One the fundamentals of lean is the concept of standard work. Where there is no standard work, there can be no kaizen. Kaizen roughly translates to “change for the good”. But our people must establish, agree on, and become proficient at the current method before they can improve it.
Its fine to ask our newest people to raise the flag and ask “why” we are doing things a certain way. But if everyone does things differently, how do we make any improvement at all? The answer is to adopt a standard way, then improve on it. Our peoples job is to do the work and to improve the work.
Have you looked at standard work for supervisors, for managers, for team leaders? Perhaps if we adopt standard work for our leaders, our improvement initiatives will be smoother. What is it that our leaders should do every day to help us succeed? How do we know they are doing it?
The links below are some templates for thought starters. I’d be pleased to hear your success stories with leader standard work!
Team Leader Standard Work
Supervisor Standard Work
Norm
www.normanbain.com
Showing posts with label Lean Results. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lean Results. Show all posts
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Monday, December 14, 2009
Make things happen
Just read an interesting post by Gina Trapani who blogs at http://smarterware.org/ that I thought I'd share here. It speaks to the heart of focused change.
Getting things done is not the same as making things happen.
You can…
…reply to email.
…pay the bills.
…cross off to-do’s.
…fulfill your obligation.
…repeat what you heard.
…go with the flow.
…anticipate roadblocks.
…aim for “good enough.”
Or you can…
…organize a community.
…take a risk.
…set ambitious goals.
…give more than you take.
…change perceptions.
…forge a new path.
…create possibility.
…demand excellence.
Don’t worry too much about getting things done.
Make things happen.
Norm
www.normanbain.com
Getting things done is not the same as making things happen.
You can…
…reply to email.
…pay the bills.
…cross off to-do’s.
…fulfill your obligation.
…repeat what you heard.
…go with the flow.
…anticipate roadblocks.
…aim for “good enough.”
Or you can…
…organize a community.
…take a risk.
…set ambitious goals.
…give more than you take.
…change perceptions.
…forge a new path.
…create possibility.
…demand excellence.
Don’t worry too much about getting things done.
Make things happen.
Norm
www.normanbain.com
Monday, November 9, 2009
The Journey to Whole Business Improvement
Why do change management initiatives fall short of the mark after delivering such promising initial success? Why are gains in one area of the business difficult to duplicate in others? Why are many businesses disappointed with the results of their improvement initiative? Why are the concepts of lean manufacturing difficult to apply outside the factory? How can I engage the entire organization in the improvement plan? These are the questions answered in this brief discussion on whole business improvement by applying “Lean Thinking”.
How profitable is your organization? Profit is the lifeblood of business. Every business needs profit. Without it, they will not be in business for long.
This graph from www.p360.org,
shows the typical profit margins for selected industries. Most fall between 1 and 20%.
A company with a 6% profit margin must generate $983,000 in sales to pay for a $59,000 improvement project. Is that what your employees think about when they propose that new computer system?
Most manufacturing operations have a profit margin of less than 8%. While the target gross profit margin is typically much higher (35%), the finance and G&A costs erode that number significantly.
While other industries can generate higher profit margins, we commonly hear the following statements in traditional organizations:
• It takes too long to get products through the process.
• Administration costs are climbing faster than sales.
• We need more people.
• Problems with our products go undetected until our customers are using them.
• Things are fixed, but they don’t stay fixed.
• Our inventory is too high. Yet we don’t have what our customer wants in stock.
• We tried that before. It won’t work here.
• You don’t understand the culture here. That’s not the way we do things. Its different in our industry.
• We have quality teams, continuous improvement teams, ISO programs, re-engineering efforts, balanced scorecards, six sigma trained black belts. Its like the flavour of the month program, yet we are not seeing the results in real numbers.
When you hear the word Lean, what do you think about? “Manufacturing”, is the usual first response. “Lean Manufacturing”. Toyota is the example most often used. Toyota and Cars. Assembly line manufacturing. That’s what most people think Lean is.
Manufacturing is also the first place many people look to implement improvements. Yet manufacturing processes typically account for less than 20% of the total process lead time (the time it takes from when you get a customer order, to when you cash the cheque).
It may seem surprising, but Lean thinking has nothing to do with cars - or manufacturing. It is about eliminating waste and solving problems in processes. Any process.
The challenge with lean is in seeing the problems, identifying the waste.
In most manufacturing operations, only 5% of activities add value for the customer. Adding value means (1) it changes the thing going through the process, (2) the customer is willing to pay for the activity, and (3) it is done right the first time. This implies that 95% of what we do does NOT add value and is potential waste. In offices, the waste is even higher.
Managers and supervisors will only see 2% of the waste.
In office and administrative service environments, supervisors and managers only see 2% of the waste. They are too far removed from the daily work to see the waste.
