Lean Quote: Fostering a Positive Self-Image

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"A good leader inspires others with confidence; a great leader inspires them with confidence in themselves." — Unknown

All people have a need for confidence and a positive self-image. How individuals respond to problems almost always reflects that their feelings about themselves at that time or their general perception of self. Research indicates that two-thirds of the population suffers from generalized low self-esteem. They have negative feelings about aspects of themselves or attributes they possess. This focus on one’s deficiencies makes it difficult to feel energetic, to be motivated, or to make positive changes.

A less appreciated means of damaging one’s self-image is the way they talk to or about them. Virtually everyone carries on an inner dialogue. This inner-conversation can be negative if it focuses on failure and shortcomings. Many of us, in fact, have been taught to depreciate our achievements rather revel in them. This pulls down our spirits and sense of achievement. It is one thing to suffer a defeat and feel discouraged but quite another to beat yourself up over it.

As a leader in your organization especially in a change management function like Lean you can change this by:

• Listening to the discouragement without passing judgment, thereby giving them a chance to vent.
• Providing ideas for remedy when asked.
• Offering help (when needed) once the person has decided on a problem-solving course of action.

Build self confidence in others for a lasting change that really matters long term.


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Ryder’s Five LEAN Guiding Principles

Frequent readers of this blog know I like to share good Lean examples as well as resources you can use to keep learning. Today's post combines both elements into one.

Ryder System, Inc., a provider of leading-edge transportation, logistics and supply chain management solutions, defines their Lean thinking process and principles.

The key to delivering long-term customer value and outstanding business performance, quarter after quarter, year after year, is to implement a lean culture. Lean practices improve quality and productivity by taking cost and waste out of all facets of an operation, from the procurement of raw materials to the shipment of finished goods. In a lean culture, every step in every process must add value for the customer. If it doesn't add value, you strive to eliminate it. At Ryder Supply Chain Solutions, five lean guiding principles govern every activity the company conducts in its own and its customers' warehouses.

People Involvement The most important of the Lean Guiding Principles is People Involvement: engaging every employee to root out waste, eliminate problems and make improvements. Nothing happens in a company without people to drive it forward.

Built-in Quality Principle 2 is Built-in Quality: building quality into every process in the production and distribution of products. With processes designed to make work flow correctly, and tools available to eliminate small problems before they grow large, employees can focus on increasing overall customer satisfaction.

Standardization Principle 3 is Standardization: ensuring all work follows established, well-tested procedures. With processes designed to make work flow correctly, employees have the instructions and tools they need to meet customer expectations.

Short Lead Time Principle 4 is Short Lead Time: improving quality and profitability with a steady flow of inventory arriving exactly when it's needed. Implementing short lead time ensures that a facility can meet increases in customer demand without having to ramp up resources. This results in significant savings, ultimately, strengthening the company's bottom line.

Continuous Improvement Principle 5 is Continuous Improvement: small incremental, ongoing changes that combine to deliver significant gains in quality and efficiency. The stream of continuous improvements creates a powerful and constant force, promoting high performance throughout a facility and producing tremendous employee pride.

Through Ryder's LEAN Guiding Principles, they strive to empower all team members to eliminate waste, complete work correctly the first time, and challenge every aspect of the business to improve. Their end goal is to move the supply chain as fast as possible by raising productivity and increasing inventory turns, all of which delivers operational excellence and measurable ROI to our customers.

So what do you think, does Ryder understand Lean thinking?


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Goal: 2 Second Improvement Every Day for Life

Paul Akers describes his approach to teaching lean principles of productivity improvement this way: “All I do is ask everybody to make a two-second improvement a day for the rest of their life.” An accumulation of two-second improvements and a relentless emphasis on lean methods have helped build FastCap from a single product—a peel-and-stick cover for cabinetry holes—into a $10-million-a-year business with dozens of tools and products, and with a goal of introducing at least one product a month.

In this video Paul explains what 2 second Lean means and how this works to transform your environment for a lifetime.





What do you think does Paul Akers have the right approach?


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An Introduction to 5S plus Safety

A reader recently asked me for some information on implementing 5S in their factory. Even though I shared my 6S posters a couple weeks ago I thought I could still share some more. 

5S was developed, as with so many of today’s best practice tools, in Japan. 5S is the name of a workplace organization methodology that uses a list of five Japanese words which are seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu and shitsuke. Transliterated or translated into English, they all start with the letter "S". The list describes how to organize a work space for efficiency and effectiveness by identifying and storing the items used, maintaining the area and items, and sustaining the new order. The decision-making process usually comes from a dialogue about standardization which builds a clear understanding among employees of how work should be done. It also instills ownership of the process in each employee.

Some companies will tell you that they implement 6S; 6S being 5S plus the added step of safety. The 6th “S”; Safety, concentrates on safety aspects of our processes, reviewing every action and each area to ensure that we have not overlooked any potential hazards.

