How Punctuality Affects Production
authored by Mike Kimel
Earlier this month, I wrote a post noting that countries where punctuality is more highly prized in the year 1999 tend to have higher GDP per capita in both the year 2000 and in 2015. I would like to follow up with a bit about how that happens, which I had I intended to post in the comments to that piece.
My sister is currently in Northeastern Brazil, which is not unusual. By my reckoning, she has spent between twenty and twenty-five years in the country and has a condo in Natal. She loves the country and the people. (As do I, I might add.) At the moment, she is helping a Brazilian friend rebuild/expand a small hotel he owns close to the beach.
I get periodic updates via “WhatsApp,” including videos of geese and pictures of monkeys. A lot of her stories being told would surprise the average American. To a Brazilian, or anyone with experience in South America for that matter; it is the usual litany:
1. Almost nothing happens on time. Most of the crew is late every day. Sometimes hours late.
2. Less periodic events (e.g., delivery of materials) are also usually late. Sometimes by more than 24 hours.
3. The result is there are always people standing around, which results in wasted capacity and resource. You need the crew there in case the cement mixer rolls in; but in reality, it might not actually arrive until the day after it was scheduled. Or maybe, it may arrive the day after that. Of course you plan around it or have contingencies; but no matter what, the result could be less wasted time, energy, and resource if everything happened as planned. Put another way, the lack of punctuality reduces the amount of work being done and production produced.
As I noted last month, my wife is in a similar line of business . . . she buys, rehabs, and rents-out residential rental properties in Northeast Ohio. She also deals with crews and the schedules she builds always have contingencies and room for such events as painters not showing up or electricians arriving stumbling drunk and belligerent. The reason tor the contingencies is because it happens. (In the post describing that, I contrasted with my own white collar world, where in twenty years I never once had to plan around whether someone was going to show up drunk, and my failure to plan for that eventuality has never mattered.)
And yet, my wife alternates between horrified and humored by my sister’s stories. For my wife, a person or delivery showing up late enough or material being defective enough to affect the workflow usually happens once per job. (As an FYI, it takes between two to six weeks to rehab a single family home in Northeastern Ohio, depending on the state of the house when we buy it. I cannot imagine a similar timeline happening in Northeastern Brazil.)
In my sister’s world, that’s how things are all the time. It is the difference between standing on the pier and being a fish.
perhaps. but where does being on time all the time get us?
an early grave, an efficient funeral. and a life with nothing but money.
on the other hand just the other day i bought a toaster made efficiently in china by organ donors. turned out they efficiently made the slots for the bread exactly five inches long. the same store i bought the toaster in sells efficient loaves of bread exactly five and a half inches wide.
and as i recall, we had a highly efficient bank collapse around here somewhere about eight years ago.
i could tell you other stores about industrial efficiency, but you would think i was one of those who approved of coming to work drunk.
maybe there’s another way altogether.
but i’ll let you in on a little secret. american workers can be awfully efficient when it pays. and i have been watching in my own little town a crew of mexican workers who make me look lazy. but they are their own boss.
Production throughput. Lose your place in timing and it is delayed production.
Coberly,
I think you are conflating a few issues. Increased efficiency leading to greater output can come from a places, including (but not limited to):
1. increased punctuality (the point of the post)
2. better design and/or process
Your toaster example, I believe, is an example of a failed attempt at 2.
Punctuality is like making a team work more effectively together. Even if the members of the team suck, if they work together better, the outcome is better than if they don’t mesh with each other.
Yes; Lose your place in line of output and it is lost efficiency. The ignorant will call this racism. It has nothing to do with racism. It is simply throughput. No race involved.
mike
not so much conflating issues as suggesting your issue does not stand alone.
if my memory is correct, Stalin taught Russian peasants turned industrial workers the value of punctuality by shooting a number of them.
those mexicans i mentioned understood the value of punctuality and working like the very devil, because it was in their own interest. i would be willing to bet that you consider Mexico one of those low punctuality cultures.
on the other hand i worked on an all american crew who took a very laid back view to getting their work done, and oddly, got it done in half the time of the crews who had a boss looking over their shoulder.
and the south was famous throughout the north for its inefficiency. seems two yankee farmers could do as much work in a day as a whole crew of negro slaves and their overseer.
and it wasn’t because the negroes came from cultures that did not value punctuality.
mike, i am sure you do not mean to sound like a racist. but you sound like all the racists it has been my pleasure to listen to over a long lifetime. i was hoping we had gotten past all that.
