Lean Quote of the Day February 19, 2010

On Friday’s 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.

Feel free to share some of your favorites here as well.

"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."  — Dwight D. Eisenhower

There are a lot of definitions of Leadership.  Ultimately for me it comes down to people.  Check out the 6 qualities of Leadership that start with the letter P for People in this post.

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Mistake Proofing Help

We all make mistakes, to err is human.  The questions are why does it happen and how can you prevent it.  Mistake-proofing is the use of process design features to facilitate correct actions, prevent simple errors, or mitigate the negative impact of errors Poka-yoke is Japanese slang for mistake-proofing, a term coined by Shigeo Shingo.

John Grout has researched mistake-proofing extensively for the past 17 years. John is dean of the Campbell School of Business at Berry College, Rome, Georgia, and the David C. Garrett Jr. Professor of Business Administration. In May 2007, John's book "Mistake-Proofing the Design of Healthcare Processes" was published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality as a government document that is distributed free to the public and can be downloaded here (pdf). In 2004 John received the Shingo Prize for his paper, The Human Side of Mistake-Proofing with Douglas Stewart.

For resources on mistake proofing visit John Grout's Mistake-Proofing Center.  John's suggests, starting by looking at some everyday examples, then taking a look at the Brief Poka-Yoke Tutorial.  I would suggesting following this up with a review of bad designs, a scrapbook of illustrated examples of things that are hard to use because they do not follow human factors principles.

I think is particularly worthwhile highlighting this section from Grout's tutorial which originated from Shigeo Shingo who formalized poka-yoke:

The ability to find mistakes at a glance is essential because, as Shingo writes, "The causes of defects lie in worker errors, and defects are the results of neglecting those errors. It follows that mistakes will not turn into defects if worker errors are discovered and eliminated beforehand"[Shingo 1986, p.50]. He later continues that "Defects arise because errors are made; the two have a cause-and-effect relationship. ... Yet errors will not turn into defects if feedback and action take place at the error stage"[Shingo, 1986, p. 82].

…

According to Shingo [Shingo, 1986, p.71], "Defects will never be reduced if the workers involved do not modify operating methods when defects occur." The willingness to take corrective action is a function of the attitude and commitment of both managers and workers, not an intrinsic attribute of a particular approach to quality management.

You should also visit The Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) to view Grout's healthcare webinar on mistake proofing to reduce medical errors (or view slides).

John suggests there is a new attitude to preventing errors requiring a new remedy:

"Think of an object's user as attempting to do a task, getting there by imperfect approximations. Don't think of the user as making errors; think of the actions as approximations of what is desired." Source: Norman, The design of everyday things. Doubleday 1988.

"The remedy is in changing systems of work. The remedy is in design." Donald Berwick hopes "that normal, human errors can be made irrelevant to outcome, continually found, and skillfully mitigated."

John Grout says you need to think about how to stop mistakes like your life depends on it because it just might. Get started today learning how you can stop mistakes with these great resources.

Lean Demonstrated at Subway

Last week while visiting one of our plants I had lunch at a Subway restaurant.  During lunch I had the opportunity to observe many Lean concepts in practice.  I don’t believe Subway advertises themselves as a Lean corporation but their restaurants seem to employ some basic Lean principles.

For starters they make their sandwiches to customer demand.  Subway makes the exact sandwich the customer wants at the time the customer orders it.  They process one customer at a time in what is referred to as 1 by 1 or single piece flow.  This method dramatically reduces defective product and overproduction of sandwiches.

During higher volume meal times Subway utilizes teamwork. Several people will assembly parts of the sandwich passing it from one another along the line.  Each person performs a specified sequence which we often refer to as standard work. 

Now think of the layout and organization of the restaurant.  The sandwich area is laid out in the form of an assembly line from taking your order to paying for your order.  There are signs with pictures along the assembly process to support the customer order.  Everything used to make the sandwich is displayed on the line through clear viewing panels.  This concept is an element of visual factory and 5S organization.