The following presentation introduces the 6S (5S plus Safety) methodology:

Introduction to 6S

View more presentations from Tim McMahon.

The principles underlying a 5S program at first appear to be simple, obvious common sense. And they are for the most part. But many businesses have ignored these basic principles when improving their business.  5S should not be overlooked and is widely used by successful manufacturers.



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Remembering September 11th Ten Years Later

Ten years ago on September 11th The United States of America was attacked by a terrorist organization (al-Qaeda) led by Osama bin Laden. On September 11, 2001 on American soil, terrorist hijacked four planes. Two of them planes purposely crashed into the World Trades Center towers. The third struck the Pentagon and the last, Flight United 93 crashed into a PA field in Shanksville.

Ten years later, the mastermind behind the attacks was killed by our Special Forces (our unknown heroes) on May 2, 2011 after storming his compound in Pakistan. Although, as of right now the "War" in the Middle-East regions continue to rage on.

September 11th will remain a day that we will never forget!

"You can break the foundation of a building, but you can't break the foundation of our freedom!"




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Lean Quote: Gang up on the Problem, Not Each Other

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"The secret is to gang up on the problem, rather than each other." — Thomas Stallkamp

Collaboration provides the cornerstone for engaging others to come to a consensus around critical decisions and problem solving.  Most organizations benefit enormously from transforming their basis for leading and managing to a collaborative workplace. The results from companies that have a collaborative workplace include:

• Organizations collaborate internally to compete externally.
• Decisions are faster, of higher quality, and customer-driven.
• Decisions are made on the basis of principle rather than power or personality, resulting in greater buy-in and impact.
• The energy of the workplace is focused on the customer rather than on internal conflicts.
• Cycle time is substantially reduced and non-value adding work eliminated.
• The productive capacity of the workplace increases.
• Strategic alliances that might have failed not only succeed, but build trust and produce extraordinary results.
• Return on investment increases dramatically.
• Span of control increases substantially.
• The workplace takes on full responsibility and accountability for the success of the enterprise, to the point where some teams have themselves.
• Conflict is reduced as work relationships open up and  build trust.
• The fear is gone - change is seen as a positive opportunity.
• The organization is self-sufficient in sustaining the ongoing development of the company.

Creating a collaborative workplace means making a commitment to a new way of working together.  It is not a quick fix.  It is an ongoing process.



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Guest Post: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle...

Today's post is by Rich Hoover, the Director of Sustainability for Libbey Glass, global manufacturers of drinking glasses and other glass tableware. Libbey has been working at integrating Lean into their global operations since 2004 and have recognized sustainability as a business imperative since early 2010. In this post Rich explains the important hierarchy of the three R's and the most effective way to eliminate waste.


We typically see or hear these words in this order for a reason. This hierarchy encourages us to reduce consumption first, which is the most effective way to eliminate waste. The least costly resource or material is that which is never used. Reuse is next in line, which is simply using an item over again for the same or different purpose than originally intended. Finally, recycle, which means to make new products from used or old materials. Let’s look at each of these landfill alternatives in more detail…

Reduce
The place to begin is to use less. Consumption reduction decreases the amount of natural resources used throughout the life cycle of a product, from extraction of raw materials, to several layers of transportation, to manufacturing or processing, to use by consumers. Reduction isn’t easy. Most consumers think “bigger is better”, “new beats used” and “convenience is key”. When you shop, look for things that will last…things that are not just durable and well-made, but useful and attractive. The extra money you spend will be offset by the money you don’t spend replacing them. Maintain and repair items to keep them working and looking good. Other ways to reduce include: buy products made from post-consumer recycled materials, especially paper products; choose energy-efficient electronics, appliances and vehicles; buy local when possible (less transportation = less energy used); look for items with minimal packaging; cut back on water use; and turn off electronics and lights when not needed.

Reuse
Before you recycle or dispose of an item, consider whether it has some life left in it. Reusing items keeps new resources from being used for a while longer and old resources from entering the waste stream. Reuse can take many forms. Find alternate uses for items such as plastic shopping bags or packaging from new item purchases. Have a garage sale or list items on internet commerce sights to turn used items into cash. Donate reusable items to charity. Books, magazines and dvd’s can be shared or traded. Use your creativity to find endless reuse opportunities!

Recycle
Due to the continued proliferation of curbside recycling programs, it is fairly easy to recycle a number of common household materials…plastic containers, metal cans, newspapers and magazines, and corrugated containers. While recycling is a much-preferred alternative to landfill, recycling has its shortcomings. Recycling rules vary by municipality and the rules are not always straightforward. Also, recycling is beneficial as long as there is demand for the different recycled materials. Finally, resources are needed to sort, transport and reprocess recycled materials into new products. Even with these blemishes, recycling still reduces waste. Recycling ties in to all 3 pillars of sustainability…conserving resources for future generations (people); keeping waste and toxins out of landfills and reduced manufacturing intensity from recycled input materials (planet) and; generating cost savings, job creation and revenue (profit).