Edwards Deming of course illustrated exactly your point in Japan. Funny, but Japanese culture valued punctually no less before Deming restructured the Japanese manufacturing sector than after he did. Yet Japan, pre-Deming, still desperately needed a restructuring of its manufacturing sector, which is why Deming was asked by post-WWII Japanese industry heads to do that.
and my remarks about that toaster and other examples of efficiency were meant to direct your attention to what happens when management starts looking for ‘efficiencies’
sort of like launching a manned rocket “on time” without listening to the engineers who tell you the rubber seals won’t work in the cold.
if you actually need “punctuality” for some purpose, make it clear to your workers that you really need it, and if they can’t manage that you will need to find someone else, but pay them a little more for their effort and generally try to make their working conditions pleasant for them. amazing results guaranteed. even in Brazil.
coberly,
As to your comment about how this is racist – I have never stated that Brazilians are incapable of being on time, or that the Japanese are incapable of being late. Cultural norms, however, are such that if you schedule a meeting between a Brazilian and Japanese guy, the Japanese guy will arrive on time and have to wait for the Brazilian guy to show up. I have worked with plenty of Brazilians and plenty of Japanese people. I also note that pretty much every business etiquette book will say the same thing. And anyone who has worked with Brazilians and Japanese people.
Frankly, that’s as racist as saying that Nigerians are more likely to carry the genes for sickle cell anemia than Norwegians. Two populations can actually differ without it being racist to notice.
Mike
i didn’t say you WERE racist. I said you SOUNDED racist, especially in the context of your recent series of postings.
Of course punctuality increases efficiency and other good things.
And no doubt different cultures have different ideas about punctuality.
Everyone knows this. So what’s your point?
Treat it separately and there was no racism in the earlier post other than what was mistakenly alluded to by uninformed others.
Run
Us ignorant don’t call “this” racism. We say it “sounds like the racists I have been listening to for seventy years…. again, as mentioned above to Mike… in the context of his other posts regarding police shootings of unarmed blacks.
i have defended MIke a number of times, on the theory that what he SAYS, understood very narrowly, is true-ish, and even a valid criticism of some poorly thought out suggestions (“demands”) from the other side.
but a steady diet of this gets tedious, and in the context of a country where racism is still a serious problem, i wonder why he is doing this.
it sound like “ol’ flattop. he come groovin’ up slowly/ him say, “one and one and one is three/ all i can tell you is you got to be free…”
Coberly:
It is no more tedious than stating the rich and wealthy in income from capital gains should pay as much in capital gains tax as those who pay in taxes on income. It is a valid comment by Mike that scheduling and throughput impact output regardless of race. The beverlys of the world do not know what they are discussing. I happen to consult and get paid for this.
Run
yep, that’s what i said, interpreted narrowly… taken separately… you could argue that the statements are not racist. taken in context they are beginning to sound a lot like racism,
or maybe you think that “punctuality is important for manufacturing efficiency” is a stunning new concept for our readers… without, of course, bothering our pretty little heads about why it is brought up in the context of Brazillians lack of it. or that of course the police shoot more black people… because the black part of town has more violence, don’t you see.
run
just in case you missed the last two times i said this:
i really do understand the importance of punctuality in industry and business.
so does everyone else over the age of twelve. why are we talking about it?
why is mike talking about it? take it out of context and it is true… and pointless. put it in the context of race… as mike does… and it sounds racist.
It is not pointless. It is why much of production has moved out of the US. I consult on this. Mike is correct.
