Suggestion Program Activity Guide i © 2009, Honda Manufacturing of Alabama. All rights reserved

Suggestion Program Activity Guide

i© 2009, Honda Manufacturing of Alabama. All rights reserved

ii


© 2009, Honda Manufacturing of Alabama. All rights reserved

What is this “Activity Guide” all about? 1

What is the Suggestion Program? 2

How do I know my idea qualifies as a Suggestion?

Here are a few suggestible ideas

2

3

Here are a few ideas that are not suggestible 4

OK, how do I get started? 4

System Overview – System Roles 5

System Favorites - Login 7

Flow and Routing 8

Views 9

Suggestion Status Definitions 10

The Suggestion Process – Creating a Suggestion Form 12

Adding Participants 13

Adding Attachments 15

Attachment Types 16

Table of Contents

Submitting/Saving a Suggestion 17

DPL Approval

What if my Suggestion is Disapproved?

Implementation in Process 18

Well…I’ve implemented by Suggestion. Now what? 19

OK…now what about this benefit section? 20

How do I know what data to show? 21

Improvements in Safety Category 22

25Improvements in the Environmental Category

Improvements in the Quality Category 26

17

17

Improvements in the Delivery Category (Downtime/Efficiency) 29

Improvements in the Cost Category 32

You’re Through! 34

Glossary 35

Improvements in the Work Environment 33

1

What is this “Activity Guide” all about?

The purpose of the “Suggestion Program Activity Guide” is to help you, the suggestor(s), submit your ideas for improvement in areas such as associate safety, quality of our products, efficiency of processes, material and labor costs, our work environment, etc.

The Activity Guide will walk you through the entire suggestion process. It will help you understand what kind of ideas are or are not suggestible, the approval/disapproval process, and how to proceed once your idea has been approved.

You’ll find written explanations of each step, as well as, examples to show you the type of information and data that you can provide to demonstrate the value of your suggestion.

The “Table of Contents” at the front of the Activity Guide will help you quickly find the appropriate explanation and examples for each of the various stages of the process. Similarly, you’ll see a number of bold and italicized words and phrases. These are words and phrases which may need clarification. Such clarification can be found by turning to the “Glossary” at the back of the Activity Guide.

Your Department Program Leader (DPL) or Company Program Leader (CPL) can answer your questions.

Now…let’s take a closer look.



What is the Suggestion Program?

HMA’s suggestion program is based on Honda’s belief that human potential is limitless and that every associate, given the opportunity, can contribute. The Honda Philosophy recognizes that each associate is unique and can contribute to the success of the company with new ideas and ways of doing things. Individual associates may submit ideas for improvements by following the guidelines in this Suggestion Program Activity Guide.

How do I know my idea qualifies as a Suggestion?

A suggestion is an improvement, which means you’re not just fixing something that is broken or bringing an item back up to standard. There must be an advancement, addition or change to a situation to ensure a process or product is better than it was before.

On the following pages are just a few examples of suggestible ideas…and some that are not.


© 2009, Honda Manufacturing of Alabama. All rights reserved 2

Safety

• Reduce injuries

• Reduce injury potential

• Improve ergonomics

Environment

• Reduce waste

• Reduce emissions

• Reduce natural resource usage

• Reduce accidental spills

Quality

• Reduce rejections

• Reduce defects

• Increase direct pass rate

Delivery

• Reduce downtime

• Improve efficiency

- Reduce tasks/steps

- Eliminate wasted motion

Cost

• Reduce material and sub-material cost

• Reduce cost for services or supplies

• Reduce manpower costs

- Overtime reduction

- Manpower reduction

• Reduce part or packaging cost

• Reduce energy/natural resource cost

Work Environment

• Improve work environment and doesn’t fit in any of

the categories above

Here are a few suggestible ideas:


3© 2009, Honda Manufacturing of Alabama. All rights reserved

Here are a few that are not suggestible:

• Advertisements and sales for Honda

• Suggestions on company policy, labor conditions or benefits

• Personal, social, economic or political problems

• Routine maintenance, bringing back to standard (fix or repair)

• Product enhancements

• Improvements that were implemented through any other

Involvement Program ( NHC, Tech Fest, etc.)

