In a Strong Safety Culture, Safety is Everyone’s Job

Creating a safety culture takes time. In a strong safety culture, everyone feels responsible for safety and pursues it on a daily basis. Safety should part of everything we do. It is everyone’s job, every day. In fact, nothing is so urgent or important that we cannot do it safely.

Integrating safety into our daily lives reduces risk of injury and other losses. In offices, a safety focus helps us avoid ergonomic injuries or slips and falls. It also teaches us things like how to safely evacuate a building during an emergency. In manufacturing operations there are engineering controls, procedures and safeguards to ensure a safe working environment. Embedding safety into our culture also ensures that the products we make are safe for our customers.

Safety is part of continual improvement and requires participation by everyone. If you observe a situation or activity that is dangerous, it is your job to take direct action to ensure the safety of your colleagues. Attention to safety is the kind of behavior businesses need to help fuel success and, at the same time, safeguard their business.

A company with a strong safety culture typically experiences few at-risk behaviors, consequently they also experience low accident rates, low turn-over, low absenteeism, and high productivity. They are usually companies who are extremely successful by excelling in all aspects of business and excellence.

Adhering to the principles of safety helps protect a business’s most important assets—its people. Employer and employee commitment are hallmarks of a true safety culture where safety is an integral part of daily operations. Mutual commitment is the basis for mutual respect.

How do you approach safety? And who’s job is it?

Daily Lean Tips Edition #30

For my Facebook fans you already know about this great feature. But for those of you that are not connected to A Lean Journey on Facebook or Twitter I post daily a feature I call Lean Tips.  It is meant to be advice, things I learned from experience, and some knowledge tidbits about Lean to help you along your journey.  Another great reason to like A Lean Journey on Facebook.

Click this link for A Lean Journey's Facebook Page Notes Feed.

Here is the next addition of tips from the Facebook page:

Lean Tip #436 - Management must go to the Gemba to practice Lean management.

Go see for yourself at the place the work is done.
Look at the process and talk with the people.
Ask these three simple questions:
• What is the process?
• How can you tell it is working?
• What are you doing to improve it (if it is working)?
Teaches us to see in new ways what we have failed to see before.

Lean Tip #437 – Go For Many Small Wins, Rather Than The Occasional Big Win

Small wins keep up the enthusiasm, and certainly add up.
Embed your improvements for lasting change.
Make this “The way we do things around here.”
Management needs to continually recognize small wins.

Lean Tip #438 – Stop Fighting Fires, Think Proactively

Problems (fires) can be avoided and the resulting fire fighting by trying these proactive steps:
• Stop rewarding fire fighting and start recognizing fire preventing.
• Create a corrective and preventative action process based on root cause analysis.
• Conduct follow-ups.
• Share lessons learned.

Lean Tip #439 - Map Your Value Stream

Mapping your processes will help you understand the actual condition.
• The actual place or location in which a process occurs
• The actual employees working in that location
• The actual process in that location
A Target is not the same as a Target Condition

Lean Tip #440 – Use a charter to establish the framework of the kaizen.

A charter determines what the problem statement is, relevant background information, time frame, team members, and some estimation of the resources involve.
You must determine how you will measure the success of this kaizen so you know if your countermeasures are effective.

Lean Tip #441 - Picking the team members should be an important part of planning the kaizen.

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.

Lean Tip #442 - Perfection is elusive.

If you try to achieve perfection you may well be at the kaizen a very long time.
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.
Failure to follow through on these can undermine the team's efforts.

Lean Tip #443 – Ensure Non-Participants Have Visibility To Kaizen

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

Lean Tip #444 – Pick a Winning Team for Improvement

Here are a couple of things to consider when picking team members:
• Balance of "hard" and "soft" skills
• Best experience possible
• Coverage of the knowledge areas needed
• Willingness to join, available
• Leadership / Management skills
• Maturity to take responsibility
• Follows through on commitments
• Good listening skills
• Willing to actively participate
• Can give and take feedback
• Can communicate clearly

Lean Tip #445 – Great Groups Need Great Leaders

Every great group has a strong and visionary leader. Not simply an ambition to succeed but vision that inspires the team to work as if the fate of civilization rested on their completing their project.

Lean Tip #446 - Focus on Behaviors, Not Results

Performance has a random pattern to it.
Rewards and reprimands don’t change results short term.
Work on changing behaviors and skills.

