Once Petrillo mentioned the problem -- by submitting a suggestion in writing -- the company embarked on an investigation. As it turned out, the supplier could provide a switch without the terminals; in fact, it would be cheaper. "I thought it was a good idea," Petrillo says proudly. "A job becomes tedious. Finally, you say, 'What the hell am I doing?' The company seems open, and it gives you something to think about while you are doing these things."
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It stands to reason that United Electric's openness would make employees feel better. Don't people generally enjoy having more control over their workplace? But United Electric earns money by building controls, not self-esteem. "I usually get yawns when I start waving my banner about employee involvement," says David Reis.
Of course, he can rouse even the soundest snoozer by reciting some of the company's more quantifiable achievements since 1987: inventories cut by 60%, work-in-process down by 90%, on-time delivery rising from 65% to a consistent 95%. Nothing improved in one fell swoop; the company made progress with such day-to-day improvements as those detailed above. Bob Comeau's wire-assembly department, for instance, is now more productive with two people than it was with seven. Beverly Scibilia swears that with her compressed-air machines, "what took me six weeks before, I can now get out in a week." Savings can add up in unexpected ways: Robert Galvanin, who manages purchasing, estimates that he saved United Electric at least $6,000 a year by figuring out how to eliminate one sheet of paper from the requisition process. "We've saved millions and millions of dollars in inventory reduction alone," adds Hamilton.
"Some of the things people have done are real surprises to me," continues Hamilton, who is 42. "We've had things happen that are not seen in any book -- the pull-out shelves, just the freedom people feel in moving things around. These embody the idea of eliminating waste, and they were all things that could be done for a few dollars." Companies do themselves a disservice, Hamilton says, by evaluating ideas purely on the basis of how much money they save. "It's the process of arriving at those ideas -- even thinking about them -- that we want to reward, not just the result," he explains. "A person may come up with nine ideas that save a dollar apiece, then the tenth saves $50,000. People hate rejection. If you reject the first few, you don't get that last one.
"With fewer employees, we're spitting out more production than we ever did," he adds. "It seems like magic until you try it. But it's really just overcoming your own stupidity."
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WHERE'S THE BIG IDEA?
How United Electric Unleashes Employee Creativity
It seems safe to say that until recently, no one would have confused United Electric Controls Co. with a think tank. Between roughly 1968 and 1988, employees had slipped a whopping 20 or so ideas into the company's suggestion box. Not only was the procedure drawn out and intimidating, but management had a reputation for implementing employees' ideas without giving them credit.
Now about 90% of employees contribute ideas via one forum or another. Among other rewards, their initiative earns them chances in monthly, quarterly, and annual drawings for such prizes as sports tickets, getaway weekends, and even a weeklong cruise.
Here are the company's three main tools for harvesting ideas:
1. Valued-Ideas Program. This effort is a distant relative of the company's long-standing suggestion box. United Electric first began tinkering with this program in 1988, offering cash bonuses that generally ranged between $50 and $400. But deciding how much an idea was worth added an often troublesome element of subjectivity. So management now hands out a flat $100 in cash for every usable idea (up to 10 per person). In 1989 employees submitted 500 ideas; last year that figure doubled. About two-thirds of all ideas are implemented, and the company doled out about $50,000 in bonuses last year. Sound costly? "Lots of companies give employees money every Christmas, but we stopped doing that," explains David Reis, company president. "And the improvements we get in return far exceed the amount we invest." In keeping with the company philosophy, management rewards even fruitless attempts at problem solving: ideas that can't be implemented still earn a chance in an awards drawing.
2. Action Centers. These short-term groups, formed to solve specific problems, resemble the quality circles of yore. With management's approval, any employee can assemble an action center, which generally lasts several weeks. The group reports its results back to management. "Often, people who visit say, 'How can you have people in conference rooms who are not out there producing anything?' " says David Reis. "But they are producing solutions to problems." The first month the company announced the program, in February 1987, employees set up more than 40 such groups.
3. CEDAC (Cause-and-Effect Diagram with the Addition of Cards). This problem-solving method uses long-term groups, which usually last at least three months, to solve problems for which the cause needs to be determined. One group, for instance, is now using this problem-solving technique to try to figure out why production capacity remains so low in the company's sensor division. CEDAC groups get together and brainstorm to gather all the possible causes, which they write on cards and organize on a chart. Over a period of months, they subject each possible cause to rigorous testing. "It's methodical and systematic," says Bruce Hamilton, vice-president of operations. "Only about 25% of them have been successful. We're still learning."