The people doing the work have learned to live with the waste. They may have created work-arounds in the system to get things done. These, in themselves, add more waste.
What are these unseen wastes? The time it takes to find a document. The extra signature required on an expense statement. The rework on a proposal because the correct template was not used. The time it takes to walk across the building to photocopy a report. A power point presentation made, just in case the boss asks for it. The meeting that does not start on time or runs too long. The manager who “walks the floor” to “see what is going on”.
In a typical office, it is assumed that if people are at their desks and look busy, they are adding value. All seems well, especially if they have a good attitude.
A purchasing person who works hard, never takes breaks and is always helpful will be seen as a stellar employee. The fact that he takes 25% longer to complete the task due to poor training or lack of resources will be overlooked.
When we apply Lean Thinking in an organization, we look at how we do the work, how the system can be improved, what waste we can find and eliminate. Its not about the person doing the work - whether they are a “good worker” or not. Its about improving the work methods, standardizing processes, providing training and increasing skills.
Lean thinking is about is solving problems, elegantly, with innovation
Learning to identify and eliminate waste is fundamental to lean thinking. We must learn to see waste, and systematically eliminate it.
Thinking of problems as opportunities is not something we are trained to do. With lean, we need to learn to treasure problems - celebrate finding them – this is our opportunity to improve!
Once we clearly see the problem, the root cause must be identified. This requires some structured problem solving. We need to avoid treating the symptoms. Unless we identify the true root cause, the problem will re-occur.
Once the problem and its root cause is clearly understood, we can create solutions. An elegant solution can be a single tiny idea that changes everything. Quite often, this solution is not spending capital.
An elegant solution is one in which the desired effect is achieved, with the least amount of effort. John W. Gardner, the former US Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, once said, "We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insolvable problems."
Elegant solutions are not obvious, except in retrospect.
Organizational Change.
Leaders like silver bullets. Take this tool, transplant it to my organization and everything will be magically fixed.
That’s the flavour of the month.
We end up with so many tools and initiatives underway that we can’t support them all. We keep dropping the ball.
Lean requires a more systematic approach. It has some well known tools to use, but requires discipline, structure and mentoring to make it work. This is why so many organizations report they are disappointed with their lean initiative results. The tools are applied without the systematic approach. “Lean does not work here”, they say.
A flaw with Lean is in the tools themselves. They are simple and when observed in the factory, they seem like common sense. So leaders take the tools from the plant floor and transplant them on their office or service organization. They don’t transplant easily. I don’t see accountants and engineers respond well to tape outlines for their stapler and keyboard.
Truth be known, Lean Thinking works anywhere. Health care, offices, engineering design, sales teams, construction projects, mining industries. Anywhere work gets done, Lean Thinking can be applied. However, it takes a strategic and systematic approach to be successful.
How do I do that?
Working on how we do the work.
A key limitation of traditional improvement initiatives is that they focus on ...
Click here to download the rest of this article.
Norm
www.normanbain.com
How profitable is your organization? Profit is the lifeblood of business. Every business needs profit. Without it, they will not be in business for long.
This graph from www.p360.org,
shows the typical profit margins for selected industries. Most fall between 1 and 20%.
A company with a 6% profit margin must generate $983,000 in sales to pay for a $59,000 improvement project. Is that what your employees think about when they propose that new computer system?
Most manufacturing operations have a profit margin of less than 8%. While the target gross profit margin is typically much higher (35%), the finance and G&A costs erode that number significantly.
While other industries can generate higher profit margins, we commonly hear the following statements in traditional organizations:
• It takes too long to get products through the process.
• Administration costs are climbing faster than sales.
• We need more people.
• Problems with our products go undetected until our customers are using them.
• Things are fixed, but they don’t stay fixed.
• Our inventory is too high. Yet we don’t have what our customer wants in stock.
• We tried that before. It won’t work here.
• You don’t understand the culture here. That’s not the way we do things. Its different in our industry.
• We have quality teams, continuous improvement teams, ISO programs, re-engineering efforts, balanced scorecards, six sigma trained black belts. Its like the flavour of the month program, yet we are not seeing the results in real numbers.
When you hear the word Lean, what do you think about? “Manufacturing”, is the usual first response. “Lean Manufacturing”. Toyota is the example most often used. Toyota and Cars. Assembly line manufacturing. That’s what most people think Lean is.
Manufacturing is also the first place many people look to implement improvements. Yet manufacturing processes typically account for less than 20% of the total process lead time (the time it takes from when you get a customer order, to when you cash the cheque).
It may seem surprising, but Lean thinking has nothing to do with cars - or manufacturing. It is about eliminating waste and solving problems in processes. Any process.
The challenge with lean is in seeing the problems, identifying the waste.
