In a highly automated production process, what do people do?
A lot!
3D printer filament maker Push Plastic has more extrusion lines than employees. That leaves every production employee playing a valuable role.
The process runs perfectly when things are perfect. It is the employee’s job to be attentive and curious, to spot when some new imperfect development has crept in.
Joshua Van Vleet is plant manager. He says the number-one employee qualification this role points to is the need to slow down.
Seems easy?
Relatively few can do it, he says. Other production environments encourage people to do the opposite. The 90-day test of new employees at Push Plastic is whether they can slow down in their attention to the process, and many do not make it.
He has much more to say about this in the latest episode of The Z Axis. This episode is a must-watch for manufacturing leaders thinking about the challenge of how to staff for increasingly lightly staffed processes:
This is our second episode with Push Plastic. Check out our earlier episode that looks more broadly at how the company successfully competes as a U.S. manufacturer of a product that is (seemingly) a commodity, and largely produced overseas.
The Z Axis is sponsored by Workforce Factor, a customizable onboarding system for industrial employees. Among other things, it provides a way to bring new hires up to speed on values such as, well, lack of speed. Learn more at the link below.