VISUALIZE DEVIATIONS TO START IMPROVING

These materials are from Jeffrey K. Liker and the book, Developing Lean Leaders at All Levels. Online courses on these materials are provided by the Lean Leadership Institute.

Following are the teaching objectives for this section:

1.     Discuss why Go and See is core to Lean Leadership.

2.     Review the role of standardized work.

VISUALIZING STANDARDS AND DEVIATIONS

LEAN’S CORE LEADERSHIP MODEL

Standardized work and standards are an integral part of Lean Leadership. 

To the right of the above picture you see the core of the Lean Leadership Development Model. At the center of the core values is; go and see; we get away from our desks; we look at the work process; we go see customers; we really understand the problems. We're really trying to visualize production in the factory or in any other type of work. We want to visualize it and understand what's going on.

 The reason we want to visualize it is to reveal problems and react quickly. The problems as I've defined them are deviations from the standard. So if we don't have a standard, they would say in Toyota, we don't have a problem; we just have an opinion.

When we can see the gap between the standard and the actual, then we can react quickly and we can solve problems as they occur one by one instead of letting problems accumulate.

 For example, we look at last month's data; we ask what happened last month. We don't have a clue. However, on the surface we know that this kind of problem occurred a number of times, but we don't know the situation in each case. 

Now if we solve those same problems as they occur, we know details about that actual situation, and by the end of the month we've solved several problems; then we reflect on what happened that month.

From these problems which we solved, we ask “What general lessons did we learn?” We should capture lessons by incorporating them into the new standards and communicate the lessons to others. 

After having done this for a while, you're going to find that you have a consistent, repeatable process operating at a new level. We used to have 80% customer satisfaction; that means 20% of the time people were not too happy. 

Now we've actually gotten to 95% which means 5% of your customers are not happy. So now it's time to set a new standard and the new standard might be to achieve 99% customer satisfaction. 

The new standard is going to require additional work; we have to repeat this same cycle; we need to visualize where we are compared to the standard; we need to solve problems; we need to come to a new level of consistent stable performance, and the Lean Leadership leads the process. 

S you have to understand the elements of developing a standard; of visualising standards; of solving a problem; of communicating to others the key points as best practices.

In fact, we are going to talk a lot more about visualization; how do you visualize the process even when that process is not repetitive and is not a physical process as you see in manufacturing.

THE ROLE STANDARDIZED WORK PLAYS

WHAT DID WE LEARN ABOUT STANDARDS

I'd like to reflect on what we’ve talked about, about the roles of standards.

We began with Henry Ford and his wise observation that standards are the best we know today to be improved upon tomorrow. So they're not rigid. We try not to create robots; we try to create thinking people but give them a starting point and a basis for comparison.

There are many kinds of standards; some may be in the form of a policy; some involve procedures; we could develop standardized work and specify what should happen for each step and timing can be established for steps. 

Standardized work itself is our theory about the best way to perform a task or set of tasks. For repetitive routine tasks that repeat cycle after cycle, we can specify details for the steps; the sequence of steps; the time a step should take and keys points. 

For non-repeating tasks we have to be more modest; certain aspects of the non-repeating tasks can be routine. For those repeatable tasks we can have a standardized worksheet that has the steps with a proposed sequence, and timing. However, for the non-routine parts we can identify the necessary steps and the key points; we then can have a checklist to make sure that we cover those things and this later becomes the basis for training people to perform that job.

Standards can be treated rigidly and become part of a coercive bureaucracy, or they can be used flexibly as guidelines and turned over to the team to improve upon, and we call that enabling bureaucracy. So there is bad bureaucracy, which we call coercive, and there is good bureaucracy, which we call enabling.

WHAT DID WE LEARN

We have to get past the point where we think that bureaucracy is always bad, that it is always meaningless rules and that we're going to be robots.

What then is the alternative? Anarchy?

Should we assume that anarchy and chaos are good and that bureaucracy is bad?

Actually, we need bureaucracy, but there is a certain way of using rules and standards and procedures which leads to learning and continuous improvement.

 Standards for a team that is trying to improve their process will be most effective when we can see when we are in standard and when we are out of standard. We can see the difference with our eyes.

If we see something that is out of standard, it's not necessarily a problem to panic over, but, in fact, it's an opportunity to solve another problem and improve the process. 

A Lean Leader needs expertise in creating and auditing standards; leaders need experience in leading and teaching problem-solving once the standard is known; a Lean Leader needs to recognize where workers are operating out of standard and needs to recognize the gaps. This becomes a key expertise, a key competency for the Lean Leader.

Often we separate these different competencies that are collectively known as problem solving. For example, this task is accomplished by the engineers; and this task is done by the Lean folks and the Lean office (wherever that is), and we as managers, must watch what happens and fight fires.

We are saying that lean leaders are responsible for creating a consistent and repeatable process thorough use of standards; and continually trying to find deviations so they can improve the process and satisfy customers. 

Finally, there is a process called leader standard work that allows leaders to have some degree of standardization. As a leader, your whole day doesn't have to be spent following routines and attending meetings. You only have a certain amount of routines that really should have your attention on a daily basis. These routines may also be the things that you might naturally not do in favour of firefighting. For example, we know that you should go and see, and check how people are doing, and you need to determine whether the standards are being followed and where there is deviation; you should be a coach. 

This is something that is easy to forget about as the day goes on. So if we actually standardize that part of going and seeing and coaching, what we call leadership standardize work, then we can actually schedule it and make sure it happens.

Standards can be bad; they can involve red tape; they can cause inefficiencies and make work unpleasant. Standards can also be useful and enabling and improve the pleasure of doing your work. 

Now that may sound odd, but we have rules and procedures that make work more pleasurable.

In the next few sections we're going to review a case called Menlo Innovations; the company develops software and their mission statement is, "To create joy in the world and joy in their workplace."

They accomplish this goal through a great deal of enabling bureaucracy and enabling standardization. I look forward to going through that next section on Visual Management with you.

One-Minute Review

·        Go and see means visualizing production to reveal problems and solve them one by one.

·        By following go and see, you will have a consistent, repeatable process and operate at a new level.

·        Henry Ford wisely observed that standards are the best we know today, and they are to be improved on tomorrow.

·        For non-repeating tasks, having a checklist can form the basis for training people.

·        Standards work best when they are visual, when at a glance, you can see if you are IN or OUT of standard.

·        Lean Leaders should have expertise in creating and auditing standards, which in turn will produce problem-solving.

·        Where there are deviations to the standard, you should be a coach. This is easy to forget.

·        Good or enabling standards can be pleasurable?this process is also called enabling bureaucracy.

*****

 I hope you enjoyed this topic as much as I have. Please contact us at http:LeanLeadership.guru for all of you executive coaching needs. You can also reach out to me directly by calling me in Canada at 204-880-6363. I look forward to speaking with you.

George Trachilis, P.Eng., Co-founder & CEO, Lean Leadership Institute.

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