In most manufacturing operations, only 5% of activities add value for the customer. Adding value means (1) it changes the thing going through the process, (2) the customer is willing to pay for the activity, and (3) it is done right the first time. This implies that 95% of what we do does NOT add value and is potential waste. In offices, the waste is even higher.
Managers and supervisors will only see 2% of the waste.
In office and administrative service environments, supervisors and managers only see 2% of the waste. They are too far removed from the daily work to see the waste.
The people doing the work have learned to live with the waste. They may have created work-arounds in the system to get things done. These, in themselves, add more waste.
What are these unseen wastes? The time it takes to find a document. The extra signature required on an expense statement. The rework on a proposal because the correct template was not used. The time it takes to walk across the building to photocopy a report. A power point presentation made, just in case the boss asks for it. The meeting that does not start on time or runs too long. The manager who “walks the floor” to “see what is going on”.
In a typical office, it is assumed that if people are at their desks and look busy, they are adding value. All seems well, especially if they have a good attitude.
A purchasing person who works hard, never takes breaks and is always helpful will be seen as a stellar employee. The fact that he takes 25% longer to complete the task due to poor training or lack of resources will be overlooked.
When we apply Lean Thinking in an organization, we look at how we do the work, how the system can be improved, what waste we can find and eliminate. Its not about the person doing the work - whether they are a “good worker” or not. Its about improving the work methods, standardizing processes, providing training and increasing skills.
Lean thinking is about is solving problems, elegantly, with innovation
Learning to identify and eliminate waste is fundamental to lean thinking. We must learn to see waste, and systematically eliminate it.
Thinking of problems as opportunities is not something we are trained to do. With lean, we need to learn to treasure problems - celebrate finding them – this is our opportunity to improve!
Once we clearly see the problem, the root cause must be identified. This requires some structured problem solving. We need to avoid treating the symptoms. Unless we identify the true root cause, the problem will re-occur.
Once the problem and its root cause is clearly understood, we can create solutions. An elegant solution can be a single tiny idea that changes everything. Quite often, this solution is not spending capital.
An elegant solution is one in which the desired effect is achieved, with the least amount of effort. John W. Gardner, the former US Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, once said, "We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insolvable problems."
Elegant solutions are not obvious, except in retrospect.
Organizational Change.
Leaders like silver bullets. Take this tool, transplant it to my organization and everything will be magically fixed.
That’s the flavour of the month.
We end up with so many tools and initiatives underway that we can’t support them all. We keep dropping the ball.
Lean requires a more systematic approach. It has some well known tools to use, but requires discipline, structure and mentoring to make it work. This is why so many organizations report they are disappointed with their lean initiative results. The tools are applied without the systematic approach. “Lean does not work here”, they say.
A flaw with Lean is in the tools themselves. They are simple and when observed in the factory, they seem like common sense. So leaders take the tools from the plant floor and transplant them on their office or service organization. They don’t transplant easily. I don’t see accountants and engineers respond well to tape outlines for their stapler and keyboard.
Truth be known, Lean Thinking works anywhere. Health care, offices, engineering design, sales teams, construction projects, mining industries. Anywhere work gets done, Lean Thinking can be applied. However, it takes a strategic and systematic approach to be successful.
How do I do that?
Working on how we do the work.
A key limitation of traditional improvement initiatives is that they focus on ...
Click here to download the rest of this article.
Norm
www.normanbain.com
Monday, November 2, 2009
Trust, Respect and Integrity
People say you can't do business with friends and family. They strongly caution against it. They say it is a recipe for disaster.
I say this is a fallacy. My business is built on relationships. The majority of my business comes through my network of contacts. Through the business relationship we become friends and referrals follow. The key is mutual Trust, Respect and Integrity.
I've been doing a great deal of work on the topic of Lean Communication. Through my association with OEM Consultants, I have been working with groups to understand and build on this model of 100% trust and 100% respect. While I'm discovering this communication model, I'm learning that lean communication is not easy or simple. Its tough to communicate clearly, with few words and no assumptions. I know what happens when I assume things ... I make an ASS of U and ME. Yet assumptions continue to be prevalent in my life and my discussions, as I'm sure you experience in yours.
I was taught that trust and respect is earned. I preached that mindset to my kids. My professional experience has shown that there are people who will benefit from my action and ideas to my own detriment. I've discovered that this belief is one reason why change is resisted in organizations. Who will get the credit? I've also learned that this is not the norm. Most do not react this way.
If you are building a team that will effect change in an organization, you must understand the organizational culture. You must build accountability into the team. And that demands mutual trust, respect and accountability.
I started my career in management when teams were all the rage. Individual effort was ignored and individual recognition was discouraged. There is no "I" in "Team". I began to speak in terms of we, rather that I. So much so, that I once had a recruiter ask me exactly what my involvement was in an important improvement project I was describing. I had led the project and driven the results, but had been programmed to talk in terms of "we", not "I".
