10 Things to Avoid During a Kaizen

Kaizen is the Japanese name for continuous improvement.  While Kaizen is really about improvement involving everyone everyday it is often associated with a structured event.  Kaizen events fill the gap between individual, very local improvement initiatives and bigger initiatives such as value stream improvement.  They are essential to get cross-functional and multi-level teams involved in a Lean transformation.   In that respect, kaizen events have a dual role – to make improvements but also to teach and communicate.

In order for a kaizen to be successful it requires a great deal of both preparation and follow-up.  Here are 10 things I have learned over the years to avoid during a kaizen:

1. Lack of a charter

A charter is used to establish the framework of the kaizen.  It determines what the problem statement is, relevant background information, time frame, team members, some estimation of the resources involved, and how the improvement will be measured.  Without a charter the kaizen could take a very different direction.

2. Lack of identification of critical success factors

In order to make the kaizen successful you need to identify what elements are critical to the process.  You must determine how you will measure the success of this kaizen so you know if your countermeasures are effective.  Without measurement the kaizen can go on and on.

3. Scope is too large

The size or amount you will tackle within the kaizen is important for getting things done.  If the scope is too large you run the problem of never implementing an improvement.

4. Kaizen event not linked business plan

You want to do kaizens that will help you meet your organization's goals.  It can be wasteful to improve processes that are not part of the plan since resources to perform kaizens are limited.

5. Poor team selection

The team members on the kaizen are the brain power and manpower behind the improvement.  Picking the team members should be an important part of planning the kaizen.  You need to consider people's skill sets, expertise or knowledge, individuals within and outside the process, and who will provide the learning.

6. Striving for perfection

If you try to achieve perfection you may well be at the kaizen a very long time.  Perfection is elusive.  If you can accomplish 80% of what you set out to and meet the goals of the charter then call it complete.  You will be back to improve from this new state again.

7. Poor follow through

In some kaizens it can be difficult to complete all the items you want within the time frame of the kaizen.  Failure to follow through on these can undermine the team's efforts.  It is also necessary to ensure the improvements that are made are maintained to prevent backsliding.

8. Not presenting results

Failure to present the results after the kaizen can cause the team to feel unappreciated.  It also restricts learning throughout the organization.  Another area can have a similar situation that can benefit from knowing how this team solved the problem.

9. Lack of visibility for non participants

Getting the buy in from those who are not participating on the team is important for sustaining the improvement.  When you are part of team you are involved in the solution.  For those who are not we need to make them aware of the improvements the team is making.  If you don't they will naturally resist the improvement.

10. Lack of management commitment

Management must not just support the kaizen but actively participate.  Kaizens are as much a learning opportunity as anything else in the organization.  Management must ensure the team has everything they need to be successful and when they are management must recognize the accomplishment.

Learning what not to do is as equally important as learning what not to do.  Don't make any of these mistakes on your kaizen and it will be a success.  From your experience what advice would you give others to be successful at kaizen?

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Lean Quote - Inventory Buffers A Lack of Information

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.

"Inventory is a substitute for information: you buy them because you are not sure of the reliability of your supplier or the demand from your customer” - Michael Hammer,The Economist, 2000

To continue with the theme from A Lean Journey's Daily Tips on supply chain this week I thought this quote was appropriate.  This is also the season when the news is covering stories of Christmas toy shortages due to supply chain issues.

Improving in-season inventory positions requires getting merchandising, planning, supply chain, marketing and other functions to work off “one version of the truth.” It also means aligning these teams around the same critical metrics.

Numerous functions play a role in a retailer’s inventory management—not just the planning or supply chain functions. These functions may have quite different information on what’s selling (or not) and why, when product is due to arrive and when and where it is needed. This lack of common information leads to errant plans and disjointed operations, or simply put, the wrong inventory in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Where you have perfect information, you don't need any buffer stock.  The less reliable information you have, the more inventory you need to hold.  On a basic level there are two pieces of information needed:  the reliability of the supplier to deliver to you and the stability of the demand from the customer.  Inventory is a buffer for fluctuations in these two components of the supply chain.

