Comments on: One-off and Customization

By: Steve Mason

Steve Mason — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:03:48 +0000

Hi Guys,
Great stuff here, thanks. I have just joined a firm of marine engineering consultants and I am tasked with developing their ‘quality management system’. However, I will be applying lean principles and the initial work will focus on better understanding and defining of customer value, improving information flow, 5S – ensuring information and technical guidance is easy to find, and visual management – i.e. project / contract status. But the first thing we will do is reorganise the training system so we KNOW precisely what skills people process and we have an effective, graphical development process that identifies individual training needs and maps the development process – see the Lean Development Road Map on Jim’s site – we will do something similar for our engineering and project management disciplines.
This should keep me busy for a while!!
Steve

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:30:26 +0000

Jim – I guess you have learned Rule #1.
Back In “The Day” I was very into the plastic models. (my old [expired] IPMS card has a four digit member number) Competitive on the convention circuit, couple of national trophies on a shelf here, but haven’t really done anything with it for a while. I hung out with Dana Bell, Steve Zaloga, Art Loder back then.

By: Jim Fernandez

Jim Fernandez — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:09:13 +0000

I never heard of Lean until two years ago. Now, most everything I look at I see ways to improve it.

My hobby is building plastic models. Last night I could not find one of my tools. I finally found it. I chastised myself for not having a good 5S program for my own personal workbench.

One day I was in the kitchen cooking dinner with my wife. I mentioned how it might be a good idea to relocate a few things. Bad idea. I think there is a fine line between being an easy going Lean Manager and a husband with a personality disorder.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:31:12 +0000

The continuous improvement mentality is a skill, it can be taught. It can be self-taught with dedication and practice. It is really a matter of becoming consciously aware of what you are seeing, and curious about it.

The purpose of Ohno’s famous “chalk circle” work was to teach the first part of this skill – seeing.

By: Jim Fernandez

Jim Fernandez — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:19:02 +0000

Very good analysis here. Seems that if we hire people with a continuous improvement mentality we would be much better off. I’m sorry if I go a little off the “customization” topic here. The points in this article that interest me relate to the process of figuring out what is supposed to happen, recognizing that it did not happen, and then doing something about it.

You wrote, “any departure from what you originally proposed should be understood. Why? What happened? What didn’t you see coming? ”

So where do we find people that think this way? Now you have my mind working. Suppose I pick out some of our workers who are in key positions. And I train them to think this way. Now I have begun to create a true Lean, continuous improvement culture. If they don’t think this way we will never improve our operation……

I love this statement in your article:

” If, When you DETECT any departure from what you specified, STOP pretending you are still running to plan; FIX or CORRECT whatever got you off plan and get back on plan; then work to understand and SOLVE THE PROBLEM. This is how the organization learns and acquires what Deming calls “profound knowledge” of itself and its processes.”

Thank you for the inspiration.