The Waste of Waiting

THE WASTE OF WAITING

Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers write about what he calls friction, what we would call in Lean Circles the waste of waiting, here.

Take a look at what Apple and Amazon have done to eliminate waiting. And what that does for throughput for them.

It should provoke some fresh thinking for you. It did for me.

Keep on learning.

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Shallow Gemba, Deep Gemba

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SHALLOW GEMBA, DEEP GEMBA

We talk a lot in Lean circles about going to gemba, the place where work actually happens. There we can see, with our own eyes, what is happening. Mark Graban got me thinking more deeply about this recently when he posted about a Presidential candidate visiting the workplace, to “understand how the worker felt.”

The political candidate, by definition, can’t go deep into the workplace. It’s a “drive-by” gemba. No matter how sincere, it is shallow. The politician simply can’t know enough to “see” what is going on to any depth at all. When I drive by a wooded area, I see trees. My friend who is an outdoorsman sees oaks and maples and ash and sycamores. I’m shallow, he is deeper.

After reading of the politician, I turned the question on myself, someone responsible for manufacturing. How many of my visits to gemba are, in fact, really shallow? If I take a quick walk through, greeting people, exchanging pleasant comments about kids and family, I advance some of the human issues needed to show respect for people. Yet, on the other hand, I’m not much different than the politician; indeed, I risk coming across as no better than a candidate pressing the flesh, looking for votes.

I must also spend time in the workplace doing deep gemba. This is almost always focused on a single item or small group of items. One process. One machine. One cell. One loading dock. One cart loop. It also must take time. I don’t know how you do this in less than 30-60 minutes, at a minimum. In some cases it will be several hours or a day or three days.

Further, deep gemba must have some end in mind. While we generically say we are “looking for waste,” I must scroll though the seven wastes with an mood of curiosity, asking “just what am I seeing?” And when I see something that doesn’t make sense, stop. And find out what it is. And this takes time.

Keep learning.

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So make it Standard Work anyway, dude

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SO MAKE IT STANDARD WORK ANYWAY, DUDE

Had a small-ish project land on my desk about a week ago, one I really didn’t want to deal with. So I buried it under other activities for the week (don’t tell me you’ve never done this).

When I got to it Friday afternoon, unappealing though it was, I noted that in the period of inaction another similar project had landed on my desk and been similarly buried. What to do?

I chose to create Standard Work.

The task was administrative in nature and, as such, didn’t seem to lend itself to describing in a Standard Work form. I did it anyway and noted a few useful things.

First, the very act of making out a Standard Work form busted the inertia. I started breaking down the tasks and discovered it wasn’t as bad as I had imagined.

Second, I recalled a key principle of Lean. Start with the existing process and then practice kaizen, small changes for the better. This applied. By getting something down, no matter how imperfect or incomplete, I was advancing.

Third, in the doing of the (new) Standard Work, I saw how to make it better. Having a list to work off of was way better than just playing with it in my mind.

Try making something that seems non-standard Standard today. You might surprise yourself. Like I did.

Keep learning.

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Curiosity

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CURIOSITY

While doing the dishes tonight, I flipped on a CD I enjoy only to surprise myself by learning something about Lean.

In one of the songs, a phrase stopped me in my dishtoweled-tracks:

"Only the curious have something to find."

How

How key for the Lean leader to simply be curious! To have a mood of intrigue, of wonderment. To be curious about why things are the way they are. To be curious about why the waste exists. To be curious about why a process takes 3 hours and not 2. Why it takes six people and not five. Why a tool rests on a bench rather than is suspended close to the operator's hand.

And, without curiosity, we have nothing to find.

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Be curious today. You just might find something.

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Quick and Easy Kaizen-a way to learn

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QUICK AND EASY KAIZEN-A WAY TO LEARN IT

Long-time pal Hal Macomber is at it again. He just put up Quick N Easy Kaizen, a web site that seeks to model, rather than just talk about, how kaizen really works. Influenced by the significant work of Norman Bodek, Hal is demonstrating how powerful yet simple kaizen really is.

Don't just take a look at the site; enter some improvement you've done recently at work or at home. Look at the other entries. Let your mind start whirring. Suggest others try it as well.

We must learn from each other. Hal's done a great service to us by giving us a vehicle.

Keep on learning.

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Just Start It

JUST START IT

 

My wife and I usually share the kitchen clean-up duties each evening.  With no particular concern as to who does what, we get the table cleared, dishes done, counters wiped down and tidied just after supper. 

 

Recently, we were getting the routine started when I received a phone call.  I took care of that business and came back to the kitchen to find my wife had all the hand washing done already, a task that seemed large to me.  I remarked on the speed to her, which was a comment I suspect she had been waiting to hear for some time.  She gave me a wry smile, as if to say "Pay attention here, Mr. Process Improvement Guy, you might learn something."

 

She pointed out to me that she does not wait to get all the washing and rinse water run before she starts washing.  Rather, she flips on the water, puts in some soap and immediately begins the hand wash as the wash water fills the sink.  She then sets the washed item in the (empty) rinse sink.  Once she has enough wash water, she moves the nozzle to fill the rinse sink, already holding several washed items.