• Activities that fall under an associates expected job responsibilities

© 2005, Honda of America Mfg., Inc. All rights reserved

OK, how do I get started?

To get started, you will need to log into the Associate Involvement System.


Tool Change Press #4Tool Change Press #5Tool Change Press #6Tool Change Press #7

Updated Rotation Schedule for PA'sUpdated Rotation Schedule for AA'sUpdated Rotation Schedule for ATS's

Methods of submitting suggestions that are not eligible:

• Multiple entries for “like” suggestions

Example 1:

Example 2:

• Teams of associates working together

• Multiple suggestors and/or implementers without supporting

documentation of each associates role in the suggestion

4


5

System Overview

System Roles

The Associate Involvement System has been designed to provide associates with the tools that they need to submit, monitor and implement their ideas to make you a stronger associate and HMA a more successful company.

Roles are defined within the Associate Involvement System (AIS) to allow routing and approval of activities. These roles include:

Company Program Leader (CPL) – This is the term for the SPIRIT Programs Leader at HMA. This role may perform the following functions:

o Set up and launch new programso Enter new activities for any HMA associateo Search and edit any activities in any status in all HMA departmentso Act as an approver for any departmento Manually override parts of the AISo Ensure consistency throughout HMA for involvement activities such as, but not limited to, suggestion scoring and suggestion implementation

Department Program Leader (DPL) – This is the term for the Department SPIRIT Facilitator at HMA. This role may perform the following functions:

o Enter new activities for associates in his/her departmento Search and edit any activities in his/her departmento Act as an approver for his/her own departmento Ensure department compliance with HMA Suggestion Guidelines

Approver – Any exempt-level HMA associate may be an approver. The approver’s role is to make decisions regarding a proposed activity and to provide appropriate feedback to the submitting associate.


Verifier – Any exempt-level HMA associate may be a verifier. The verifier’s role is to confirm that an activity has been completed and to identify the scope of that activity.

Associate – Any HMA associate may create and edit his/her own activities.



System Functions

Login

In order to protect HMA from security leaks, every HMA associate has been assigned a network login and password. All associates may login to the system by using their regular network login and password.All network password information is confidential. Associates should not share their passwords with other associates, family members or managers – even with their own Team Managers.

Example:

If associate A gives his/her password to associate B, associate A is still responsible for any activities that the login ID is used for. If associate B uses associate A’s password to visit an inappropriate website, associate A will be held responsible and may receive corrective action up to and including termination.



8

Flow and Routing

The AIS routes activities to the appropriate associates based on each associate’s ID number. The Suggestion process will flow as shown below.

The associate, the DPL of that associate’s department and the CPL may view and edit a suggestion at any time during the process above. Associates may only view the finalized activities of other associates.




Views

The associate view has three buttons: Create – allows an associate to create a new activity Check Status – allows an associate to check approval status, check evaluation status and view his/her involvement history Worklist – the “to-do” list for the associate



10

Suggestion Status Definitions

Status Who’s Worklist Status Description Draft Associate who is

submitting the suggestion.

Associate is currently working on a suggestion. Associates may save suggestions in draft status and come back to work on them later. Draft suggestions will appear in the submitting associate’s worklist. If a DPL is composing a suggestion for another associate, that suggestion will appear in the submitting associate’s worklist until the suggestion has been submitted.

Suggestion Submitted; Awaiting DPL Approval

DPL Associate has submitted the suggestion. The suggestion will appear in the DPL worklist. The DPL must review the suggestion and approve, request more info, or disapprove the suggestion for the suggestion to leave this status.

DPL More Info Requested

Associate who is submitting the suggestion

If the submitting associate has not provided enough information for the DPL to approve or disapprove, the DPL can request that the associate provide more information.

Pending Approval Routing

DPL Once the DPL approves a suggestion, he/she must route it to any other appropriate approvers.

Approval in Progress

Designated Approvers

The appropriate approvers must approve, request more information, or disapprove the suggestion for the suggestion to leave this status category.

Approver More Info Requested

Submitting Associate

Any of the approvers may request more information from the submitting associate before approving or disapproving a suggestion. The associate must add more information to the suggestion before he/she may resubmit. Once submitted, the suggestion will be routed directly to the approver who requested more information.