Times have changed. We live in an age of perceived "entitlement". People tend to think the world owes them something, yet they are not accountable for anything. Perhaps we lost that accountability by focusing on teams. Who, exactly, is "we" when the team work is not done.
There may not be an "I" in team, but there is a "me" if you look for it. Part of lean communication is understanding my responsibility, accepting that responsibility and being accountable for delivering in my role on the team.
I'm coming to understand that lean communication may be the foundation for lean thinking. If we can communicate more effectively, we drive out waste. That is a key principal in lean thinking. And lean thinking can be applied to manufacturing, health care, offices, design houses or any business model.
Lean communication starts on a foundation of trust and respect. Without trust and respect we lose accountability. We lose integrity. And without accountability and integrity we miss the results. So becoming a practitioner of lean communication my be a great foundation to becoming a lean organization.
This foundation of trust, respect and integrity is what makes friendships and family work so well. We don't betray that foundation with family or friends. So why do we in business?
If you would like to learn more about lean communications, contact George at OEM Consultants. Its a different approach. I'm finding it effective. I think its fascinating. I have a lot to learn before I become a lean communicator.
Norm
www.normanbain.com
For more information, see my post on Leadership and Self Deception
I say this is a fallacy. My business is built on relationships. The majority of my business comes through my network of contacts. Through the business relationship we become friends and referrals follow. The key is mutual Trust, Respect and Integrity.
I've been doing a great deal of work on the topic of Lean Communication. Through my association with OEM Consultants, I have been working with groups to understand and build on this model of 100% trust and 100% respect. While I'm discovering this communication model, I'm learning that lean communication is not easy or simple. Its tough to communicate clearly, with few words and no assumptions. I know what happens when I assume things ... I make an ASS of U and ME. Yet assumptions continue to be prevalent in my life and my discussions, as I'm sure you experience in yours.
I was taught that trust and respect is earned. I preached that mindset to my kids. My professional experience has shown that there are people who will benefit from my action and ideas to my own detriment. I've discovered that this belief is one reason why change is resisted in organizations. Who will get the credit? I've also learned that this is not the norm. Most do not react this way.
If you are building a team that will effect change in an organization, you must understand the organizational culture. You must build accountability into the team. And that demands mutual trust, respect and accountability.
I started my career in management when teams were all the rage. Individual effort was ignored and individual recognition was discouraged. There is no "I" in "Team". I began to speak in terms of we, rather that I. So much so, that I once had a recruiter ask me exactly what my involvement was in an important improvement project I was describing. I had led the project and driven the results, but had been programmed to talk in terms of "we", not "I".
Times have changed. We live in an age of perceived "entitlement". People tend to think the world owes them something, yet they are not accountable for anything. Perhaps we lost that accountability by focusing on teams. Who, exactly, is "we" when the team work is not done.
There may not be an "I" in team, but there is a "me" if you look for it. Part of lean communication is understanding my responsibility, accepting that responsibility and being accountable for delivering in my role on the team.
I'm coming to understand that lean communication may be the foundation for lean thinking. If we can communicate more effectively, we drive out waste. That is a key principal in lean thinking. And lean thinking can be applied to manufacturing, health care, offices, design houses or any business model.
Lean communication starts on a foundation of trust and respect. Without trust and respect we lose accountability. We lose integrity. And without accountability and integrity we miss the results. So becoming a practitioner of lean communication my be a great foundation to becoming a lean organization.
This foundation of trust, respect and integrity is what makes friendships and family work so well. We don't betray that foundation with family or friends. So why do we in business?
If you would like to learn more about lean communications, contact George at OEM Consultants. Its a different approach. I'm finding it effective. I think its fascinating. I have a lot to learn before I become a lean communicator.
Norm
www.normanbain.com
For more information, see my post on Leadership and Self Deception
Friday, August 21, 2009
Lean waste elimination fails to hit the bottom line numbers
Many companies, embracing the concepts of lean thinking, hear the urging to 'Just do it', in the spirit of the leaders and pioneers of the Toyota Production System. They then excitedly delve into the transformation process. They stage a kickoff meeting to share their passion, pick something important and start removing waste quickly to capitalize on that “low hanging fruit”.
The target area becomes a beehive of activity, kaizen events, continuous improvement blitzes, 5S initiatives and production tracking boards. People get engaged in the process improvements and the staff gains some hope that finally the company is listening to what they are saying.
Yet flow through the facility does not consistently improve, the mounds of in process inventory do not reduce, and expediting hot orders remains the norm. No cost savings reach the bottom line, there is no demonstrable service and quality improvement for the customer. The improvements are not sustainable. Processes drift back to the old ways of doing things.
So management reaches the conclusion that lean does not work in this environment. We are “different” and the principals must not apply in this industry. We cannot demonstrate a return on our investment.
