One of the major problems that Bohn faced was that only about 40 percent of the jobs listed for scheduled maintenance shutdowns were ever performed. During an informal conversation with Ken Viet, Xographics’ human resources manager, Bohn learned that the maintenance department was operating at about 60 percent efficiency. Viet said that the maintenance employees had recently staged a slowdown in order to force the company to increase their wages. Viet also told Bohn that maintenance employees usually quit about an hour early in order to wash up.

The head of the maintenance department had worked his way up through the ranks. He started with Xographics immediately after graduation from high school and had been with the company for 25 years. His reason for the “inefficiency” was the lack of qualified maintenance people in the area, with the personnel department sending him individuals not qualified to maintain the mill’s machines. He didn’t have the time to train each newly hired employee, assigning this responsibility to other employees who had been around for a while.

1. How might Bohn approach the head of maintenance?

2. Who else should Bohn talk to?