Lean Tip #447 - Effective Meetings Are a Necessity

Create an agenda and stick to it.
Establish a meeting code of conduct.
Everyone’s idea will be heard.
Use the 3 Knock Rule and a “Parking Lot” for out of scope ideas.

Lean Tip #448 - Improvement Starts and Ends with Communication

It is crucial to be able to communicate openly and honestly about ideas, recommendations and concerns with other team members.
It is just as important to be able to listen attentively and respond objectively with helpful feedback.

Lean Tip #449 - Give people autonomy.

Give people autonomy.
• Match skills to risk.
Doesn’t apply to negligence.
People learn best in ‘sink or swim’ situations.
• Leaders should act as lifeguards.
Teams should not fear failure.

Lean Tip #450 - Get People the Right Skills to Succeed

Performance requires many factors therefore we must supply minimum skills to meet basic job requirements. Enhancements of skills lead to exceptional performance. Skill building requires resources and a plan.

Lean Quote: Teach Problem Solving As They Occur

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.

"The best time to train workers is when an error is first detected. It also is the best time to solve a problem." — Dr. Ryuji Fukuda, VP of Production at Sumitomo Electric

When do you train your personnel in problem solving? How do you train them in problem solving? Dr. Ryuji Fukuda, VP of Production at Sumitomo Electrics says "The best time to train workers is when an error is first detected. It also is the best time to solve a problem." He refers to this activity as On-Error-Training (OET).

The following five rules are necessary to make OET work successfully in your shop.

Self Rule – The responsibility of finding the root cause of the problem must be from the worker who first detects the problem. They must stop the line and get their coworkers to help.

Quickly Rule – It is important to solve the problem immediately when the information is right at hand.

Actually Rule – You must replay the process that transpired before the defect occurred and try to re-create the defect. Management must challenge and empower the worker who detected the problem to take the prime role of problem solving in order to learn.

Support Rule – Everyone must stop working and support the primary problem solver in the process of finding the root cause and determining appropriate countermeasures.

Don’t Speak Rule – Management (supervisors and managers) must not come up with all the answers. Allow the discoverer and coworkers the time to discuss the problem and a chance to solve it. If they get stuck then management can offer suggestions.

This simple process will help you reduce quality defects, empower your work force, and create a learning organization. It can only be effective if people are allowed to stop line and eliminate the root cause of the defect. In the long run you will be much better off resolving issues as they occur.

Gemba Walks: Go See, Ask Why, Show Respect, and Follow Up

My friend and blogger Tom Southworth recently delivered a short presentation on Gemba Walks.  Tom presented this lesson as part of CONNSTEP's "10 Minutes: 5 New Ideas" series.

In just 10 minutes, learn the vital steps needed to ensure your gemba walk is a successful one. You'll learn the reasons why this is a necessary function and what you should be looking for when visiting the real or actual place.

The purpose of Gemba walks is to fully understand the current state with facts.

The word 'gemba' is a Japanese word that means the real or actual place. The purpose of walking the 'actual place' or 'gemba' is help identify problems, non-value added activities, or wastes through a deliberate observation of a particular area or process. 

Gemba walks are not to be confused with management by walking around (MBWA). It is really the check in our PDCA methodology of continuous improvement.

All too often, attempts are made to solve problems without knowing anything about or are not being familiar with a particular area or process -- resulting in a misdiagnosis or failed solution. Answers come from the floor, from the 'gemba,' where the condition occurs. You need to go to the real place and experience these conditions for yourself before being able to take the next steps.

Tom says Gemba Walks can be summarized by:

• Go to the actual place.
• Get the facts about the actual thing or activity.
• Grasp the entire situation.
• Generate reasons that explain what is happening.
• Guide corrective actions or countermeasures.

Remember to Go See, Ask Why, Show Respect, and Follow Up.

Three Styles of Communicating and Meetings

Communication is essential for effective functioning in every part of an organization. Although marketing, production, finance, personnel, and maintenance departments may receive direction from corporate goals and objectives, communication links them together and facilitates organizational success.  Meetings are a common means of communicating in organizations.


Although the reasons people meet are varied, meetings generally fall into three types:

• Information-giving meetings are used to disseminate information.
• Information-sharing meetings are called in order to exchange ideas.
• Information-creating meetings are generally used for planning and problem solving.

The three basic types of meetings can be related to three basic styles of communicating:


Bull's-eye style
The bull's-eye style is essentially an information-giving approach.  The sender of the information is concerned with delivering a specific message. If the message hits the intended mark, the sender is satisfied.  The sender is not especially concerned with obtaining feedback from listeners or readers; he or she is concerned only with conveying a message.


