Celebrating Independence and Lean Thinking

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States.

Today, we celebrate and enjoy the freedom that comes with the event that made this day so special. Independence Day is a patriotic holiday for celebrating the positive aspects of the United States. Above all, people in the United States express and give thanks for the freedom and liberties fought by the first generation of many of today's Americans.

Freedom is not just the natural right of every human. It is the state of mind that enables people to create the greatest and the most inspiring things. The spirit of freedom gives us the power to conquer new heights, whether it is a real mountain peak or a bold business challenge.

Lean manufacturing provides your workforce the freedom that they need to own and maximize their productivity. In a Lean production plant, the "freedom to control one's work" replaces the "mind numbing stress" of mass production. Armed with the skills they need to control their environment workers have the opportunity to think actively even proactively to solve workplace problems.

Lean is all about finding better ways to do things, so that they require less effort, less time and fewer resources. It is not about cost reduction – penny-pinching, cutting investment, taking out people – it is about finding better ways to get work done. It is about developing a mindset, methods and tools to identify and eliminate waste in all its forms at every opportunity. It is about freeing-up resources because you no longer need to use them.

Lean Manufacturing is a business method that extends employees independence.  It provides more employees with the tools, methods and authority to make decisions. It creates teams to measure progress and devise new techniques. This leads to higher employee motivation and productivity

as workers are asked to come up with solutions to problems as opposed to having to work with flawed procedures. There is much to be said for greater worker independence in the execution of a lean philosophy. We may not have a day to celebrate like the US but the message is no less important.

Lean Quote:Growth and Development of People is the Highest Calling of Leadership

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 growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership." — Harvey S. Firestone

Your role as a leader is to develop talent to the highest levels of independent and autonomous thinking and execution. Great leaders don’t subscribe to a “Do-It-For-You” methodology of talent management, rather they lead, mentor, coach and develop team members by getting them to buy-into a “Do-It-Yourself” work ethic. Great leaders view each interaction, question or even conflict as a coaching opportunity. Don’t answer questions or solve problems just because you can, rather teach your employees how to do it for themselves. If you make it a habit of solving problems for people, you simply teach them to come to you for solutions at the first sign of a challenge.

Leaders facilitate the solution of problems by pinpointing responsibility and developing employees. Leaders do not solve other people’s problems. Similar to the fishing adage, which says don’t feed a person a fish; teach them how to fish, don’t solve the problem, teach them how to solve their own problems.

Lean thinkers at Toyota believe that showing respect for people means you allow them to think for themselves and solve their own problem. It is often said that the mission of Toyota is about developing exceptional people who happen to make great cars. The point is that it is more about people and less about the problem. The problem is another opportunity to teach them a skill for lifetime.

Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company's philosophy. Empowerment happens when employees use the company tools to solve problems. Build cross functional teams to improve quality and productivity. Work hard to reinforce the company culture and assure it is followed over the course of years.

 

There is No Silver Bullet But There is an Answer. Lean Thinking.

American businesses are undergoing its most profound transformation since the Industrial Revolution. Everyone is familiar with the litany of external marketplace factors causing chaos in American business – global competition, technology, and demographic and political changes. These have resulted in the elimination of millions of jobs, drastic restructuring, and new business relationships.

Most of us are either in denial about the impact of all this change, do not know what to do, or are still trying to figure out how we get back in control. Unfortunately, the result so far has been more of the same, a potpourri of programs designed to change the structure of our workplaces but not their essence – their culture. Downsizing, reengineering, and restructuring programs have succeeded in altering the employment base and cost structure of our companies, but do not offer us a new cultural framework. One round of structural change often leads to another, with the focus almost exclusively on the cost side of the ledger. In fact, structural changes often produce precisely the opposite result than intended by increasing instability, fear, and reduced productivity.

There is no silver bullet that will solve the complex of issues we face. Programs that focus on organizational effectiveness, empowerment, total quality, and/ or self-directed work teams provide a much more powerful tool for change. Lean Thinking is that program that can make all the difference.

Lean thinking changes the focus of management from optimizing separate technologies, assets, and vertical departments to optimizing the flow of products and services through entire value streams that flow horizontally across technologies, assets, and departments to customers. It encourages collaboration between customers, suppliers, employees and management in a positive approch to efficiency that spans the value chain.

Without this fundamental cultural change and the adoption of this new approach to leading and managing, American businesses will continue to experience significant difficulties in sustaining a competitive advantage.

Lean Quote: Communication is the Glue that Binds an Organization Together

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.

"Ninety percent of leadership is the ability to communicate something people want." — Dianne Feinstein

Communication is the glue that binds an organization together but do not assume that several announcements and a note on the notice board is sufficient to get the story out. Some say to communicate seven times and seven ways but that does not mean seven months apart. Develop and implement a robust communication plan and check to see if the total target audience has received the unfiltered message. If you want to know if your message is getting out clearly why not ask the most obscure person on the night shift if he or she heard the message? The day shift is easy but how about the rest of the folks?

Open communication is at the center of Lean and Respect for People. Employees need to know what is expected of them and how they’re performing. Visual displays such as scoreboards, scheduling charts, team communication boards, and recognition displays all help to keep information flowing between employees, departments and upper management.

