Three steps to find “what stops flow”

Three steps to find “what stops flow”

Continuing with the small collaborative blogging effort with Jeff Angus on finding and eliminating "survivals". I wrote last time about looking for “what stops flow” and gave a couple of examples.

Here’s what I look for when I ask “what stops flow”.

· Where are piles? A pile is nothing more than a point where flow is stopped. A dam that causes water to back up. Piles mean there is no flow…work is just stacked. Why is the pile there? Why is it at this machine, at this workstation? What keeps it from flowing through this machine?
· Who’s waiting on whom? Who is on others’ mind when a slowdown happens? What name keeps popping up? What name triggers an “eye roll”? Why, then, does this name keep popping up?
· Who or what is the demanded asset? Who is it that needs to make the decision? What machine or software is most coveted? Who’s vacation schedule dictates what gets done?

In answering these questions, you will begin to isolate where flow stops. And when you find this, you can then ask “Why does flow stop here?” And you will likely find survivals there.

Try it. It gets scary, believe me. Because it will unearth some very useful trails to follow.

I hope this is helpful.

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