Are you asking the right questions?

The more I teach problem solving "thinking" at various companies these days, the more I realize that its not just about following the specific steps to problem solve, or filling out an A3 to tell your story...but more so asking yourself or others the right questions. I will borrow a quote from my friend, colleague, and mentor John Shook; he said it perfectly in his column at www.lean.org.

"Lean management is very much about asking questions and trying things, or encouraging others to try things. Lean management itself is not much about providing the right answer but it is very much about asking the right question."
As I have discussed in past blogs, Genchi Genbutsu is a essential element to get the facts. In American terms it means to Go and See at the GEMBA. In Today's environment we tend to rely on our past experiences, tenure, or what we feel is the best countermeasure based on the time we give ourselves to really get to "root cause", rather than invest in Go and See. Not only is that important but as you Go and See as a leader and a problem solver its essential to ask yourself or others the right questions.

For every problem the questions could change, but there are simple ways to inquire what the current situation may be. For Instance, using a the 5 W's as a stratification tool, or even the 4 M's, P's or S's . See below:

WHAT
WHO
WHEN
WHERE
WHY

MAN
METHOD
MATERIAL
MACHINE

PROCESS
PRODUCTIVITY
PLACE
PRICE
PEOPLE
PRODUCT

SYSTEM
SUPPLIER
SKILLS

These questions below may help initiate your inquiry for yourself or others solving problems.

What is the real problem?
What should be happening?
Is there data to support?
Who is it affecting?
Does it happen on all shifts, time frames?
Does this happen certain times of the year?
Where is it happening? which area?
How many times has this occurred?
Is it on a specific machine, part?
What is the standard or expectation for this problem?
Is there a process? Have you gone and seen the process?
Does this involve a supplier?
Does this happen in all work processes?
Does this affect productivity, safety or quality?
Does this involve a team member's safety?
What have you investigated so far? and How do you know?
What are the causes, or why is this happening?
Are there similarities or differences?

There are many other types of questions when you are dealing with specific topics in your work environment but these should "spark" your thoughts when your at the GEMBA ---Asking the right questions.
Til Next time,
@tracey_san
Tracey Richardson

Are you being S.M.A.R.T. ????

I often ask this exact question in my A3 classes as I'm teaching different problem solving methodologies. A lot of times I get peculiar looks and participants are waiting for a punch line.8) In my opinion being SMART is necessary to create a solid A3 story using PDCA and the 8 steps of Problem Solving. So what is it you may ask?

S- Specific
M-Measurable
A- Achievable
R- Realistic
T- Timely
When you are creating your A3's you must go to the Gemba, gather facts/data, involve the team members on the process, and remember your "SMART" goals within each step.

Specific

• You may ask yourself what you are trying to accomplish in your problem solving activity?

• Why your trying to accomplish it, and how it relates to the company. (Purpose)

• How you are going to accomplish it? (How much and By When)

• Don't use words like - "Some" or "Many", a good trainer will always ask you, "How many?" etc.

Measurable

One of the first things my Japanese trainers taught me in Problem Solving was, "Tracey san, if you can't measure don't do it". Meaning if you can't quantify your GAP how do you know how effective your countermeasures are? Part of being specific is determining a quantifiable GAP in Step 1, therefore you are measuring on the right side of the A3 if you are addressing the root cause.

Attainable

How are you setting your goals when your problem solving? Are they within your control or influence? Are you relating/aligning them to a key performance indicators within the company? (Quality, Safety, Productivity, Cost). When you set the targets/goals they need to be attainable with a slight "stretch" to them ensuring you are always thinking about continuous improvement or raising the bar on yourself. 8).

Realistic

Some may refer to this as "do-able". It's not realistic to set goals that can't be met due to lack of resources or possibly skill set at the time. You want the Problem solving experience to "push" or "stretch" someone as they are learning, but not frustrate them to the point of giving up. Sometimes there is a fine line. It is up to the mentor to assist with what is "do-able" at times by knowing their people.

Timely

Set a proper time-line for the goal or a target, for example by the end of the week, year, month, in 3 months, 90 days etc. Coming up with a solid goal gives you a time-line to work with.

If you don't set a time, the commitment become too nebulous, or it tends not to happen because you feel you have forever to solve the problem. Without a time limit, there's no urgency to start taking action now.

Time-lines must ALSO be measurable, attainable and realistic.

Everyone can benefit from goals and objectives if they are SMART about them when they are problem solving. So the next time someone asks you if your SMART you can say, "As a matter of fact--I am"....

Until next time
Tracey Richardson
@tracey_san

How to enhance the Visualization of your A3 with Tools

So let's review...... I did a previous blog post on A3's. So what are they? Go here: http://thetoyotagal.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html

When developing/creating an A3 report (11 x 17 size of paper) its often useful to embed different types of "A3 tools" to assist the reader in quickly visualizing the problem your trying to solve. Many people are "visual" learners and with the rapid pace of the work day its efficient to quickly see the problem, rather than read through a long report to find it out "what I need to know".

