A Monthly Bonus for Zero Injuries in the Factory — What Could Go Wrong?

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A friend of mine–with a long history of Lean and Toyota Production System knowledge practice–recently shared a troubling story about a relative who works at a manufacturing plant. I'll call this factory team member “Guy.”

Call me cynical, if you must, but I totally believe this story, so I'm sharing it here. And my friend has zero reason to make this up.

Guy's factory has a bonus system in place that's supposed to reward employees for hitting key performance targets each month. That might sound like a good idea on the surface, but here's where it gets dysfunctional:

If there are any reported injuries, the entire bonus goes unpaid for the month.

I've shared this story verbally with a few people, and they always start smirking or chuckling. They know the answer to this question:

What could possibly go wrong?