Whether you are pursuing a temporary staff assignment, temp-to-hire, or direct-hire opportunity in manufacturing, be sure you know what lean manufacturing is. It will come up in your interview, and it will be important that you understand the culture.
Wikipedia tells us: “Essentially, lean is centered on preserving value with less work.” Its roots come from Toyota’s Production System (TPS).
Barton Staffing Solutions and Barton Professional Placement clients regularly tell us that while the core of lean manufacturing is often centered on cost and management, the true basis of lean manufacturing is around the workforce and a culture of innovation.
Last week, the Barton team visited a manufacturing client in Villa Park, and learned from the general manager the most important thing in lean manufacturing for them were employees (both direct and temporary staff) that spoke up in two key areas:
- They shared new production ideas with management making processes better, more efficient and with increased quality.
- They were not afraid to raise safety and risk issues solving them both proactively and collaboratively with management.
These employees, in the eyes of management, were helping to achieve both lean manufacturing objectives, while cultivating an open safety-conscious culture.
Often, as lean manufacturing initiatives are put in place, people and their roles are in flux. This is natural in any company in this day and age.
As temporary or direct-hire employees, you can ensure your manager knows you are part of the next step in the initiative. Do this by being the team member recognized for contributing new ideas and actively driving a culture of safety.
Barton Staffing Solutions and Barton Professional Placement work with clients to ensure that the three-way partnership is in place to support clients with employees that can drive lean manufacturing for them.
Ask us how.
