The document discusses essential supervisory skills for lean business, defining a supervisor as someone accountable for others' work. It identifies the 5 needs of supervisors as knowledge of work, responsibilities, and skills in managing relations, teaching work, and improving work. These needs can be met through the Training Within Industry framework of Job Relations, Instruction, and Methods. Effectively applying these 3 skills through learning and routine practice lays the foundation for sustained improvement by establishing stability and continually enhancing productivity, quality and safety.

1. Essential Supervisory
Skills and Lean
Business
A modern approach to Lean Business and the Training Within
Industry framework utilised by the TWI Institutes worldwide, defines
the term “Supervisor” as being used to describe ANYONE who is
accountable for the work of other people.
In other words, in a lean business
environment the Supervisor does
not actually do the work in the
work area, they lead a group of
people who do. The word “lead” is
important … to be a good
Supervisor, you must be a good
leader. A poor leader will be a poor
Supervisor.
It is generally acknowledged that there are 5 needs of the Supervisor
and when looking to implement business improvement methods aimed at
creating a lean business model the TWI framework elements of Job
Relations, Job Instruction and Job Methods will ensure these needs are
met.
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The 5 Needs of the Supervisor are a combination of
knowledge and skills.
1. Knowledge of the work.
2. Knowledge of their responsibilities.
3. Skill in managing work area relations.
4. Skill in teaching the work.
5. Skill in improving the work.

2. The first three needs of the Supervisor are all
encompassed in having excellent Job Relations Skills in
addition to having a good understanding of the work
being done in their area.
Knowledge / Work:
The specifics of this work will be industry and workplace specific
however, although the Supervisor may not be the most skilled at
the work being undertaken, they must have the understanding of
what is done and how it is being done.
Knowledge / Responsibilities:
A good Supervisor knows and understands the policies and rules of
the organisation for which they work. They must always act and
behave in accordance with organisational polices and workplace
rules.
Skill / Workplace Relations:
An effective Supervisor will gain the respect of the people in their
work area. Not every Supervisor is a natural leader, however by
applying the skills found in the Job Relations (JR) element of the
Training Within Industry framework, the skills of an effective
Supervisor can be learnt and respect in the workplace gained.
The remaining two needs of the Supervisor can be met
with a good Job Instruction and Job Methods awareness
and application.
Skill / Teaching the work:
The Supervisor, if they are going to be effective in getting other
people to do the work required, must be good at teaching the work.
This is very very different from being able to do the work. The skill
of teaching is special, but it can be learnt.
This skill is called Job Instruction (JI). It is very unlikely that the
best ‘doer’ of the work will also be the best person to teach how to
do the work, yet we often give the role of educating the ‘learner’ to
that person. We should always put the ‘learner’ with the person in
the workplace who is best at applying the skill of Job Instruction.
By applying the skill of Job Instruction, someone with reasonable
knowledge of the work, can become a brilliant teacher.

3. Skill / Improving the work.
A supervisor must have the correct skills to be effective in
improving ‘the work’ in their area of responsibility. The skill
required is that of applying Job Methods (JM). So often we think
improvement is all about knowledge of the tools. We go to courses
and training that tell us all about the tools of workplace
improvement – kanban, Just In Time, etc. However, without a
vehicle for applying these tools, the tools are generally not used
other than for a short period of time. Genuine improvement is about
improvement forever. Improvement forever requires a skill, that skill
is Job Methods.
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These 3 essential skills for Supervisors can be
learnt.
With practice, people can become brilliant at them. In nearly all cases
however we assume that the Supervisor has these skills. Our
Supervisors are promoted because they were good at doing the work.
This does not mean they will be good at leading the workers.
Often, we ignore the fact that they need the 3 skills – Job
Relations, Job Instruction and Job Methods, and that if they are
lacking in any , it is our necessary that they be taught them.
The TWI Institute Australia teaches the 3
essential skills, and coaches and
mentors the practice and application of
these skills in the workplace. They are
embedded in the work of the Supervisor
when each becomes a habit.
Not all 3 skills should be learnt and practiced at once.
Job Relations (JR) and Job Instruction (JI) build stability in the work area.

