Lose the Luddites
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Speaker : WILLIAM LEVINSON
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When : Tuesday, June 04, 2024
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Time : 01 : 00 PM EST
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William A. Levinson, P.E., FASQ, CFPIM is the principal of Levinson Productivity Systems, P.C. He is an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer, Quality Auditor, Quality Manager, Reliability Engineer, and Six Sigma Black Belt, and the author of several books on quality, productivity, and management.
Luddism is the (usually) dysfunctional belief that automation eliminates jobs and results in unemployment. The truth is that automation and productivity improvements protect jobs by reducing the cost of the product or service to keep it competitive. Henry Ford, for example, made automobiles affordable to the middle class which actually created far more automotive jobs and jobs in supporting industries. It is vital, however, that management not prove the Luddites right by laying people off when higher productivity makes them unnecessary.
Attendees will receive a pdf copy of the slides and accompanying notes.
Learning Objectives
- Know that worker engagement and buy-in is a prerequisite for lean manufacturing and productivity improvements.
- Luddism is the proposition that higher productivity results in a need for fewer workers. Romans who resisted use of a push scythe (because it would put slaves out of work) and Queen Elizabeth I of England (who refused to grant a patent for fear it would put people out of work) were Luddites before anybody ever heard of Luddites.
- Luddism can derail a lean manufacturing initiative if the workers believe they will be penalized, e.g. with layoffs, for improving productivity. Restrictive union work rules are a form of Luddism whose purpose is to protect jobs against often imaginary layoffs but result in higher prices for customers and lower wages for workers. A no-layoff policy from management, and no restrictive work rules from labor, are prerequisites for an effective lean manufacturing program.
- Low wages are often symptomatic of low profits and high prices, even though this is counterintuitive.
- Henry Ford summarized everything management needs to know about labor relations in a single sentence, and he proved that his approach worked with unprecedented bottom-line results. Management's goal should be to pay the highest rather than the lowest wages possible because, when labor realizes that the benefits of higher productivity will show up in their paychecks, they will do their best to improve productivity.
- Know how to gain workforce participation, engagement, and buy-in as opposed to proving the Luddites right. Henry Ford's workforce resisted unionization because Ford always gave the workers a square deal but, when his successors found ways to circumvent his no-layoff policy, the United Auto Workers moved right in.
Who Should Attend
Manufacturing and quality professionals and practitioners; people with responsibility for continual improvement and lean manufacturing.
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$199.00
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