Guest Post: Adopting the Nemawashi Mindset

It’s a common occurrence in business: a manager is gearing up for a major project or is ready to propose a change in policy. They’ve spent months working on the proposal, conducting research, and gathering information to make it successful. But when the proposal is presented in a meeting there is a clash of opinions, changes are rejected, and progress is seriously hindered. In order for policy changes or projects to succeed, a consensus among team members must be met, and this can be done with nemawashi.

A literal translation of nemawashi is “going around the roots,” referring to the transplant process of a plant or tree.  Extra effort is taken by introducing to dirt from the new location to the tree and digging around the roots to move the tree. Transplanting a tree takes time and preparation to ensure survival in the new environment. Nemawashi is an important part of not only the Toyota Production System but it is also deeply embedded into the culture of Japan.

The same concept can be translated as transplanting ideas to minds for nurturing a successful proposal. In business, nemawashi is the first step in the decision-making process and works to develop a foundation of consensus before implementing changes to a process or project. Through small and informal meetings, managers gather feedback, suggestions, and opinions and can use this to present a successful proposal. The free exchange of ideas promotes continuous improvement and like other Lean tools, relies on involvement from workers on all levels. When a manager presents his proposal to others in a meeting after using the nemawashi mindset, everyone is on the same page and has a better understanding of the proposal, and by this time changes have been already made based on employee feedback. The project can be carried out smoothly and successfully.

How to Apply the Nemawashi Philosophy

Nemawashi is more ambiguous than some of the other Lean tools; there is no exact framework to follow or steps that must be completed. Each nemawashi process will be different than the last, and over time you will see how you can effectively practice nemawashi in your own facility.

However you decide to go about it, the process typically begins with managers and supervisors sharing information. For instance, if you are going to propose a change to part of the manufacturing process, you would send out information about the condition of the process, why the current process is wasteful, possible countermeasures, and any other relevant information to all employees involved in the process.

After employees get a chance to review the info, the manager will begin to meet with them for a conversation. This can either be done one-on-one or in small groups, but it is important to give the workers an opportunity to share their opinion. Leaders will need to take the time to listen and show that their suggestions are taken under consideration. From there, the proposal can be refined or even tossed depending on the consensus, a new document with the revised project proposal is create, and a formal meeting is scheduled to present the proposal. By this time, support has already been gathered and any kinks in the plan have been smoothed out. Employees have an understanding of the proposal and will be able to effectively help implement any changes.

Leaders and managers who take the extra time and effort to listen and learn to employees, the nemawashi mindset truly allows changes to be carried out with all parties consenting of decisions. The success of a project usually relies on support from everyone involved, and nemawashi builds that consensus behind the scenes, before any changes are even made.   

About the Author: Jesse Allred is a blog writer for Creative Safety Supply leaders in visual safety and Lean manufacturing resources. She enjoys sharing information and advice for facilities to achieve efficiency while keeping employees safe.

Boost Productivity with Smarter Workplace Safety Workshop

At the beginning of this year I attended a Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) Workshop on Boost Productivity with Smarter Workplace Safety.  The workshop was conducted by CONNSTEP that is a Manufacturing Extension Program (MEP) partner that I have worked with many times over the past twenty years.  The training session was led by Matin Karbassioon, CONNSTEP Lean Consultant, and Nick Wallick, Lean Analyst for CT Training and Consulting Institute.

The approach proposed during this workshop is to utilize lean principles and practices currently in use in many manufacturing companies and then incorporate health and safety and sustainability aspects into these standard lean tools.  An example is the Value Stream Mapping tool which is used to define both information and material flow, to identify value-add and non-value-add steps (waste), and opportunities for improvement.  The workshop proposed addition of safety and environmental considerations as part of this process which could be an effective approach if implemented properly and supported by leadership.  An example of a standard product manufacturing view is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Standard VSM Map

The VSM is used to identify opportunities to move from a current state to some improved future state.  The workshop proposes to add safety improvements to this analysis as illustrated below in Figure 2.

