ROI Impact from Job Methods Training (JM)

The Company:
Formed in 1970, Schneider Packaging Equipment Co. designs, manufacturers, installs and services a wide range of case packing, material handling and palletizing equipment. The company grew to almost 150 employees occupying 87,000 square feet of manufacturing space by focusing on on-time delivery and satisfying customers. With sales offices in several states, Canada and Europe, Schneider machinery installations stretch across the USA, Canada, the Caribbean, South America, Australia, and Saudi Arabia. Because the company offered the flexibility demanded by their customers, many original customers continue to buy their equipment to this day with over half of their business coming from repeat customers.
The Opportunity:
The company had grown every year leaving little time to work on improving how they did business but they definitely were good operators. The company was ISO 9001 certified and pretty much in control of their business when September 11, 2001 brought a sudden end to new orders. Management viewed the slow down as an opportunity for the company to work on previously identified needs that included: a new product and process development strategy, a Knowledge Management System, workforce development and standardized work methods.
The Challenge:
Not knowing the extent of the downturn, management downsized without sacrificing key capabilities. The challenge was to get through what they correctly viewed as a difficult period and be ready to take advantage of an upturn in business when it came. Company representatives had participated in the TWI pilot projects and in December of 2002 and management took advantage of this slow down to train their key people in the TWI Job Methods. Vice Presidents, managers, engineers, technicians and team leaders were mixed in the initial JM classes and the results exceeded all expectations as you can see on the attached summary dated December 2002. Jon Christopher, Director of Organization Development became a TWI trainer in JM, JI and JR in 2003 and he now delivers all TWI training for his company. The attached summary from a JM he conducted in July 2003 that there were more opportunities for improvement to go after but he now saw the need for standardized work. Jon is now working with his people to rewrite all job instructions in the TWI format and retraining operators to reap the benefits of standardized work in the JI format. Meanwhile, the Machine Shop Team Leader has taken over the weekly Continuous Improvement Team meetings started by management. This team applies the JM breakdown methodology on a continuing basis to improve productivity but we'll save this TWI success story for another time.
The Results:
Schneider Packaging has realized a savings of over $300,000 since December 2003 and Jon Christopher attributes these savings to the TWI Job Methods program that come from a variety of projects as shown on the Excel Summaries.The impact of JM at this company makes it clear that no matter how good an operator you may be, "the need for proper training of workers and managers in how to do their jobs and to improve productivity-continually, sustainably, and in a human way-will never disappear. The TWI programs contain very little that is new. They are distinctive not because of the accepted principles of good management they cover, but because they are successful in getting them used, and on a national scale." (1)

(1) Training, Continuous Improvement, and Human Relations: The U.S. TWI Programs and the Japanese Management Style,
Alan G. Robinson and Dean Schroeder, California Management Review, 1993, page 56.

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