Art Smalley, President of the Art of Lean, has a great visual explaining the basics of Toyota's inventory logic:

To improve the information you have about your supply chain these are some questions you can ask:

What is your on time delivery performance?
What is your lead time?
What is your inventory level?
How much time do you spend looking for components?
How good is the quality of your supplier?
What is your supplier's on-time delivery performance?

Art demonstrates that making improvements in your supply chain with the emphasis on lead-time can have a big impact on inventory.

So if you want to reduce your inventory substitute distortions or uncertaninty in your supply chain with good information while continuously improving your cycle time.

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Lean in the Fast Lane

Earlier this year I was fortunate to work with MassMEP to create a unique training opportunity for one of our facilities.  The goal was to support transformation in a rather challenging area of our unionized plant, the maintenance trades.  We thought learning about Lean in this fun and energizing way would win them over.  We have seen many Lean improvements as a result of this approach.  Here is a summary of the first exercise we did called "Lean Management in the FAST Lane":

On Wednesday, June 30, 2010, the first “Lean Management in the FAST Lane” event was held at Thompson International Speedway in Thompson, CT. Teams from both Yankee Candle Company located in South Deerfield, MA and OFS, Fitel in Sturbridge, MA made up our first event. The day began with an introduction to a number of Lean Concepts which would be critical to the success of each team’s pit stop rounds to be held during the afternoon. Presentations and discussions included Continuous Improvement, Building a Winning Culture, Metrics and Measurement, Teamwork, Standardized Work, Job Instruction (JI), Job Methods (JM) and Sustainability. Each lean concept included examples demonstrating the use and application of the concept in the world of NASCAR racing.

The afternoon consisted of a walk around Thompson Speedway lead by former NASCAR Winston Cup Series 1988 Rookie of The Year and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver Ken Bouchard. Each team then “suited up” for their training and 5 rounds of pit stops. Each round was video taped and critiqued including continuous improvement concepts and suggestions to improve their pit stop time in the next round. The results were amazing with each team able to cut their time in half by the fifth round. The OFS, Fitel team has set the bar for future teams with a “lightening fast” time of 19 seconds to change two tires and fill the tank with fuel.

“This was a very positive activity with lots of potential” said Tim McMahon, Lean Manufacturing Leader for OFS, Fitel. “I would highly recommend this event to others who are interested in further developing their lean concepts and teambuilding activities. Thompson International Speedway is also an excellent venue for this event” continued McMahon. Peter Dowling, Manager of Operations for OFS, Fitel had similar comments stating that “This program can go in so many positive directions, I really think you have something here.”

Now there is a video demonstrating the application on Lean thinking to solve problems utilizing team work from this training event.  If you look closely at the video you can see the transformation from the baseline to the last improvement which over the course of several hours is quite dramatic.  My company OFS is the blue team. 




OFS was able to improve from 30 seconds to 19 seconds using video analysis, job breakdown, poka yoke, and standard work.

A couple of key points I would like to emphasize:
1. Tailor your approach to Lean training to you audience if you want it to stick.
2. Emphasizing team work is essential in problem solving.
3. Competition is a always a good motivator.
4. People want to win, so help them win by providing the know how and the time to improve.
5. Learning can be fun, but you must bring the learning back to your organization.

Get in the Fast Lane with your Lean training.

Guest Post: Creation vs Management

Today I am pleased to share a guest post from my friend David Piacitelli.  David is the president of Top Line Systems, a company that focuses on the next generation sales organization for manufacturing companies.  He is a fellow AME member and supports the Northeast Region Board to share best practices.  With David's sales background he brings a unique perspective of the voice of the customer to our region.  You can see this from his post.

To create is difficult. To manage is difficult.

To do both together can be downright impossible. The bottom line is, a company needs both to grow. As with my other diatribes, I know that this topic can apply to a range of activities at work and in life, but as usual, I will focus on its application in the sales world.

