Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Lean Six Sigma, and Kaizen
I am helping some fellow lean thinkers out with a short lean related survey.
This survey appeals to me for a few reasons. First, it’s all about lean and second this survey is SHORT! You’ll be done in a few minutes. Thanks in advance for your participation.
Here’s a question for you. When practicing the 3rd step of 5S – often referred to as shine or sweep – how clean is clean enough?
Should the area you’re working in shine as bright as the Texas sun? Should the floor be clean enough to eat off of? Or is “pretty clean” or “cleaner than it was” acceptable?
Clean to Inspect
The answer to the questions above can be summed up with one word – possibly.
But, you see, the key to this third step of 5S is not how sparkling clean the area is.
No, the key to this third step is to clean until you know why the mess is there to begin with. In other words, the true purpose of this step is to clean to inspect.
Why are you sweeping?
Here’s a way to practice. The next time you see someone sweeping or cleaning the floor politely ask them why they’re doing what they’re doing (sweeping or cleaning).
They’ll likely look at you funny while responding, “Cuz it’s dirty bro. Open your eyes.”
This is then your cue to ask why several times until you identify the root cause of the dirt or grime (e.g. dirty filters, machine malfunctioning, etc.) enabling you and your friend to think about a countermeasure.
What do you think?
What do you think? Do you agree with me? If not, why? If so, do you have any stories to share where you’ve done just this… namely identified a root cause that when addressed eliminated the need to shine or sweep altogether?
I recently got an email from American Airlines titled, “Important Reminders About Carry-On Baggage.”
Normally I delete these kinds of emails but for some reason I decided to give this one a quick read.
Click the image thumbnail to the left to read larger version of the email.
45 Inches and Sizers
The basic gist of the email was to remind passengers of the carry-on baggage size policy, namely that the total length + width + height of the carry-on must not exceed 45 inches. They even provide a decent little diagram demonstrating how to measure your bags.
The email goes on to explain how there are also baggage “sizers” available at curbs, check in counters, and security access points to help you check the size of your bag.
I won’t lie… I find these so-called “sizers” highly annoying and of questionable effectiveness but, honestly, I’m not sure of a better solution.
Over to You
So, I turn this challenge over to your brilliant minds. If you were in charge of American Airlines what system would you implement in order to ensure carry-on bags weren’t too large?
I’m thinking of a nice pokayoke (error proofing) device of some sort… but what it is I am not quite sure.
What do you think?
On page 19 of Shigeo Shingo’s masterpiece A Revolution in Manufacturing: The SMED System he writes an extremely strong statement:
“In fact, there is an important blind spot in the concept of economic lot size: the assumption that drastic reductions in setup time are impossible. The economic lot size lost its entire reason for being when the SMED system was developed.”
Do you agree with him? If so, why? If not, why?
I am the father of 4 wonderfully perfect children. I love them more than words can describe and couldn’t imagine my life without them.
And, recently, I’ve been thinking about how much having children helps me to sharpen my lean and six sigma practitioner “saw.”
Of course this isn’t to say that those without kids can’t also sharpen their lean and six sigma saws… but we parents just might have a bit of an advantage if we leverage this gift we’ve been given.
So, with this said, here are some of the ways my children help me to be better at what I do.
Commitment
Raising children takes a tremendous amount of commitment and self sacrifice. No matter what… we know at least one of our kids will be hopping on our bed by 6:00 AM each and every morning.
Likewise, anyone serious about lean or six sigma knows how important it is to stay committed to excellence. In fact, every day you should ask yourself… have I left this place better than it was when I walked in this morning?
Patience
Ah yes, patience. It goes without saying that my kids often get on my nerves and really try my patience. Especially as they learn to ‘test boundaries.’ But I know this is part of growing up so I do my best to persevere.
Likewise, continuous improvement often comes much slower than many expect or desire. In other words, patience is most definitely required!
Continuous Learning
My wife home-schools our children and I often marvel at how much my oldest (6 years old) daughter has learned.
She, if you’ll allow a proud Dad to boast for a moment, is reading at around a 3rd grade level and can work my iPhone better than most adults I know!
But the thing I am most in love with is how hungry all of my children are to learn. I pray they never lose this.