In Piqua, Ohio; I consulted at a company called Miami Industries (now a different name). They were not delivering to customer demand or order dates. This example is similar to what Mike is talking about. They were running 30 day lot sizes of various tubing products. If you think about it from the beginning of the lot to the end of the lot; 30 days would go by before the lot was completed. If you wanted to improve delivery, cut the lot size from 30 days to 15 days. The average delivery would drop from 15 days to 7.5 days in making any tube.
The argument was, we can’t because of setup of the mandrels. My answer was change the setup so you can do it faster. It is not hard to do. I got a lot of grief back on my comments.
Here is what I did. At each station of manufacture, they had to check – in to the system logging in and logging out. Typically there was 6 manufacturing stations through the plant. If I looked at each station as to when a lot left a station and when it hit a new station, I could get transit time. If I looked at the arrival time at the station and the start of production, I could get the sit-around time or time waiting for production. If I looked at the start of production and the end of production for each tube within a lot, I could arrive at the actual manufacture time. This gets back to what I have said many times before, actual direct labor in making a product is minimal.
The results of my study using their data revealed;
– Sit-around Time waiting at a station for production was 76-82%
– Transit Time was 10-12%
– Actual Manufacturing Time was 8% to 12%.
Most of the time spent in the manufacturing of tubing was unproductive Sit-Around Time and Transit Time from station to station. This did not include looking at coil inventory which looked like a field of Alien Eggs. Cut the lot size in half will not change actual manufacturing time for any one tube; but, it will impact Transit Time and Sit Around Time in the manufacturing process by 50%. WIP inventory costs decrease as well as Raw material inventory.
Mandrels were critical operations as well as the tube bender in the product routing. If an operator is absent at either operation, the process stops. This last comment is what Mike is talking about. Lack of Labor up is more common in some countries than it is in other countries. It was also an issue at Woodings Verona in Falls City, NE. Timeliness of Labor in the manufacturing process impacts the delivery of product
Yeah, exactly; why are we talking about this?
coberly,
” in the context of his other posts regarding police shootings of unarmed blacks.”
“or that of course the police shoot more black people… because the black part of town has more violence, don’t you see.”
I suggest you re-read those two posts. I have been known to state things poorly, or to make errors, but I believe it requires substantial misunderstanding to conclude that is what those two posts actually said.
run
you are saying productioin has left the united states because we hire too many Brazillian workers who don’t understand punctuality?
no, you are implying such. Punctuality impacts product delivery. Customer goes elsewhere. Brazil is an example. I just gave an example of punctuality.
Mike
instead of my rereading your posts, maybe you should rewrite them and explain better what you really mean.
i often paraphrase what i read in order to bring out what looks to me like the “real” meaning of what the author is saying. i could be wrong of course, but then the ball is back in your court. i think i am honest enough to change my mind when the explanation looks reasonable.
Run
why would production go to Brazil since Mike tells us the Brazillians are not punctual?
or are you saying that production comes from Brazil, or, say, Mexico, TO the United States because we are punctual?
I think he’s saying that production goes from the U.S. to China rather than to Brazil because China values punctuality even more than the U.S. does, and Brazil values punctuality less than the U.S. does. Something like that.
Said nothing of the sort.
coberly,
A line I used in the first of those posts, and repeated in the second post, was this:
Stated plainly and straightforwardly. No need to interpret what it means.
Your two lines above summarizing those posts are:
“in the context of his other posts regarding police shootings of unarmed blacks.”
“or that of course the police shoot more black people… because the black part of town has more violence, don’t you see.”
The first of your summaries has nothing to do with what I wrote. The second is more or less related to what I wrote, but heading in a different direction.
Finally, I would note that the reason I am writing about this at all is that I am trying to get to a specific point about culture.
Contrary to popular perception, the data seems to show that Black people are less likely to be met with lethal force than non-Black people would be for behavior that genuinely constitutes a threat toward police personnel?
Actually, the popular perception–and the issue itself–have nothing to do with whether or not Black people are less likely to be met with lethal force than non-Black people would be for behavior that genuinely constitutes a threat toward police personnel.
