Performance management and incentive design for Seal and O-Ring Makers: traceability as learning, not blame
Lots are traced by batch, so faults can be linked to people. Performance management here decides whether traceability finds causes or teaches operators to hide small slips.
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Share your requirementsWhy performance management and incentive design matters in seal and O-Ring makers
When a customer rejects a lot, the record shows who ran the mould and who inspected. If the only response is a warning, operators learn to keep quiet about worn cavities, short shots and doubtful preforms. Incentives on parts per shift add pressure to skip mould cleaning, so flash and dirt rise. Inspectors, whose work decides whether the customer sees faults, are often measured on nothing at all.
Good looks like a review of each faulty lot with the operator, the inspector and the toolroom in one conversation. The question is what happened and what changes, not who is guilty. Incentives reward clean moulds and accepted lots as well as output, and inspectors are rated on faults found against faults the customer found later, which they can see and improve.
How to set it up
1. Run a short lot review
For each customer reject, gather the operator, inspector and toolroom for ten minutes. Write the cause in one line and one change. Keep the notes in a single file.
2. Define a few measures per role
Operators: accepted lots, mould clean log kept, preform weight within range. Inspectors: customer-found faults against faults they found. Toolroom: cavity wear caught before parts are bad.
3. Add a quality element to the incentive
If you pay on output, add a share that depends on accepted lots and clean logs. See the Seal and O-Ring Makers overview for the roles involved.
4. Recognise small catches
When someone reports a cavity drifting or a doubtful preform before it becomes a reject, say so in the shift meeting and note it. It makes early reporting normal.
5. Review the scheme after a quarter
Check whether rejects fell, whether anyone gamed a measure and whether people understand how they earn. Adjust one thing at a time. Compensation benchmarking helps set sensible levels.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Take the last two faulty lots and ask whether anyone learnt something or only got a warning.
- List how operators are paid today and whether any quality element exists.
- Ask inspectors how they know whether they are doing well.
- Count how many cavity or preform problems were reported before a reject, over the last month.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach performance management and incentive design in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
It is fair when the aim is cause and learning, and when the toolroom and compound side are in the room too. It is unfair when it only leads to a warning for the person at the press.
Compare faults they find with faults the customer finds later on lots they cleared. It needs a record but gives a clear, fair picture and highlights who needs a drawing refresher.
Possibly a little at first, if people were rushing. Over time rework, rejects and returns usually fall. Keep the quality share meaningful and the rule simple enough to explain at the press.