Safe Practice of Lean

Howdy folks, and welcome to another campfire entry into my blog post.  Grab a cup of coffee and hitch up your horse as I am going to write about something this morning that I don't see covered enough, the safe practice of Lean.

I'm sure your cowpokes are wondering what I mean when I state "safe practice of Lean".  You all may have thought..."OK, Cowboy has left the range, wandered into a patch of loco weed and started eating."  That may be a first thought yet let's walk this trail for a piece.

When we enter a new organization, how do we show up?  Do we show up with questions and smiles or do we make an assessment of a broken down building with substandard equipment knowing all the solutions to the problems that workforce faces?  How many of us have made that mistake?  I have and let me tell you what, once you insult folks with a know it all attitude it is harder to earn back than picking out prickly pear cactus spines from your backside.

Presence of an open mind, leading with questions and smiles, being open to the needs of the organization and its individuals is necessary.  Just because we may have an answer doesn't mean it is the best answer.  Just put yourself in the place of a team member.  You see a new trail boss who is married to "The Lean Lady" and you may think, "Oh he is a know it all here to change the way I work yet doesn't know anything about me."  Does that scenario or a semblance thereof sound familiar?  If not, I tip my hat to you.  Along this trail I've made errors, yet I've learned from them as opposed to continually making them.  Rolling out tool after tool, demonstrating A3's, Fishbone, 5Why's, accident maps.... That is all nice and good yet how many of us actually teach the individuals how to use them.  Giving all these tools to folks is just like giving whiskey and car keys to a group of cantankerous old cowhands on the range just raring to take that old time sedan into town to swoon all the fair maidens.

What I am getting at is this.  We are overburdening our students when we as teachers haphazardly toss tools and terms around without following thru and making sure our students understand and can demonstrate proficiency in their use.  I've seen this time and time again.  Company X wants to "do Lean", they hire a consultant, get the ball rolling and boom!!!!! Ownership thought Lean was a magic bullet and he shifts the scope of the consultants work without knowing the outcome for he doesn't think about his end customer nor the value stream.  Ownership throws a tantrum because "Lean isn't working" yet ownership doesn't take the time to slow down so the organization can speed up.  Ownership is at fault so they throw a tantrum, disguise their failed attempt at a Lean journey and continue their trail of misery and confusion.

We must be responsible when we practice and teach.  Slowing down to solicit input from the customer of our knowledge for they are the implementer and we are the advisor.  Then senior team members must drive it from the top down as the floor drives it from the bottom up meeting in the middle at the campfire where true learning takes place.  We have a responsibility to our students, the practice of Lean and to ourselves ensuring that when we roll things out people understand what is going on.  Communication is vital, visual management is vital, we as the leader must oversee and continually teach as the organization transforms piece by piece, area by area, and individual by individual.  Failing or disregarding warning signs when individuals don't understand something or are  confused is not practicing the art safely.

Safe practice requires due diligence and a thirst for what is right.  Sure we will make mistakes, yet we learn from them and remember/log the results so that others don't have to eat our dust.  We pull them forward as they pull us forward.

In closing I'd like to say thank you to those that help me and my new teams who truly are engaged at my new organization.  You are teaching me as much as I am teaching you and together we are moving that herd of cattle closer to our goal.  It's a journey folks and whether we are walking or horse or riding, we must always be aware of what we are doing for if we don't.  We could fall into the trap of leaving people behind, derailing the teams, causing undue burden on people, etc. all due to the fact we as leaders were not listening and practicing safe teaching habits.  Thank you for stopping by and reading my post this week and may you all have a Merry Christmas.  Home here in Arizona I'll be waiting for Santa to show up so he and I can discuss single piece flow at the North Pole.
--Cowboy

Riding the range

Howdy folks, it has been awhile hasn't it?  As we are Lean people we all know about change and the PDCA cycle.  Well, this cowboy collected data and looked at the grand inspired vision and had to adjust.  What does that look like you may ask?  Grab a cup of coffee, hitch up your horse and sit for a spell and I'll tell you about it in this posting.

Let's face it, there are some organizations that get it and some that do not.  Then we have the hybrid organizations where they state "we are starting on a Lean journey", toss tools at people, bring in a consultant or two, move some dirt around on the floor, put up a white board, establish some half baked metrics, hire the wrong people and bingo.... They are now a Lean company.  We have all seen it and we have all read about it and some of us may have even been subject to it.  The question is this, "What did you as an individual do?"  Did you stay the course?  Did you help teach and inspire?  Were  you inspired?  Did you upwardly lead or were you dictated to?  What was the outcome of the journey?

