The Impact of a Written Note

The Impact of a Written Note 

 

We did a Kaizen event last week...it went well, more on that in later posts. 

 

But just a few minutes ago, I was on our production floor and two of our associates turned and said "Thank you!" as I walked up to them.  I looked a bit surprised and they said "For the note!"

 

Oh yeah.  After the kaizen, I wrote a short, hand-written note to the home address of each of the seven folks on the team.  Not a big deal...they even had to wade through my less-than-Palmer-Method handwriting to make sense of it.  I just expressed my appreciation for them being on the team and contributing so many good ideas. 

 

And the note seemed to mean a lot, perhaps more than the mere effort to send it. 

 

As I've said many times before here, a Lean environment is a high-change-rate environment.  For it to work, there must be a reservoir of trust.  And one way to build trust is to say "Thank You" in numerous ways. 

 

In this email-driven, largely impersonal world, a hand-written note stands out, more clearly than ever.  It is so unusual, so unexpected, so surprising that it becomes memorable.  Take a moment today and mail a short, hand-written note to someone who deserves a "thank you". 

 

I hope this is helpful.

 

 

 

More on Flow

More on Flow

 

Mark Rosenthal, who has become one of my key teachers in Lean, recently posted a wonderfully helpful view of flow on the NWLEAN listserve. 

 

Here, he quotes Mr. Chihiro Nakao, one of the closest students of Taiichi Ohno, on the types of flow that should be evident in any operation:

 

Incoming materials - do people and processes have what they need, when they need it, where they need it, in fit-for-use condition? If they don't, you will see disruption to the using process.

 

Work-in-process - is there a smooth flow of material THROUGH the process? Does inventory accumulate? Are defects disrupting the flow? Is the amount of work-in-process steady, or does it fluctuate up and down for some reason?

 

Outgoing materials or finished goods. Is there a steady, level, even pull from the customer process? Are the right things available to the customer at the right times? Are they pulling in large batches (driving the production process to build large batches) - or are they pulling level (so the batch size is driven by problems the producing process can solve).

 

Information - do people know what they need to, when they need to? Is there too much information? Is information delivered on a pull, JIT? Do people have a way to signal and get an immediate response to problems?

 

Equipment - does the hardware itself support, or disrupt flow? Or is the process accommodating the machinery? Can the equipment support one-by-one production, of any designated product, in any sequence? Is there continuous positive evidence that it is operating normally? That quality- and operation-critical inputs such as air pressure are within normal limits? That feeds and speeds are normal?

 

Engineering - I may be wrong, but I usually explain this as the flow of improvements. Do they come continuously, in the form of problem solving of real problems, as they are encountered? Or are improvements done in big batches crammed into a week? Is there clear evidence of continuous problem solving? Nakao-san explains the "flow of engineering" as the "footprints of the engineer on the shop floor." It is, with a little reflection, a pretty good way to put it. Bottom line: Does anyone care, or is the shop left to fend for themselves once the outline of a process is put into place?

 

Mark, thanks for this wonderful description of flow and how to see it.  Thanks for sharing your learning with us all.

 

I hope this is helpful. 

 

 

 

 

Traffic Flow.or not

Traffic Flow...or not

Just before 5pm last Friday afternoon, a foolish squirrel made his last decision on this earth and took a wrong step in a nearby power substation.  The resulting electrical outage hit most of this part of town for several hours. 

 

Out of my office window, I noted the stoplights at a busy intersection were knocked out as well.  Within 15 minutes of our bushy-tailed friend being fricasseed, the traffic was backed up 10 times farther than normal.  Slowly, cars approached the intersection and, one at a time, eased through.  Left turns, right turns, straight ahead.  It was not a place for the faint of heart. 

 

At first blush, this seemed to be "single piece flow".  One car at a time, moving through the intersection.  But, if single piece flow speeds production, why was the backup so long? 

 

First blush was wrong.  Single piece flow is about "flow" much more than it is about "single piece".  Flow was completely destroyed due to the non-functioning traffic lights.  While one car at a time eased through the intersection, many, many more had flow totally wiped out as they sat in rush hour traffic on a dismal, rainy late Friday afternoon. 

 

A functioning traffic light releases flow for a period of time in one direction, then releases flow in another, and so forth.  Well-timed traffic lights sequence flow through a series of intersections in a city.  The focus is on flow.  Always flow. 

 

Find some way to improve flow today.  I hope this is helpful.  And warn a squirrel while you are at it.   

 

 

Focus

Focus

 

"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing."   Steven Covey

 

"Effective executives do first things first and do them one at a time."  Peter Drucker

 

"This one thing I do."  Apostle Paul

 

Distractions are legion.  In a 24/7, overworked world, there are a hundred voices clamoring for attention. 

 

Offering Lean leadership demands a focus.  And a willingness to say "no" to other things.  Good things.  Things you'd love to do. 

 

And you have to say "NO."  And be perceived as a jerk at times for being unwilling to fit into someone else's agenda. 

 

It is in this focus that true leaders distinguish themselves.

 

Go focus today. 

 

I hope this is helpful.  Yeah, I need it too. 

Why clean floors are so important

Why clean floors are so important

 

I was with my colleague Mike a few minutes ago in our boiler room.  Mike is in charge of our physical plant and takes his job seriously and responsibly.  We were looking at a piece of equipment discussing its on-going maintenance, when Mike suddenly blurted out "What is that?"

