ABSTRACT
Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) was an old, established company. Like many other American companies, how long you had been with the company was a big deal. People literally wore it on their sleeves. Actually, they wore it on their ties and wrists. Employees received a five-year tiepin; at twenty years, you got a watch; and you may have received a new tiepin at ten and fifteen years. They wore them like sergeants wore hashmarks on their uniforms in the military. When people introduced people, they told how long they had been there: “This is Jim, he’s been here seventeen years, and Bob, he’s been here twenty-two years. How long have you been here?” In the Lean culture, pride is taken in the number of jobs or skills an operator has. They are held in high regard. One of the problems in a lot of American companies is the emphasis on how long you have been there, as opposed to the number of skills you have and ways you contribute to the company. Think about it: we do not care how long our doctor has practiced. We do care about his or her skill level and success rate. Experience is nice; however, skill and performance constitute the real value. One of the tools of Lean is a skills chart on which employees are listed on one side and skills along the top. An “X” is placed in the appropriate box for each skill an employee learns and is willing to apply. This is a great tool for moving the focus from seniority to skill and peformance.