4. Stability means consistent supply of a product or service
little variation in quality and productivity.
Achieving stability itself will reduce costs. Variation in quality
means rejects and rework, both of these cost money (actually 3 to
4 times the original cost of production). Variation in productivity can
mean late deliveries and therefore an unhappy customer (who will
then buy next time from someone else).
Once stability has been achieved, the Job Methods (JM) method
can be applied in order to improve operational performance. The
focus is more on improving productivity – making tasks simpler. In
many cases, the solutions lie within the common tools of lean.
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Each of the 3 skills will now be explained in more detail. The order
shown is that recommended for application in most work places.
This is not however standard and does vary from work site to work
site.
Job Relations (JR)
People must be treated as individuals. Applying JR builds positive
employee relations, increases cooperation and motivation, and
effectively resolves conflict. Job Relations teaches the four
foundations of positive employee relations. By applying these four
foundations, good relationships will be developed and maintained.
This reduces the likelihood of problems arising and is paramount to
earning loyalty and cooperation from others in the work area.
When problems do arise, Job Relations teaches a proven method
of getting the facts, weighing options, deciding, taking action, and
checking results.
Benefits experienced from practicing Job Relations
include increased productivity, improved attendance,
better morale, and higher employee retention rates.

5. Job Instruction (JI)
Applying JI means quickly training employees to remember how to
do a job correctly, safely, and conscientiously.
Demands of developing a flexible workforce, and “not enough
training time” for employees, requires a strong and reliable method
of teaching the work that occurs in the work area.
Job Instruction teaches the Supervisor:
• How to prepare for the training of employees, in particular how
to effectively breakdown tasks.
• An effective and proven 4-Step method for the teaching of the
tasks.
The most important aspect of getting ready is preparation of the
Job Instruction Breakdown (JIB).
This tool is the “recipe” the Supervisor uses to teach the task. The
JIB contains 3 columns:
• The Important Steps – the what.
• The Key Points – the how (the 20% of the work critical to
quality, productivity and safety).
• The Reasons for each Key Point – why the how is critical.
Explaining the reason to the learner helps embed the Key Point. It
gives the learner an explanation of why the Key Point must be followed.
Understanding increases the likelihood of the Key Point being done. It is
considered by many that variation in Key Points is the root cause of poor
area performance in terms of quality, productivity and safety.
The actual instructing is a 4-Step method based on the content of
the JIB. There are 2 key aspects of the actual instructing part of JI:
• The demonstration of the task by the Supervisor is based
on “tell, show and illustrate” – listen, watch and
understand why.
• The learner is provided information gradually, not in one
big lump
Benefits experienced when practicing Job Instruction are
reduced training time, less scrap and rework, fewer
accidents, and increased job satisfaction.

6. Job Methods (JM)
Applying JM means improving the way jobs are done mainly for
continual improvement of productivity, and quality and safety.
The aim of the program is to produce greater quantities of
quality products in less time by making the best use of the
currently available people, machines, and materials. “Currently
available” is critical. JM does not mean spending a lot of money on
improvement. It does mean focussing on what is already available,
and making better use of those resources.
The JM method teaches how to break down jobs into their
constituent steps. Every detail is questioned in a strict and
systematic manner to generate ideas for improvement. New
methods are developed by eliminating, combining, rearranging,
and simplifying steps in the process.
Job Methods yields significant benefits including reduced
cost through productivity gains, increased throughput, and
reduced work in process.
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Summary
JR, JI and JM are the 3 essential skills for effective supervision.
Effective supervision means leading a group of workers who reliably
produce a quality product or service, and who continually improve. The 3
skills need to be learnt by the Supervisor and then continually and
routinely practiced after which they will be a habit. Once they are a
habit, an excellent foundation has been laid for sustained and
genuine continuous improvement.
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Our program is intensely practical, allowing your staff to go
beyond the value of classroom learning, to gain the long term
benefits of really knowing how to apply that learning in the
workplace. If you are committed to continuous improvement, or do
not have someone directly accountable for implementing change
– we can facilitate business and workplace improvements in-line
with your business objectives. Visit www.vwaust.com.au