Implementation in Progress

Associate The suggestion has been approved. The associate may begin implementing his/her suggestion.

Pending Verification Routing

DPL Once the associate has completed the implementation details of his/her suggestion, the suggestion will be routed to the DPL for review and verification routing. The DPL must route to the appropriate verifier(s) for the suggestion to leave this status.



11

DPL – More Info Required on Cost

DPL DPL returns suggestion to associate for additional information to determine cost.

Verification in Progress

Appropriate Verifiers

Verifiers should be exempt level associates who are responsible for the area where the suggestion was implemented. Department Manager verification is not required.

Verification More Information Requested

Submitting Associate

If a verifier does not feel like enough information has been provided to verify implementation, they can request more information from the associate. Once the associate provides additional information, the suggestion will be routed back to the requesting verifier.

Department Evaluation in Progress

DPL DPL will evaluate and score the suggestion based on the scoring matrix provided.

Plant Evaluation in Progress

CPL Once the DPL has scored the suggestion, it will be routed to the CPL for final evaluation to ensure evaluation consistency across the company.

Finalized Complete N/A All associates will be able to search through all finalized suggestions. The submitting associate will see the suggestion in their “Check Status” list.

Posted N/A Does not apply to HMA. Withdrawn N/A The associate has withdrawn the suggestion,

and selected a reason for withdraw. The CPL may withdraw a suggestion during the evaluation phase if the suggestion does not meet program criteria.

Disapproved N/A The suggestion has been disapproved. The suggestion will appear in the associate’s “Check Status” list.



12

The Suggestion Process

Creating a Suggestion FormFrom your main screen, click the “Create” button.

Your name will automatically populate the Associate Number/Name field.

Next, fill out the suggestion form by entering the information into the fields provided. You must enter information into all of the fields provided.



13

Adding Participants

More than one associate may work together on an idea for a suggestion if the business need is documented on the suggestion form. To add the names of the other associates to the suggestion, click the “Manage Participants” button at the bottom of the page.

An “Add Participants” window will open. From this window you can search for an associate by associate number, name or department.



14

Once you’ve selected the appropriate associate, you can change the role of the participant based on their level of involvement. “Suggestors” are those associates who develop and implement the idea. “Implementors” are those associates who only help to implement the idea. Additional suggestors and implementers may be added until the suggestion enters the verification stage. If more than one suggestor or implementer is involved their specific role must be explained.

When you have selected the associate and the appropriate role, click “Add Participant” to add that associate to the suggestion.

Once you have entered all of the participants, review the list to make sure that you have listed everyone correctly. You may also use the “Remove,” “Make Inactive” and “Make Active” buttons to correct errors in participants.

When you’re satisfied that your list is complete, click “Close.”


Once the attachment path appears, type a brief description of the attachment in the description field. This way, approvers will have an idea of what kind of information the attachment contains before they open the attachments.

Next, click “Add Attachment.” When you see the attachment appear in the list, you will know your attachment has been successfully saved.


15

Adding Attachments

Sometimes associates may have prepared supporting documentation for their suggestions. Attachments may be added using the “Manage Attachments” button on the suggestion form screen.

To attach a document, click on the “Browse” button and search for the attachment you’re looking for. Associates should save any documents they need to attach to the “Suggestion Attachments” folder on HMA’s Public Drive.

Add an attachment the same way you would when adding an attachment to an email message.



16

Multiple attachments may be added. If necessary, attachments may be removed by selecting the document and clicking “Un Attach.” Once all of the attachments have been added, click the “Close” button.

The attachments will appear at the bottom of the Suggestion form.

Attachment Types

Types of files that may be attached include:

•. bmp•. doc•. jpeg•. jpg•. pdf•. ppt• .tif•. txt•. vsd•. xls

In order to conserve network space, attachment file size is limited to 2 MG.



17

Submitting/Saving A Suggestion

Once the suggestion form is complete, submit the suggestion by clicking “Submit” at the bottom of the screen. If you want to save the suggestion and work on it later, you can save it as a draft by clicking the “Draft” button.

DPL Approval

Any suggestions submitted by associates in your department will be routed to the DPL. The status for suggestions requiring DPL approval will be “Suggestion Submitted; Awaiting DPL Approval.”

