Striving to answer that question more than 60 years ago sparked the development of the most powerful training methodology that has impacted U.S. industry - Training Within Industry (TWI). During World War II, major production increases were demanded by the U.S. military - TWI, which trains supervisors, was developed comprising three separate programs:

Job Instruction - how to instruct employees so they can quickly remember to do a job, correctly, safely, and conscientiously. Job Methods - how to improve methods for producing greater quantities of quality products in less time by effectively using available workforce, machines, and materials. Job relations - how to lead employees so that problems are prevented and analytical methods are used to effectively resolve problems. Toyota was the earliest company to adopt TWI after World War II, and this methodology planted the seeds for the development of the Toyota Production System - the gold standard of manufacturing excellence.

In The TWI Workbook: Essential Skills for Supervisors, Patrick Graupp and Robert Wrona teach supervisors how to apply a four-step method for each of the three respective programs with numerous examples and exercises. In these exercises, supervisors will participate in hands-on application of the four-step method to actual jobs and employee problems from their own worksites. In addition, a CD companion includes blank forms needed to complete the exercises and implementation case studies.

The TWI Workbook will teach readers:

A method, which works every time, for teaching people to quickly learn to do jobs correctly, safely and conscientiously. How to break down jobs for instruction so that learners get just the right amount and the right kind of information to master jobs fully in a short amount of time. A method of analyzing jobs for the purpose of improving them which focuses on making the best use of resources currently available. How to discover, develop, and implement improvement ideas through a series of questions and a new-method development and application process. A method for handling "people problems" which ensures that supervisors take decisive and proper actions that achieve their objectives. How to develop sound relations with people that create good performance and prevent problems from arising in the first place.