This lean offensive with its disappointing result drifts off as another abandoned program.
So why does this happen? Why do the concepts of lean, that seem to be such common sense, not work when we apply them? How can so much information be readily available about this approach to process improvement, yet it is so incredibly difficult to implement with concrete demonstrable results?
Click here to read the rest of this article and explore the answer to this all too common dilemma
Norm
www.normanbain.com
The target area becomes a beehive of activity, kaizen events, continuous improvement blitzes, 5S initiatives and production tracking boards. People get engaged in the process improvements and the staff gains some hope that finally the company is listening to what they are saying.
Yet flow through the facility does not consistently improve, the mounds of in process inventory do not reduce, and expediting hot orders remains the norm. No cost savings reach the bottom line, there is no demonstrable service and quality improvement for the customer. The improvements are not sustainable. Processes drift back to the old ways of doing things.
So management reaches the conclusion that lean does not work in this environment. We are “different” and the principals must not apply in this industry. We cannot demonstrate a return on our investment.
This lean offensive with its disappointing result drifts off as another abandoned program.
So why does this happen? Why do the concepts of lean, that seem to be such common sense, not work when we apply them? How can so much information be readily available about this approach to process improvement, yet it is so incredibly difficult to implement with concrete demonstrable results?
Click here to read the rest of this article and explore the answer to this all too common dilemma
Norm
www.normanbain.com
Thursday, July 16, 2009
A Lean Roadmap - where do we start?
I'm often asked what a typical lean journey looks like and how long it takes to become a lean organization. While the answer to those questions is as varied as the organizations that ask it, this post will explore the most successful and repeatable approach that I have been engaged with. If you would like a copy of this post as a downloadable PDF, click here.
Step 1 Create the environment
The concepts of lean and the thinking behind lean can seem quite foreign to traditional organizations. Thinking, approach and activities must be changed, sometimes dramatically. This is often referred to as the "culture" of the organization. Lean requires a collaborative, team oriented, customer focussed and systematic approach. This shift may appear threatening to people. Fear of change is real and usually unspoken. Often, a compelling driver for change is required - an "oh-shit" experience that instils a sense of urgency with the team. This could be the loss of a major customer, a competitor challenge, or a downturn in the economic climate similar to what we are currently experiencing. This "pain" can be a strong driver to explore new ways to do things and make your world a better place. Linking lean to the global organizational strategy is a winning approach. Top management must support the initiative and communicate global measures for success. It is important to assure people that they will not lose their jobs directly because of the lean initiative. Respect for people is a lean fundamental. People are a key part of the system.
Step 2 Introduce basic concepts
This may start with a benchmarking visit to see how other organizations do things. It may start with a seminar or conference. Or you may invite someone to your site for introductory training. Exploring how others have applied lean ideas and how these can transfer into your own organization is a key concept in lean thinking. Learning from the experience of others is key - you cannot afford (in terms of both time and money) to make all the same mistakes yourself. Some formal introductory training for your team to develop an understanding of the supply chain and your value stream usually follows. The language of lean and introduction to the terms so that they are widely recognized follows.
Step 3 Manage Visually
The internet revolution and our fascination with technology has led many of us away from managing visually. In our quest to have dashboards and KPI information on our desktop, we stop visiting the gemba - where the work is done. Lean visual management requires that we can see at a glance in the workstation what is working well, what is not working and where our hot spots are. Shadow boards, production control boards and product flow lanes can quickly highlight trouble spots and direct our attention to where we should focus. By understanding and implementing the power of visual management, we can achieve a step change in product throughput. This is the quick win "low hanging fruit". Managing visually typically starts with introducing a 5S process. The 5S process pulls the other lean tools out of the toolbox as the need is identified. Can you find anything in your work area in 3 minutes? Can anyone else find anything in your work area in 5 minutes? In most workplaces, a large amount of time is wasted looking for parts, materials, instruction or decision makers. Managing visually means that you can see at a glance what is working, what is not and what corrective action has been initiated.
Step 4 Understand the current state
Now that the organization has a fundamental understanding of lean concepts and is starting to manage visually, its time to understand what kind of mess we are in. A scoping exercise identifies each task we do, how long each takes, what inputs are required (materials, instruction, approvals) and which of these tasks add value (in the eyes of the customer). We start to identify waste and see improvement opportunities in our processes. At this point, its easy to get confused and overwhelmed with information. Often, even in small to medium sized organizations (under 100 people), several hundred improvement opportunities arise. What do I tackle first? How do I manage change so that I get the maximum benefit from my limited resources?
