Shop floor management

Daily work at the place of value creation

Shop floor is the place where value is created. Shop floor management (SFM) is about achieving effective cooperation between employees and executives with the aim of continuously improving processes at the place of value creation. Elements from Lean Management also play a significant role in this.

In the daily work at the place of value creation - both in administration and production - the focus lies on three necessary elements:

• Create transparency (set up a system of key numbers, etc.) and visualise the actual and target situation
• Organised, structured and thus defined cooperation between executives and employees
• Structured procedure or way of working to deal with or resolve problems in the operational process in a target-oriented way (problem-solving process): From the managing director to the individual employee

Improve processes sustainably

Continuous and sustainable process improvement can only be achieved if the employees are supported in their daily work and if they themselves recognise the actual need for action and the importance of priorities. For this, it is necessary to consistently assume and implement managerial responsibility at the place of value creation:

• Clear responsibility of shop floor managers for safety, quality and productivity
• Visualisation of the current situation through process descriptions and relevant key numbers (productivity, continuous machining of the workpiece, workplace occupancy or process control)
• Development of and compliance with standards as a basis for quality improvements
• Control of the continuous improvement process
• Definition, prioritisation and structuring of the fields of action and problems
• Clear definition of the communication loops
• Organisational structure with team structure and cross-sectional functions
• Introduction of the “right” leadership relationship