Figure 2- VSM with Safety Opportunities

Following this progression in thinking, we can also use the lean tools to analyze current natural resource usages and identify opportunities for improvement.  Figures 3 - 5 illustrate how this approach could be incorporated into the “standard” lean process.

Figure 3 - VSM with EHS Info Added

Figure 4 - VSM with Material Usage Example

Figure 5- VSM Overview with EHS Info

The process mapping approach was discussed in more detail and additional information can be obtained by review of the workshop presentation that is provided as a separate document.

Discussion of this approach included identifying links to safety related to the “8 wastes” of the lean process: Defects, Overproductions, Waiting, Non-utilized people, Transportation, Inventory, Motion, and Excess Processing.  I’ve summarized some of these relationships in the table below to illustrate the idea.

Waste Type	Links to Safety
Defects	1.     Defect prevention requires less work and involves fewer injury exposures than defect discovery and repair 2.     High levels of defects may also signal poor housekeeping and/or lighting which may create other safety issues such as distraction and eye strain
Overproduction	1.     Overproduction indicates that workers may be working faster than needed by the next process, which can increase the risk of a repetitive strain injury. 2.     Making more than is needed may also result in clutter and poor housekeeping and increased number of accidents. (balanced workload based on customer demand rate reduces these risks and decreases the likelihood of increased work in process inventory)
Waiting	1.     Delays and time wasted due to poor material and information flow can impact employee motivation and increase the risk of falls and overexertion as workers rush to catch up.
Non-utilized People	1.     Risk of complacency and loss of focus when performing monotonous tasks.
Transportation	1.     Excessive product movement increases exposure to material handling and industrial truck injuries.
Excess Inventory	1.     Excess work in process between operations (due to large lot production or processes with long cycle times) impedes movement, increases the risk of trip hazards, distractions, blind spots for pedestrians and fork lifts, as well as manual handling injuries. 2.     Excess raw material inventory will result in temporary (often unsafe) storage locations creating obstacles to safe movement of employees
Motion	1.     Unnecessary motions such as reaching over the head for a tool or searching for one, instead of having it within normal reaching distance, at the point of use, are both wasteful and hazardous.
Excess Processing	1.     Inefficient work flow and extra processing steps such as avoidable reaching, twisting and material handling tasks increase overexertion risks. 2.     Process steps that absolutely add no value to the product of service being provided may help increase EHS risks

Finally, the 5S process was discussed as one of the best means of creating and maintaining conditions favorable to a safe and healthy workplace.  This process has five steps or levels although there is a school of thought that suggests adding a 6^th S for “Safety” but careful adherence to the 5S process will result in safety improvements.  The 5S steps are:

Sort – identify and remove clutter

Set (in order) – identify locations for frequently used items and ensure they are kept in their place

Shine – clean and inspect everything inside and out (inspection provides opportunities for improvement)

Standardize – Create rules to maintain the first 3s’s

Sustain – Adherence to the rules and proper training of all workers

National studies show a strong correlation between high incident rates and lean implementations where strong safety programs were not present.

How do you incorporate safety into your lean efforts?

Lean Quote: Action → Inspiration → Motivation

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.

"We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action." — Frank Tibolt

Most people only commit to action if they feel a certain level of motivation. And they only feel motivation when they feel an emotional inspiration.

The following is how most people approach completing goals.

They wait for inspiration. Then they act — they go to the gym, clean the entire house to surprise their partner when they get home, they start writing chapter 1 of their novel.

And yet, despite these surges of inspiration that happen every day…

Gyms are rarely frequented.

Houses remain cluttered messes.

That book is still a (mostly) empty Word document on the computer.

That’s because this strategy doesn’t work.

Emotional Inspiration → Motivation → Desirable Action

It’s a catch-22 of sorts. But the thing about the motivation chain is that it’s not only a three-part chain, but an endless loop:

Inspiration → Motivation → Action → Inspiration → Motivation → Action → Etc.

Action comes first, not last.

Action → Inspiration → Motivation

Don’t wait until you “feel inspired.”

Action creates inspiration. Action creates luck, creativity, and motivation.

