Enhancing Standardized Work through understanding the Necessary Conditions in our work (JKK)

The Toyota Production System is based on 2 Pillars which are, Jidoka and Just in Time (JIT). Jidoka is "Building in Quality" at the process and JIT is building what is needed, when is needed in the amount needed. Toyota has always had the philosophy of stopping the line when defects are found, this can be done by anyone who sees a discrepancy with a known Standard (what should be happening within a process). The lines can also be stopped by Machines which are sometimes called "pokeyoke" (fail-safe devices), in order to ensure a defect is not passed on.
Now, more than ever, in this economy it is important to ensure we are looking at our work in the perspective of the customer. If you have a set standard or a known defect rate that is acceptable in "your" company; has that standard been set or determined in the "eye of the customer"? When you think about it, if you are the customer and you have a defect on your vehicle that rate becomes 100% for you. For the company it may be .001% which doesn't seem too big of a deal right? WRONG!! What if you were that person? How does that make you feel in regard to a high quality vehicle?
One way Toyota looks at this perspective is to ensure that Jidoka is within each process on the line, they do this by a process call JKK (Jikotei Kanketsu) literally meaning - Building in Quality with Ownership. What does "Ownership" mean to a person on a process? Ownership is defined in JKK as understand all the "necessary conditions" and "process criteria" so that ZERO defects are passed on. If team members understand these perspectives then they are more apt to understand when the process is NOT to standard and to be able to countermeasure the discrepancy through problem solving or PDCA thinking.
Necessary Conditions can be items like design, equipment parameters, engineering, and manufacturing. Having those aspects understood then Standards can be written and "skills" can be taught in order to ensure the process stops when necessary and defects are not passed on.

For example: If I worked at a Sub shop and my job was to make high quality sub sandwiches for customers based on their favorite selection, then as a sub creator, I must understand my standardized work, necessary conditions and process criteria in order to make the highest quality sub possible. The equipment must be working correctly in order to bake the bread at a certain temperature in a timely manner. (not to over or under cook). Properly labeling all the different kinds of breads to ensure visual controls. A team member must also understand the necessary condition for keeping the meats, cheeses and condiments at the right temperature. The should be laid out in order of need or frequent usage. I need to also understand how thick to slice the cheese, where to put the meat, how much meat is the standard per type of sandwich, how to spread the mayonnaise, and where to cut the sandwich etc. All these items are process criteria and necessary conditions to create a "made to order" sub sandwich which meets the customer needs.

The same criteria needs to be understood in your environment as well, whether your making sub sandwiches, cars, or computers, if there are processes, people, and equipment then standards can be set, along with necessary conditions and process criteria to ensure team member have a "self quality check" giving them the authority to stop the line. I called this "Enhanced Standardized Work" which means taking Standardized work to the next level, understand the key points and reasons to why it was set that way to begin with. Standards are the foundation of the Toyota Production System, understanding their importance and following them is one of the key's to success in implementing Lean. Until Next Time,

@tracey_san
Tracey Richardson

Strategy Deployment - What does it mean for a company?

First off, I would like to apologize for my absence in July, I have been on the road doing great things with companies implementing Lean. I hope to be back on schedule with the blog posts this month and hereafter.

So what does the term Hoshin Kanri mean? Sound familiar to some of you? It is the Japanese term for "Strategy Deployment" or "Policy Management" within companies who have defined their "Line of Sight" or "True North". The words together can be defined as:

A system (or a way of thinking) which intends to create an organization capable of sustained high performace by its leadership and team members to produce continual and repeatable results. A company can achieve this by setting Mid-to-Long Term Management Plans (Annual Plans) that prioritize daily activitites and resources by department or group. The goal is to involve ALL members from the top down who will clarify these targets and value added activity from their own departments/positions. The Hoshin targets can be achieved by continuously turning over the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) Management Cycle at the MACRO and MICRO levels; checks are performed and follow-ups made during these implementation cycle of the Hoshin. This allows the entire company/organization to have a "line of sight" or work in "one direction" with members at all levels taking initiative solving problems. Some refer to this term as "Catchball". Catchball is a term that describes value added ideas being "thrown back and forth" from management to the team members and team members to the management level which help reach the Hoshin targets.

It's important to remember that a company should first define their values, mission, or goals they want to achieve (which should take into consideration - their customer) in order to understand the strategies involved in developing the Annual Plan. The Hoshin will then be broken down into Divisions, Sections, and Individual Teams. These areas will then determine the value-added activities it takes to successfully meet the goals.

See the visual below of the Hoshin breakdown process between the different levels within a company.