What if my Suggestion is disapproved?

If disapproved, you’ll receive a “Notice of Activity Disapproval” with the disapproval reason code. There are six different reasons why your Suggestion may be disapproved: D1 – Suggestion is not a benefit or not an improvement D2 – Suggestion is cost prohibitive or funds not available D3 – Suggestion is part of associate’s assigned responsibility or it is not a suggestible item D4 – Suggestion is unsafe D5 – Idea has already been suggested or other implementation is pending D6 – Denied by proper authority for other business reason


Implementation in Progress

Once a suggestion has been approved by the final approver, the status changes to “Implementation in Progress.” This means that you may now begin implementing your suggestion.

Once a suggestion enters this status, several new fields appear on the suggestion form.


18

I have approval…am I ready to get busy?

Yes! You have your approved Suggestion in your hand and you’re ready to go! Be certain to get the approval for time to work on it. If you can implement the Suggestion yourself, go for it. Make sure you keep track of all the things you have to do and the time you spend doing those things. As you will see later, the value of your suggestion will be partially based on your effort.

If you cannot implement your Suggestion on your own, talk to your Team Manager, Department manager, DPL or CPL to find out what you’ll have to do.


Well…I’ve implemented my Suggestion. Now what?

This is where you document your effort and explain the benefit of your Suggestion. This is the step-by-step process that shows what the situation was before your suggestion, the steps you went through to implement your suggestion and the result after your suggestion. This is a 4,000 character field so there should be plenty of room to document your activities. If additional documentation is needed you may attach documents using the “Manage Attachments: button.


19

What are you looking for when I document my effort?

Simply write down each step taken and the time it took to complete that step. The more detail you provide the better the evaluators can assess your effort. This is your effort and the effort of any other associates on the Suggestion with you.

If you weren’t able to help with actual implementation of your idea, for whatever reason, you can still show your effort in planning the implementation, monitoring any tests, collecting before and after comparison data, standardization, etc. If you think about your Suggestion like a mini-NH Circle, you get an idea about what will enhance the value of your suggestion

Example #1: Explanation of Effort

Met with dept. safety rep over a two week period to review anti-vibration glove issues; total of 2 hours. Met with TM to look of cost of current gloves and researched cost of new style gloves recommended by safety rep; total of 30 minutes. Ordered sample pair and had one associate on each shift try new style for one rotation. Got feedback from associates. Worked much better so got approval to order new style gloves. Updated Op. Std.


OK…now what about this benefit section?

In this section you will need to explain the benefit of your Suggestion in measurable terms, if possible. The easiest way to show benefit is with a before and after analysis, or in other words, to show what the situation was like before you implemented your idea and what it is like after the implementation.

Take a look at the example below. This is a simple line graph which is great for showing a trend or how the data changes over time. The line with diamonds is the before data and the line with squares is the after data. Pretty easy to see that after the implementation of the idea the number of sign hits went way down…to zero, as a matter of fact!


20

Sign Hits per Week

Before vs. After C/M

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Weeks

# o

f S

ign

Hit

s

BEFORE C/M

AFTER C/M

Example #2: Before and After Analysis

Line 1 A/B Shift

Jan 1 – Apr 7, 2006


How do I know what data to show?

The business category that your idea benefits most is identified in the top, left corner of the form. Use this category as the basis for your analysis. You suggestion will evaluated in only one category.

The different business categories in which your idea may be evaluated are:

• Safety (Injury Reduction or Ergonomics)• Environmental• Quality• Delivery (Downtime or Efficiency)• Cost• Work Environment

The following pages will describe what we are going to need to understand when you explain the benefit of your idea. Some examples are included to help you.

Example #3: Identifying Affected Business Category



The chart below can help you describe the before and after condition of a Safety improvement based on an injury reduction. In order to accurately assess your idea, you must provide the following: 1) Level of exposure and importance before implementing your idea. 2) Level of exposure and importance after implementing your idea. 3) Explain your assessment. (See Example #4 on the next page) 4) Proof of your assessment.

The Before data in the example on the next page verifies the exposure and importance before the suggestion was implemented. The same holds true for the After data. A reduction in the likelihood of exposure and importance is claimed. Attach photos and/or back-up safety documents to serve as proof of your explanation.