Step 5 Identify the bottleneck
These questions are very real - and very important to the organization. No company has unlimited resources and every company realizes that they cannot tackle everything at once. The key is to look at the value stream system throughput and focus our improvement effort on where this system throughput is bottlenecked. Spending time and money on any process that is not affecting system throughput will not achieve additional revenue for the organization. And if the bottleneck to the process is a lack of customer orders, then we should not be producing to forecast. In this case, we should focus our efforts on marketing and sales so that we only produce what we have commitments for, and our system can meet our customer demand. Continue to look at your processes as a system and focus your improvement efforts on managing the bottlenecks.
Step 6 PDCA
Now that we know where to focus our attention, its time to pull out some more lean tools from the toolbox. Put the Plan-Do-Check-Adjust continuous improvement cycle to work. Host kaizen improvement events in the bottleneck areas and ensure the team is using standard work, pull signals (Kanban) and error proofing techniques. Continue the PDCA process within your bottleneck processes and improve flow through your entire system.
Step 7 Strategy Deployment (Hoshin Kanri)
At this point in the lean deployment the organization has seen some success and continuous improvement can take on a life of its own. Many departments are adopting the principals and utilizing the tools effectively. An air of excitement exists where people see real change occurring and can envision the potential for future improvement. Its time to align the entire organization around our strategy and ensure we are all pulling on the same rope. Departmental objectives need to align with the company purpose and vision for the future. Often departmental initiatives are not aligned with corporate goals and may even directly oppose other departmental initiatives. In other instances, duplication of effort exists as departmental improvement initiatives outpace the internal communication processes.
The first place to start this alignment process is with the senior leadership. What is our vision for the organization in the next few years? What are the biggest issues facing the organization today that prevent us from achieving this vision? Define the organization's true north - the business needs that must be achieved. These will exhibit a magnetic pull for the organization, the same way a compass guides the traveller. If we don't know where we are going, we'll never get there!
Conventional strategic management emphasizes planning - strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, values and social responsibilities. Lean strategy deployment asks the same questions, but emphasizes deployment - any fool can make a plan, its the execution that gets you screwed up!
Strategy deployment (Hoshin Kanri) utilizes A3 storytelling. If you cannot tell your story on one page (the A3), you have not thought it through thoroughly enough. Keep it simple and easy to understand. Tell your story and execute! The mother A3 will support the organizations true north. Baby A3's are initiatives that support the mother A3. This process focuses our attention, resources and effort on what's important for the organization as a whole. It focuses on execution - where the rubber hits the road - getting it done!
Step 8 Follow-up and review
Now that the organization strategy is aligned and resources are deployed on what's important, we must monitor the results of our activities and make corrections based on results. (The PDCA cycle applies here as well).
The approach above begins the lean journey with leadership team commitment. It engages the team leaders and people doing the work by introducing the tools and lean thinking concepts where the work is done. We achieve step change results by focussing on the bottleneck. And we align the entire organization with strategy deployment. Sound like a winning approach?
Feel free to contact me for real world examples of where this has been deployed and the actual results that can be achieved. We can also discuss typical timelines - how long will this take in your organization. Lean truly is a journey - its not just a set of tools or the program of the month!
Best success on your journey!
Norm
www.normanbain.com
If you would like a copy of this post as a downloadable PDF, click here.
To discover more about organizational strategy and the A3 strategy deployment (Hoshin Kanri) process, click here.
Step 1 Create the environment
The concepts of lean and the thinking behind lean can seem quite foreign to traditional organizations. Thinking, approach and activities must be changed, sometimes dramatically. This is often referred to as the "culture" of the organization. Lean requires a collaborative, team oriented, customer focussed and systematic approach. This shift may appear threatening to people. Fear of change is real and usually unspoken. Often, a compelling driver for change is required - an "oh-shit" experience that instils a sense of urgency with the team. This could be the loss of a major customer, a competitor challenge, or a downturn in the economic climate similar to what we are currently experiencing. This "pain" can be a strong driver to explore new ways to do things and make your world a better place. Linking lean to the global organizational strategy is a winning approach. Top management must support the initiative and communicate global measures for success. It is important to assure people that they will not lose their jobs directly because of the lean initiative. Respect for people is a lean fundamental. People are a key part of the system.
Step 2 Introduce basic concepts
This may start with a benchmarking visit to see how other organizations do things. It may start with a seminar or conference. Or you may invite someone to your site for introductory training. Exploring how others have applied lean ideas and how these can transfer into your own organization is a key concept in lean thinking. Learning from the experience of others is key - you cannot afford (in terms of both time and money) to make all the same mistakes yourself. Some formal introductory training for your team to develop an understanding of the supply chain and your value stream usually follows. The language of lean and introduction to the terms so that they are widely recognized follows.
