Pave the Path

What do you do when someone doesn’t follow the established manufacturing, quality, or business process? Most of us instinctively want to correct the employee (hopefully, in a constructive way) and remind them of the established process. But while process compliance is essential, it’s just as crucial to understand why the process wasn’t followed in the first place.

One story I remember from college, and just re-confirmed with a rigorous 30-second Google search, was that some universities will wait to plan and install sidewalks connecting the various facilities in a new campus.? After the first year, they will go in and simply pave the paths that have been worn into the grass by thousands of students.?

This concept resonates with an experience I had managing an organization that included a large test lab supporting multiple sites. To increase efficiency, we brought in a process improvement consultant who led us through a 5S exercise—a method for creating an organized and efficient workspace by ensuring “a place for everything, and everything in its place.” After decluttering and marking the “correct” spots for tools, fixtures, and materials, the lab was transformed. Technicians described it as a much more pleasant place to work.?

However, the consultant reminded us that 5S is not a one-time fix but an ongoing process. ?Each week, we walked through the lab to spot items out of place.? At first, when we’d see a fixture out of its assigned bin the responsible technician would sheepishly rush to put the item away, but the consultant would stop them and ask why the fixture was in that particular location.? We often discovered that the “correct” bin for the item was too far away from the point of use or that some fixtures needed to be shared between instruments that weren’t even in the same room.?

The improvement action in those cases certainly wasn’t to instruct the operator to follow the 5S layout more closely. ?Rather, we modified the 5S layout to better match the natural process and ensured that the lab was supplied with the proper equipment to avoid wasteful trips between rooms.? The lesson was clear: instead of rigidly enforcing the 5S layout, we adapted it to better match how people actually worked, reducing unnecessary steps and improving efficiency.? The same principles can be applied to quality system and business processes, as well.

Another image comes to mind from the quirky 90s movie “Joe vs the Volcano”, where Tom Hanks’ character is plodding up to his drab corporate job with the rest of his zombie-like co-workers following an unnecessarily crooked footpath styled to look like lightning.? It hit a little close to home when I realized that the fictional “petroleum jelly and anal probe” company where he works was technically a medical device company.? The point is that forcing people to follow a poor process without question at best results in compliant inefficiency paired with a frustrated and increasingly disengaged workforce.

The next time you come across an employee that isn’t following the process maybe the first response shouldn’t be to put up more “stay off the grass” signs.? Instead, look for ways to pave the path so that the change control or material requisition process is easier to follow.? And definitely avoid turning employees into mindless drones that dread coming to work.

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