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Lean Tip #2386 - Pilot the Solutions First
A pilot is a test of a proposed solution and is
usually performed on a small scale. It's like learning to fish from the shore
before you go out on a boat in the ocean with a 4-foot swell. It is used to
evaluate both the solution and the implementation of the solution to ensure the
full-scale implementation is more effective. A pilot provides data about
expected results and exposes issues with the implementation plan. The pilot
should test both if the process meets your specifications and the customer
expectations. First impressions can make or break your process improvement
solution. Test the solution with a small group to work out any kinks. A smooth
implementation will help the workers accept the solution at the formal rollout.
Lean Tip #2387 - Implement Standard Work
Standard work is one of the most powerful but
least used lean tools to maintain improved process performance. By documenting
the current best practice, standardized work forms the baseline for further
continuous improvement. As the standard is improved, the new standard becomes
the baseline for further improvements, and so on.
Use a Standard Work Combination Chart to show
the manual, machine, and walking time associated with each work element. The
output graphically displays the cumulative time as manual (operator controlled)
time, machine time, and walk time. Looking at the combined data helps to
identify the waste of excess motion and the waste of waiting.
Lean Tip #2388 - Make the Improvement Real
Employees aren’t idiots. When senior management seeks to drive change
in the organization, they like to have a “quick win” that can be used as an
example to the entire organization. But
sometimes, in their haste to have a trophy win, senior managers choose a change
that yields very little result and does little to improve quality, lead times
or other key performance indicators.
Employees realize this and see the program as one more in a series --
the “flavor of the month” -- for performance improvement. Instead, work with employees to get a
substantial win -- something that is indisputable and will lead the team to
believe in the program.
Lean Tip #2389 - Translate and Communicate the
Benefits of the Change
Workers on the factory floor don’t work with
balance sheets on a daily basis. Their
primary concern is not whether your net return on assets has improved by
0.1%. Translate the improvement to terms
that are real to them: number of defective parts eliminated per shift, hours of
rework eliminated, additional number of units produced per shift. Compare this to competitive information for
the sake of the staff, if possible. Let
the production team members know how they stack up -- give them an adversary
outside the plant. Make sure the
information is provided to them in a clear way.
Dashboards and project kaizen one-page reports can work wonders. When done properly, it’s amazing how much
break time is spent discussing the latest change and its effect on the
competitive landscape. This leads to
buy-in and everlasting change.
Lean Tip #2390 - Celebrate Real Victories –
Even the Small Ones
So long as a success is real, translatable, and
well communicated, regardless of the size, it’s worthy of celebration. Avoid programs like “employee of the month”
and recognize specific achievement in performance improvement, whenever they
occur. Don’t wait until month-end of
year-end. Every celebration, if done
properly and if celebrating real improvements, has the potential to spawn
additional performance improvements and to solidify the changes that have
already been made.
Lean Tip #2391 – Communicate Daily
Commit to a daily 10-minute company or team
sync every morning. During the meeting, have team members share their top five
priorities for the day, as well as any issues or problems they are facing. This
brief meeting keeps your whole staff informed, fostering collaboration and
communication about any issues or problems. A quick meeting also reduces
extraneous emails to project managers during the day.
Remember: You aren’t saving time if the meeting
regularly goes past the 10-minute mark. If you have trouble keeping to time,
ask everyone to stand during the meeting. When employees can’t sit, everyone
works together to finish the meeting quickly.
Lean Tip #2392 – Get Your Teams Clear on the Processes
Producing tangible benefits for the
organization means new ways of working must genuinely be put into practice –
they can’t be left buried in process manuals saved somewhere on the shared
drive. That means working with a system that makes it easy for your teams to
build small, incremental process improvements into their day-to-day work. That
system must be easy to review and update, and must be also be accessible and
simple enough so that teams refer to it every day.