O.k., we all know the formal definition of "creation" and of "management", so I won't spend valuable copy space on that; instead, I want draw your attention to how each plays a role in growth of sales and growth of business.

Regardless of the size of your business, the need for both creation and management is there. As a business owner, manager or employee, we initially focus our time on creation. As the job or business grows, more time shifts toward management of the stuff that has been created and we inevitably feel the tug between the two. Which is more important? If we don't create the deals, then we will have nothing to manage and if we don't manage the deals that we have created, we will always be creating and never managing.

This is a very straightforward concept, I know, but consider how this simple choice can impacts an organization's effectiveness? How do you manage the creation process in your business?

Here is my premise - selling is about creation, not about management. This could get really convoluted, so I am going to pose a scenario that illustrates the point that I am trying to make:

Every company (regardless of size) can point to a required growth metric. It could be dollars, it could be numbers of parts, or it could be numbers of customers.

Most companies dispatch their sales effort in a direction aimed at delivering against the growth metric.

Many companies find that they produce a result, just not the one that they aimed to produce.

There are a million different excuses that answer the "why", but only one practical explanation - too much focus on managing, not enough focus on creation. Here's what I mean - if a sales process allows time for creation, but uses the same resources to manage what has been created, guess what happens? Yes, the creation process stops, the created opportunities get managed (see the bottleneck possibilities?), the predictable, repeatable statistics of selling take over and you end up with an accurate close percentage on too small a number of opportunities.

It is only until you factor in time that the true impact of the conflict becomes apparent. I realize that this statement is vague, so let me throw out a statistic that you can use to measure against - the AVERAGE sales cycle for ANY business is 12-18 months from opportunity creation to realized revenue (if you work on complex, long-term projects, you know that the numbers are higher).

Always remember, the sale is the result, not the process.


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Lean Quote: Thank You

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.

"Remember to say thank you." — Barbara Gray

Thank you may be among the first words our parents teach us, but as we get older we seem to forget how to say them. Many managers usually recognize the major achievements--they celebrate the completion of a successful project, they honor an employee of the month. But how often do managers recognize the little steps their employees complete along the way?

Research has shown that recognition and appreciation is the top driver of employee engagement. 

Perhaps it seems elementary, but if you want employees who are fully engaged, you need to ensure they are recognized when they do great work and that they know you appreciate their contributions to the organization.

 
Employees need to be thanked…a lot. So says “guru of thank you” Bob Nelson, author of the bestselling 1001 Ways to Reward Employees—and he should know. Bob said, “The number one reason people leave their jobs today is that they don’t feel recognized for the job they’re doing.” We have all heard the adage “you get what you reward.” So if what you want is more outstanding work from an employee, say thank you the very next time that employee performs an iota of outstanding work.

The best recognition is thoughtful, happens daily, and has a personal touch. Even better, it's usually free.  Demonstrate appreciation!  Write a note, take them to lunch, acknowledge the work in a staff meeting…whatever seems right.  Just remember to say thank you.

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Friends

Thanksgiving is a time

For reviewing what we treasure,

The people we hold dear,

Who give us so much pleasure.

Without you as my friend,

Life would be a bore;

Having you in my life

Is what I’m thankful for.

By Joanna Fuchs

www.poemsource.com

I wanted to take this time to thank all of you for reading, following, and supporting A Lean Journey Blog.  You make sharing my thoughts more rewarding than I would have imagined.

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Lean Product Development Process

Last week I wrote about my experience at CONNSTEP's Manufacturing and Business Conference.  I had the opportunity to present on Lean Product Development at this year's conference.  I wanted to share my presentation with everyone.

A Lean Product Development Process comprises 3 basic elements: (1) driving waste out of the product development process, (2) improving the way projects are executed with stage-gate A3 management process, and (3) visualizing the product development process.

Lean Product Development

View more presentations from Tim McMahon.