“Resistance to change” is a common theme of discussion among practitioners on various online forums, as well as in emails I get from readers. One thing I see fairly often is that a practitioner will be suggesting a visual control or a specific application of a “lean tool” as a “better way” in the process [...]
I was in a conversation today and we ended up boiling 5S down to three key points: You have everything you need. You need everything you have. You can see everything clearly belongs where it is. Of course at the next level, these statements are the standards you are continuously checking against. Presumably we have [...]
I am in another 3P type of event this week. One of the cool things is how the act of physical simulation, even a crude one, drives out ideas and insights. Limitations are challenged, possibilities are expanded.
3P – the Production Preparation Process – is often used to develop a complete “reboot” of a process. The term kaikaku is often applied. Like many of the lean tools, subtle points sometimes get lost in rote application. Here are a couple of thoughts from some experience: Developing and Exploring Target Conditions One of the obvious [...]
A key point of Mike Rother’s book Toyota Kata is that the organization develops a very deep core-competency in problem solving. In order to develop competency at anything, there must first be a standard to strive for. What I am realizing is the precise method used doesn’t matter nearly as much as having a method [...]
The classic one-week kaizen event ends with a report-out by the team that outlines the improvements they have made, and the results they have achieved. Actual results, though, are notorious for falling short of what was reported. Action items are left over, and things frequently peter out unless there is a huge effort to force [...]
27 months ago I wrote a piece about a “ firefighting culture” where I described the actual process used to fight fires – following PDCA. I have learned a few things since then, and I want to tighten my analogy a bit. What is the core thinking behind true firefighting? This is actually closer to [...]
A reader, Josh, sent me this link. Spilled coffee in 777 cockpit leads to inadvertent hijack warning, FAA-mandated sippy cups look likely The more compete, technical version, is here. The short version is: Airline pilot spills coffee on cockpit panel. Coffee (or scalded pilot) causes airplane to send out the HIJACK transponder code. Many people [...]
I have posted a few times about the “management by measurement” culture and how destructive it can be. This TED video by Daniel Pink adds some color to the conversation. Simply put, while traditional “incentives” tend to work well when the task is rote and the solution is well understood, applying those same incentives to [...]
Here is an “ah-ha” or even one of those “oh s#!&” moments I had as Mike Rother was talking about his Toyota Kata research last week. Solution How Solution is Developed Toyota / “Lean” Left Open Very specific – guided and directed. Traditional Management Given / Directed Not specified, left to “empowered” employee. When [...]