Ping-pong style
A communicator who uses the ping-pong style is concerned with the questions or responses the receiver may have. The communicator has a message to deliver, but the success of that delivery is at least partially dependent on the understanding of the listener or reader.  Too, the message may be further shaped or defined by the responses the recipient provides.  This style of communicating is often used in information-sharing meetings.


Spiral style
The spiral style does not represent a complete communication transaction.  Rather, the communicator sends a message and engages the recipients in an ongoing consideration of the message and its numerous implications. The sender of the message considers nuances, which may be as important as the original thought.  Spiraling means reading between the lines and provoking new ideas related to the initial communication prompt, which is continuously being reshaped.  The spiral style is common to information-creating meetings.


In today's business environment, finding better ways for people to communicate will propel organizations forward. Strong minds fuel strong organizations. Meetings planners have an obligation to their stakeholders (meeting organizers and the participants) to plan meetings that appeal to all
learning styles.

Quality Can be a Thankless Job But It Doesn't Have to Be

In ASQ’s post this month from Paul Borawski, he asks if quality professionals are happy at their job. You might be wondering why this question is necessary but that is because quality professionals sometimes have a thankless job.

Quality professionals are expected to possess in-depth knowledge on a variety of both complex quality issues and general business skills. In addition, although they are often the first to receive complaints when products fail, they seldom get praise when everything goes according to plan.

Actually, it is a very rewarding job, for several reasons. Firstly, you know that you are helping to make the product a better experience for the customer, which gives you sense of accomplishment. Secondly, it is rewarding to help drive out waste and rework through continuous improvement. Thirdly, being a catalyst for change and a voice in the formation of the culture is meaningful work. Lastly, when you make a difference in employees and customers lives it is hard not to feel pride in your job.

Quality assurance is all about character, courage, activism and passion representing the moral qualities, ethical standards and principles to fight for quality. Managers, supervisors, and leads all have to be strong leaders, versed in communication, they have to be able to sell quality each and every day; carry the message of quality to the masses. Quality professionals must be able to challenge the current norms and take on executives that balk at change. Those in quality understand the need and role of quality in the organization yet the further you are from the customer the more likely this understanding is lost.

The job of a quality professional is not easy. You have to want to make a difference because there are those who will put up a fight. Quality assurance can be a thankless job, if everything goes right, the project managers get the credit, if something goes wrong, quality management gets the blame, after all they touched it last. The purpose of quality systems in an organization is to increase internally, the quality of the people, process and products and externally the quality of the consumers experience for the products and services provided by your company.

Personally, I have found the change from a direct Lean leadership role to quality management a challenging one but a rewarding one. The opportunity to make a difference is the same but the connection to the customer is more direct. Like anything in life it is what you make of it. I choose to make a positive meaningful difference and this brings joy and reward to the work that has to be done.


I’m part of the ASQ Influential Voices program. While I receive an honorarium from ASQ for my commitment, the thoughts and opinions expressed on my blog are my own.

Lean Quote: Leadership is About Farming Not Hunting

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.

"Networking is not about hunting. It is about farming. It’s about cultivating relationships." — Dr. Ivan Misner, NY bestselling author & founder of BNI

This is true of leadership as well. The best analogy of a Lean leader that I have heard is related to this quote. A Lean leader is a farmer not a hunter. Farmers take the long view, and win in the long term. Hunters take the short view, get early gains but ultimately die out. Farmers are shepherds.

The Lean leadership role has many names. Whether you call them a sensei, champion, coach, or leader; the role is no less critical for the organization to be successful. I am not one that pays much attention to titles. A Lean leader is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a team or of individual.

The following characteristics are desirable for a good Lean leader:

• Active-learner open to new ideas
• Natural problem-solving skills
• Basics technical skills (comfortable with spreadsheets, graphs, data, etc.)
• Keen Observer
• Hands-on
• Passionate about improving processes
• Leadership skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Excellent communicator (writing & speaking)
• Systems thinkers (able to understand process flows, etc.)

These characteristics alone don't make a Lean leader. The Lean leader must have technical knowledge in the lean tools and tacit knowledge from experience. Nobody is born knowing these principles and how to implement them. Everyone has to learn them through practice, trial and error, and coaching. Success is not based on who you are but rather on what you do. Behaviors can be learned and unlearned.