Yes the questions arise don't they.  You as the lone ranger in a town full of outlaws who only has a handful of allies trying to lead an organization on their Lean journey only to find out the organization decides to abandon the efforts because.... It is too much work. All your efforts and the individuals you have pulled forward coupled with the true advancements you have made are perceived as failure by you due to a shift in leadership, it happens.  

What we as Lean individuals have to remember is this, resilience.  Though the organization may have shifted and decisions are out of your direct control you have options and possibilities as Yoda tells me.  Seeking a new organization to practice in is a an option and possibility, teaching those in different areas of the organization, breaking more silos within the same organization or changing organizations entirely to one that is a better fit.

Riding for a brand that understands the People, Process, Culture piece is a wonderful thing to have as a base from which one can practice Lean.  We ride up on our horse and loping cowboy strolls in smiling and is greeted by smiles and willing minds that ask questions.  We as teachers and practitioners have an obligation to teach.  Yet on the same coin, as teachers we are also students.  The learning collective as their isn't always a true absolute in manufacturing, as I've found out the hard way on my journey.

What I'm learning on this lifelong trail is this.  There are organizations out there that welcome Lean inside their walls and truly embrace the lifestyle that it is.  They care about their workforce and it shows.  They have true employee engagement, and the employees are proud to ride for that brand.  There are organizations that say they want it, yet do not want to slow down to speed up.  They are "too busy" to improve and stifle the voices of those who question the respect for people piece of the equation.  Then there are those who pick and choose tools, roll those tools and give them to the untrained workforce while management is befuddled as to why it doesn't work.  Yet management  won't goto Gemba and truly ask "Why?".

The Range on which we ride is a huge with a vast expanse of landscapes we will encounter.  Hardship and victory along with defeat and frustration.  Yet, what separates the seasoned cowboy from the city slicker dude who is all hat and no cattle is this.  We stay the course...rain, snow sleet, hail.  We continue to learn and PDCA our skills to help bring others forward.

In closing I'd like to thank everyone for dropping by the campfire.  I know it has been quite some time since I've picked up the scribe and transposed thoughts and action to paper, yet there are times when we must slow down to speed up.  The Lean Cowboy was not gone, I was in the adjustment phase moving the standard wedge on the improvement wheel.

Benchmarking

Howdy folks, it has been awhile since I've pounded out a blog posting.  I have been doing a lot of travel, a lot of work,  this cowboy even found time to take a few days off.  So grab a cup of coffee from the fire and pull up a log as I talk about benchmarking tourism in this latest blog post.
   
Having traveled extensively the past 2 months touring hither and yon, I have been exposed to a myriad of orgs. in various stages of their Lean journey.  What good you may ask does it do for one to travel and look.  Well cowpokes, for one it gives yourself a comparison.  Yeah, yeah we can read all the books we want, look at youtube videos from various individuals, go to seminars, etc... Yet if we can't compare ourselves to something it is at times hard to see where one is in their journey.

Look at it like this buckaroos, Lean people love to teach and talk.  I've discovered this in my various travels and conversations with individuals at the top of the mountain, all the way down to the bottom of the valley.  Once you are bitten by the Lean bug and start to make improvements, we love to teach others.  It is this sense of community which binds us all together out here on the range.

I visited a midwest org who has started their journey now for the 6th time.  This was told to me by the owner of the org and his senior team.  I asked the question we all ask, "What are you doing to sustain and build your culture?"  Yes, that is a question from Yoda and I'll give her all the credit.  The individual told me, "We are engaging our people...."  I was privileged enough to go on the floor to their morning meeting.  I stretched with them, participated in their discussion of the deadly wastes, and observed how engaged the employees were.  These individuals understood that a Lean culture truly is a learning culture.  People were given time to recognize acts of those who went above and beyond the prior week, coupled with individuals given time to demo an improvement via projected on a white screen on the shop floor.  Even their team area was marked accordingly and was re-purposed after the meeting to return to manufacturing space.  Spending the day with this cadre of individuals on the floor had me smiling from ear to ear.  Why?  That org. understood the People, Process, Culture components which are needed to move forward and sustain a Lean environment.