Another key point to remember is that "Problem solving" and "Standardization" are a key components to a Company's ability to see deviation from existing Standards and "thinking" through those discrepancies using the PDCA management cycle in order to get to root cause. The Japanese call this "Kanri Cycle Turnover". Again the micro PDCA activities that solve value added problems towards the company Hoshin goals.

How does your company deploy its strategies for continuous improvement and customer satisfaction? Has your Company Culture evolved to this level or are you still "Managing by Objectives dictated from the top? Til next time,

@tracey_san

Tracey Richardson

Does it really matter if I "Go and See" or not?

The answer is YES!!!

I have to admit during my time as a Group Leader on the production floor at TMMK (Toyota Motor Manufacturing KY) I was guilty, on occassion, of doing certain levels of problem solving from behind my desk or at the computer. I was often in such a hurry to get my A3 written and turned in to my Managers that I would often forget the essential element in the problem solving process. I would usually tell myself-- "I just don't have time", or "I already know what the problem is". Do some of these comments/thoughts sound familiar to you? It's ok you can admit, I just did :0).

It was often a hard lesson to understand the importance of actually going to the GEMBA (japanese term for actual workplace) when your in the middle of those daily reactive moments of "fire-fighting". One of the many lessons the japanese taught me was: "What is more value added, spend time getting to the root cause, or only solving a symptom of the problem"? When we try to solve a problem from our desks we miss the experience of actually "seeing" the problem first hand, and also talking with the team members who know the problem characteristics better than we do. I consider them the "professionals" out there! This action helps build mutual trust and respect with your team members as well as the potential on the job development (OJD) opportunities with team members or leaders learning to understand good traits in effective problem solving or A3 writing process.
One of my favorite quotes from Taiichi Ohno (father of TPS) was: "Of course Data is important, but I place the greatest importance on facts or the truth". This statement is about Genchi Genbutsu (Go and See).... in some of my classes at the Toyota plants many have coined that japanese phrase "Get your boots on!". Meaning, go out to the floor, visit the GEMBA and find the facts; not assumptions and get to root cause. When you demonstrate this disclipline to your team members you are being an effective leader, and efficiently solving problems. Repetition of these actions can create a strong problem solving culture and awareness at the worksite as well as developing good habits in the way we think about our GAPS (Gap= a discrepancy in the Ideal Situation and Current Situation).
So the next time you are faced with solving a problem, and you find yourself falling into the time trap trying to solve it from assumptions or past experiences, just remember to "Get your boots on" and GO and SEE. You will actually find you will spend LESS time on your problem than chasing around symptoms. Until next time,
@tracey_san
Tracey Richardson (Have a good 4th of July weekend!)

Process vs. Results - Which are you focused on as a company?

In Today's environment we are tasked with getting good results as a company...
my questions are: Are you using a good "process" to get there?
One may also ask: What are good results?

Some choose to get their results by luck, some manage by numbers, and most just stay in the daily reactive mode thinking they are going to get "there" one day.

So what defines a "good process" you ask?

A good process, in my opinion, has several essential elements to it. When a company decides to embrace change (shifting from traditional mind-sets); their way of thinking (the way we frame) must change too. I'm going to list a few elements below that I feel could change the way a company thinks/operates. I will say --It's simple its not easy>>> :o)
1. Does your company understand the purpose behind using a good process? (Why the need for change)?
2. Are you thinking in regard to your customer?
3. Do team members within your company have a "line of sight" (previous blog subject) to the company goals and values (Key Performance Indicators-KPI's)?
4. Does your company visualize problems for all team members to see? (not hide them).
5. Does your company have work/process standards in place to understand when there is a discrepancy from the current situation?
6. Does your company use a good problem solving process (PDCA) to identify, investigate, and solve problems?
7. Does your company use a good problem solving process (PDCA) to develop/challenge its team members through on the job development (OJD)?

I've listed only a few of the elements above(in my opinion) to implement a good process that will get you "continual and repeatable" results as a company, as well as a workforce that is encouraged to "think".
Some companies and their leadership will continue to "manage by numbers" turning their heads to their responsibility as coaches, and continue to give orders "because I say so", instead of offering development and wisdom as leaders should be.
For the short-term the practice of getting results by luck or numbers may keep them out of trouble with their bosses, but this is not the proven method for long-term growth, sustainability, or building mutual trust and respect with your team members. Just look at certain industries today that have managed this way. Do your results meet customer needs? Where do you wanna be as a company? Until next time
@tracey_san
Tracey Richardson

What is all the fuss about 5S anyway--Is it really important?

If an individual took a checklist with them and investigated all the different "versions" of the 5S's out there we would have about 10 or 20 different S's. In my experience I've seen different words used in the place of the "original" 4S approach (american culture added the 5th S by the way) established years ago in Japan. The "version" I like to use comes from the original TPS Handbook created by Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC).