Likewise, all lean and six sigma practitioners must continue to learn. There are many ways to go about this such as reading books, or blogs, or online training that never ends.
Long-term Thinking
As parents my wife and I are constantly thinking long term with respect to our children. We are doing our very best to form their faith while teaching them to be good citizens.
Likewise, many business owners and senior executives would do well to focus on the long term and not on how to simply make Wall Street happy this week.
Why, Why, Why, Why, Why
If there is one lean principle most kids have mastered by the age of 3 or 4 it’s how to ask why over and over.
Sadly most parents – myself included from time to time – often grow tired of hearing so many questions day in and day out which often times beats this amazing gift right out of our most important assets (our kids).
So, it goes without saying that if we grown-ups all learned – or remembered – how we used to ask why over and over… well, the world might just be a better place.
Let’s Hear from More Parents
If you’re a parent or spend a lot of time around children… what have I missed? Are there other things you’ve learned from your little one’s about continuous improvement or life in general?
One of things I’ve come to realize about myself is I can make decisions quickly.
I don’t need to think about things for days on end… and when in a crisis mode, or a situation that requires an immediate action, I have no problem stepping forward.
This quick decision making, I’d like to think, has served me well most of the time.
But, with this said, I’m pretty confident a more conservative approach to decision making would have probably been wise from time to time. This is why I am so happy to have two business partners who keep me in check!
What About You?
So, I’m curious. How do you go about making decisions?
Are you the type of person who quickly assesses the situation and ‘makes a call’ or are you the type of person who likes to take their time assessing the situation, weigh all the options, and then make the call?
Or do you fall somewhere in between? Or, perhaps, you stink at making decisions altogether and rely on others to make the call. Is this you?
I’d really like to hear your thoughts.
Just a quick announcement… we’ve recently released a new course over at Gemba Academy called “Dealing with the 7 Deadly Wastes.”
During this 10 module course we go inside Ram Technologies, a custom foam fabricator located in Mukilteo, Washington in order to see, first hand, what each of the 7 wastes looks like – and more importantly – how to defeat them.
Sneak Peak – LSS Academy Readers Only!
I’m pretty excited to say that at the time of me writing this article this first preview video of the course is not available for free anywhere but LSS Academy. So please enjoy!
Please note: if you’re reading this article via email or RSS reader you may need to click through to the website to see the video.
To start the video simply click the arrow in the middle of the player. If you’re on a slow Internet connection please click the button in the top right hand side that says HD IS ON. This will launch a smaller video. Finally, to view the video in “full screen” click the button in the bottom right hand corner of the video player.
Always Expanding
With the release of this third course, we’re now up 32 different learning modules (presented in high definition video) inside the “School of Lean.”
Additionally, students can check their learning with our interactive – Flash based – quizzes, while downloading and using the PDF summary documents, lean calculators, and templates.
And, of course, the forums are there to post questions and learn from other like minded lean thinkers from around the world.
Finally, the best part of all is you can train everyone, and I do mean everyone, in your plant or facility with a single subscription to Gemba Academy.
The cost? $495 for 6 months or $97 per month.
Kind Words About Gemba Academy
Here is what a few folks are saying about their experiences with Gemba Academy.
“With the help of Gemba Academy’s training videos and quizzes, Elbit Systems of America will be able to formally train all of our employees on the different lean principles and have proof of understanding from the instant results of the online quizzes which can be printed out and filed. Gemba Academy also gives us a way to create lean “champions” for those individuals who take and pass all courses and modules.”
Rick Spires
Kaizen Promotion Office (KPO) Manager
Elbit Systems of America
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“The Gemba Academy workshops are going extremely well and we’re seeing a great improvement very early, which is a good sign.”
Richard Dunn – Msc. Manufacturing Management
Managing Director
Drurys Engineering Ltd
United Kingdom
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“Gemba Academy is the real workplace where experience is in a teacher student-situation. It is simply put and direct, easy to understand. I have asked my directors and two other workmates to join the Gemba Academy and this has enabled me to reassure top management that Lean Manufacturing is the answer to our organisation’s challenges.”
Alex Kubi
Bombolulu, Kenya