 

"You see, I don't wait to get started like you do.  I don't get it the water in before I wash.  I just get going and the water takes care of itself.  It's a lot faster."  She smiled and walked away.  I chuckled and dried all the rapidly-washed pots and pans.  

 

Two key but simple lessons here, one technical and one behavioral.

 

In Lean terminology, she eliminated virtually all of the "set-up time" from the process of washing the dishes.  By doing the value-added work of washing the pots as the sink filled, the total time to wash the dishes was nearly the total time of the entire process.  It was a rapid changeover, done instinctively.   

 

Behaviorally, she demonstrated the value of getting started sooner rather than later.  Extending the old Nike slogan a bit, she said "Just Start It."  In many cases, the sooner we start, the sooner we get done, particularly on more routine tasks. 

 

Keep learning.  Even in the kitchen. 

 

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Lean Supermarket, Inc

Lean Supermarket, Inc

I'm pleased to add a link to Lean Supermarket to my blog. Brent Jorgenson, the owner of this on-line resource for us lean junkies, asked me to take a look at his material and post the link if I thought it would be useful.

It is.

Brent has a long experience in implementing lean and saw a need for a one-stop shop to find kanban card holders, 5S aids, quick changeover tools, andon boards and the like. So his effort is to reduce the waste many of us have sensed as we try to move a batch and queue operation into a viable pull system with visible flow.

On top of that set of noble intentions, Brent works out of my home state of Nebraska. Nebraska, you say??? What could possibly come out of the prairie of Nebraska??

Actually, we are very practical, frugal people. People for whom Lean has instinctive appeal. So I'm glad to link up with Brent and commend is on-line store to you.

Keep on learning.

How Change Happens

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HOW CHANGE HAPPENS   

 

Long-time blogging buddy Karen Wilhelm posts a marvelously creative and insightful item on change.

 

http://leanreflect.blogspot.com/2007/06/how-change-happens.html

 

She is, as usual, right on the money.  Take a look and ponder the type of receptivity you and your people might have.

 

Keep learning.

 

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Mistake Proofing-not 100 Proofing

MISTAKE PROOFING--NOT 100 PROOFING

 

My wife pointed out to me this weekend this AP article of a toddler served margarita in a sippy cup.  A restaurant kept apple juice and margarita mix in identical plastic containers and, you guessed it, the wrong bottle ended up causing the little guy to get drowsy and vomit. He’s OK now but what an ordeal. 

 

I read the newspaper clip to our manufacturing team this morning as an illustration of why we pay attention to mistake proofing.  I expected them to get the message. I was surprised, however, at the depth of their reaction.  Audible gasps, furrowed brows, inquisitiveness, genuine attention.  On reflection, I realized that the story has an emotional punch carrying an impact unequalled by any of my typical, more sterile manufacturing presentations. The message was instantly recognizable and understandable. 

 

What I thought would be a tool for teaching about mistake-proofing turned into a deeper tool to teach me about how to teach.  The story is far more useful than the lecture.  The word picture tells more than the bullet points.  Connecting emotionally is far more important than merely transferring knowledge.  Difficult lessons for a linear-thinking engineer.  Essential lessons though.

 

Keep learning.  Oh, and did I tell you the one about…..?

 

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Why Inspections Fail

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WHY INSPECTIONS FAIL

 

A few weeks ago, we had an important document circulate recently to various managers.  We were each to review and sign as approving.  There were 8 or 9 signatures as I recall, mine being one of them.  We all signed off, which then triggered some significant purchases.  A week later, however, one of the original signatories (not me!) serendipitously discovered an error.  An obvious error.  One which, when pointed out, made all of us slam our foreheads with our palms and imitate Homer Simpson.  It was as clear as a few mispeled wurds.  But we all missed it.  And it cost us money and time.  Not an insignificant amount.

 

Last week, another document circulated, this time containing a list of numeric specifications.  Four names were on this list to sign off.  One person did sign as being correct.  The second person caught an obvious error. 

 

These two events got me thinking; how did this happen?  How did 9 otherwise intelligent, observant people just plain blow it so badly on the first document?  How did one guy miss an obvious mistake on the second?  And, further, what does this tell me about the inspection process in general?

 

Two things came to mind. 

 

First, it was not precise what each signatory was to look for.  The general question was "is the document right?" but we were not crisp or clear in defining what "right" was.  Thus, we ended up violating Philip Crosby's first quality principle:  Quality is conformance not goodness.  We had nothing against which to compare conformance; thus we only assessed goodness.  And, apparently, it was "good enough" for all of us to sign off. 

 

Interestingly, my colleague found the error on the second document when (gasp) he pulled out the original specifications and compared, one by one, the new document with the authoritative one.  Boom.  The error jumped out and we could take action to correct it. 

 

Second, with 8 signatories, no one person really will take ownership.  There is the very human tendency to see "if everyone is responsible, then no one is responsible."  Conventional wisdom might say more inspectors will improve the product.  But, clearly, it made it worse.  Crosby's second principle said that prevention, not inspection, was the key to quality.  We actually introduced waste by having all these people sign off and delay the document.  We would have been better off with fewer signoffs with clear criteria to get a conforming document, quickly. 

 

Keep learning.

 

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