Top 3 “Old School” Apps for Lean

We have all heard the saying “there’s an app for that.” And for most things this is surprisingly true. But for Lean there really are no shortcuts. The tools are not particularly difficult which is in-part its success. Learning what tools to use in what situations takes some experience if you are not familiar.

Now that I got your attention you are probably expecting 3 digital apps you can use on your smart phone or tablet but those really undermine the importance of going to the source and seeing with your own eyes.  Rather,  I thought I would share 3 essential tools you can use in almost every situation.

Paper and Pencil
A paper and pencil is an indispensable asset to any lean practitioner. You can take notes on observations from the Gemba, document a process flow, record data, create standard work, and more. I would never leave home without it. You can’t remember everything so it is better to write it down.

Camera
A camera is a great tool document the process. You can use it to share best practices like in single point lessons, create visual standards, or even communicate defects and discrepancy. A picture is worth a 1000 words. Along these lines a video camera is an effective way to capture a process and break it down into elements either for waste elimination or training.

Post-it-notes
Post-it-notes have become a symbol of process mapping especially value stream mapping. Where ever there is a vertical surface you can create a map. They can also be used to identify waste in a cell like a red tag card for a 5S activity. I have even used post-it-notes to do a work balance table by cutting slips to represent the process times of various steps. Post-it-notes are a versatile tool with lots of potential for the creative.

Over the years I found these tools very useful in most situations. Now they can’t you out of every situation like a “MacGyver” tool kit but they are valuable. What tools do you find particularly useful in your Lean efforts?

Creating A Quality Focused Culture

A reader recently asked me how you go about creating a quality focused culture. Building a quality culture is not an easy task. A quality culture starts with managers who understand and believe the implications of the systems view and know the necessity of serving customers in order to succeed. The result of that understanding is a culture where a positive internal environment and the creation of delighted customers go together. It is a culture that naturally emphasizes continuous improvement of processes, one that results in a healthy workplace, satisfied customers, and a growing, profitable company.

Here are a few vital points necessary for creating a climate focused on quality:

Commitment to Quality
Commitment from management is a “MUST”. In fact, it is the driving force. Procedures, tools, and database are all useless if the management do not want to see a Quality culture in the organization. The employees of the organization will not care, if the management themselves do not show the attitude to follow the right path.

Capability of Skill
Capability refers to having the skills to undertake work successfully. As is true with any successful implementation, you need the right team blend and capable people in the team, to execute these things. There will be a need to raise the basic knowledge, understanding, and maturity for each and every member of the organization.

Honest Communication
People function best in a culture where open, honest communication is understood. You may be surprised how many innovative solutions can be developed when the truth is consistently shared throughout the organization. An important way to encourage truth-telling is by creating a culture where people listen to one another.

Focus on Processes
Focus on processes helps everyone understand even further the importance of teamwork and cooperation and the interdependence of their work. It places a premium on implementing the tools that make management and improvement of processes more efficient and effective. The emphasis is on continuous improvement through the use of quality tools to measure process performance and teamwork

Understand Your Customer’s Needs and Expectation
For any business the customer is the lifeblood. Every process and every action internal or external should ultimately result in the value addition to the customer and the customer’s delight. Therefore it is essential that the customer needs, wants and expectations are identified before you embark on a quality building program

It is said that the quality of an organization can never exceed the quality of the minds that make it up. The key to success lies in how well each employee is motivated and inspired to deliver quality work.

I only shared a few points and I sure you can think of many more. Share your thoughts on creating a quality culture.

Lean Quote: Opportunity is Dressed as Hard Work

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.

Today's Lean Quote is brought to you by Matt Wrye, blogger at Beyond Lean. Matt has a been a good friend through my online Lean trials and tribulations. With Matt's 10+ years of lean implementation and problem solving experience, he is able to draw on his successes and failures to tackle new challenges by presenting fresh perspectives and results-driven solutions. His cornerstone belief is that all levels of the business unit should be educated on lean thinking and principles. To this point, Matt diligently challenges his own lean knowledge while working with all business levels ranging from human resources, accounting and the manufacturing floor to senior managers, executives and presidents. By adhering to this continuous learning philosophy, Matt is able to focus his lean efforts to provide continuous improvement.