Improvements in the Safety Category


22

Exposure Importance Exposure ImportanceWeekly Catastrophic Certain Catastrophic

2 weeks - 5 months Serious Probable Serious6 - 11 months Minor Possible Minor

Yearly Discomfort Unlikely DiscomfortNone None

BEFORE IMPROVEMENT AFTER IMPROVEMENT

Safety suggestions are evaluated on either:1. Injury Reduction or2. Ergonomic Improvement


Example #4: Safety Benefit Analysis


23

Before Suggestion was implemented: Exposure was daily, associates were not required to wear gloves on this process. Importance was minor because injuries resulted in first aids. See attached documentation.After Suggestion was implemented: Exposure is no more than once a year because associates are now required to wear gloves. “Importance” has been eliminated because this is no longer an issue. See Safety Assessment Report*.

*The Safety Assessment Report should be added as an attachment to your suggestion. Your DPL or TM can show you how to attach documents.


The benefit of an Ergonomic improvement is based on the reduction of stress (reach, operating posture, bending, etc.). Your department or plant safety associate can assist with an official ergo analysis which may need to be completed on the “before” condition and the “after” condition. Ergo conditions are explained with a different color for each level of severity. Red is the worst. Yellow is not as bad as Red but it needs to be corrected and Green indicates that the condition falls within ergo guidelines. There is also an “ideal” condition. Ideal is the best Green condition. Your Suggestion is evaluated on the importance of the improvement. If you improve an ergo condition that was Red and make it Ideal, that’s a great improvement.

In the example below, the ergo condition was improved from Red to Green and the attached Ergo Study, which is done by your Safety Group, serves as proof of your explanation.

Example #5: Ergonomic Benefit Analysis


Before suggestion was implemented the ergo condition was red. After the suggestion was implemented the ergo condition is green. – see attached ergo study


Improvements in the Environmental Category

The benefit of an Environmental improvement is based on the prevention or reduction of negative impacts to the environment around HMA through reductions in waste, emissions or accidental releases. In order to accurately assess your idea, you must provide the following: 1) Scope and severity before implementing your idea. 2) Scope and severity after implementing your idea. 3) Explain your assessment. 4) Proof of your assessment.

Example #6: Environmental Benefit Analysis


25

Suggestion Scope is for a process. Before the suggestion was implemented the severity was minor because gas spills are contained in the pit but the fumes are sometimes bothersome. (see attached chart) After the suggestion was implemented the severity is none. A no-spill nozzle has eliminated the chance of spills and fumes. See attached check sheet.


Severity Scope Severity Scope

Major Community-wide Major Community-wide

Minor Multi-dept. to Plant-wide Minor Multi-dept. to Plant-wide

Minimal Multi-area to Dept.-wide Minimal Multi-area to Dept.-wide

None Multi-process to Global area None Multi-process to Global area

Process only Process only

Before Improvement After Improvement

Improvements in the Quality Category

The benefit of a Quality improvement is based on a reduction in the number of units affected by the quality problem and the severityof the problem. In order to accurately assess your idea, you mustprovide the following: 1) Determine if problem is model specific 2) Severity rank of the quality problem a) A-Rank - Fire and Safety, government regulation, or a major function problem. Could result in market action b) B-Rank - Functional problem. Could result in negative impact to customer as a result of having to have the problem corrected c) C-Rank - Appearance or customer nuisance 3) Percentage of units per shift that exhibit the problem before implementing your idea 4) Percentage of units per shift that exhibit the problem after implementing your idea 5) Proof of your assessment

Formula to determine % of units affected per shift:# of units with problem divided by the # of units produced during one

shift. Multiply times 100 (multiplying moves the decimal point two places to the left). Remember…to calculate percentage, limit # of units to the specific model with the potential for having the problem.

Formula to determine reduction in % of units/shift affected:% of affected units/shift before implementation minus % of affected

units/shift after implementation= Reduction in % of affected units/shift

Ranking (A,B or C) is from a customers point of view not by department ranking.

(See Example #7 on the next page)



Example #7: Quality Benefit Analysis


The quality issue impacts all models. It is a C-rank problem. The monthly average before the suggestion was 13.4%. After the suggestion was implemented the monthly average was 3.5%. 13.4% (before – 3.5% (after) = 9.9% reduction. See attached documentation.

