From offices in Boise, Post Falls, Twin Falls, and Pocatello, TechHelp Specialists help Idaho manufacturers, food processors and entrepreneurs improve their competitiveness through continuous product and process innovation.

Rosie the Riveter has been the face of TWI since the methodology emerged during World War II.

Training Within Industry (TWI) can be the missing link of Lean that produces a sustainable improvement over time. It is a dynamic and proven method of hands-on training for supervisors, team leaders, and workers.

TWI emerged during World War II to meet the high demand for wartime materials from a smaller and less-experienced workforce. TWI remains relevant because of its unique methodology that empowers frontline workers. 

Workplace Symptoms That Show a Need for TWI:

  • Inconsistent production results
  • Excessive rework
  • High employee turnover
  • Low employee morale

Hire, Train & Retain Great Employees

To be competitive in today’s global market, it is more important

TWI Guru Dave O’Connell  Leads a  course activity.

than ever to hire, train, and retain great employees. TechHelp has helped hundreds of Idaho companies train frontline workers in advanced manufacturing disciplines. Businesses that implement TWI consistently increase productivity, reduce training times, and improve morale.

TWI is a dynamic program that uses a learn-by-doing approach to teach essential skills for supervisors and team leaders from all industries.

Click the button below to let us know if you want to attend a public course or schedule one at your facility. 

The Three Programs of TWI

Supervisors and team leaders are in a pivotal position to both implement and sustain change. However, they’re often promoted from the shop floor in recognition of their knowledge about product, processes, and materials. Many do not have the supervisor skills to effectively instruct employees, gain loyalty and cooperation, and solve problems. Training Within Industry Job Relations (JR) provides a countermeasure to help supervisors address employee morale and problems that arise when implementing a strategy of continuous improvement.

In this course, managers and supervisors learn how to apply standard work to managing employees in order to build positive relationships and a strong team. By communicating how each employee is doing, giving credit when due, telling employees in advance about changes that will affect them and making best use of each person’s ability, your management team can set a positive productive environment for the entire workforce. Developing and maintaining these good relationships prevents problems from arising and is paramount to earn loyalty and cooperation from others.

When problems do arise, Job Relations uses the “Four-Step Method”, a proven method of getting the facts, weighing options and deciding, taking action, and checking results. The course emphasizes that people must be treated as individuals to provide a foundation for good relationships. Benefits experienced from practicing Job Relations include increased productivity, improved attendance, better morale, and higher employee retention rates.

As more and more companies embrace Lean techniques, it has become increasingly obvious that company culture remains to be the biggest challenge. TWI Job Relations is the solution.

Project Objectives:

  • Assist in creating a culture for change
  • Teaches supervisors how to build positive employee relations
  • Increase cooperation and motivation
  • Effective conflict resolution

Training Within Industry Job Instructions (JI) aims to reduce the inconsistency of work provided by employees resulting in waste reduction and efficiency improvement. Often called the missing link to Lean, JI focuses on reducing the variability in our people, just as Lean reduces the variability in our processes and Six Sigma reduces the variability in our tools and equipment.

Developing a flexible effective workforce requires standardized practices. Job Instruction (JI) teaches supervisors how to quickly train employees to do a job correctly, safely, and conscientiously. Participants learn how to effectively break down a job and deliver instruction for individual tasks — training one-on-one, hands-on, and one step at a time. This standardized training method fosters the conditions needed for process stability.

The program uses real-world problems to demonstrate the poor ways in which problems are often handled in the workplace and offers a standardized alternative to drive positive results. The first two sessions center on learning the “Four Step Method,” a simple, straight forward, and easy to implement process focused on Preparation, Presentation, Application, and Testing. The remaining course time is given to participant instruction demonstrations from your workplace to practice the Four-Step Method. Unlike any other training, the TWI “learn by doing” methodology requires participants to immediately implement their new knowledge in the workplace.

Job Instructions is especially effective when combined with TWI’s Job Relations (JR) program, which focuses on building positive employee relations using the same TWI Four Step Method.

Project Objectives

  • Train supervisors to effectively instruct
  • Increase productivity of your entire team
  • Reduce scrap by up to 25%
  • Implement new knowledge into the workplace

Job Methods Training (JM) teaches supervisors how to improve the way jobs are accomplished. The aim of the program is to help produce greater quantities of quality products in less time by making the best use of the manpower, machines, and materials now available.