Communication is a key ingredient for empowerment. Give every employee equal and direct access to information. Many companies have developed a trickle-down style of communication that alienates those employees who may not be "in the loop." The more informed employees are and the more communication is open, honest, direct and complete, the more likely employees are to feel empowered and connected to the daily operations and overall goals of their company

 

5S Factory Game Teaches the Basic Benefits in a Fun Exercise

5S is a prerequisite for most other Lean tools.  Well-implemented, 5S can open up entry points into flow and pull, equipment reliability, standardized work, and value analysis. 5S is a process and method for creating and maintaining an organized, clean, and high performance workplace.  It enables anyone to distinguish between normal and abnormal conditions at a glance.  5S can be the foundation for continuous improvement, zero defects, cost reductions and a more productive work space.  The 5S methodology is a systematic way to improve the workplace, processes and products through employee involvement.

The five S’s basically stand for seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu and shitsuke. Have I lost you? I hope not. Let’s briefly go over these five terms in English for better understanding.

1. Sorting: The first “S” stands for sorting, this essentially means to get rid of unnecessary items or tools and to prioritize the items that are used so they can be stored more efficiently and within accessible areas.

2. Straightening: The second “S” is for straightening or setting things in order. The main objective here is to organize the workspace to be most efficient and productive by locating tools and equipment most often used in easy to access areas. Not only does this better utilize the space within the work area, but it also helps to save time that may be lost in trying to locate specific items or tools.

3. Shine or Sweeping: The third “S” focuses on cleanliness. Having a clean and tidy workplace encourages others to also keep the area clean and helps contribute to a more productive and effective work environment.

4. Standardizing: The forth “S” helps with standardization, the goal with this strategy is to keep workstations that do the same jobs more uniformly organized. For example, if an employee does a particular job and there are multiple work stations doing that same job, the employee should be able to move effortlessly from workstation to workstation since they all function in the same manner.

5. Sustain: The fifth “S” is for sustaining the practice. This step basically includes the monitoring and sustaining of the four previously mentioned 5S tactics. The focus should be to move forward with the 5S methodology and not fall back into old ways and habits that are potentially not as beneficial and effective for the organization.

Insite Solutions recently created a game to help people learn Lean and 5S principles.  The seen is a factory setting where you need to drive a fork truck to pick up certain loads.  As you can see from below it is very difficult with the disorganized work space.  You are timed for which you earn points for completed loads and loose points for hitting objects.

In the next step of the game you go through the factory and red tag items that aren't needed or don't have a home.  This makes the area less crowded.

Then, the game makes your organize the work area by changing the layout and tapping the floor where items are to be stored. 

Finally, you create walk ways, add visuals for ease of communication, and create storage locations by grid.  This makes moving through the factory very easy and quick. Picking the orders are simple because everything is easy to find.

I think this game illustrates a wonderful real world example.  Frankly, one the that I see on a daily basis.  This is a great learning tool for anyone in manufacturing and of course if is fun, too.

Mentoring: The Origin and Meaning

The word mentor is an example of the way in which the great works of literature live on without our knowing it. The story of Mentor comes from Homer's Odyssey. Odysseus, king of Ithaca, fights in the Trojan War and entrusts the care of his household to Mentor, who serves as teacher and overseer of Odysseus' son, Telemachus.

After the war, Odysseus is condemned to wander vainly for ten years in his attempt to return home. In time, Telemachus, now grown, ventures in search of his father. Athena, Goddess of War and patroness of the arts and industry, assumes the form of Mentor and accompanies Telemachus on his quest. Father and son reunite and cast down would-be usurpers of Odysseus' throne and Telemachus's birthright.

The word Mentor evolved to mean trusted advisor, friend, teacher and wise person. Mentoring is a fundamental form of human development where one person invests time, energy and personal know-how in assisting the growth and ability of another person. Today mentors provide expertise to less experienced individuals to help them advance their careers, enhance their education, and build their networks. In many different arenas people have benefited from being part of a mentoring relationship.

Mentoring is a process that always involves communication and is relationship based, but its precise definition is elusive. The focus of mentoring is to develop the whole person and so the techniques are broad and require wisdom in order to be used appropriately. The two types of mentoring are natural mentoring and planned mentoring. Natural mentoring occurs through friendship, collegiality, teaching, coaching, and counseling. In contrast, planned mentoring occurs through structured programs in which mentors and participants are selected and matched through formal processes.

The mentor has a deep personal interest, personally involved—a friend who cares about you and your long term development. Mentoring is a power free, two-way mutually beneficial relationship. Mentors are facilitators and teachers allowing the partners to discover their own direction.

Mentoring is an essential component in Lean manufacturing and the transformation from traditional thinking. Toyota's mentoring process,(loosely called Senpai and Kohai, which is Japanese for senior and junior), is one of the best ways to foster Lean Thinking up and down the organizational structure. This is the process undertaken by Toyota as it helps its suppliers improve their own production. A close equivalent to Toyota's mentoring process is the concept of "Lean Sensei," which encourages companies, organizations, and teams to seek experts, who can provide advice and coaching.

How has mentoring helped you and your organization on the Lean journey? Share your mentoring story like that from it's origin and meaning.