I also visited an org that was just starting their journey.  Management was still working on the "buy in" and "selling" phases of bringing Lean into their org.  The conversation with the operations manager was interesting.  He spoke of belt certifications, and all sorts of stuff.  I for one don't feel a belt gives one credibility anymore than a drivers license tells me that you are Nascar material.  It just states you went thru a module of training.  It doesn't mean you can interpret it, implement it, teach it, mentor individuals, coach individuals *yes there is a difference*, nor have a true grasp of what you have learned any more than having a drivers license and going thru a 2 day driving course gives you the skill set to operate at a level in which you could win a race at Daytona.  It just states you were there and can regurgitate.  That isn't critical thinking, and that is what one wants to develop in their people, critical thinkers who solve problems.  When we focus on the bells and whistles, belts, precious metal "rankings" etc.... it is easy to lose focus of what we are doing.  I'm not saying it is all bad, I am stating that rank doesn't prove real world competence.  We call that, "All hat and no cattle".

There were other orgs that I visited in various stages of their journey.  With various thoughts about what Lean was, how to implement it, what to do about those who hate it, the history of it, all sorts of good conversation.  One thing I picked up from the early adopters who get it and understand the value of developing their people, they do not let their mind become that steel bear trap that has rusted shut.  They are always open and willing to discuss ideas.  There isn't any secret spell or silver bullet here, it boils back down to People, Process and Culture.

I'd like to thank everyone for dropping by my campfire.  It wasn't out, I was out on the range benchmarking what we have done and talking to other Lean practitioners and implementers vs. speaking with the academics and theorists.  I love the academics and theorists for they are the visionaries, but when we saddle up and go to town it is the practitioner who takes the vision and makes it happen.  Happy trails and I'll see you soon.

--Cowboy

When it all breaks down

Howdy folks, here I am once again on another aircraft flying to work teaching and implementing Lean on the front lines.  Tonight's posting will be about something we know all too well.  When multiple pieces of equipment break down, and what do we do to prevent this from happening.

Preventative Maintenance, PM as we will now call it, in some organizations is absent.  The PM records, how many hits a punch and die can take before dressing the tool is needed, changing the oil in presses and press brakes, forklift PM, tooling PM on press breaks, basic service to the Lasers, overall PM not only of the equipment but the processes also.

Yeah buddy, that was painted with a broad brush stroke.  We have covered a lot of ground with that paragraph.  Yet, what are we doing as Lean leaders and implementers to help bring PM into the game.  This week my teams took some major hits with equipment that should have been PM'd.  The teams and I understood what was happening and why, and we had to devise a plan to sell PM to the suits.  Sometimes those who sit in an office all day don't see the value of spending money on equipment that isn't broken, yet will spend tens of thousands of dollars in expedited shipping costs that actually are more expensive than the parts needed.

What we did was use this as a baseline, a baseline of what you may ask.  Well cowpokes, when something breaks that sends a piece of equipment to boothill, we want to know the date/time and tech who replaced it.  With this we can start collecting data on service life of parts.  This will also allow your maintenance department to understand which parts to keep on hand and a qty. because the team is harvesting the data to pass off to the accounting folks, who then can become allies when you justify keeping spare parts on hand because..... when you are failing to produce customer orders on time deliver starts to look a lot like habitual overtime.  We all know from a previous blog entry that habitual overtime leads to burnout and lowered productivity.

Doing a regimented PM program isn't easy, I know as I've been trying to sell it to those who write the checks and get our PO #'s.  This is where the salesmanship coupled with data is paying off.  When your team starts to engage individuals on the senior team about not giving them what they need to produce a quality product in a timely fashion, they are holding the senior team accountable.  This is when silos are broken, and a true dialog is started.  Front line guys describing the problem, engineering harvesting data and scoping the true root cause, senior team writing the checks to make sure the mission is carried out, and me well I'm orchestrating it all teaching and living Lean principles along the way.  Yes this cowboy made is sound very simplistic and I've left out some steps, but you get the gist of what I'm saying.

I'd like to thank everyone who stops by to read my blog and watch what I'm doing with this organization.  It is a learning experience every day, both for me and my teams.  Yoda and I have been doing some rearranging in my office with a paint scheme and that in and of itself is an exercise in Lean as we don't want rework, we are doing the legwork and constructing the vision before we buy any of the paint.  It is going to be a grand project and I may post some pics of it along the way.  Remember folks always listen to the people doing the work as they are a highly underutilized resource that can help solve many issues.