Step 3 Manage Visually
The internet revolution and our fascination with technology has led many of us away from managing visually. In our quest to have dashboards and KPI information on our desktop, we stop visiting the gemba - where the work is done. Lean visual management requires that we can see at a glance in the workstation what is working well, what is not working and where our hot spots are. Shadow boards, production control boards and product flow lanes can quickly highlight trouble spots and direct our attention to where we should focus. By understanding and implementing the power of visual management, we can achieve a step change in product throughput. This is the quick win "low hanging fruit". Managing visually typically starts with introducing a 5S process. The 5S process pulls the other lean tools out of the toolbox as the need is identified. Can you find anything in your work area in 3 minutes? Can anyone else find anything in your work area in 5 minutes? In most workplaces, a large amount of time is wasted looking for parts, materials, instruction or decision makers. Managing visually means that you can see at a glance what is working, what is not and what corrective action has been initiated.
Step 4 Understand the current state
Now that the organization has a fundamental understanding of lean concepts and is starting to manage visually, its time to understand what kind of mess we are in. A scoping exercise identifies each task we do, how long each takes, what inputs are required (materials, instruction, approvals) and which of these tasks add value (in the eyes of the customer). We start to identify waste and see improvement opportunities in our processes. At this point, its easy to get confused and overwhelmed with information. Often, even in small to medium sized organizations (under 100 people), several hundred improvement opportunities arise. What do I tackle first? How do I manage change so that I get the maximum benefit from my limited resources?
Step 5 Identify the bottleneck
These questions are very real - and very important to the organization. No company has unlimited resources and every company realizes that they cannot tackle everything at once. The key is to look at the value stream system throughput and focus our improvement effort on where this system throughput is bottlenecked. Spending time and money on any process that is not affecting system throughput will not achieve additional revenue for the organization. And if the bottleneck to the process is a lack of customer orders, then we should not be producing to forecast. In this case, we should focus our efforts on marketing and sales so that we only produce what we have commitments for, and our system can meet our customer demand. Continue to look at your processes as a system and focus your improvement efforts on managing the bottlenecks.
Step 6 PDCA
Now that we know where to focus our attention, its time to pull out some more lean tools from the toolbox. Put the Plan-Do-Check-Adjust continuous improvement cycle to work. Host kaizen improvement events in the bottleneck areas and ensure the team is using standard work, pull signals (Kanban) and error proofing techniques. Continue the PDCA process within your bottleneck processes and improve flow through your entire system.
Step 7 Strategy Deployment (Hoshin Kanri)
At this point in the lean deployment the organization has seen some success and continuous improvement can take on a life of its own. Many departments are adopting the principals and utilizing the tools effectively. An air of excitement exists where people see real change occurring and can envision the potential for future improvement. Its time to align the entire organization around our strategy and ensure we are all pulling on the same rope. Departmental objectives need to align with the company purpose and vision for the future. Often departmental initiatives are not aligned with corporate goals and may even directly oppose other departmental initiatives. In other instances, duplication of effort exists as departmental improvement initiatives outpace the internal communication processes.
The first place to start this alignment process is with the senior leadership. What is our vision for the organization in the next few years? What are the biggest issues facing the organization today that prevent us from achieving this vision? Define the organization's true north - the business needs that must be achieved. These will exhibit a magnetic pull for the organization, the same way a compass guides the traveller. If we don't know where we are going, we'll never get there!
Conventional strategic management emphasizes planning - strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, values and social responsibilities. Lean strategy deployment asks the same questions, but emphasizes deployment - any fool can make a plan, its the execution that gets you screwed up!
Strategy deployment (Hoshin Kanri) utilizes A3 storytelling. If you cannot tell your story on one page (the A3), you have not thought it through thoroughly enough. Keep it simple and easy to understand. Tell your story and execute! The mother A3 will support the organizations true north. Baby A3's are initiatives that support the mother A3. This process focuses our attention, resources and effort on what's important for the organization as a whole. It focuses on execution - where the rubber hits the road - getting it done!
Step 8 Follow-up and review
Now that the organization strategy is aligned and resources are deployed on what's important, we must monitor the results of our activities and make corrections based on results. (The PDCA cycle applies here as well).
The approach above begins the lean journey with leadership team commitment. It engages the team leaders and people doing the work by introducing the tools and lean thinking concepts where the work is done. We achieve step change results by focussing on the bottleneck. And we align the entire organization with strategy deployment. Sound like a winning approach?
Feel free to contact me for real world examples of where this has been deployed and the actual results that can be achieved. We can also discuss typical timelines - how long will this take in your organization. Lean truly is a journey - its not just a set of tools or the program of the month!
Best success on your journey!
Norm
www.normanbain.com
If you would like a copy of this post as a downloadable PDF, click here.
To discover more about organizational strategy and the A3 strategy deployment (Hoshin Kanri) process, click here.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Are you looking at Lean for your company?
We're looking for Canadian companies that are exploring Lean!
Have you started a lean journey? Are you looking at lean to improve your operations? Tell us your story and win a Lean Thinking tee shirt!