Popular perception, and the issue itself, concern whether Black people are more likely to be met with lethal force than non-Black people would be for behavior that DOES NOT genuinely constitute a threat toward police personnel.
I have to say, it’s really odd that you don’t even know what the issue is. It’s not like it’s subtle or not discussed extensively in the news media.
well, i have to say i am completely lost.
Run:
The last seven paragraphs of your 1:06 am reply to me did not appear on my browser by the time i replied to the first paragraph.
i think your analysis of the production line was brilliant, but i don’t see what it has to do with Mike’s essay, which did seem to be about the difference in cultures with respect to punctuality, and only share’s with your comment the concept of “on time”.
so let me say again, i think i understand the concept of “on time.” i also think that Mike’s essay was one in a continuing series which seem intended to make a claim for the importance of race in the understanding of human behavior.
i don’t think that mike is making his case. and i am not sure i understand why he expects me to wait for the last reel when he will rush in and untie Pauline from the tracks and i will slink off twirling my mustache.
a generation of “real scientists” tried out the “racial explanations” idea and generally failed to convince anyone except those who already wanted to be convinced. all fun and games until it gave us the second world war, not to mention the civil war and the hundred years of lynchings following that.
if that is not Mike’s purpose, he needs to understand that he is on dangerous ground and not publish until he can make whatever case he is trying to make without … misunderstandings.
Coberly:
I am talking about punctuality or the amount of wait time before actual production is done. It is the same idea. t8% is the amount of time the material waited to be worked on. It would be the same as saying 78% of the time the worker was never on time.
There is nothing racist in what Mike is saying. I have experienced the same on the shop floor.
Run
Mike
well, who am I to disagree if you agree. I am impressed with Runs analysis of the industrial “on time” problem he describes, though i don’t see what it has to do with Mike’s post. And if Mike only “sounds racist” but assures us he “isn’t racist,” that’s good. Isn’t it?
How on Earth did this thread manage to intertwine (might I dare say conflate?) punctuality/efficiency with racism? Or are there jumping beans hidden in the key boards?
Mike’s written a series of posts that do exactly that: they conflate punctuality/efficiency with race. He’s claimed, clearly and more than once, that punctuality/efficiency is a cultural trait BECAUSE it is a racial or ethnic-genetic trait. His earlier posts were specifically to “prove” using “data” that this country should not allow Latino immigrants because their cultural traits of lack of punctuality and efficiency and the like don’t dissipate when the immigrate to a country that prizes punctuality and efficiency, and that this does not change with second and third generation Hispanic Americans.
He then claimed that therefore rather than creating jobs, their presence in this country is a drag on GDP.
Seriously; he’s written post after post trying to refine this claim. This post was intended to do the same, but this time without mentioning that Brazilians who immigrate here could not hold a job, nor could their kids, and certainly would not open a business that would employ more than just the owner–a key earlier argument of his.
Why run thinks the points about someone not showing up to work on time, or at all, can mean the missing of a production or delivery deadline is something that most people don’t know or would dispute, and that we all who are critical of Mike’s central premise in his post think this is racist, I wouldn’t know. The punctuality/efficiency argument isn’t itself racist. What is racist is that it wasn’t made as a per se argument, but instead as part of a claim, repeated again and again but carefully omitted in this one post, that it’s an immutable trait inherent in people from certain places and that therefore immigrants from those places, and their children and grandchildren, are inherently a drag on GDP.
It’s the data, see. Except that we don’t see.
Bev:
You again do not know what you are talking about.
