Mini Companies

"The way to get people to do the work is, by encouraging a competitive spirit. I don't mean in self-interested, profiteering sense, but as a desire to surpass others.'

Charles Schuob

Mini Companies is an approach, which helps to change the industrial culture, by creating constructive competition between small teams with common goals. The approach creates the link between production and administration. Everyone becomes empathetic to production problems and helps to quickly implement suggestions for improvement, coming from the operators.

The launch of the Mini Companies project, it begins with a change in the organizational structure of production. It is divided into small teams with 8-12 the person. A leader is chosen for each of the teams. However, the leader is not named by the management, and by his colleagues by voting.

Every leader goes through a training course, which includes topics such as:

• Leadership skills
• Communication skills
• General knowledge of the entire production process and in detail of the relevant Mini company
• Allocation of activities by people to achieve the production plan
• Controlling discipline
• Receiving / transmission of shifts
• Motivating the members of the Mini Company
• Ability to monitor the indicators of the Mini company and ensure their implementation

After passing the course, the leader of the Mini Company is ready to manage it. In addition to his/her direct operational duties, he/she is responsible for his/her Mini Company performing at a high level and at the end of each quarter, respectively and at the end of the year to be chosen as the best. The criteria for choosing the best Mini Company are, as well as purely manufacturing productivity and quality, as well as the number of proposed and implemented kaizens. In the process of fulfilling all the indicators, the Mini Company receives daily support from its trainer. He, as well as almost all other members of the administration, are responsible for a Mini Company. In this way, the coaches (the administration) make their direct contribution to production. Coaches can be jerks, even the representatives of human resources departments, accounting, information technology etc.

Obligations of coaches, are related to the Mini Companies:

• Mandatory attendance at the scheduled meetings of the Mini Company
• Assisting the Mini Company in the use of problem solving and idea generation tools
• Establishing the relationship between the Mini Company and the rest of the organization
• Track the development of suggestions for improvements, given by his Mini company

In order for the whole project to run smoothly, other organizations such as the Steering Committee were formed, Kaizen team, Support Group and Evaluation Teams. All of them monitor the performance of Mini Companies and their impact on company results, and if necessary take preventive corrective action.

The implementation of the Mini Companies project will help any organization to:

• Rally your teams
• Increase operator motivation
• Improve company results
• Created an internal customer/supplier concept across teams
• Locates and resolves most issues
• It binds everyone indirectly involved in the production

All this together with the implementation of the other modules of World Class Manufacturing will help your manufacturing to start the long way of changing the mindset.