Thank you once again for stopping around the campfire

Cowboy

Long Hours

Howdy folks and here I am once again writing to you from an aircraft on my way to work.  Yes, it has been a few weeks and in these weeks this cowboy has been doing the 60 plus hour weeks with his team to implement Lean and learn about process improvement from the front lines.

This posting is going to be about something all of us can experience.  Burnout.  When we continually work our team sixty plus hours a week, be it voluntarily or not time in is time in.  What do we as Lean leaders do to help alleviate the stress and burnout that comes with burning the candle at both ends?  Well that is what I'm going to discuss here today.  So grab a cup of coffee and have a seat at the fire and we will dive right into this stampede of a topic.

One of the biggest things I do is listen to my team.  Yes, listening to your team is sometimes all that is needed to defuse an issue or lend a shoulder.  You may even find that you have something in common with this team member and can use these times to build bridges with that individual.  Another one of the techniques I use is to buy my team lunch when they have gone above and beyond.  Yes I've touched on this before, yet it is imperative that your team understand you appreciate them.  Lean is more than just improvement, it is building capability in people.  That in an of itself is improvement.  When people are dedicating six days a week to an organization ten plus hours a day that needs to be recognized by you as the leader.  When I talk about leader, that could be CEO/CFO all the way down to front line supervisor.  Leading your team in every moment requires you to recognize and acknowledge people.

The more I've recognized efforts and advancements with my team, the more I've seen us grow.  Grow in our problem diagnosis skills as well as implementation skills.  How does this happen you may ask?  It all stems from the People, Process, Culture trifecta my wife talks about each and every day.  Though times may be busy, product needs to be manufactured, and overtime is to be worked.  Recognizing the concerted efforts of your team and being fair and equatable with them is something we as leaders need to be cognizant of all the time.  Think of it as listening to the machine.  When the machine is making odd noises, we get maintenance to look at it do we not?  The same thing when our workforce is in need of help, we need to listen to them as they are on the frontline.  When they need help we are morally obligated as Lean leaders to listen and implement the required help our team needs.  For if we fail to listen, then we are destined to break the machine.  When we break those bonds with our team rebuilding those structures can be very difficult if not impossible.

We must remember that though the hours may be long, the trail may be filled with hard work, the weather may not always be pleasant, we as the leaders MUST make a concerted effort to go above and beyond to help the team.  Note I did not say coddle, I said help.  Big difference their cowpokes.  When the mutual respect of your team works hard and you work with them to blaze that trail, your organization will experience progress.  When you run your cowboys and cowgirls into the ground without recognizing their efforts and helping pull them forward, well.... you are a poor trail boss and it is time to course correct.

Well folks, I'd like to thank you for stopping by reading my latest post.  The Respect for People concept isn't just words it is reality and when truly practiced great things can become reality.

Happy Trails

Cowboy

Superstars

Howdy folk, yes I know it has been a few weeks since I've taken up the scribe and written anything.  Knowing this I will state that it was not for the lack of desire, this old cowboy has been working off shifts, my shift coupled with travel.  So one can see that maybe I'm overburdening "my system".  Fear not as I believe things should return to some state of homeostasis in the next day or two.

Tonight's posting from the aircraft I'm sitting on is going to be about relying too heavily on one individual and what happens when they quit.  Yes we all have our superstars, those buckaroos who can ride any horse,  rope any calf, mend any fence, and never seem to tire.  Though we don't take them for granted, we need to realize that when we don't build bench strength  and rely only on that individual we can cause a crisis when they leave the ranch.

This happened to my team.  We had one of our leads leave for greener pastures.  Boy was this guy good, there wasn't a problem he couldn't solve, nor a challenge he couldn't face.  Full of ideas and improvements, he even had vision to see the potential problems before they became problems.  Yup, a real early adopter of Lean thinking and devoured information pertaining to it.  So we became too dependent on this individual, and lost sight of growth in the bench strength of our team.

When this individual left did it hurt?  Yes it hurt, and it always will.  Here is the good thing about this situation.  We were astute enough to realize that we as an org. needed to seek out and develop our people to this level of excellence.  Though we didn't get to this level of excellence before he left, we did start training to help bring individuals up to this level of performance.  You'd be surprised at your people when you give them the chance to learn and better themselves.  Yoda always tells me that it is about people, process and culture.  I'll admit she is right.  When we rolled out the opportunity for individuals to learn a new skill set, there were people willing to mount up in the saddle and ride.

