Precor
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Compressed workweeks/flextime
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Manufacturing
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Bothell and Woodinville, Washington
 Precor employees assemble 5-10% more exercise equipment using compressed workweeks. Photo courtesy of Precor. |
Business benefits:
Statistics:
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| “We had to convince upper
management we would have the same output in four
days as five. But we actually increased
production.” – Harlen Anderson, |
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4/10s implemented to attract employees
Precor implemented compressed workweeks for 85%
of its workforce in 1987 to compete with Boeing for
workers. As a small but growing company, this exercise
equipment manufacturer knew it needed more than good
wages to attract and retain employees in a labor market
that was getting tight. Not only do employees like the
schedules, but Precor has realized significant business
savings. CFO Tom Napa says, “We are big enough that
the economic impact of compressed workweeks is in
hundreds of thousands of dollars if not in the million
dollar range – if our manufacturing unit returned to
5/8s, we would have lower productivity and higher
employee turnover.”
Discovered cost savings
When the workweek changed, Treadmill Production
Manager Harlen Anderson says Precor was more than able to
maintain production levels – producing more
treadmills working four 10-hour days than five 8-hour
days. “We had to convince upper management we would
have the same output in four days as five,” Anderson
says. “But we actually increased production.”
Napa estimates the increase was 5-10%. The 4/10 schedule
eliminates two employee breaks per week, adding a half
hour of productivity. Sustaining slightly longer periods
of work between breaks helps maintain momentum. Once
employees adjust to the longer days, Anderson says two
more hours on the work day is not a strain.
The other part of the productivity gain comes from fewer starts and stops. Napa says it takes about half an hour for the assembly line workers to reach full speed at the start of each shift and after each break. Before the end of each shift, it takes workers approximately 15 minutes to clean up their areas. Unless overtime is in effect, Precor saves one day per week of these start up and shut down costs.
Other advantages management discovered include more efficient use of manufacturing facilities and parking space, more overtime potential, a better fit with its just-in-time production and delivery system, a larger geographic recruiting area, and less absenteeism. Employees appreciate the three-day weekends. When a day of overtime is necessary, they still have two days off. They also report lower daycare costs, more time with family, and less commute time and costs. Some also value the opportunity to hold a second job.
Production works three shifts
All production, maintenance, manufacturing
engineering, quality control, and warehouse staff work
one of three schedules: 1) 6 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday
through Thursday, 2) 5 p.m. - 3:30 a.m. Monday through
Thursday, or 3) 6 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday and
Sunday. The 3/12 shift works 36 hours but is paid for 40.
The weekend shift allows Precor to tap into a pool of
employees seeking a second job or pursuing college
studies. The weekend crew can perform maintenance
and detail tasks more effectively when the majority of
workers are not present and provide extended production
capacity.
Efficient use of facilities, effective use of
people
Compressed workweeks make efficient use of
manufacturing facilities. Having two shifts of employees
working 4/10s allows Precor to operate all but 2.5 hours
a day, Monday through Thursday. This leaves Friday and
Saturday available during peak production for scheduling
overtime.
Precor's use of multiple compressed workweek shifts supports its High Velocity Manufacturing (HVM) process – a paperless, just-in-time production and delivery system. Parts and assembly problems can be fixed more quickly and inexpensively by having less work in progress at a time, but working more hours of the day.
At the end of the 1998 peak season, Precor's workforce totaled 1,000 employees and temporary workers. One challenge that accompanies its steady growth is limited parking at its four facilities in Bothell and Woodinville – a total of 550 spaces. Making it worse, employees working the second shift arrived before the first shift had vacated their parking spaces. By 1997, a number of second shift employees were being forced to hunt for spaces outside the parking lots. Since then, Precor has created a half-hour buffer between shifts, allowing second shift employees to use the parking spots vacated by first shift, thus avoiding the cost of adding more parking.
Compressed weeks expand recruiting area
By saving employees one day a week of commute-related
stress and costs, as well as daycare expenses, Precor
finds it can draw job candidates from further distances.
Some employees commute from as far south as Puyallup, as
far north as Mt. Vernon, and even one from the San Juan
Islands. “We were a small, growing company with
limited resources, so offering three- and four-day
workweeks served us well as a recruitment and retention
tool,” says Human Resources Director Lynn Takaki.
Napa notes that, while a small percentage of production
workers were female prior to 1987, now more than half are
women – a demographic shift he believes may be due
in part to being able to spend an extra day with family.
Work options make sense
Precor also offers flexible start and stop times
clustered around core business hours for non-production
employees to help balance work/life demands. Customer
service representatives flex their start times to provide
extended hours of coverage. A handful of staff in areas
such as information technology and marketing also
telework on an as-needed basis. “In a labor market
with low unemployment, the number one challenge of HR
professionals is attracting the talent their company
needs for the present and the future,” Takaki says.
“A key strategy is to be as accommodating as
possible to employee needs by offering work options when
it makes business sense.”
Quiet Fridays and less absenteeism
Office staff and some production managers find
most Fridays, when the production crew is absent, are
quiet and provide an opportunity to accomplish more
administrative functions or have management meetings.
“Work has a different rhythm on Fridays,”
Takaki explains. Salaried production managers work hours
similar to the production team, although some arrive
earlier and leave later, but most take off the same days
as their employees. An added bonus to Precor is the fact
that employees prefer to schedule doctor appointments and
personal errands on their Friday off, decreasing
absenteeism.
Wrinkles ironed out
Anderson recalls only two problems that surfaced
when compressed workweeks were introduced. Some workers
worried that the longer hours would make daycare
difficult, but as other companies also implemented early
start times and extended hours, daycare facilities have
accommodated a wider range of hours. Secondly,
communication between engineering staff working five
8-hour days and manufacturing personnel initially
suffered due to the absence of engineering staff on
Fridays. Precor solved this snag by beefing up its
procedures training. Currently, employees are required to
spend 2% of their annual hours in Precor education
classes, so communications or other procedures that
varied due to working compressed weeks were integrated
into the instruction.
Precor's top management initially resisted the proposal from production supervision to begin compressed weeks but was swayed by the need to attract and retain employees. Now management embraces the concept for its effectiveness in the manufacturing environment.
© 1999 Washington State University Cooperative Extension Energy Program. This publication contains material written and produced for public distribution. You may reprint this written material, provided you do not use it to endorse a commercial product. Please reference by title and credit Washington State University Cooperative Extension Energy Program and Commuter Challenge. Published April 1999.