So which tools are most often used?

• Bar Graph
• Line Graph


• Pie Charts


• Pareto Charts


• Fishbone(brainstorming & cause/effect)


• Tree Diagram

What do these tools show and when should you use:
Line and Bar are a similar tool; it really comes down to preference. These 2 tools are often used to quickly see trends, peaks, and valleys in the data that may alert the reader to an "out of standard situation". The Line graph can be used to show progression of an idea, countermeasure or solution implementation that is progressing in different stages. The X and Y axis of the bar graph can be interchangable depending upon your data. Many instances you see the months of a year across the bottom X axis.
Pie Chart is a useful tool in showing contributions of each particular component as it pertains to the whole. A pie chart is also kin to the pareto chart. Instead of the accumulative line graph attached its accumulating the space taken up within the circumference of a circle in the form of angles. So you are accumulating the angle degree of each as it contributes to the full 360 degrees of the complete circle. If you were drawing a pie chart and wanted to ensure accuracy you would need a protractor. 8).
Pareto Chart is a useful tool that allows the reader to select the focus item first on the bar graph. A pareto is known for its descending order format, and a line accumulation showing how each of the problems contribute toward 100% of all the problems. See the visual below.

Notice the last bar is a little higher than the next to last. Why is this? A typical pareto will show a misc. or other bar at the end, which is a compilation of the "onesy and twosey's" put together. As a rule its always at the end, this way you graph isn't drawn out with many very small contributors to the problem.

Fishbone Diagram is a tool used to categorize/breakdown problems. There are 2 different types of Fishbone Diagrams:

1. Brainstorming Fishbone - shows the categories (Man , Method, Material, Machine) by brainstorming the "direct cause" of the problem only. (1 cause or 1st cause). There is no cause/effect relationship "drill down" in this version.

2. Cause and Effect Diagram - actually drills down several levels of causing through asking WHY. (5 WhY's). So each cause will ask WHY afterwards until the root cause is obtained through Go and See and Fact Based investigation. See the diagram below showing several levels of causes.

Tree Diagram is used for obtaining solutions by breaking down the problem and/or showing the relationship between purpose and means to get there. It can also be used as a cause/effect diagram similar to the fishbone above. The Tree Diagram is a very versatile tool. I've personally used it in problem breakdown (smaller pieces to the problem), cause analysis, and breaking countermeasures down (purpose/means - smaller ideas to implement from the larger) all within the same A3.

I hope this has given you a quick overview of the various A3 tools out there to be used to enhance those A3 reports. The more you use the easier they become and I promise you the reader will be 8) (happy). Until next time,

@tracey_san

Tracey Richardson

WHY is asking "WHY" so important?

How many times have you thought you have solved a problem just to be plagued by its unwelcomed return? This is not only frustrating for you but think of the team members within your company trying to do their job and the "same ole" problems are hindering them each day. By NOT getting to the root cause of a problem this situation can be a costly act for the company, as well as break the mutual trust between you and your workforce since a leader's responsibility is to serve their customers (the team members).

It is important to ask WHY repeatedly when visiting the GEMBA to determine what is current happening versus what should be happening. In many cases we stop at a symptom to the problem because we are often pressured for results and quickly solving the problem without going past the symptom seems to be the best answer.

By repeatedly asking WHY, you can practice the "Go and See" trait to uncover the layers of symptoms that can lead to the root cause of a problem. Very often the first reason for a problem will lead you to another question then to another. Although some label it the "5 WHY's" you may find that you will need to ask the question fewer or more times than five before you find the issue that is responsible for the problem.

An important key factor to asking WHY is to determine the Cause and Effect relationship between the WHY's. This shows the relationship of given factors or cause that lead to the given situation "or effect" that is happening with the process. A rule or practice that I use is asking WHY or BECAUSE downward as we identify the root cause, and then to test the logic we ask THEREFORE upward back to the problem.

For example:

My car will not start (the problem)
WHY? The battery is dead (first why)
WHY? The alternator is not functioning properly (second why)
WHY? The alternator belt was broken (third why)
WHY? The alternator belt had worn over time (fourth why)
WHY? Owner had not replaced belt at recommended interval (fifth why) - ROOT CAUSE

So what happens if we keep asking WHY? How do we know when to STOP?

A couple of common rules I tend to teach by is:

• when the problem changes context by asking another why.
• when we tend to blame behaviors in people.
• when it is out of our control or scope.

Let's look at an example that ask WHY too many times.
I overslept today (The problem)

• WHY? My alarm clock didn't go off
• WHY? The clock wasn't registering the time
• WHY? The Clock was flashing on and off
• WHY? There was a power failure or interruption
• WHY? Lightning hit a nearby transformer
• WHY? There was a storm
• WHY? Barometric pressure changes in the atmosphere
• WHY? Hot air and Cold air interact
• WHY? Seasonal changes on the Earth
• WHY? The Earth rotates.