We should always be looking at training individuals and bringing their skill sets up to a higher level of operational excellence.  Couple that with continuing their education and mentoring them on how to use Lean tools vs just pencil whipping up charts for the suits is also invaluable.

In closing I could say the take away you cowpokes should get from me is that when you have a superstar, look for individuals he/she can mentor and develop.  This not only gives the team a stronger presence, it also affords your superstar a chance to teach.  We all know that when we teach a discipline we understand it even more than if we are mere practitioners of the discipline.  Yeah, you could say that is a gig at the pure academics out there, but remember.  Without the pure academic theorists out there we wouldn't have the tool to take to the ranch and work with.

I'd like to thank you for stopping by for this installment and as always, Happy Trails

Breakdowns

Howdy folks and welcome back to another posting.  So grab some coffee and prop yourself up around the campfire while I discuss this weeks topic and what my team and I have learned on our Lean journey.

Anyone in manufacturing can tell you about breakdowns.  From the simplest screw not being in stock to get the half million dollar machine up and running, to sending your control head back to the OEM for a one month rebuild at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars.

Well my team and I have been suffering a rash of breakdowns.  What did we do? That is the question I'm sure everyone wants to know, right.  It is a multi part answer yet as the old saying goes, "Wait there's more."  Anytime I have a machine online my first instinct is what piece of equipment do I have to cover the load in case of a total breakdown or those pesky gremlins decide to show up and read havoc  on our operation.  We had that part covered.  Yes there is added labor in manufacturing parts outside of a dedicated area per se, but protecting the customer is worth it.

Now we can ask, "Cowboy don't you have a PM program and 1 terabyte worth of data to predict any and all breakdowns you may encounter?  Don't you have a PM cycle and know what are high wear parts?  Why don't you keep high wear parts on hand so in the event of a breakdown, there is an immediate swap out to minimize downtime and increase uptime?  Why haven't you involved your maintenance department in your findings?  What are you doing with your maintenance department to help them understand what a Lean journey is?  Why aren't you involving everyone?

Yes these are all valid questions that I know some of you have postulated in your mind as you read this.  Here is the kicker, a Lean journey is a marathon not a sprint.  When you move an organization forward it doesn't happen all at once.   Sure you may hire new people with ideas who proclaim on their LinkedIn page they know "true lean".  Heck you may even hire people that have a "belt certification".  All this doesn't matter if you don't involve people who do the work.

I still haven't answered the question now have I?  Here is the answer short and sweet.  The parts were ordered, and we were back up and running in an amount of time that would make the Pony Express cringe.  Did we loose anything?  Sure we did, yet here is the best part.  We as an organization learned.  My team learned.  We learned that we don't have alignment in all facets of our operation.  When problems arise there isn't a direct line of communication to get the help one needs to alleviate or better yet prevent problems before they occur.

Well folks thanks again for stopping by my campfire and remember this, if all your wagons in the wagon train don't know where you are going or where the spare parts are then chaos may ensue when you have a breakdown.  I could go on about uniformity and standardization of your wagons to help reduce inventory of parts, but I'll save that for another post.

Thank you for dropping by,

Cowboy

Life lessons in Lean

Howdy folks and once again welcome to my campfire.  Yes it has been a few weeks since the last post and much has transpired in the way of forward progress personally.  I have been very busy with work and play coupled with chores Yoda has me doing around the homestead.

What I'd like to talk about today is something I've never really touched on.  That being bringing Lean to your everyday life.  What is it that you do at work, and how do you bring that same methodology home?  As a young buckaroo my grandfather always talked about economy of motion, maximizing your work, keep things moving, don't allow bottle necks to happen, etc...  No he and I were not running a manufacturing facility, we were cleaning fish, cleaning game from hunting, loading ammo, tying flies, pretty much anything we did there was a lesson to learn.

Quality control when loading ammo, that is a HUGE thing one must understand. Precision measurements of powder, case length, bullet, primer etc.  Then how one arranges the loading area for flow, where the work happens, 6S is a MUST in this endeavor, and how to store finished goods.  These were exercises that groomed me for a manufacturing career later in life that I never knew I was going to pursue.

