Pros
Good atmosphere. Management and Coworkers had little to no tension between them. Management were compliant with requests to change schedules, within reason. When issues arose at workstations, management, engineers, and technicians met at the workstation to address the issue and find solutions to the issue. Technicians could make suggestions on any part of their work process and would receive feedback from appropriate departments. Good Communication. Company events were mentioned in daily meetups before the workday started. Issues and Observations were communicated clearly. Documentation of Standardized Work. Workstations had documents that explained the general procedure of that workstation and any gauge/inspection points for parts made at that station.
Cons
Inconsistent Workflow. Some days would be very slow due to lack of required parts to complete processes. Other days, there weren't enough technicians around to complete the required work. Opportunities Arise at a Needs Basis. Training for skills like Welding, Forklift Operation, and Working at New/Different Workstations occurred when there was a dire need for those skills. When needs arose, opportunities to receive training for those skills were well advertised by management. Otherwise, opportunities to learn new skills were not readily available or advertised by management. Overtime. Technicians were designated a team for overtime work when hired. Teams would rotate so that one team would work every other weekend. Technicians would not know if they were mandated for overtime until Wednesday or Thursday of the week their team would be mandated. if mandated, technicians were expected to work Saturday and Sunday, or request to use vacation hours, which would have to be approved by management. When Overtime occurred, it would continue for months, with the occasional weekend excluded. (Note: The system for overtime was changed towards the end of my employment, and the 2 team system was switched to a 4 team system to ease the work demand on technicians. These 4 teams followed a regular rotation, but technicians were still notified late within the week if they were mandated to work that weekend.) Increased Specialized Roles within Standardized Work. Mostly at the request of the customer, changes were made to standardized work that created specialized roles for specific processes within the work for that station. Training for these roles were not well advertised and for some workstations, the specialized role slowed down the process and often made work more complicated and harder to manage.