Jack
i have always suspected that there were little japanese men hidden in every computer doing simultaneous translation so that none of us ever reads what the other person actually wrote.
in case you get this, from my perspective, Mike has been writing not very sub-liminal racist articles starting with the “they cause it themselves” statistical evidence for police shootings of blacks and running through “the irish can’t think, but they write nice”… to brazillians don’t come to work on time.
my first reply to this was too much idiosyncratic for me to complain if no one got it. but Run’s repeated “punctuality is important to business” doesn’t seem to me to even ask what that has to do with Brazil.
it’s only a blog.
coberly:
Mike’s article is about “slack” time in the manufacturing process. A cause of slack time can be people being slow and the next operation having to wait, a person not showing up for work and the process shuts down, a delayed delivery and the process is delayed. My example is a version of the same when management – the cement heads of the process – attempt to take on “Yuge” chunks of work at one time. Rather than being efficient it creates slack time or time when no manufacturing happens (sit around time or transit time (really not that much time consumed to go 50 feet). My example was in Piqua, Ohio. Was mine racist? No and it involved a culture. Mike’s example discussed Brazil and it involved a culture. The same happens in Mexico and other countries as well. The Japanese and Germans at efficiency freaks and you Vill do it their way . . .
So, in effect, race plays no role in slack time, or whatever other micro particle of a production process one wants to analyze, I assume. It’s management at the helm and the boat sinks or not as the captains remain at the controls. There may be a cultural element to work attitudes and behavior, but I’m not familiar with any analysis of that issue. We can all “illuminate” that story with anecdotal evidence though mine wouldn’t put white people cultures at the top of the labor heap. But again, and it can’t be emphasized too often nor too loudly, the fish rots from the head down. No matter what works setting I have ever been a part of management was to blame for what went wrong or how well it went right. Then again management is the only part of the process in a position to cover for its own ineptness. Trumps a very good example.
Run
i was really (really) happy to read your discussion of managing production lines, and i really, really think the solution you described was brilliant.
But I still don’t think that was what Mike was talking about.
Essentially I agree with Beverly here.
And Jack.
But it doesn’t matter (to me) a whole lot. Let’s see what Mike comes up with next. He has promised “all will be made clear.”
Coberly:
Bev is an attorney who never walked a production floor or been in other countries. At this point she is little more than an idiot screaming racism. She lacks the knowledge.
Run
I never walked the floor either. But I built bridges under budget and on time.
I have no quarrel with you whatsoever regarding the production floor.
and, though this may not be the best place to mention it, i have serious quarrels with Beverly’s logic at times.
But the context in which Mike presents his remarks about Brazillian lack of punctuality has far more to do with race than with production.
note the word “context.”
or don’t. at some point this becomes not worth arguing about.
Coberly:
I start to travel tomorrow to a customer. Go back to this post “Wrestling With Racism – Are These Questions Racist?” and in the comments section read what I wrote there. I address the difference in Labor attitude and showed a graph and several other articles supporting it.
I will copy it here again:
I was accused one time of being more direct that the Dutch who the Germans felt exceeded their manner of conducting business. This chart shows differently for the Dutch. If I am in Korea where I work now, I conduct business in a less direct manner (except with the owner of the company). http://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-the-most-and-least-punctual-countries-2015-2 There is a whole series on this punctuality, cultures, and conducting business which lends itself to GDP.
I think too what is happening in our society today is a premise of certain cultures being more productive than others. It may not be as transparent as needed to be; but, it is being defined by those who wish it to be to favor their economic outcome. We need to step back and challenge this declaration of who should and could be successful if all economic and educational inputs were to be equal rather than denied by certain groups. We are ignoring it except for the few who command economic power and political influence.
Mike premise is not racist as much as being direct.
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-different-cultures-understand-time-2014-5 “How Different Cultures Understand Time”
http://www.thisisinsider.com/how-different-cultures-see-punctuality-2016-7 “What being punctual means in different countries”
The look here to see which groups are highly successful and how easy it might be to rise up than ladder: https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/kf/hertz_mobility_analysis.pdf “Understanding Mobility in America”
So do we allow the privilege few determine ???
Run
thanks. i’ll look at these.
Run
for some reason your 0ct 18 comment showed up in my inbox today.
i never said or even thought you were a racist, or that you even sound iike one.
Mike, on the other hand, has begun to sound like one.
We have gotten nowhere on this. So let me just say, once again, that i think i understand what you say about the production floor and punctuality. That is not what Mike is talking about.
coberly:
Just ignore it, I was cleaning up things and probably hit the wrong key. I know you do not believe of me as a racist.