Tying flies is another example.  Raw materials of feathers, hooks, thread, beads, tools, etc are all laid out prior to starting.  We would have our patterns of flies that we were going to tie.  Pictures in the books for proper visualization of what we were doing.  Lists of materials under the picture and a specific sequence of events on how we would tie the specific patterns.  Our tying bench was meticulously clean and orderly.  Anything less meant we would be searching for items, and lost time searching for items that should be clearly visibly managed and in specific locations is time taken away from actually tying the flies.

Planting the garden is another thing that comes to mind.  The planning we would do before the ground was broken.  The sketches of what we were going to plant and where.  Would anything cross pollinate and give an undesired result.  Habaneros and Bell peppers will do this and one will wind up with hot bell peppers.  On a side note these are really wonderful if you enjoy spicy food such as myself, yet can pose an issue for those of us who do not like the heat this brings to the palate. The care given to the tools used in the garden, the equipment and the proper PM year round that was done to it.  I can still see the clip boards and hand drawn spreadsheets my grandfather had on PM and type of maintenance performed on everything from his vehicles to the chest freezers.

Yeah cowpokes this posting is quite different than what I've done in the past, and I felt obligated to tell you that though what I was doing as a youth wasn't explained to me as Lean, it was explained as economy of motion and "how things are supposed to be done".

Now some of wily and observant types may throw the flag of, "Where is the continuous improvement?"  Here is where I'll point out that I was always told to, "Think about what you are doing and how can you improve your work,  jot notes in a book and keep those ideas coming.  That is the way you get better at everything you do."

In conclusion cowpokes, my Lean journey though not called Lean all started when I was a youth back  in the early 80's.  My Grandfather was the one who helped me learn to see and how to slow down to speed up.  There have been some bumps in the trail along the way, I never stopped learning.  My wife is a well respected author/speaker/Lean Consultant.  And me,  well I'm a cowboy riding the range, a direct action guy always looking to improve and learn.  Leading teams of people from 12 to over 200 plus at times on a Lean journey.

Thank you for dropping by and sharing a few moments with me and I hope you found something you could use in your everyday life.  A Lean culture is a learning culture as I've stated, and remember inspiration comes from everywhere.

Respect for People

Howdy folks and welcome once again to my campfire.  Pull up a log and grab a cup of coffee for the newest post.  This week I'm going to be addressing the respect for people component that really is the ground level for making Lean work.

I read and hear many individuals discuss "respect for people" yet I question, do they know what that means.  Respecting people isn't a coddling effort or pacification for your non adopters, nor is it just lip service of being nice.  True respect for people goes well beyond the day to day pleasantries and gets into building your workforce.

Let me tell you of a story on how I build from the inside of an individual.  This all starts with introduction and telling your people who you are.  Common sense right?  Well in the fast paced manufacturing world, I've seen my peers forget this very basic building block.  Walk your new direct report around, ask them questions about their life.  Where they came from.  See this is where you get to know your people.  Knowing your people and their backgrounds gives you a chance to utilize them effectively.  I have an individual who works for me that is a bona fide formally educated diesel mechanic with the credentials to back it up.  How on earth did this knowledge come about?  Asking questions and getting to know this person.  Knowing this, he could be effectively used as a mechanical trouble shooter on equipment.  Not just a drone who punches steel.  We don't want drones, we want to build people.  Building people is what its all about.  It is this building that develops bench strength, cross-functionality, and a healthy team dynamic.

When we as Lean leaders become myopically focused on Lean tools, we have a tendency to forget the People, of the People, Process, Culture equation that Yoda always reminds me of.  It is the people that we develop into leaders which pull us forward.  This is how we succeed as an organization.  Development of your people.  Currently we are training individuals who have asked to learn new technical tasks on the shop floor.  Specifically press brake set-up and blue print reading.  These individuals solicited me, as they know from the whiteboard sessions.  A Lean culture is a learning culture.  They want to learn as my direct reports know that they can backfill positions during times of absences and vacations.  This is the type of culture and skill-set development that makes me smile.  As a leader having individuals wanting to learn and verbally state, "I want to be able to help the team".  Well that type of initiative is priceless.  Don't forget it is also contagious.  When your people want to learn, TEACH THEM.

