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mnnagement The company manual announces company-wide practices and makes sure that employees clearly understand working instructions as well as their privileges bn Wultcrr bon Pediratunn
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wab cxlled in the last issue to the importance of selecting the right type of instruction when conveying management’s wishes to employees in the chemical industry. Yerba1 instructions, the bulletin board, and the memo were discussed. Aside from thew, the company manual and job performanre standards play an important part in giving instructions. They are distinguished from other types of instructions in that they are of a more permanent nature, can readily be used for training and superv+ing, and provide the only reliable means (except a personal letter) to assure that employees have been properly informed, Their limitations are lack of flesibility and danger of creating confusion if they are not kept up to date. TI’ENTION
The company manna1 The company manual, sometimes called a general manual, is in the strictest sense not an instruction book, but the announcement of company-wide practices. Ita purpose is to assure that problems of a general nature are handled alike in all departments and that employees have a clear understanding of the privileges to which they are entitled. The following subjects are frequently covered in the company manual.
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Finance --
Thrift policies Personal, financial, and legal advice Employees’ life insurance plan Health and Safety Fundamental policy in rendering medical service List of physicians First-aid instructions Examination of emplayees Employee Relations Payment of salary during absence Tramfer of employees “Lay off” policies Em loyee termination code ColPections among employees Employee rating Employee suggestion system
A number of chemical roncerns have found it practical to extend this list to cover other subjects, such as grievance procedures, handling of intraplant correspondence, and general instructions to new employees. The company manual may cover any subject as long as the information contained applies to all employces. The preparation of the company manual is usually accomplished in one of three ways:
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Responsibility is centralized in each divisional executive to issue his own manual. This practice frequently causes confusion, because the extent of covering company-wide policies is not alike in every department. The possibility also exists that a company policy may be differently inter reted or not sufficiently explained. Responsibility is centralie3 in committees of executivea appointed by the president, each committee coverin a designated niana ement function. This practice is widespred in the chemical intustry. It is important to appoint a top executive whoso job it is to see that the general a proach of presentation is alike in all committees. He also will Rave to check on duplication or contradictory information. Responsibility is centralized in a s .stems de srtment which at its discretion secures the approval olvarious $vision executives. Only large chemical concerns can develop their manuals in this n.ay.
A well organized general manual includes a convenient method of identifying materinl through page number and uniform type of
captions for subjects. Three-ring binders should preferably be used to hold bhe sheets. This allows the easy addition or removal of pages. Care should be taken to remove obsolete material and keep the index up to date. Chemical concerns which feel that a general company m a n q l is not needed should a t least put their general policies into writing and issue them in the form of a pamphlet. Leaving the interpretation of a company’s general policies to minor supervision, or expecting workers to pick up this information from others, usually results in a strained relationship between management and labor. Furthermore, unless a company clearly tells its workers what it is doing for them, it can hardly expect due appreciation.
Working Snatructi~ne It is not always realized that the partial coverage of work performances suggests that the phases which are not covered are of minor importance. For this reason working instructiona should never be developed by accumulating individual instructions which had been issued to prevent the recurrence of undesirable conditions in production. It is good practice to stop and consider whether it is actually necessary to issue certain workidg instructions. The writer recalls one instance where instructions had been issued for tests and checks in order to prevent the recurrence of a mistake which had almost zero probability of recurring. Even if wFitten instructions are considered necessary, the cost involved in carrying them out should be carefully weighed against the cost of a possible mishap. Before a new working instruction is issued, its importance relative to ot.her working instructions should also be carefully weighed. Working instructions containing such terms as “it is not allowed,” “nobody should,” or “employees should refrain from” have a demoralizing effect upon employees; if they are combined with a threat of disciplinary action, they may even undermine loyalty and good will, or kill initiative. Overstatements or understatements have no place in an instruction book. The use of superlatives should be restricted to matters of real importance if they are not to lose. their effect. It id surprising how many people in the chemical industry disregard these.simple and common-sense requirements in making up instructions. It is good practice to eliminate the names of persons; otherwise the instructions automatically become obsolete when n personnel change takes place. People are sometimes afraid to use terms employed in production; some even use terminology which the average employee cannot understand. Written instructions, to be effective, must refer to equipment and operations in the language that is spoken in the shop. The writer has on many occasions felt justified in sacrificing accuracy because it waa the only way to put his point across. Production records can frequently be designed or altered to make work performance instructions unnecessary. It ia not within the scope of this article to describe the various techniques which can be employed. Attention, however, is called to the importance of designing the sequence of entries which have to be made according to the flow of work, thus automatically advising workers in which order to perform their operations. If this is not possible, all entries which have to be (Continued on page 70 A ) 69 A
Plant Management made a t one station can be designated by different print or different thickness of lines, thus a t least grouping entries. Working instructions frequently cover only part of an operation, on the assumption that individual operators can use theii own judgment in performing the rest. Most of the mishaps occurring in production in chemical plants where written instrurtions are used, fall within the category of so-called “unwritten rules.” The only safe way of issuing instructions is to break the job down in detail into its essential and principal functions. One of the greatest problems in the use of written yorking instructions deals with keeping them up to date. There must be a high degree of supervision if the instructions are to be successfully used. Obsolete instructions are worse than none, because they cause confusion in production and frequently furnish an alibi for improper work performance. The writer, after trying all kinds of methods of keeping written working instructions up to date, has come to the conclusion that a system which automatically provides for a new instruction to supersede an old one. does not work. Often the old instruction is not removed from the instruction book, resulting in two contradictory instructions in one book. Furthermore, only a part of one working instruction is sometimes being changed; unless the entire instruction is rewritten, the obsolete one cannot be removed. The assumption that the foreman who receives part of a new instruction will change the original one to bring it up to date is in many instances erroneous; most people simply attach the addition to the old instruction. The only practical means of keeping written working instructions up to date is to collect the instruction which will become obsolete before new ones are issued. If this simple prartice were followed consistently in the chemical industry, there would be little trouble in keeping written working instructions up to date, It is admitted that this method requires rewriting an instruction if only one word has to be changed. The assuranre that written working instructions are always up to date, howevrr, is worth the extra effort.
dob t&keta It does not seem to be generally known that written working instructions do not necessarily have to be filed, but can be issued from day to day. The writer has recently come acrosa a system where the instructions pertaining to every operation have been mimeographed on the back of every performance record. It is claimed that this method is working out satisfactorily, because it eliminates any excuse that the operator has not been properly informed. It seems to the writer that such a system requires too much work in the office.
Graphic preaentation The writer has used the graphic presentation in many instances when issuing working instructions. He has found this means of conveying instructions especially satisfactory when operations require variable speed additions, or changes in temperatures or time cyclee.
EFepeckrusr &signed equlpmnt The fact is sometimes overlooked that equipment can be designed to eliminate certain instructions: by the installation of a governor restricting the speed within certain limits, the installation of safety valves, the design of auxiliary equipment, such as pedals, covers, and chutes which fit only certain machinery or into a certain location, or placing valves and switches in positions where they cannot be confused with others. The use of color schemes on equipment is generally known to promote safety and reduce fatigue, but is not always fully utilized to simplify the handling of equipment, and thus reduce the number of instrurtions which have to he issued. 70 A
