Don't think it out. Try it out!

I can remember many times when I got "stuck" with my kaizen.

One particular situation stays with me even though it was over 15 years ago.

I was working with a company to help them make ergonomic improvements for each process in a product line. It was our intention to do this first and then connect all the processes into a U-shape cell - on to takt time, etc. But first, the ergonomic kaizen. I worked with the team members on their ideas and mine. They had an endless list of great ideas - creative, unique and on-target to the aim of our goals. The implementation phase was quick and happy.

The rest of the list made me nervous - as our tasks would not be related to ergonomic improvements or continuous flow. We needed to maximize the efficiency of part flow to some processes while creating an isolated island for the team members. Since the team members in this line rotated to each process, the tension among the team grew rapidly. As we tried to assess which process layout style was best for the team members and continuous flow, well, let me just say, it wasn't just the welder giving off sparks.

Finally, a dim light bulb flickered in my head reminding me that we would get nowhere fast by just talking and simulating with sticky notes. However, if we were to try out the ideas (with an open mind of course), and see them as a team, we could evaluate facts and ideas very quickly. I rallied the group for a pep talk about kaizen spirit and a slogan came to my mind - "Don't think it out. Try it out!" As a result the team was energized to try anything to get unstuck.

Perhaps you can imagine what happened next. As soon as we united to actually DO and TRY experiments, we were able to implement very good kaizens quickly. The teamwork they had from the ergonomic kaizen was back and even stronger. During my next visit to the plant, I arrived to grinning faces as the team showed me their first TRY at a continuous flow cell.

Have you had any experiences being stuck and how you broke the deadlock that the rest of us could learn from? Please share.

- Lesa

Training is One Answer To Transfer TPS but it Needs ...

To be Successful...

A long while ago, when starting my industrial career, I was required to take Forklift Operation and Safety.  For those who know me well, the idea of me actually driving a forklift is cause for fright.  To date, I have avoided this task for the safety of everyone working around me.  However, the training was truly interesting for me and boring for the rest of the class (if sleeping heads is any indication).

I watched the film clips, listened intently to the stats and observed my fellow trainees to see if they were awake and as scared as I was.  Unfortunately, they slept on and they were the ones who were destined to drive these monsters.  Now I was afraid and annoyed that the trainer didn't wake everyone up.  At the end of class, they climbed out of their desks, signed their names and went back to work.  In a couple of weeks they would be taking a "practical course" to demonstrate their driving skill.  I would not.  I just had to stay out of the way on the construction site and later manage forklift drivers.

I hold this memory in my head as a terrible example of training.  I think most of it is obvious from my story but there are some things I would like to get your comments on.  These are opinions that I have formed from many years designing and delivering training:

1. Clarifying expectations -If people don't know why they are attending the training and how it fits to their job expectations, they might as well have stayed home.  They are simply confused the whole time.  I have had to postpone training sessions because the participants had no idea why they were there and what came after the training.  Of course, we worked through it with management and the trainees but it didn't make for a good training environment.
2. The Results -What is expected by the management team or mentor for the group.  Is there anyone in the management team that "owns" the results of the training?
3. The Follow-Up - Coaching to support the newly trained as they try and struggle to achieve implementation in their own jobs.  For some, it will be natural but others will struggle and need direct support to be confident enough to try.  Does anyone know who the support person is and are they qualified to help?

What Should We Do? Cancel the Training?  Nooooooo, but what are some things you have tried?   Are you willing to share your stories?  I will share some more of what I have done next week.  Some worked, others were not so great.  We can learn from both.

- Lesa

How many people do you need to provide your product or service?

Close  your eyes and get an image of a time when you have been really mad about inefficiencies with public money.

Mine is during highway construction when I see people just "standing around" while a smaller group does the actual work.  Every now and then, I get to the point of thinking "those are my tax dollars, they are wasting my money".  Actually though, I don't know who is doing what and how many people they really need to get the job done.

It's the same everywhere.  Usually direct and indirect labor is the biggest cost an organization has but when I ask the question - "How many people do you need?" - to the people running things, I get a blank stare.  I am not blaming them, it is a tough question which I have yet to receive an answer.

Part of the struggle is the nature of customer demand for goods and services-it fluctuates so much that your operations have to fluctuate as well.  How can anyone figure labor needs with all those ups-and-downs of customer demand, plus unpredictable suppliers, employees who may or may not show up to work....the list of variables goes on and on. You could even say IT'S CHAOS!!

If we use the concept of staffing up for maximum customer orders, this vicious cycle begins: Hire, Train, Work and Lay Off. Before you know it, the very frustrating, costly cycle cranks up again and again. Do you have any ideas for a more accurate, humane way to handle the situation?  Well, as you may have guessed, I have an idea.

And here it is: Run the business to produce products and services at the same pace that the customer wants them.  This pace is called takt time--a number calculated using the equation below.  It is also a critical number in knowing how many people we really need to do the work:

You can see from this equation that the number of people required can change based on a couple variables.  Let me know what you come up with.  You may have more questions than answers but that is very normal.  This is a very dynamic concept that is a lot easier communicated on a white board.

- Lesa

Changing the Circle

Last time we looked at the trouble caused by one little circle to crush an organization’s culture to foster the Toyota Production System.  Even more, this circle is like quicksand to an organization.

It saps everyone’s energy.  When your feet are mired in quicksand, so are everyone else’s as they strain to pull their friends out.  Before you know it, nothing productive is getting done.  A lot of hard work, but nothing helpful for making the customer’s experience better.

With one small step, we can change this from a negative to a positive impact on the organization.

Now you have the time to contribute to improve your own productivity and the organizations’.  The quicksand is gone. You and your friends have time to build a solid foundation for the organization’s improvement system.  This is what we mean at GBMP when we talk about "everybody, everyday" to grow the Toyota Production System.  It is not enough to say it; we have to make time to do it.  Today we have made time, conceptually.  Now, see what you can do to make it happen practically.

I can’t wait to hear your success stories.

- Lesa

How one little circle can crash a culture

Often unbenownst to a lot of employees and managers, sometimes a mist of trouble hangs over the office cubicles, twisting and twirling, spinning a web of destruction across an organization.  What is it? Where did it come from?  Well, that depends. Let's take a look at this innocent looking circle.

Maybe you don’t feel a connection to what I'm talking about, this circle.  But what if I told you that you could very well possibly be the one that started the day off by making the first bad move (without knowing it of course) - assuming something about a co-worker because, let's say for an example, they came in 15 minutes after the standard office start time.  You did this without any other information than seeing “Sam” walk in the door.

As you turn back to your computer, a thought bubbles up: “He is always late, almost everyday” (misunderstanding).

Like a song that gets stuck in your head, you can’t let it go: “How come he gets away with this when my requests for a flexible schedule are always denied”  (confusion and anger).

Now you are on a roll (Thoughts Gone Wild):  “With all his lateness, he is making our team look like a bunch of slackers.  I don’t want him on our team if this is his way of working.  Let him go somewhere else to mess up their chance of success" (blame, alienation, hostility).

As you think about this scenario, it probably won’t take you long to recognize one of these circles happening somewhere around you right now.  How can you recognize it?  You are either in the middle of one yourself or you are listening to someone talk about one.  Pay attention for a day and listen to how much of this you may personally be involved in.  Try to quantify it.

Next week, I'll talk about how this one little circle impacts an organization’s culture and what can be done to make the circle's influence positive. I am looking forward to hearing your experiences.

- Lesa