Investing in your workforce is something that has to be done, you have an obligation to your team to invest in them if you want them to win.  This is a facet of respect.  For if you choose to ignore the requests for cross training and education, you will create a culture of disengagement.  I've seen this happen in the past.  I'll even admit I have been guilty of this in the past due to the myopic focus of "get it done".  Getting it done is great, but getting it done and teaching others well... That is what we call winning.

So cowpokes there you have it.  Respecting people is more than just saying "howdy", it is about developing that individual.  It is about developing the team, recognizing those leaders you have working for you, getting out there and pushing a broom, not putting yourself on a pedestal, being a servant leader.  Some of you who read this and know who I am and know my direct reports will tell you that I will and have cleaned the bathrooms and swept floors for them.  That is part of leadership, you lead from the front and by example.  It isn't rocket science, but it is mission essential.

Thank you for dropping by my campfire and reading my blog.  Remember buckaroos that respecting people and the avenues that respect flows is a key component of leadership.

Cowboy

Gemba in an off shift.....

Howdy folks, it's time for another installment of my blog.  Grab a yourself a seat around the campfire and a cup of coffee as today's topic is going to be covering something I think we forget.  There is Gemba on shifts other than first.

So last week a chance came available for me to work in the afternoon.  I wanted to see what went on on shifts besides first.  We all know the suits are not there, the support personnel are not there, the quality department may or may not be there.  Yes cowpokes, on an off shift that isn't fully supported it can be quite lonely and the job of a Lean leader is never done.  So in true fashion I cowboy'd up and worked an off shift to get a better feel for what other teams were and are experiencing when the support isn't there, yet the work still has to be completed.

As I did my normal routine of grabbing a cup of coffee in my hammered copper coffee mug, I walked the floor with an open mind.  Just because it is an off shift doesn't mean I deviate from my standard practices now does it?  Within this walk I noticed ample opportunity to drive out waste.  

The first thing we tackled was a lack of flow, without flow there isn't going to be any production.  Yes buckaroos the variation needed to be removed or at least minimized.  It was in our best interest to get a material handler.  I knew the best forklift driver on that shift so that problem was no more.  See.. the people component here.  I knew who was the best at that given task as learning the names and strengths of members in your organization has benefits.  With this task complete we implemented staging of work to equipment.  This task was fun, and I'll explain why.  When I "go into teacher mode", as yoda calls it.  I come alive.  Teaching Lean to a group I normally don't have much time with is wonderful.  I get to talk about the tools, why we use the tools, how to figure out what tools to use, and when to use them, coupled with the old saying of, "I'm not the end all be all, if you see something I'm not seeing speak up as this is a team and as a team we support each other."  

When we had everything staged and flowing, the creative juices with these guys came alive.  As I was talking about the Single Minute Die Exchange etc... I saw something.  Yes, Ohno would be proud.  Seeing with my feet and learning with my hands once again.  The guys had a basic concept and were practicing quick change over yet didn't have the process refined.  With a quick shop floor discussion about the whys and how's, coupled with questioning the individuals.  The ah ha moments were happening.  They were understanding.  The light bulbs were going off.  Here we have a shift that really doesn't know me,  grasping Lean and running with it.  All it needed was a catalyst.  

I believe that we as leaders at times don't give our people enough credit.  We become so entrenched that we forget that with every pair of hands we hire, a brain comes for free.  All we have to do is tap into their brain by asking questions and treating our people as human beings and respecting their voice of customer.  Ahhh.... yes the VOC.  Have you ever thought your direct reports were your customer.  They are.  You are selling your leadership, knowledge and expertise as the head cowboy/cowgirl on the ranch.  Your direct reports are the ones buying into what you are "selling" them.  Some don't buy in, some half hearted buy in, some don't buy at all.  We as Lean leaders must respect our customers, internal as well as external.  

With things flowing and my walking about observing the flow of product, the thought crossed my mind about writing this blog.  How many of us think Gemba is just at first shift?  Out of sight, out of mind, it doesn't matter because I'm not here.... That line of thinking can be detrimental to a Lean culture as we, the leaders, aren't trying to build a bridge.  We leave the valley untouched.  That isn't a culture of Lean, that is a culture of disjointed leadership and direction.