Lean Thinking applies to so many companies ... in fact, we can't think of one that it does not apply to! So why do we still think of Lean as a "manufacturing" initiative? Lean Thinking applies equally well in health care, offices, government, engineering design, construction - in any industry, anywhere!
So we're looking for some folks to help us spread the word! If you are exploring lean, or already implemented lean in your facility - tell us about it! If you have some secret tips that our readers would enjoy, share those too! And in return for sharing your lean stories and tips, you could get one of our Lean Thinking tee shirts for FREE!
Just click here to visit the web site and tell us your tips and story. Let us hear your story so we all learn about lean!
Norm
www.normanbain.com
Have you started a lean journey? Are you looking at lean to improve your operations? Tell us your story and win a Lean Thinking tee shirt!
Lean Thinking applies to so many companies ... in fact, we can't think of one that it does not apply to! So why do we still think of Lean as a "manufacturing" initiative? Lean Thinking applies equally well in health care, offices, government, engineering design, construction - in any industry, anywhere!
So we're looking for some folks to help us spread the word! If you are exploring lean, or already implemented lean in your facility - tell us about it! If you have some secret tips that our readers would enjoy, share those too! And in return for sharing your lean stories and tips, you could get one of our Lean Thinking tee shirts for FREE!
Just click here to visit the web site and tell us your tips and story. Let us hear your story so we all learn about lean!
Norm
www.normanbain.com
Monday, January 19, 2009
Obama meets small business embracing Lean
US President-elect Barack Obama stopped in Ohio Friday to pitch his $825 billion economic recovery and job creation plan at a manufacturing plant that is succeeding with Lean.
CNNMoney reports that Obama's stimulus sales trip features Cardinal Fastener, a company that has reinvented itself for the alternative-energy future.
Cardinal traditionally supplied parts to fortune 500 customers such as John Deere and Caterpillar. While those sales have slowed during the recession, Cardinal also provides fastener joints, nuts and washers to wind turbine manufacturers. The growth there has been explosive. Cardinal expects green energy clients to account for 90% of growth in the coming years.
On their website, Cardinal credits Lean Thinking for shortening their lead times to become the best in industry. Manufacturing costs have declined significantly, quality has improved and their customer service is unequalled. Their success with Lean Thinking has been hailed by industry, as attested by an article in Distributor's Link Magazine.
While their expectations were aggressive by their previous standards (30% productivity increase, 30% inventory reduction, 50% lead time reduction) the actual results surprised everyone. Lead time was reduced to seven days from 5 weeks (80%), quality issues are virtually non-existent and inventory was reduced 54%. So when they achieved this success in manufacturing, they started to tackle office practices. How could they live with an order entry process requiring up to 5 days when they can now manufacture it in 7 days? By taking the Lean Thinking principals to implement a Lean Office, they reduced this processing lead time to less than 10 minutes.
The power of Lean Thinking in leading organizational change continues to amaze me, even after countless implementations. Cardinal Fastener talks about the plant "Blow Up" experience. Kaizen events that result in immediate implementation of continuous improvement initiatives get to the core of Lean. Engaging the people who do the work and to change the culture to relentlessly drive waste out of their processes by focusing on what the customer defines as value.
What is your organization waiting for?
Norm
www.normanbain.com
CNNMoney reports that Obama's stimulus sales trip features Cardinal Fastener, a company that has reinvented itself for the alternative-energy future.
Cardinal traditionally supplied parts to fortune 500 customers such as John Deere and Caterpillar. While those sales have slowed during the recession, Cardinal also provides fastener joints, nuts and washers to wind turbine manufacturers. The growth there has been explosive. Cardinal expects green energy clients to account for 90% of growth in the coming years.
On their website, Cardinal credits Lean Thinking for shortening their lead times to become the best in industry. Manufacturing costs have declined significantly, quality has improved and their customer service is unequalled. Their success with Lean Thinking has been hailed by industry, as attested by an article in Distributor's Link Magazine.
While their expectations were aggressive by their previous standards (30% productivity increase, 30% inventory reduction, 50% lead time reduction) the actual results surprised everyone. Lead time was reduced to seven days from 5 weeks (80%), quality issues are virtually non-existent and inventory was reduced 54%. So when they achieved this success in manufacturing, they started to tackle office practices. How could they live with an order entry process requiring up to 5 days when they can now manufacture it in 7 days? By taking the Lean Thinking principals to implement a Lean Office, they reduced this processing lead time to less than 10 minutes.
The power of Lean Thinking in leading organizational change continues to amaze me, even after countless implementations. Cardinal Fastener talks about the plant "Blow Up" experience. Kaizen events that result in immediate implementation of continuous improvement initiatives get to the core of Lean. Engaging the people who do the work and to change the culture to relentlessly drive waste out of their processes by focusing on what the customer defines as value.
What is your organization waiting for?
Norm
www.normanbain.com
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