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like hard work." — Thomas Edison

I found this quote awhile back and have kept it close ever since. It is one that reminds me that if I want to make a difference I need to work hard for it.

From a lean lens, this means digging in and finding the true root cause of the waste. Not putting a band aide on the issue or treating just the symptom of the problem. It is hard work to take the time to dig deep and find the true root cause. It is hard work to have patience to continue to understand the problem when everyone around you is jumping to conclusions and solutions without understanding the problem. It is hard work to do things right.

But if we do put on those overalls and do the hard work, in the end we create better change and better improvements. That will also help us standout from the crowd who mostly is looking for the easy, shiny, magic silver bullet so they don’t mess up their clean suits. That can be very rewarding. That is what can keep us motivated and moving along.

Kanban Flow - A Free, Fast, & Flexible Kanban Tool

My experimentation with personal kanban systems has been well documented here. I am a fan of using a digital personal kanban board to manage tasks and projects for work, personal, and blog activities. Now there is a new tool to help you be more productive. It is webapp called KanbanFlow.

KanbanFlow is completely free to use, and once you've signed up the 2 minute tutorial will walk you through the process of creating tasks, moving them across your boards, flagging your to-dos with colors, adding and managing subtasks, and even setting up the built-in Pomodoro timer to work with the to-dos you've added. Adding items and managing them is super-easy, and you can set a timer for any to-do on your boards, including subtasks. If you don't want to cram all of your to-dos onto the same board, you can create as many boards as you want to organize all of your activities.

The service allows has a number of great features like like creating as many Kanban boards as you like. Each board can be shared or kept private, individually. So you can use both work related boards and private boards on the same account without problem. You can easily switch between your boards, which is practical if you happen to be involved in several projects on a daily basis.

If you are working with a team, you can invite them to the service to work with you, and you'll be notified when they update your boards. You can instantly see what other people are working on right now, what has been done and what is coming up. 

KanbanFlow is currently in beta, but it's pretty polished and remarkably fast. Your board is easily customize from the Administration menu and it is portable thanks to the internet.

Demonstrating Commitment Is A Combination of Support and Improvement

Last week’s Lean Tip shown here:

Lean Tip #452 - Commitment from management is a “MUST”.
In fact, it is the driving force. Procedures, tools, and database are all useless if the management does not want to see an improvement culture in the organization. The employees of the organization will not care, if the management themselves do not show the attitude to follow the right path.

Sparked some comments spearheaded by Jamie Flinchbaugh about management not knowing how to demonstrate commitment. I think Jamie is right so I thought I would share my thoughts on the subject.

The truth is, demonstrating commitment is hard work. Wavering commitment is usually seen as no commitment at all. The only way to achieve a reputation for commitment is through determination and persistence. Genuine commitment stands the test of time.

Commitment is demonstrated by a combination of two actions. The first action is called supporting. The second action underlying commitment is called improving.

Ways you can develop a successful Lean culture and demonstrate your commitment include:

• Allocating time, money, and resources to continuous improvement
• Eliminating road blocks that prevent progress
• Providing effective training and knowledge in problem solving methodology and countermeasure tools
• Encouraging and empowering opportunities for improvement
• Valuing employees ideas and contributions
• Involving employees in decisions
• Frequent open and honest 2-way communication
• Set standards and create systems of work
• Go to the Gemba where the action is

 It is the combination of both supporting and improving behaviors that makes up the practice of commitment. Company leaders demonstrate their commitment to change and improvement by making these behaviors visible to everyone. Leading by example is the ultimate demonstration of your commitment.

When you make a commitment to do something, you are saying that they can trust you and rely on you. Commitments are involved in trust, and trust is the foundation of continuous improvement. Commitments are things that you say you will do and people trust you to do. When you fulfill those commitments, people trust you and will trust you in the future. Managers that do not follow through on commitments are not deemed as trustworthy, and trust is vital for transforming a business culture.

Lean Quote: Empowerment Leads to Success

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.

"An empowered organization is one in which individuals have the knowledge, skill, desire, and opportunity to personally succeed in a way that leads to collective organizational success." — Stephen R. Covey

An empowered workforce is something that is highly desirable in an improvement culture. Unfortunately, just because we want it, it doesn't make it so, as this comic highlights.