See these attachments in Example #8


The graph and check sheet below were attached to the Suggestionas proof of the information entered on the back of the form. Thechart indicates that the idea was implemented in late December,2003. You can easily see a significant drop in the % of unitsproduced with this problem after the implementation.Note that the data is self-collected. This is acceptable proof. Be

sureto talk to your Coordinator to identify existing data sources beforeyou collect it on your own. No need to reinvent the wheel!

Scratch on Fuel Tank Before and After C/M

14%

2%3%

5%

3% 3%4%

3% 3%

11%

16%

12%

14%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

Aug-0

3

Sep-0

3

Oct-03

Nov-03

Dec-03

Jan-

04

Feb-0

4

Mar

-04

Apr-0

4

May

-04

Jun-

04

Jul-0

4

Aug-0

4

Per

cen

t o

f U

nit

s P

er S

hif

t

BEFOREMONTHLY AVG.

13.4%

AFTERMONTHLY AVG.

3.5%

Example #8: Quality Benefit Analysis Chart and Check sheet


28

VTX Only

VTX Only

VTX Only


Improvements in the Delivery Category (Downtime/Efficiency)

The benefit of a Downtime improvement is based on a reduction in the amount of time a piece of equipment, process, or system (production line) is not running and the scope of the event (one process or the whole department). In order to accurately assess your idea, you must provide the following: 1) Source of the downtime you addressed. 2) How much downtime the source caused before you implemented your idea. 3) Scope of the downtime (process, area/zone, department, other department) before you implemented your idea 4) How much downtime the source caused after you implemented your idea. 5) Scope of the downtime (process, area/zone, department, other department) after you implemented your idea 6) Proof of your assessment.


The source of the downtime is Robot 1. Before the suggestion was implemented the average monthly downtime was 153.2 minutes. The downtime was due to a process. After the suggestion was implemented the monthly average downtime was 105.53 minutes which is a 31% reduction in downtime. (see attached data)



41

49

45

42

47

37

42

29

44

29

37

1918

16

37

43

54

40

5047

44

36

47

41

47

40

31

25 2625

27

34

26272829

2121

61

66

59

65

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

jan feb

mar

apr

may

jun jul

aug

sep oct

nov

dec

Jan-0

2

Feb-0

2

1st Shift

2nd Shift

3rd Shift

Example #9: Before and After Comparison of Downtime

Robot 1 Downtime Before and After Comparison

61

66

59

65

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

jan feb

mar

apr

1st Shift

2nd Shift

3rd Shift

Robot 1 DowntimeBefore Implementation

BeforeAfter

Jan – Apr 2001 Jan 2001 – Feb 2002

Min

ute

s

Min

ute

s


The benefit of an Efficiency improvement is based on the reductionof time to complete a process over the cycle of a process. In order to accurately assess your idea, you must provide the following: 1) Frequency of the process (once per unit, once per hour, once per quarter, etc.). 2) Time to complete the process before you implemented your idea. 3) Time to complete the process after you implemented your idea. 4) Proof of your assessment.



31


Example #10: Analysis of Before and After “Time to Complete”

Before the suggestion was implemented the process was performed each month within 5 business days of start. It took an average of 24 associate hours to complete. After the suggestion was implemented it took an average of 8 associate hours to complete. See attachments

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1 2 3 4 5 6

months

Before

After


Improvements in the Cost Category

The benefit of a Cost improvement is based on the reduction of an expenditure. In order to accurately assess your idea, you must provide the following:

1) The department or business unit that will benefit from the cost reduction. 2) Cost before you implemented your idea (indicate annual, per month, per week, etc.) 3) Cost after you implemented your idea (indicate annual, per month, per week, etc.) 4) Proof of your assessment.


Purchasing dept will benefit from this packaging change. See attached for before and after analysis. The data came from production control and purchasing cost data.



Improvements in the Work Environment

A suggestion is evaluated in this category if it will not fit in any other category. Please contact your CPL, DPL or TM if you think your suggestion fits in this category.


33

Example #11: Cost Analysis of Before and After

04M PRODUCTION SCHEDULED PRODUCTION

SDN=33,321 UNITSSDP=33,589 UNITSSDA=163,327 UNITSSDB=103,887 UNITSSEP=72,124 UNITS

X $.86/BAG = $349,374.


