OPINION> Commentary
Passing on the know-how baton
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-01 07:22

With post-World War II baby boomers starting to retire en masse, passing on their expertise and skills to the next generation and revitalizing the organization have become a major challenge for Japan Inc. The following is an example of how one company successfully dealt with the situation.

Daicel Chemical Industries Ltd produces materials for liquid crystal screen components at its Aboshi plant in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture. The plant reportedly tripled its productivity as a result of a "rejuvenation program" launched in 1996.

A large chunk of Aboshi's seasoned workers began retiring 10 years ago, ahead of the general industry trend. Unsure how to pass on these experienced people's skills to the next generation, the company knew this could spell trouble.

So, middle-level management personnel sat down and talked at length with older workers to find out what sort of know-how was indispensable and what wasn't. The findings were collated and fed into the company's computer for ready access by anyone.

Banks of touch-panel screens were installed in the plant's central control room so that when trouble occurred, workers could immediately retrieve the information needed to fix the problem.

In this manner, Daicel succeeded in enabling younger workers at the Aboshi plant to share among themselves a broad range of in-house know-how handed down from their elders.

It was a lot of work getting this system to function, but once trouble-shooting became a breeze and the plant could be run with greater efficiency, workers found themselves able to spend time on more creative pursuits, such as exploring ways to raise the plant's operating performance.

Moreover, communications skills improved dramatically among the middle-level management people who had interviewed the near-retirement workers. According to Daicel, the company became more open as an organization, which in turn resulted in the phenomenal threefold rise in productivity.

The same know-how transfer method from one generation to the next can be applied to any factory.

In cooperation with Yokogawa Electric Corp, Daicel now "transplants" this method to interested companies for a fee.

The so-called "meister system" is now being adopted widely among other manufacturing companies. Under this system, promising young workers are personally taught and trained by their elders who are exceptionally skilled.

But unlike this sort of one-on-one transfer of professional skills, the transfer of know-how is characterized by the company's re-evaluation of accumulated in-house expertise and using information technology to ensure it is shared by all workers.

This is now being tried out not only at manufacturing plants, but in the clerical field as well. And since government offices are probably the worst in terms of clerical efficiency, we believe it will be well worth their while to adopt it.

The Asahi Shimbun

(China Daily 08/01/2008 page10)