I think if a company understands the intent behind 5S then the words chosen to represent the meaning are merely a guide to explain the process or tool. What I find is that companies will implement 5S but very few people really understand WHAT it is and WHY its an important step in Lean Implementation and TPS. (See previous blog posts explaining the WHAT and WHY.)

So what is 5S and Standardization have to do with one another?

5S supports Toyota concept of "abnormality management" by applying visual techniques (visualization) and controls that enable a team member to immediately recognize the standard and any deviation from it. We can also call this Problem Identification, which is the first step in Problem Solving. The 5S condition on the shop floor or in the office can effect our ability to manage those 4 Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) -- Quality, Safety, Productivity, and Cost.

Here is a helpful guide below to determine the different levels of knowledge when it comes to 5S "thinking".

Where is your understanding as a company or an individual in regard to 5S?
Take a look at this: (OJD=On the Job Development)

If a company is really trying to change their culture in regard to Lean and using TPS tools then 5S can be a way to develop team members as shown above.

So what are those S's.....let's take a look below:

Remember 5S is a "visualization and standardization" tool that used to implement Lean (TPS). It can also be used as a development tool for leadership as well as team members across all levels of the company. So the next time someone asks about 5S just know its more than the "flavor of the month".
Til next time
@tracey_san
Tracey Richardson

What does "Standardization" really mean to a Company?

As some of you know, Standardization is the "foundation" of the Toyota Production System, it creates the benchmark for improvement. Taiichi Ohno was famous for saying "Without Standards there can be no Kaizen", this is so true when it comes to creating a culture for continuous improvement within a company. Often times we have to know where we are(current situation) to know where we are going (improvements or Ideal Situation).

Standardized work can be defined as:

A TPS tool for making quality products that is centered around human movements outlining efficient, safe work methods that eliminate waste (muda). It organizes and defines the major steps of the job which are important when a worker may do it differently each time. Also there can be certain motions within our work that are disorganized which lead to inefficiencies (waste) within those processes.

I can remember when I started at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) in Georgetown, KY, we had to write all our standardized work charts (STW) and work instruction sheets (WIS) before we ever made our first vehicle. This ensured we were building in "Jidoka" on our work processes. This was one of my first lessons from the Japanese trainers in Kaizen and making improvements. They consider it a necessity of our job and the culture we were in required us to follow it religiously. By doing this we were able to maintain and improve our team goals in quality, safety, productivity and cost. This has been one of the secrets to Toyota's success over many companies who struggle in their lean journey. I often hear " We don't make cars, or we dont do the same thing everyday; so standardized work doesnt fit in our daily activities". I reply by saying, "if there are people, processes and systems" standardized work, problem solving and kaizen can apply ANYWHERE!!!"

Another common myth about standardized work I hear is that many think of a rigid work environment where workers arent required to think (robots) when they hear about "Standardization", this wasn't the case at all at Toyota. If we had ideas to make an improvement to the current standardized work we discussed our idea with our leaders and it was considered depending upon the consensus and buy-in from other members and shifts. Once consensus was reached then we ran a trial to determine the effectiveness, if it was deemed an effective change then the Standardized work was re-written and everyone was trained in the new method. This was continuous improvement at its best, and I lived this "way of thinking" for 10 years while working on the production floor at TMMK. These were priceless moments in my own journey in understanding the tools of TPS.

Until next time,
@tracey_san
Tracey Richardson
http://www.linkedin.com/in/traceyrichardson

A Visual of my Lean Implementation Plan - WHY, WHAT, and HOW to Implement

I've been working on a visual of my Lean Implementation Plan, this methodology is used as part of my training sessions at various companies around the U.S. I have discussed different segments of this throughout my previous blogs.

As you can see "problem solving" is the core of implementing change within a company and their ability to implement a Lean culture. Most companies tend to jump to the "how" start with the TPS tools which usually only show short-term gains. This is because the "purpose"...(Why we are doing this?) Isn't understood totally. Once a company's employees understand WHY then we move on to the WHAT and that is engaging, involving, and challenging them to "think" or problem solve. Only then can the tools be taught and fully understood as the "whole management system".
Once this new way of thinking (culture development) begins it must be visualized and posted for all to see. This can quickly show team members their current situation vs. where they need to be in regard to the standard or --companies expectations (key performance indicators). We call this Workplace Management Development System (WMDS) and it brings together the goals of the company with the ability to develop team members in the systems/tools to reach those goals. All these processes lead a company to eliminating waste, and profits by cost control. It looks simple, its just not easy!!! You implement all these processes while managing them by the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act)...these systems=success in a company guaranteed!!!!
Til next time
@tracey_san
Tracey Richardson