When did we need to stop in that chain of WHYS? When could we have effectively countermeasured the problem?
If you are countermeasuring "storms" or "earth rotation" you have gone too far, this is out of your control. Will countermeasuring the storm solve the actual problem of oversleeping? These are the questions you ask to determine when you are at the actual root cause.
So the next time you are at the GEMBA remember a few of these rules to effectively getting to root cause and past a symptom. This will not only help your team members but effect cost and productivity as well. Till next time,
@tracey_san
Tracey Richardson

The Seven Mudas (Wastes)-- Are you recognizing them?

What is WASTE? What does it mean to a Company or to the Customer? When we talk about waste within a company we tend to classify it as any activity that takes up company resources that does NOT create value for the customer. Some say its work the customer is NOT willing to pay for. The problem is for many companies they do not recognize waste and tend to pass on these hidden costs. I suppose this is acceptable if the customer is willing to pay for it, but its optimal when a company can recognize its waste, therefore not passing this on. If recognized it can potentially create more profit for long term sustainability and job security. Its a win win situation for both the customer and company.

So what are we looking for out there? Do we have a process for recognizing waste?

Within the Toyota Production System, Taiichi Ohno put waste into Seven different categories:

• Over Production
• Waiting
• Conveyance
• Over Processing
• Inventory
• Motion
• Correction

Let's take a look at these a little closer.
Over Production happens when "Just in time" to the customer isn't followed. It allows you to produce, because you can, at a rate that is normally faster than customer demand. These products are then "stockpiled" for a "rainy" day or whatever reason to meet the need at any given time. This waste normally "hides" or "masks" problems since there are plenty of parts stored in any empty space found (Sometimes even warehouses). This is one of the worst waste categories there are because it leads to excess Inventory (another waste) which leads to increasing costs for the company and customer. Other aspects companies do not think about is the Quality control processes with Over Production, it is very hard to control versus a first in first out process.
Waiting takes place when an operator may have idle time when waiting on machines, parts, or production. If fluctuations happen in production volumes, waiting can be seen as more than process related. Entire lines can be effected by Over production, and part shortages can create a snowball effect to others in the process. As you will see these 7 Wastes are all interrelated.
Conveyance is necessary to many production areas in the form of "water-spiders" or production control logistics due to the nature of transferring parts from place to place. Many consider Conveyance itself to be muda or waste. What companies must look at is "how" we transport product or materials and are we doing it the most effective/efficient way. It's important to look at the shortest routes, maximizing space on the truck, the Heijunka (part leveling) of parts taken (highest demand to lowest) and contain sizes. These are just a few ways to look at waste in conveyance.
Over Processing is the one most often confused with Over Production. What is the difference you may ask? Over-processing is happening within a process at the Gemba (work-site)....it can be equipment, resources or people related. For example, if a machine/mold is responsible for cutting out the sunroof opening on the Roof Headliner wouldn't you want that machine to do it in the most efficient and effective way possible. One of the lessons the Japanese taught me was to look for unnecessary motion in equipment. In this case was the machine traveling open too far creating extra time for the cycle time? If the machine time could be cut by 10 seconds it can prevent team members waiting on the machine and add more value to the process instead. These are the types of Over processing wastes we were taught to look for in regard to equipment. Its a very common waste most overlook.
Inventory is related to Over production. Its a very costly waste to the company in regard to excess space, storage and quality control methods. Again it happens when "just in time" isn't being followed to customer demand or takt time. This can be in the form of raw materials, work in process, and finished parts.
Motion is one of my favorites to look for at the GEMBA. These are motions within the process that do NOT add value to the customer or product. These can be see as excess walk time, simple actions of picking up a hand full of screws and orientating them in your hand correctly, reaching too far or in unacceptable ergonomic positions, repetitive actions not being streamlined, and many others in regard to an operators path in completing their work or parts orientation. Sometimes motion can be interrelated to the Heijunka of parts coming down the line, if a flow rack isn't correctly stocked depending upon the part leveling then a lot of wasted motion can occur in unnecessary trips or steps to the flow rack. It's another common waste that is accepted as the "norm" at the GEMBA.
Correction means we do not get it right the first time. It's when we must recreate a product or part because of a quality issue or discrepancy within the process. It can also be in the form of inspection. If a operator doesn't build in Jidoka the first time, re-inspection may need to occur and this is considered a waste in time and manpower. If scrap or rework is high in your company then a daily go and see should be happening to determine current situation.
I hope this has helped to explain the Seven Wastes as described by Taichii Ohno.... if focused upon can change the way you look at your processes therefore adding value to the customer.
Until next time
@tracey_san
Tracey Richardson

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