Job Methods, just as in Job Instructions and Job Relations, teaches the “Four Step Method”: a simple, straight forward, and easy to implement process focused on Preparation, Presentation, Application, and Testing. Job Methods teaches supervisors how to break down a specified job exactly as it is currently completed, question every detail, develops a new and improved method, and then apply the new method.

By applying six simple questions — why? what? where? when? who? how? – to every step of the production process, supervisors gain understanding of the core value of each detail. Through eliminating, combining, rearranging, and simplifying these details, an improved method is created. Lastly, participants are given the tools to communicate the value of the new process, acquiring employee commitment of the new method.

Job Methods yields significant benefits including reduced cost through productivity gains, increased throughput, and reduced work in process.

Project Objectives

  • Train supervisors in how to effectively solve problems
  • Increase production and reduce labor time significantly by stripping activities to their core
  • Reduce employee training time and grievances through adoption of a structured method
  • Reduce scrap by at least 25%

These programs work together to help supervisors build and maintain positive employee relations, train workers to quickly remember how to perform jobs correctly and safely & conscientiously improve the ways in which jobs are done.

Why TechHelp?

  • TechHelp offers “one-stop shopping” that delivers TWI as part of a Lean or Lean Six Sigma Transformation.
  • With its experienced specialists, University partnerships and affiliation with the national Manufacturing Extension Partnership – TechHelp delivers manufacturing expertise to all corners of Idaho.
  • TechHelp specialists can be an “extension” of your staff; available where you need them and when you need them at an affordable price.

TechHelp Expertise

David O’Connell, above, formerly of TechHelp and Idaho State University, has taken a particular interest in TWI and made it one of his primary areas of practice. As an accomplished Lean Practitioner, David saw the unique role TWI can play in creating a workforce that is well-trained, cross-trained, highly motivated, and productive.

If you are interested in learning more about how TWI can help you train and retain great employees, click the button above or below. 

What Does it Do?

Training Within Industry quickly and effectively trains supervisors in:

  • Skills in Improving Methods – Job Methods (JM) teaches the skills needed to analyze jobs to make the best use of resources.
  • Skills in Leading – Job Relations (JR) teaches the skills required to evaluate and take action to handle and prevent people problems.
  • Skills in Instructing – Job Instruction (JI) teaches the skills needed to develop a well-trained workforce quickly.

TWI Also:

  • Reduces training time.
  • Standardizes training.
  • Increases productivity.
  • Improves morale.

What Does it Solve?

  • Effects of poor training – mistakes, poor quality, rework, scrap…
  • Inconsistent handling of employee issues – uses 4 step JAR method to ensure all issues are handled in a common way
  • Long learning curve for new supervisors – Gets supervisors up to speed fast

History

TWI was developed in the U.S. during WWII to train replacements of an industrial workforce off fighting a war. It provided rapid and consistent training and is recognized as part of what helped the Allied forces secure victory as they boosted industrial production and out-produced the enemy. TWI was an unqualified success.

Expansion in Japan

TWI was introduced in Japan during post-war rebuilding. It is still in widespread use in Japan; most notably at Toyota as part of the Toyota Production System (TPS). It is a foundation to Toyota’s success in continuous improvement, and more importantly, in its ability to sustain those improvements.

Emerging Movement

A prosperous post-war America gradually lost interest in TWI. But today’s competitive global marketplace is forcing U.S. managers to adopt the best tools available to hire, train & retain great workers.  In what has been described as a “movement,” Lean enterprises nationwide are increasingly turning to TWI as a means to emulate Toyota’s ability to sustain improvements and achieve standard work. Industries such as health care, construction, and manufacturing are reaping modern day benefits from this proven and recently revived program.

Who Will it help?

  • Anyone in a position where they direct and plan the work of others
  • Any company adding workers

Impact of TWI

1,750,650 people trained in 16,511 plants and unions

Of 600 companies monitored:

  • 86% increased production by at least 25%
  • 100% reduced training time by 25% or more
  • 88% reduced labor hours by at least 25%
  • 55% reduced scrap by at least 25%
  • 100% reduced grievances by more than 25%

What is TWI? – Excellent Overview Here

Upcoming Workshops & Events