 

He had spotted a small bolt and nut on the floor.  We immediately began looking above that spot on the floor to see where it came from.  In fairly short order, we found a hose clamp that was bolt-less.  We reinstalled the bolt and started looking at other nearby hose clamps.  We found three more clamps on which the bolts were loose.  We tightened them all. 

 

And it all happened because Mike kept the floor clean of dirt and debris.  Yes, in a boiler room...the floor was clean. 

 

On a clean floor, any abnormality is easy to see.  Had the floor been cluttered, we would never have seen the single bolt and nut.  Would have never looked at the other hose clamps.  And who knows what might have happened on this key piece of equipment had hoses gradually worked loose. 

 

We've talked in this space about using 5S as a workplace organization tool.  And this is one more example of why it works.

 

I hope this is helpful...and you can clean up a mess somewhere today.

 

 

Moving in a Fog

Moving in a Fog

On an early-morning jog yesterday, I saw a beautiful sight.  About 15 minutes before sunrise, ground fog lay before me as I plodded along our city's walking trail.  A translucent tablecloth draping a boggy area, it draped gracefully over the trail.  This will be kind of cool, I thought, to jog through the fog.

 

I got to the low-ish point on the trail, right next to the bog, where I had noted the fog was the thickest.  I wondered when I would really be running in the fog.  As I came up a hill to the other side, I realized what had happened.

 

From a distance, the fog appeared thick and foreboding.  As I moved through it, however, it did not affect my movement.  Particularly at my very non-Olympic pace, I could see my immediate surroundings quite adequately.  And I enjoyed the run.

 

It struck me that this illustrates what we so often encounter at work or personally.  What appears to be very uncertain at a distance becomes much clearer when we get into it.  Whether it is applying Lean in a work setting, raising a teenager, making a sales force work, dealing with an aging parent; the fog is very real at a distance.  Yet, with some grid to guide us as we move through it, move we must.  And when we get into it, the fog is not as deep, the uncertainty not so serious.  We often can see quite adequately what the next few steps can be and can navigate them safely. 

 

A Lean paradigm provides a safe trail in the work setting.  Ethical and spiritual paradigms are crucial to make sense of personal issues.  With these in place, the only big mistake is to not proceed.

 

I hope you can proceed into some foggy areas today.  And that this is helpful.

 

More on Single Piece Flow

More on Single Piece Flow

 

Have had a wonderful series of conversations with one of our production associates over the past 10 days.  She has read a fair amount about Lean Manufacturing and wants to learn more. 

 

Her question: "Joe, just how small must lot size be to get to single piece flow?" 

 

Very perceptive.  And there is not a clear answer.

 

Consider a process in which a five-foot pipe is cut into one foot sections.  Is single piece flow 5 one-foot pieces?  Isn't 5 more than 1?  But if flow is 1 one-foot piece, what do you do with the rest of the raw material, which is now four feet long?  Do you minimize scrap by always making a "batch" (gasp) of 5? 

 

Before she asked me the question, our associate was already grappling with these questions.  My response to her was "Well, it depends."  Other factors play in; cost of the raw material, impact of scrap, processing time, overall demand of the customer, and so on.  Single piece flow is one important part of the equation...but only one part. 

 

In any event, we want to get lot sizes to their smallest logical level.  And that level demands clear-headed thinking.  And, never, ever, ever forget to listen carefully to the person actually touching the material.

 

I hope this is helpful.

 

 

Talk about Single Piece Flow!

Talk about Single Piece Flow!

 

Just learned about Woot! a couple of weeks ago.  A website that takes single piece flow to the retail extreme. 

 

They offer one product per day.  Every day at midnight, they post a new product.  One at a time.  Their FAQs are a riot to read. 

 

Does this work?  I don't know. The site appears to be a place for buyouts and inventory clear-outs for techno-stuff.  Does it make money?  Don't know either...but they do sell out on a number of their items.

 

The Lean Lesson? 

 

A clear focus and offer of value.  In the extreme.

 

Pure pull.  They offer an RSS feed; the ultimate technical pull tool.  No pushing going on here.

 

Seems waste free.  The prices are awesome and there is a very bare-bones offer to people who are comfortable with such gear.

 

And it makes you think more broadly just how deep this could go.

 

I hope this is helpful.. 

 

 

 

 

Avoiding Groupthink

Avoiding Groupthink

 

Tom Peters posts on a very doable way to get better decisions.   

 

I gotta get this book...it has my mind spinning. 

 

Hope the link is helpful.

 

 

 

Two Years of Blogging

Two Years of Blogging

 

Kind of amazing, in that what started out as an experiment to link technology and learning is still going on.  Two years ago today, I posted my first blog entry.  A humble start...but Dwight Stoller's comments on the change process are still applicable.  Yeah, kind of amazing. 

 

My motive has evolved in these two years.  Among other things, I have grasped more clearly that writing is an important mode of learning for me.  If I can explain it in a few words, I understand it better.  Of course, many would dispute if my "few words" are all that "few"!!  Yet, it is very helpful for me.  And if you have enjoyed the ride, then so much the better.

 

Blogging, as a concept, is also fascinating to me.  Specialized, focused, topics.  All over the map.  And very, very useful.  I think we still have much to learn from it.   At it's core, though, blogging is very Lean, in that, when well done, it has a very clear customer focus.  And, the customer can opt in or opt out whenever she wants to, depending on value. 

 

I appreciate, deeply, the many comments and emails I've received as a result of this blog.  I have learned much.  I hope it has helped you in some small way.