I just got off the phone with a gentleman struggling to apply lean concepts in his workplace.

This person, let’s call him Jeff, works in a distribution environment meaning he doesn’t produce widgets for a living.

One of the lean concepts Jeff was struggling with was value stream mapping. In order to help him I asked a few questions and sensed he was getting stuck on how to deal with the yellow inventory icons drawn between process steps.

Stumped by Inventory Icons

You see, in Jeff’s case, he doesn’t really have WIP piling up between process steps like we might see in a manufacturing environment. Therefore, noting 112 pieces of inventory between steps 1 and 2 didn’t really make sense for him.

Once I understood this I asked if there was any “waiting” or “queuing” time in between process steps and Jeff quickly replied YES!

I then explained that an easy way to adjust your value stream maps for this type of situation is to replace the “I” inside the triangular icon with a “Q” which represents the time spent waiting in between processes.

The Light Goes On!

With this simple piece of advice I sensed a new found hope in Jeff’s voice.

It’s as if he finally realized that lean thinking is not an exact science and that it’s OK to bend the so-called rules and guidelines taught in workbooks and even lean training videos narrated by extremely handsome instuctors.

What do you think?

Do you agree that it’s OK, and even preferred, to bend the rules in order to make lean concepts apply to your work?  Or do you feel like it’s important to apply tools in the most traditional manner?

Gemba Academy, in collaboration with the Kaizen Institute and Qualis Health, is proud to announce a free seminar focused on Using 3P to Support Healthcare Facility Design in Seattle, Washington on March 17, 2011.

Please see the attached flier for all the details.

Agenda

• What is 3P?
• 7 Wastes and how they affect Health services
• Who is our Customer(s)?
• Understanding the 7 Flows in a Health services facility
• Applying 3P: step by step overview

Presenters

Mike Wroblewski and Chris Schrandt are both currently engaged in Health services projects serving clients located in Saskatchewan, Canada; Seattle, Washington; and New Zealand.

Mike and Chris have over 20 years experience in Lean/Kaizen, having received their training in the US and Japan. Among notables: Chris served as Manager of Quality Engineering for Toyota in Kentucky; and Mike studied directly with Shigeo Shingo.

Please see the attached flier for all the details.

Registration Details

Cost: FREE
Date: Thursday, March 17th, 2011
Time: 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Where: Qualis Health
10700 Meridian Ave N #100
Seattle, WA 98133-9008

Contact: Nancy Evans
Tel: +1-888-464-3622
Email: nevans@kaizen.com

Space is extremely limited. To register for this event please email Nancy Evans at nevans@kaizen.com or call +1-888-464-3622.

Please see the attached flier for all the details.

A few weeks ago we discussed whether the use of a dishwasher was lean or full of waste. 

Well, last night I needed to pick up some Little Caesar’s pizzas for my soccer team.  I needed to order several pizzas and wondered how long it would take. 

When I placed my order it was clear they didn’t have enough “finished goods” on hand so the young lady pulled a few trays (see image) from what looked to be a semi-finished goods supermarket.  She then placed these into the oven right behind the rack.

A few minutes later I had all the hot cheese pizzas my 6 and 7 year old girls could eat. 

My question is this.  Do you think the approach Little Caesar’s takes to fulfill customer demand is in harmony with lean thinking principles or would you handle it differently if you were in charge of that company?

What do you think?

In March of 2009 I, along with Jon Miller and Kevin Meyer, launched Gemba Academy.

We had no idea what to expect when the site first went live… initially we offered one 12 video course and had zero, as in 0, customers.

Fast Forward Two Years

Fast forward two years. We now offer more than 145 online and DVD based lean training videos covering multiple lean topics such as 5S, the 7 Wastes, Kaizen Events, Standard Work, Leader Standard Work, Value Stream Mapping, Quick Changeover, Practical Problem Solving, and much more.

Add the fact that more than 1,000 companies around the world now use Gemba Academy to train individuals and groups and it’s safe to say we’ve grown much faster than we could have ever imagined.

Free 19 DVD Promotion

So, to celebrate our two year anniversary we’ve decided to bring back the most popular promotion we’ve ever done at Gemba Academy.

Specifically, between March 1 and March 31 anyone that purchases a 6-month or 1-year online subscription to the Complete Lean Package will receive the Complete Lean Package set of 19 DVDs absolutely free.

This promotion will remain open to the first 500 customers or until March 31, whichever comes first.

All the details can be found here.

Thank You LSS Academy Readers

Finally, I want to personally thank the many LSS Academy readers who have already joined the Gemba Academy family. I am truly honored and humbled to have earned your trust and business.

Doug, a reader of LSS Academy and Gemba Academy subscriber sent me the following question.   I have some opinions but am very interested in what you all think of Doug’s question. 

Here is what Doug sent.

Hi Ron,

Does a dishwasher really save time vs hand washing and drying dishes right away?

It would seem there is quite a lot more waste such as motion and transportation (running water over plates that you know the dishwasher will have trouble getting off, putting dishes in dishwasher, adjusting other dishes in order to get the best fit before running it, taking it out when complete, checking to make sure they are completely dry and are clean), defects (dishes not dry or still dirty), waiting (the dish or utensil you need is still in the dishwasher since the dishwasher is not full enough to run).

My wife and I discuss this at times and wonder if we are kidding ourselves because in the long run we are wasting more time with the above and a dishwasher creates inventory to cover up process problems (handwashing and drying dishes). When I think of the 3 elements that make up value-added work, I think of the following with regards to a dishwasher:

1. Is the customer willing to pay for it? Yes, we are willing to pay for clean dishes but not for the waiting time until they are washed
2. Does it change in form, function, fit? Not if the dishwasher is not full.
3. Does it get done right the first time? Only if they are all dry and completely clean.

I know this might be an off the wall question, but I believe we often kid ourselves in what we do in our lives that we are saving time, etc. Lean is more than a business initiative.

Doug

So what do you think? Are dishwashers lean?  If not, are you willing to remove yours from your kitchen?