While the sandwich is made just in time the materials to make all the sandwiches have been prepared before hand.  Due to the need for freshness and longer cycle times the bread is baked, cheese is sliced, and vegetables are cut prior to the store opening.  The raw materials are stored at the point of use in bins in the assembly line.  They are placed in the order in which the sandwich is prepared creating a standard while mistake proofing the preparation sequence.  The amount of the vegetables prepared and the location in the line is based on the popularity of the produce.  For example, lettuce and tomatoes will be found closest to the “sandwich artist” in multiple large size bins while the hot peppers and olives will be in smaller bins further away.

Some of the inventory is kited for accuracy and efficiency like the meat.  This allows Subway to produce the same size sandwich every time for a 12 inch or 6 inch sandwich in every restaurant.  The kit also helps control inventory by knowing how much is consumed for each sandwich enabling a simple replenishment scheme.

I even observed a kanban and FIFO system at work during this visit.  As the sandwich artist was preparing my sandwich he consumed the last lettuce leafs in the bin he was using and turned to the refrigerator behind him to replace the lettuce bin.  He slid the older bins closest to him and placed the newest bin in back of the others.  This technique meant the customer was getting the freshest produce while not spoiling their inventory.

As I was there eating my sandwich I saw an experienced employee training a new employee from the customer’s viewpoint.  During orientation of the sandwich preparation process the experienced employee had the new employee stand in front of the counter, where the customer would stand, while demonstrating the process.  This gave the new employee the perspective of the customer which is so important to understand. 

While not all of Subway’s practices are Lean in nature this is a good case study.  If you want to reflect on some basic lean principles or could use an outlet to teach others some basic lean principles try a visit to your local Subway restaurant.  Food is always a good motivator.


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Lean Quote of the Day February 12, 2010

On Friday’s 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. \


Feel free to share some of your favorites here as well.

"The rate of change is not going to slow down anytime soon. If anything, competition in most industries will probably speed up even more in the next few decades."

— John P. Kotter, Leading Change

This quote reminds me of the Bear Story.  Not familiar with the Bear Story then check out this post on Lean, Competition, and the Bear Story from last fall.

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Think Systems to Avoid Pitfalls in Lean Management

A management system is the framework of processes and procedures used to ensure that an organization can fulfill all tasks required to achieve its objectives.  A Lean management system consists of the discipline, daily practices, and tools you need to establish and maintain a persistent, intensive focus on process.  It is this process focus that sustains and extends lean implementations.

Peter Senge, an influential systems thinker from MIT and author of book "The Fifth Discipline", suggested 11 systems laws that help us understand systems better.  The laws are:

1. Today's problems come from yesterday's solutions.

We, humans, are happy when we solve problems. We often don't think much about consequences. Surprisingly, our solutions could strike back and create new problems.

2. The harder you push, the harder the system pushes back.

We have this stubborn reaction to push our way through when things are not working out as we want. We charge without time to stop, think and find better alternatives. Sometimes we solve problems, but often we find ourselves up to ears in the swamp of other problems.

3. Behavior grows better before it grows worse.

Short-term solutions give us a short break and temporary improvement, but don't eliminate fundamental problems. These problems will make situation worse in the long run.

4. The easy way out usually leads back in.

We learn few solutions in our life, which brought easy success earlier. We try to vigorously apply them in any situation disregarding particular context and people.

5. The cure can be worse than the disease.

Sometimes the easy or familiar solution is not only ineffective; sometimes it is addictive and dangerous.  They may even induce dependency.

6. Faster is slower.

When we get a taste of success we start to advance at the full speed without much caution. However, the optimal rate of growth usually is much slower than the fastest growth possible.

7. Cause and effect are not closely related in time and space.

We are good at finding causes to our problems, even if they are just symptoms and far from real root causes.

