Understanding persistently variable performance in plants

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to document the extent to which the relative performance of plants varies over an extended period of time, with some plants performing persistently well and sister plants performing persistently poorly. It examines why this phenomenon occurs. Design/methodology/approach – It does so through interviews and surveys of senior manufacturing executives who oversee multiple plants. Findings – The interview and survey results are consistent with one another and point to the importance of the “mentality” of a plant's management and workforce: how they think about the factory and its operations. The nature of that mentality is explored. Originality/value – This paper captures what the “grey hairs” of manufacturing think of factory performance and how to pursue it.