Leaders of the organization must create the conditions for empowerment. Here are 10 ways to be better at empowerment:

Be clear in your communication. When you express goals or explain projects, be sure the employees really understand what you are asking for. If the goals are unclear then the employees are not sure what they are being asked to do.

Eliminate barriers, restrictions and layers of protocol. The more steps, individuals, policies and departments employees have to work through to get results, the more frustrating and disempowering things actually are. Use cross-training, multi-department teams and projects, and trainings to help break down the boundaries and barriers that may exist between employees and departments.

Allow employees to suggest better ways of getting their jobs done. Ask for employee suggestions for other ways of getting the task or project accomplished. Listen and be willing to really hear the employees' comments. Employees hate to have no input and be told exactly how to perform their jobs, leaving no creativity.

Show you have trust in your employees. Allow them to make mistakes as a form of learning. Show that it is really OK to make mistakes. Trust that people have the right intentions and will make the right decisions, even if they are different than your own. Let them know you really support their decisions.

Encourage and reward improvement and innovation. Employees may be afraid to offer insight and new ways of doing things because the company culture doesn't support them. If you really want to empower employees, you'll need to create a company culture that encourages and rewards innovation. You may start by asking individuals to look for ways to improve efficiency, output, safety, etc. in the tasks they perform every day.

Listen. Listen. Listen. Do you do most of the talking? Be open to communication and ask your employees questions. They can demonstrate what they know and grow in the process.

Share leadership's vision. Help people feel they are a part of something bigger than themselves or their job by sharing your company's overall vision. Tell your employees the most important goals for your organization and let them know of the progress towards those goals

Allow employees to actively participate in team and company goals. Look for every opportunity to include employees at every level of the organization, in being active participants. Employees can't be involved with one-way directives.

Be a coach. The best way to empower employees is not to manage them. Coach them to success. This is a process of developing their skills and providing them specific feedback to meet high standards. Employees want to be on the same team with their bosses. Be their coach and lead the team to success!

Communication. The key to empowerment is communication. Give every employee equal and direct access to information. Many companies have developed a trickle-down style of communication that alienates those employees who may not be "in the loop." The more informed employees are and the more communication is open, honest, direct and complete, the more likely employees are to feel empowered and connected to the daily operations and overall goals of their company.

If you are a manager, then think of yourself as a queue

The role of management should be an important one for organizations. Management can be defined as the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively. Unfortunately, sometimes management in not the business leader it should be but rather the bottleneck.

In Bob Emiliani’s recent newsletter he explores the notion of managers as queues:

The method that managers normally use to process information is batch-and-queue. As a result, managers often delay taking action or making decisions. Sometimes the delays are necessary and legitimate, but most are not. Because of batch-and-queue information processing, managers can inadvertently harm efforts by people at lower levels to improve material and information to flow. While we have many Lean tools to improve the technical aspects of material and information flow, we have only education and training to help managers' desire and ability to improve flow in the work processes that they own.

In some cases, the manager even intentionally develops a batch process to avoid interruptions. Managers should not have to review everything their team does. Management should not be synonymous with "command and control.”

Everyone would quickly realize that the job of the manager is not "to handle" things (which implies immediately, or nearly so), but instead to delay things and to make people wait. Few managers would think of themselves as queues and would likely justify delays in action or decision-making. Regardless, this is a big problem.

So if managers recognize this approach as ineffective why are there still queues:

Why do managers delay things and make people wait? It is because managers are human, which means we are all are subject to the following:

• Faulty assumptions
• Illogical thinking
• Decision-making traps
• Overconfidence
• Mistaking beliefs for facts
• Uncertainty
• Distractions (organizational politics)
• Being inflexible
• Status quo oriented
• Making or repeating mistakes

The role of a manager like that of a Lean process should be about creating flow and empowering employees. The flow of information enables continuous improvement by applying the PDCA cycle.

This is indeed what some leaders do when they re-orient themselves from command-and-control to servant leadership. Lean leaders, of course, develop awareness of the many ways they can inhibit flow through participation in kaizen. Not being status quo oriented they seek to improve themselves and their managerial capabilities in ways that are consistent with Lean principles and practices.

Managers should systematically be identifying and reducing bottlenecks in their processes. Some fail to notice they may be the source of problems. Managers can set a good example by starting improvement with themselves and how they approach managing.