Last week I had one of those epiphany moments. You know, those "I can't believe I didn't see that before" type epiphanies. I have been training many people on how to Gemba Walk, as well as other things like Coaching, Lean Basics, etc. The feedback I kept getting were pretty disconcerting. I would hear things like "I go on the Gemba Walk but when I discuss all the things I saw with my manager, nothing ever happens. What's the point?" and "This sounds like a good thing to do, but it's just not the reality. The reality is chaos." I took these as a challenge to myself; what I was saying was not applicable to the current culture, to the current way of work. This got me to ask a very basic question, Why do I Gemba Walk? Hell, why do I use any of these Lean tools? It took me a while, but there it was all along, that most simple idea that brings everything about Lean together.
I saw this video posted in an article I was reading either from Planet-Lean.com or Lean.org and it exemplifies a fantastic point. I encourage you to watch it and try to see the ballet that occurs in the form of the Prius assembly line. My favorite part is when the wheels are installed at the 5:32 mark. The wheels enter as they are needed, at the right height, and the worker uses a guided fixture to help install it. The worker uses a simple tool to get the lug nuts started, and then a machine takes over the rest. This allows for the worker to get the next wheel ready, and when it is, the machine is ready to go again, no waiting. Everything about this operation looks like a dance. Man and machines are working nearly flawlessly together. What are we seeing? What is it that drives Toyota? Is there really such a simple idea behind it all?
Those questions challenged what I thought I knew about Lean. I had gotten so caught up in the individual elements, the individual tools. I was pouring over information with people on how to Gemba Walk, how to learn about processes by being at the place of work, how to learn to see waste in the process. What was it all for though if it wasn't relevant to the business? The most simple idea is what underpins everything Toyota does, it underpins all of what lean is meant to do. That simple idea is, the uninterrupted flow of value to the customer.
I'm embarrassed even to admit that I lost track of this. It's something that is taught very early in every book and every class I've ever had, yet I lost it somehow. I think this is why those that experience Toyota's processing, and those that truly understand it, all say it seems so simple. It seems so simple because it all has to do with the basic idea of flow. Specifically we look at what the Customer values, and how we can create the perfect flow of that value to the Customer. This is the end goal, and reason behind all of what Lean is about. The tools are just answers to questions it creates.
What interrupts flow? Burden, unevenness, and waste (muri, mura, muda).
How do we see flow and interruptions to flow? We go to Gemba, on a Gemba Walk. We create Value Stream Maps. We go and see.
How do I get my employees to see interruptions to flow? Respect them by developing them to see it.
Now that they can see it, what do they do? Let them solve the problem if they can. When they can't, use Andon to make the problem very apparent. Swarm the problem and solve the problem as a team quickly. Never pass on a defect.
How do I eliminate the interruptions? Lead with Humility and work with your employees to experiment, try different ideas! Use a Future State Value Stream Map to take out what we can in the process as a whole, fine tune at Gemba using the Kaizen mindset every day to continuously improve.
What if I can't figure out how to flow? Use the idea of Pull and let Kanbans drive your flow. This will limit your inventory build up where there are bottlenecks in the process.
The reality is chaos, look at all this stuff in the way! Utilize the idea of 5S - it's just a way to organize and stay organized. This takes effort, but it's worth it not be in chaos. Think about the implications to Safety as well, we need a safe work environment for our employees, and if we injure an employee we not only interrupt the flow of value, but we also interrupt that individual's personal flow/life.
We are seeing an awful lot of things now, how do we manage it? Manage visually. Simplify the workplace so even information flows uninterrupted. Utilize huddles and boards, and visual charts to show what is important to your particular flow of value to the Customer. Utilize Control Charts, Kamishibai Boards, and other quick visual management techniques to unlock the flow of information.
What do I do about all these other reports? Who needs them? No point doing extra work now that you've figured out that it's all about the uninterrupted flow of value to the Customer! Use the idea of a Huddle to flow information throughout the company. It's a perfect alternative to the countless reporting that seem to get lost in emails or presentations.
Seriously though, my bosses want me to make reports for them. The only reports they should be worried about are the ones at Gemba, the one they need to see. The entire company needs to rethink how it runs, including management.
What about all the teleconferences, meetings, and management meetings? Again, who needs them? Go to Gemba, go and see to find facts firsthand. If you can't make it to Gemba for some reason, think about how to create uninterrupted flow of knowledge and information. Think about what it means to support the uninterrupted flow of value throughout the entire company. Let that define what you should do.
How do we know where to go as a company then? As a company we utilize Hoshin planning to align our company goals and initiatives. This helps drive us in the same direction. These don't have to be complicated either, get the different levels of the organization together to discuss the direction - this allows for a dialogue rather than a monologue of commands.
Is that it? There are many things Toyota came up with based on the interruptions they experienced. Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) is just one idea that came of this - switching out the die used to be a hugely laborious and time consuming process, now it's done in mere minutes (but it took decades to accomplish). What is interrupting your flow? What ideas do you and your team have?
I believe that now I've got such a better understanding about what Shigeo Shingo kept talking about when he said "Use your brain!" The only reason any of these techniques came about was because they saw something interrupt the flow and they had to come up with some way to fix it. There is anecdote after anecdote out there of people visiting Toyota and talking about how the management there said "you can take our solutions, but you'll never be able to do what we do." Everything we have done so far has been to complicate this basic idea, and Toyota and others know this. Simplify everything and focus on the very basic idea - Create Uninterrupted Flow of Value to the Customer.