Motivating Line Personnel

You run smack into an area quality folks don’t like to talk about. The fact is the Hawthorne Effect can and does play a part in efforts like Six Sigma. Stuff people with much invested in Six Sigma don’t like to admit or even think about…

Answer the What’s-In-It-For-Me factor.
Do it by establishing formal & informal communication channels, encouraging involvement, training & awareness – more exposure of how Six Sigma or any other Quality philosophy has benefitted the entire org including the employees by sending the line managers to seminars, etc.
I know I am not so specific….but I would say specifications would really depend upon the situation. CAP strategy would change based on various factors such as your company culture, among others.
Hope it helps.
– Neal.

First of all you need to get into the right mindset….do not think you are “stuck doing anything”. How are you ever going to tap into your employees motivation if you are not motivated?
Can you really motivate someone? You are working with adults and for the most part their motivation is internal. You will need to find out what motivates them as individuals and as a group. 
Also, everyone from the CEO down has to accept and practice quality processes. Take a good hard look at your company and you will probably see many gaps…not just the line workers.
Are you unionized? if so, that will make it easier than you think.

What you could do is involve the people in the process. Try to find the root cause of them not wanting to to a proper inspection. The goal in SS should always be to avoid inspection, try to build a robust process. Analyse root causes of stains and try to eliminate them. The least you can do is involve the people and try to take away the stains in the process and not afterwards. Speak to the people and show them results. Let them make the change in the process and come with the solutions. You will see that they will love it as soon they are part of it.

I think you have heard a lot of good ideas. I would add that you may have an accountability issue that requires an accountability solution. What is the consequence for not doing what is expected? Are the expectations and consequences clear? If employees know you are “for real” about doing the job right, then you will see improved performance.
 
Good luck.

I find cattle prods…or perhaps the sharp, sting of the whip…. really helps me focus.

Employees understanding that stained garments increases the cost to the company, does not translate to a motivator for them – afterall, they still get paid.
If I can suggest, transparency in your operations – show them how they benefit when they participate in keeping costs down.  Track and celebrate improvements, however small.  Maybe you start by  setting a goal, with pizza/food provided when the company reaches the target.  Having a chart that shows continued improvement creates excitement, and team competition
I work in healthcare, and we have a diabetes initiative where the patient is the benefactor.  By celebrating small gains, my clinic has been in first place among 65 clinics for about 6 months.  The staff do it for bragging rights

Please  elaborate  more  about  the Hawthorne Effect ,giving  an  example to  demonstrate ,thanks 

I have seen the Hawthorne effect first hand in manufacturing, especially in mature processes were control charts are used to control the process. Specific Example: We had a machining center that was about 95% automated, meaning about all the operator had to do was keep stock in a vibrating bowl and remove parts from the ejection stand. 6 pcs were pulled from the machine and Charted on CTQ characteristics every hour to 4 hours depending on dim. Over time we found the process to be out of control so we began to do a little closer investigation over the course of the week, actually pulling and charting samples and just watching the process to see if we could determine any special cause not normal to the process, after a week of this the processs was running over 3Cpk and no issues.
Point is: Once you start to watch something or take interest in it, many times the ones responsible for the process will begin to take extra care in the way they chart parts i.e. cleaning before measuring, making sure gages are clean, making sure the right technique is used etc etc.
Chad Taylor

Hi Every One
In this regard I want to share you some rel time scenario about the motivating line personnel, as per if you are caring with Six Sigma Organisational Process Consultant, motivating factor is too much but from the clients its very tough to get their trust on this processes because in a small run they never try to learn the things but want a result as soon as possible, even they also know every thing or process have its own life cycle. But motivation level of these entreprenures is so low.
Akhilesh Pushpdhanva