Program Sequence

The three TWI modules, Job Relations (JR), Job Instruction (JI), and Job Methods (JM), work hand-in-hand to drive improvements and achieve results in your organization. The TWI Institute recommends an order of implementation for the modules, based on both the original TWI Service recommendations and documented modern day results. In some circumstances, there are good reasons to vary this order, and the Institute or our Certified Trainer will work with the client to determine what is best in their situation.

Job Relations is an excellent place to start. If you are new to TWI or have not yet embarked upon a cultural shift in your organization towards continuous improvement, you will encounter many issues around people’s perception of upcoming changes. Job Relations training teaches supervisors how to handle problems, how to prevent them from occurring, and, most importantly, it aids in developing a logical, common sense approach to handling issues with a people-centric view. The core elements of the program are extremely conducive to teaching the basics of consensus building and individual problem solving. This program lays the groundwork upon which you can build the next step of stability into your processes.

Job Instruction is designed to develop basic stability of your processes (standard work). This program teaches the method to instruct an operator how to perform a job correctly, safely and conscientiously. As is frequently the case, most processes are performed by various workers using different methods. Job Instruction requires you teach the process one way, and thereby creates a standard method. The basis of stability is generated by doing the same thing the same way across operators and shifts. So by utilizing Job Instruction you gain the benefits of consistent training and also develop a stable process to apply continuous improvement upon. This lays a solid foundation for any continuous improvement program and is especially beneficial when you apply the third TWI program, Job Methods.

Finally, Job Methods neatly wraps up your continuous improvement program by building on the skills of the operators and first line leaders (team leaders, supervisors, cell leaders…). This program will enhance most team based continuous improvement programs by delivering a high volume of small incremental improvements from individuals. Job Methods provides a system to get the most out of manpower, machines and materials currently available. It conditions and develops individuals to breakdown a job to its details and eliminates wasteful tasks, combines and rearranges necessary tasks and simplifies those tasks that are required.

The three programs provide synergy and support for each other by preparing people to make a change using JR, creating a stable process that can be improved using JI, and improving the process using JM. This iterative cycle fosters effective continuous improvement.

Job Safety was added in Japan in the 1950’s to assure a safe work place through the proactive identification of hazards and the immediate implementation of countermeasures to prevent incidents and injuries from ever occurring. You can implement a TWI Job Safety program at any time.

Problem Solving was developed to tie all of the J programs into a problem solving process in which supervisors diagnose problems in terms of three root causes (people can’t do, people won’t do or a mechanical problem). If the cause of a problem is one of the three root causes, then it will respond to one of the TWI solutions of: Job Instruction, Job Relations or Job Methods. If your organization has experienced success with JI, JR or JM and is ready to move to the next level of TWI implementation, then Problem Solving training is what you need. When Problem Solving is deployed, every production problem encountered becomes a project with a proven method for solution.