day, and acting on what you see and hear.”