Rather than waiting to feel inspired and motivated, you just need to start doing the work. Seems too simple right? Well, when you start putting in a little bit of daily work, it creates a compounding effect. You’ll begin to feel inspired, ideas will flow and you start building momentum. When you start doing, the rest starts to fall into place. The pathway to realizing your goals and dreams is non-linear and requires you to put in a lot of effort.

Taking action and applying a new idea to your life will inspire you more than anything someone else could say.

How to Change the World: 10 Lessons From Seal Training for Life and Business

This is an inspiring and powerful 20-minute commencement speech by Naval Admiral William H. McRaven, ninth commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, at the University-wide Commencement at The University of Texas at Austin on May 17, 2014.

Admiral McRaven’s commencement speech is perhaps one of the best commencement speeches I have ever heard. It is on point and offers some fantastic life and business lessons.

Below are excerpts from his amazing speech.

10 Life Lessons from Basic SEAL Training

1. If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.
“If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.”

2. If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle.
“You can’t change the world alone—you will need some help— and to truly get from your starting point to your destination takes friends, colleagues, the good will of strangers and a strong coxswain to guide them.”

3. If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.
“SEAL training was a great equalizer. Nothing mattered but your will to succeed. Not your color, not your ethnic background, not your education and not your social status.”

4. If you want to change the world get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward.
“Sometimes no matter how well you prepare or how well you perform you still end up as a sugar cookie.”

“For failing the uniform inspection, the student [in Basic SEAL training] had to run, fully clothed into the surfzone and then, wet from head to toe, roll around on the beach until every part of your body was covered with sand. The effect was known as a ‘sugar cookie.’ You stayed in that uniform the rest of the day — cold, wet and sandy.”

“There were many a student who just couldn’t accept the fact that all their effort was in vain. . . Those students didn’t understand the purpose of the drill. You were never going to succeed. You were never going to have a perfect uniform.”

5. If you want to change the world, don’t be afraid of the circuses.
“Every day during training you were challenged with multiple physical events — long runs, long swims, obstacle courses, hours of calisthenics — something designed to test your mettle. Every event had standards — times you had to meet. If you failed to meet those standards your name was posted on a list, and at the end of the day those on the list were invited to a ‘circus.’ A circus was two hours of additional calisthenics designed to wear you down, to break your spirit, to force you to quit.”

“Life is filled with circuses. You will fail. You will likely fail often. It will be painful. It will be discouraging. At times it will test you to your very core.”

6. If you want to change the world sometimes you have to slide down the obstacle head first.

7. If you want to change the world, don’t back down from the sharks.
“There are a lot of sharks in the world. If you hope to complete the swim you will have to deal with them.”

8. If you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moment.
“At the darkest moment of the mission is the time when you must be calm, composed—when all your tactical skills, your physical power and all your inner strength must be brought to bear.”

9. If you want to change the world, start singing when you’re up to your neck in mud.
“If I have learned anything in my time traveling the world, it is the power of hope. The power of one person—Washington, Lincoln, King, Mandela and even a young girl from Pakistan, Malala—one person can change the world by giving people hope.”

10. If you want to change the world don’t ever, ever ring the bell.
“In SEAL training there is a bell. A brass bell that hangs in the center of the compound for all the students to see. All you have to do to quit—is ring the bell. Ring the bell and you no longer have to wake up at 5 o’clock. Ring the bell and you no longer have to do the freezing cold swims. Ring the bell and you no longer have to do the runs, the obstacle course, the PT—and you no longer have to endure the hardships of training. Just ring the bell. If you want to change the world don’t ever, ever ring the bell.”

—–

“Start each day with a task completed. Find someone to help you through life. Respect everyone. Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often. But if you take some risks, step up when the times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden and never, ever give up — if you do these things, then the next generation and the generations that follow will live in a world far better than the one we have today.”

“It matters not your gender, your ethnic or religious background, your orientation, or your social status. Our struggles in this world are similar and the lessons to overcome those struggles and to move forward—changing ourselves and the world around us—will apply equally to all.”

“Changing the world can happen anywhere and anyone can do it.”