Lean Tip #2393 – Management Must Model the New
Rules
This should go without saying, but nothing will
undermine the effectiveness of but nothing will undermine a new business
process faster than management not following the new rules. The rules are
either there for everyone, or they’re there for no one.
Once management starts to “cheat” on the new
process, people take it as a sign that the process is no good, and everyone
will look for ways to cheat. Chaos will result as everyone is looking for
shortcuts and doing things the way they want them done (often the way that
sloughs the most work off their desk and onto someone else’s).
Lean Tip #2394 – Make Reverting Back Hurt
Usually, when individuals desire to revert to a
previous behavior, it’s because the previous behavior took less time or effort
than “the new way.” Be certain to
elevate the personal cost to perform tasks the old way. You can do this by eliminating the tools that
were used or automation that made the old methods easier than the new
ones. Make investments in automation and
tools for the new methods. Make it easy
for your staff to succeed.
Lean Tip #2395 - Review the Process Regularly
Part of ensuring that the process lasts over
time is ensuring that it remains relevant. Periodic review can support a
culture of continuous process improvement and also provide an opportunity to
reflect. If people aren’t following the process, conduct root-cause analysis to
understand why. Maybe there’s a need for training. Maybe the process is no
longer effective. Maybe turnover has left a gap. Adding the rigidity of
automation to a murky process can result in workarounds, frustration, delays
and a loss of credibility.
Lean Tip #2396 – Take Time to Watch and Listen
When Change is Looming
If you know changes are looming--and they are
for most organizations--take time to watch and listen carefully to your
employees. Whether it's a major restructuring or a modification to a
well-established procedure, change (or even the anxiety over impending change)
can unsettle your employees and negatively impact the workplace. Sometimes
employees will express their anxiety directly to you, but other times their
anxiety becomes apparent through changes in their behavior or performance. This
is especially the case when change threatens their comfortable and stabile routines. Take time to observe and listen to
the pulse of your organization, and then take steps to deal with the anxiety
that you may detect.
Lean Tip #2397 – Demonstrate Your Genuine Concern
For Employees
Great bosses realize that they can't achieve
their goals if their people aren't performing at their very best. Employees,
especially in times of stress and challenge, look to management for solutions.
They seek guidance when they feel uncertain and isolated from organizational
decisions that are out of their control. As a first step, be an example of
transparency and honesty. Open the lines of communication between management
and employees. Talk openly and regularly about what you know, and encourage
input. Show you truly care about your people's welfare by understanding their
concerns and by doing whatever you can to help them. This not only helps you
solve any problems you have direct influence over, but also helps them by
allowing them to talk freely about what is troubling them.
Lean Tip #2398 – Address Their Concerns About
The Change
After hearing concerns and gathering input, fix
the things that you have control over. Often, uncertainty results from
miscommunication or misunderstandings. If, after listening to your employees,
you discover an easy solution to dispel their angst, take the initiative to fix
whatever you can as quickly as you can. A reassuring word or guidance from
management can have a profoundly positive impact on employees in times of
uncertainty. If you find the problems caused by change are beyond your scope,
avoid promising your employees things you cannot deliver or have no business
promising them in the first place.
Lean Tip #2399 – Be Positive and Look for Opportunity
Remain positive. Challenge your employees to
take initiative and seek out solutions, new ideas, or cost savings. Look at
standard procedures and policies and rework them, or propose alternatives with
the bottom line in mind. When times are unsettled, it may appear to employees
their efforts are not appreciated by management. By encouraging them to take
the initiative you help them to keep moving forward, focused on what can or
might be done, rather than fixating on events over which they have no control.
As a group, come up with creative solutions to the new challenges created by
change.
Lean Tip #2400 – Train and Prepare Your
Employees for Change
If you have the opportunity and the resources,
make time available to your employees to learn new skills. Give them an
opportunity to prepare for change with more skills or experience. Preparation
and training can help them transition more easily into new roles, or look for
work in another areas or organizations, should it become a necessity.
