Unit Hours as a Key Performance Indicator

Abstract

In a complex manufacturing environment, tracking the cause of cost overruns and other issues can be challenging. At one of Boeing’s plants, a tool was built to track a key performance indicator based on labor hours. Boeing's measurement of labor hours will capture delays due to part shortages, additional work hours required to complete rework, improper clocking, unbalanced workloads, overtime and any other delays or issues that cause work to take longer than scheduled. The tool also forms the foundation for a visual control system on the factory floor. This web-based tool is designed to improve problem solving at all levels of the organization. Using this tool, the plant’s stakeholders can effectively identify and prioritize labor overages before they accumulate, resulting in an improvement in data-driven problem finding and solving.