Hansei: Importance or Self-Reflection

For the past twenty years, I’ve helped to develop methods for implementing lean practices in factories and across supply chains. One of the most important things I’ve learned is that self-reflection is as relevant to lean practices. In fact, it’s an integral and essential part of it.

John Dewey, the American philosopher and psychologist, said “We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.”

To develop, we need to build on our experience. Whether it’s to improve our skills and abilities, become more competent, increase our performance or open ourselves to new ideas. But as Dewey observed, we do this through reflection, either on our own or with others.

In Japan, when someone makes a mistake, they will profusely apologize, take responsibility, and propose a solution for how they can prevent the same mistake from happening in the future. This process is referred to as 反省 – or Hansei. Hansei is a core concept of Japanese culture. It’s not about shame or guilt. Rather, it’s about admitting there is room for improvement – and committing to that improvement.

To paraphrase my friend, Jon Miller: “Han” means to change, turn over, turn upside down. “Sei” is the simplified form of a character meaning to look back upon, review, examine oneself. As a native speaker of Japanese “hansei” strikes me as both an intellectual and emotional exercise. With hansei there is a sense of shame, if that is not too hard of a word. This may come from having been asked to do a lot of hansei as a child, being told “hanse shinasai!” which in English might be “Learn to behave!”

The point is, when you do hansei it is almost never because you are “considering past experience” as if they were happy memories. You are confronting brutal facts about your actions and the impact they had, in hopes that you can learn from this and change your behavior in the future.

Toyota is known as a learning organization and this is one of the reasons why Toyota has become so successful. Hansei has a strong role in being a learning organization. In Toyota, hansei is often viewed as a precursor to kaizen, and a pre-requisite to being a learning organization. This is best explained as below (taken from Toyota-Global website);

Hansei is both an intellectual and emotional introspection. The individual must recognize the gap between the current situation and the ideal, take responsibility for finding solutions, and commit to a course of action. The examination involves a review of successes and failures, to determine what works and what needs to be improved. Hansei leads to ideas for kaizen and yokoten, the sharing of best practices from one location to another.

At each key milestone in a project, and at completion, the people involved meet to reflect on their experience of what happened. However, successes aren’t celebrated. In true Japanese fashion, they are treated with humility and modesty. Instead, the focus is on the failures and what could have been better.

This isn’t about pointing fingers, issuing blame or scoring points. It helps to identify when things need to improve and prevent any of the errors that were made. Above all, it helps to instill the belief that there’s always room and always need for further improvement.

Hansei is one of the keys to kaizen, as the concept itself focuses on improvement as opposed to punishment. When we fail, we realize that we have done something wrong. So it is important that we will learn lessons from it, and find methods to prevent its recurrence.  It is most important to consider also how bad we feel when we hurt others in the team by not performing to their expectations.

Why not take this opportunity to practice some self-reflection? In what areas do you need to improve? How can you take ownership of that need to improve? What can you do differently?

Lean Quote: Always Do Your Best

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.

"Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later." — Og Mandino

We have all heard, “Always do your best.”  Whether it came from our parents, a teacher or sports coach, doing our best has always been a cliche-motto echoed throughout our lives.

Our work reflects in the output and it says a lot how we value our work. Excellent work will only give out excellent result.

You reap what you sow. If you do a great job, the results will be great as well. Successful leaders believe in great commitment and even greater work. They don’t simply through the motions. They commit by investing time and effort onto everything they do. Whatever they do, they do their best.

It is important to do your best every time. Why? An excellent work gives you an excellent result and a lousy job gives you lousy result. Also, whatever you do today, you will benefit from them, tomorrow.

Successful leaders don’t just happen overnight. It takes time to become successful. What’s the secret of their success? It’s doing their best everyday. Their success is an accumulation of all they have worked for. They didn’t get successful in an instant. There is no genie in a bottle that granted their wishes. It is all from the time they dedicated and their hard work.

Like the quote said, “What you plant now, you will harvest later.” It goes both ways if you choose to do your best or a mediocre effort. If you do your best, well you get all the benefits of it in the future. But if you only give 50% of your efforts, chances are you won’t reach your goal anytime soon.

Continuously working excellently can help you reach your goal sooner rather than later.