Assessment of the validity of implementing the Shopfloor Management (SFM) method. Methodology and its application

Abstract: Manufacturing companies in the third decade of the 21st century are facing rapid economic changes, pressure to adapt to new technologies, and rising customer expectations. Management boards of organizations see the possibility of maintaining competitiveness through the implementation of Lean Production (LP) tools.The Lean concept is a holistic philosophy of eliminating waste, derived from the principles of the Toyota Production System (TPS), one of the foundations of which is visual management. The seventh of the fourteen management principles of TPS is to "use visual control so that no problem remains hidden." In the context of manufacturing companies, visualization is a communication system that uses visual elements to effectively communicate relevant data both to management at various levels and to employees directly involved in production processes.One of the visualization methods that derives from the principles of Lean Production and supports a culture of continuous improvement is Shopfloor Management (SFM). The main goal of SFM applications is the effective verification and presentation of production results, enabling better cooperation between production units and production supervision, in order to eliminate errors right at the point of their occurrence and improve the efficiency of the process. Thanks to the transparency of results and a clear presentation of goals, SFM can strengthen cooperation and competition among employees. However, much depends on the organizational culture of the company and the attitude of employees towards disclosing the results of their work.According to the literature on the subject, SFM is an effective tool for reorganizing and ordering the production area in a situation of diversity and time pressure created by the market. However, the implementation of the SFM method does not always produce the desired results and is not always accepted by the company's staff. Excess information can lead to disorganization, and then finding important data by an employee leads to a waste of time - which is a classic waste. Moreover, there is a risk of misinterpretation of data and excessive emphasis on analysis rather than on core activities. For SFM to become a useful tool for stimulating continuous improvement, its use should be justified.Based on a review of the literature on the subject, the high effectiveness of the SFM method (supported by post-implementation research and analyzes) and, at the same time, a low number of applications in Polish companies were demonstrated. Research on the implementation of visualization in enterprises is carried out to a relatively small extent and does not always have practical values. The publications do not provide useful guidance on when implementing the SFM method is appropriate. Therefore, an original methodology was developed for assessing the validity of SFM implementations, which was successfully used in a medium-sized manufacturing company.The checklist associated with the methodology enables a numerical assessment of the validity of the implementation and offers valuable output information supporting management decisions in the context of SFM implementation.The study presents both the methodology for assessing the validity of SFM implementation and an example of its application.

Keywords: Shopfloor Management (SFM), validity of SFM implementations, methodology of assessment of the validity of SFM implementations

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1005151

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