8. Small changes can produce big results-but the areas of highest leverage are often the least obvious.

Most obvious grand solutions like changing company policy, vision or tag line often don't work. Small ordinary, but consistent changes could make a huge difference.

9. You can have your cake and eat it too - but not at once.

We often face rigid "either-or" choices. Sometimes they are not dilemmas if we change our perspective and rules of the system.

10. Dividing an elephant in half does not produce two small elephants.

Inability to see the system as a whole could often lead to suboptimal decisions.

11. There is no blame.

We like to blame and point fingers to other people or circumstances, sometimes we even believe in this. But we and the cause of our problems are part of the System.

Lean management is a thinking system where much the same rules apply. These laws serve as an excellent aid to avoid Lean implementation pitfalls.  As we implement Lean solutions we need to learn and understand the processes involved. There are many challenges to this way of thinking.  Many can be defeated by gaining and using knowledge of how systems work.  But the most serious challenge is our own contradictory human nature.  Our passions, emotions, and instincts could easily defy this rational and systematic way of thinking. 

Lean Quote of the Day - February 5th, 2010

On Friday’s 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.

Feel free to share some of your favorites here as well.

"Change has a bad reputation in our society. But it isn't all bad — not by any means. In fact, change is necessary in life — to keep us moving ... to keep us growing ... to keep us interested . ... Imagine life without change. It would be static ... boring ... dull."

— Dr. Dennis O'Grady in Bottom Line - Personal

Effectively managing the change is a challenge for many leaders.  Follow these six strategies for change leaders and you will improve your ability and outcome.

Proofreading Tips

During a recent all employee email I wrote within my company I made a typo. I wrote 3 ½ hours instead of 3 ½ years when describing some positive results. I decided I would take this opportunity for improvement and learn some proofreading skills.

It’s difficult to proofread your own work because you’re so close to it – you know what’s coming next which often means you unconsciously skip along, missing typos and misspellings completely. With my experience making typos I think it's nearly impossible for someone to accurately proofread their own writing and be consistently successful.

Think about it: If you produce 1,000 words a day, and you let 1 typo slip by every week, that's actually a 99.986% success rate. If you think about it in terms of letters rather than words, since most typos happen at the level of letters, that 1 typo a week equates to about a 99.997% success rate.

Consider the common exercise often used in demonstrating the weaknesses of 100% manual quality inspection. Count the number of F’s in the paragraph below:

THE NECESSITY OF TRAINING HANDS FOR FIRST-CLASS FARMS IN THE FATHERLY HANDLING OF FRIENDLY FARM LIVESTOCK IS FOREMOST IN THE MINDS OF FARM OWNERS. SINCE THE FOREFATHERS OF THE FARM OWNERS TRAINED THE FARM HANDS FOR THE FIRST-CLASS FARMS IN THE FATHERLY HANDLING OF FARM LIVESTOCK, THE OWNERS OF THE FARMS FEEL THEY SHOULD CARRY ON WITH THE FAMILY TRADITION OF TRAINING FARM HANDS IN THE FATHERLY HANDLING OF FARM STOCK BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE IT IS THE BASIS OF GOOD FUTURE FARMING.

How many did you get?

Don’t beat yourself up too badly human error is inevitable. However, there are some steps you can take to help.

1) Use spell-checker on your computer, but be careful the computer can often make errors.

2) Set aside time to proofread without interruptions or distractions.

3) Print out a copy to proofread instead of reading on screen.

4) Read it aloud, read it slowly – stimulate another sense.

5) Read it backwards looking for surface elements rather than the meaning of document.

6) Use a ruler to focus on one line at a time.

7) Check the numbers in your document.

8) Check the grammar – punctuation, contraction, apostrophe, and homonym.

9) Take a break between writing and proofreading – at least 20 minutes.

10) Most important – Get someone else to proofread.

What tips or techniques do you use to proofread your emails, articles, white papers, presentations, procedures and instructions?

I tried these tips with this post. Did it work?