After the lecture, it was time to test out how three methods (craft production, mass production (assembly line), and mass production (after changes to our assembly line)) work with paper airplanes.
Run #1 – Craft Production:
- What did you observe about the process?
The process was pretty hectic and disorganized. Everyone was working at different speeds and with different outcomes (some planes were great and others were lower quality). There was definitely a learning curve and people got better the longer they did it. The quality overall seemed to decrease throughout the exercise as the people who were less skilled rushed to keep up with the other workers.
- Did all the aircraft take the same amount of time to produce and test?
No, because of the different skill levels of the people producing and testing, some planes were made very quickly and others lagged behind. This ultimately resulted in the fewest airplanes produced compared to our next two trials.
- If not, to what can you attribute the variation?
I think the variation can be most easily attributed to the different skill and experience levels of the workers. Some workers were better at producing the airplanes and better at shooting them into the trash can than others.
Run #2 – Mass Production, Assembly Line 1:
- How did the assembly line process differ from the craft production process?
Now that we were starting to work together, we saw each other as more of a team and tried to figure out the best way to utilize our expertise in different areas (e.g. quality of production, throwing abilities, etc.). This round was still not perfect (there was definitely some bottlenecking at certain people), but overall we were more efficient and more collaborative.
- What were the implications for the workers?
While we were more efficient, there was definitely more stress on individual workers to deliver their folded part to the next person on the assembly line. At the same time, people were encouraging of each other's efforts, so we had a supportive, but also demanding environment.
- What are the implications for the process as a whole?
The process was definitely more efficient because we were able to play to different individual's strengths and weaknesses and create more airplanes in the same amount of time. The quality of the airplanes, however, decreased, which was interesting because mass production usually increases quality. Quantity increased, but quality was sacrificed in the process.
Run #3 – Mass Production, Revised Assembly Line:
- What recommendations did your group make and why?
We recommended that 2 people should work at each step of the process and each make 2 folds. We decided to do this because when 1 person made 1 fold, it seemed pretty wasteful of their time. This decreased the number of people working on one plane and increased quality. In general, we tried to organize our team better, so that we understood what was going on.
- Did the recommendations improve the line? If so, how? If not, why not?
The recommendations did improve the line by increasing our quality and our quantity. Because there were fewer people working on one airplane, we could make more. Also, quality increased because people were able to take their time more and make their folds precise.
- What effect did the recommendations have for the process as a whole?
The process became more efficient and the team was definitely more collaborative. Everyone had a better idea of what was going on and what needed to be accomplished. Overall, this process was most successful.
Run #1 – Craft Production:
- What did you observe about the process?
The process was pretty hectic and disorganized. Everyone was working at different speeds and with different outcomes (some planes were great and others were lower quality). There was definitely a learning curve and people got better the longer they did it. The quality overall seemed to decrease throughout the exercise as the people who were less skilled rushed to keep up with the other workers.
- Did all the aircraft take the same amount of time to produce and test?
No, because of the different skill levels of the people producing and testing, some planes were made very quickly and others lagged behind. This ultimately resulted in the fewest airplanes produced compared to our next two trials.
- If not, to what can you attribute the variation?
I think the variation can be most easily attributed to the different skill and experience levels of the workers. Some workers were better at producing the airplanes and better at shooting them into the trash can than others.
- How did the assembly line process differ from the craft production process?
Now that we were starting to work together, we saw each other as more of a team and tried to figure out the best way to utilize our expertise in different areas (e.g. quality of production, throwing abilities, etc.). This round was still not perfect (there was definitely some bottlenecking at certain people), but overall we were more efficient and more collaborative.
- What were the implications for the workers?
While we were more efficient, there was definitely more stress on individual workers to deliver their folded part to the next person on the assembly line. At the same time, people were encouraging of each other's efforts, so we had a supportive, but also demanding environment.
- What are the implications for the process as a whole?
The process was definitely more efficient because we were able to play to different individual's strengths and weaknesses and create more airplanes in the same amount of time. The quality of the airplanes, however, decreased, which was interesting because mass production usually increases quality. Quantity increased, but quality was sacrificed in the process.
Run #3 – Mass Production, Revised Assembly Line:
- What recommendations did your group make and why?
We recommended that 2 people should work at each step of the process and each make 2 folds. We decided to do this because when 1 person made 1 fold, it seemed pretty wasteful of their time. This decreased the number of people working on one plane and increased quality. In general, we tried to organize our team better, so that we understood what was going on.
- Did the recommendations improve the line? If so, how? If not, why not? The recommendations did improve the line by increasing our quality and our quantity. Because there were fewer people working on one airplane, we could make more. Also, quality increased because people were able to take their time more and make their folds precise.
- What effect did the recommendations have for the process as a whole?
The process became more efficient and the team was definitely more collaborative. Everyone had a better idea of what was going on and what needed to be accomplished. Overall, this process was most successful.
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