X $.86/BAG = $349,374.

COMPARED TO


X

$.16 RED CAP$.08 YELLOW CAP$.16 RED CAP$.08 YELLOW CAP$.08 YELLOW CAP

= $48,229.


X

$.16 RED CAP$.08 YELLOW CAP$.16 RED CAP$.08 YELLOW CAP$.08 YELLOW CAP

= $48,229.

COST SAVINGS OF= $301,145.

-$28,813.68 COST OF PZEV DUNNAGE = $272,331. FOR 04M PRODUCTIONX 3 ADDITIONAL YEARS OF CURRENT MODEL PRODUCTION-$903,435

X 1 YEAR ADDITIONAL ACURA PRODUCTION-$56,256

= $959,691 TOTAL MODEL CYCLE SAVINGS


So…how is my suggestion evaluated?

Your Suggestion will be evaluated in three areas based on what is included on the Suggestion form and supporting documentation and attachments:

• the Scope• YOUR Effort• the Benefit to HMA

YOU’RE THROUGH!Your Suggestion will now be processed and evaluated. However, additional information may be requested so that your idea is evaluated appropriately.


Scope – This is simply how widespread your improvement is. If your idea is on one process, that is a smaller scope; whereas, if your idea is used in the whole department, that is a larger scope.

Effort – This category looks at your effort to make sure the suggestion gets implemented, your effort to research and analyze the results, your effort to see the project through to completion.

Benefit – The benefit section of the evaluation looks at how much of a benefit your idea is to HMA.

RECOGNITION LEVELS VALUE RANGE

Team Manager 3 - 5Department Manager 6 - 8

Division Manager 9 - 12Operation Leaders 13 - 17

President 18+

Well…that’s it.

If you have any questions about the Suggestion Program or don’tunderstand any part of this program, contact your Department Program Leader (DPL) or your Company Program Leader (CPL).

The scores in each of the three areas are added together to determine the value of your suggestion. The chart below indicates the level of recognition you will receive based on the total value of your suggestion.


Glossary (all terms and phrases have been defined as they relate to HMA’s Suggestion Program)

company policy, labor conditions and benefits - improvement ideas beyond the realm of an associate’s responsibility or control due to laws which govern such aspects of our business.

before and after analysis - a comparison of the data collected before and after the implementation of an improvement idea.

data - counted or measured results of a given situation before or after theimplementation of an improvement idea.

business category - all Suggestion initiatives can be categorized into one of the six (6) business categories S-E-Q-D-C-WE. After being submitted into the approval process, the business category will be assigned based on the description of the current situation and improvement idea.

document your effort - written explanation of steps and tasks undertaken, as well as the time it took, for the suggestor(s) to ensure implementation of the improvement idea.

cycle of a process - the time required to complete a specific process.


CPL - the Company Program Leader responsible for administration of all the Involvement Programs at the Company level.

approver – individual responsible for making decisions regarding a proposed activity to provide appropriate feedback to the submitting associate

disapproved – notification that you may not proceed with implementation of your suggestion idea

evaluators - responsible for reviewing and scoring of suggestions to determine award levels.

DPL - the Department Program Leader responsible for administration of all the Involvement Programs at the Department level.


36


Glossary (continued)

NHC - a team-based problem solving and project management program

measurable - a characteristic of an item about which data can be collected for the purpose of comparison.

proof - photos, data and official HMA documentation.

improvement - a change which raises the current standard or mode of operation.

implementation - taking all steps necessary to put your idea in place.

official ergo analysis - an analysis produced by the Safety Group which documents the ergonomic condition of a specific process.

suggestor(s) - the submitting associate(s) identified on the Suggestion Form as the owners of the improvement idea, and who will share recognition for that idea.

standardization - steps taken to ensure that Suggestion idea remains in place; typically, operation standards, process change notices, training log, etc.

proper authority - those associates with responsibility for making decisions on behalf of the company.


Tech Fest – Honda North American plants sharing innovative ideas and technical projects

Documents

Suggestion Program Activity Guide i © 2009, Honda Manufacturing of Alabama. All rights reserved