I took it upon myself to work that off shift.  Not out of direction by those higher in the org chart than me, but out of a sense of duty.  A duty to help teach those who don't work directly for me.  A duty to help build those bridges and close those gaps.  Yeah the cowboy is going all idealistic on you, but its true.  I spend a lot of time learning from those who have been practicing Lean for more than 2 decades.  We have an obligation to teach and implement what we have learned.   There are those of us who know Lean in theory and write tomes upon tomes of how to do it yet never have.  There are those of us who read those writings and actually implement, record the before and after, take pictures, etc.. and blend the academic with the hands on.  I am one of the academic hands on cowboys.  Hence, you get a different perspective when you read my blog.

In closing I'd like to thank you all for stopping by and to remember this.  When the chance presents itself to work an off shift and you are able to build bridges and teach by all means do it.  By doing so you are actually living a PDCA cycle rather than telling others about the cycle.  Until next time, which will probably be in a few days,  stay the course.  

Cowboy

A team introspective

Howdy folks, here we are again on a Thursday sitting around the campfire to tell you about our week and what my team and I learned.  Pull up a log and grab a cup of coffee for this weeks topic touches on what drives me and what drives my team.

This week we have seen some real changes, were they all good? For the most part yes.  Were there some real challenges this we, you betcha there were some challenges this week.  Being the ever vigilant and voracious reader of all things Lean, and on top of that an implementer of Lean, a champion of Lean in my organization if you will; my team and I began to look at open issues this week.  What issues did you and your team of hard charging cowboys look at you are wondering, as I have drawn this intro out.  Well, we were asking ourselves the question, "Why should we improve and why should we continue to drive improvements?"  No we were not questioning our Lean journey, we were questioning our motives behind the actions that we take.  The real fence mending portion of Lean.  Before we put forth any action we were looking to see if that work we put into the improvement was worth the effort.  Sure you can do this in a board room with all sorts of members of upper management there to discuss the ROI, manpower needed, raw materials and plan, etc.  This is good for capital stuff, yet what we were doing at the ground level such as moving things, continuation of the ever present 6S, looking at layout, discussing how to optimize flow on a high volume mixed model line with enough sku's to feed a herd of cattle stretched from El Paso to Phoenix, and the ever present search for single piece flow with a continually evolving manufacturing line.  Yeah these were actually discussions that are heartfelt and get at the true soul of what drives some people to greatness and what has others throwing their hands in the air and abandoning their journey.

Is everyone on my team a Lean zealot, of course not.  We have some team members that don't care about Lean at all or the terms we use.  Yes I use the Japanese terms, but also translate them to English so we get as much buy in as possible.  With that being said, there are some members on my team who are early adopters.  Early as in they were reading about Lean on their smartphones when we started this journey.  These are the true buckaroo's who are just a joy to work with.  Always driving continuous improvement ideas, their work areas are immaculate, their pride in craftsmanship and work ethic is unrivaled.  The conversations with this handful of hard chargers this week really drove something back to me that Lean Leaders who have done this for 27 years constantly speak of.  That is respect.  These guys told me one of the reasons they follow and drive so hard is out of respect, not only for me, but for their work, their peers, the organization, and themselves.  Interesting isn't it?  Did I cultivate this, I'd like to think my hand was in the recipe.  Though with these early adopters there is something inherently great about them.  They are the force multipliers.  What does that mean Cowboy?  That means these guys "get it", they are students as I am a student, they help me and help the team thru driving a culture change.  They are change agents in their own right.  This is the group I've found that without them, things would be a lot more difficult.

The next group is the middle of the road guys, now does this mean they are average?  NO WAY!!!!  They just do not spend a lot of their free time reading about Lean, or "taking their work home with them".  These are the work horses that come in everyday and do a great job and give their best and contribute to the cause.  In speaking with these guys and gals, I found they embrace our journey yet are not driven by an undying force to be the best of the best.  This is ok, you don't need a team of superstars to change a culture.  Dr Deming would say, Cowboy you have "willing workers".  Only with these willing workers we are a team and they know that.  We either all win or we all loose.  There isn't the finger pointing and "that's not my job" attitude with this crowd.  These are the people that when catalyzed by your top performers and early adopters will rise to the top and perform.  They are the members of a winning team and being part of a winning team gives them pride and satisfaction.

Do I have any individuals on my team that are burrs under my saddle?  I have in the past yes, and thru Yoda and her superpowers, she has trained me with some quite effective skills in the art of coaching and mentoring.  It helps that she is also an executive coach besides being mentioned as one of the top women in Lean today.  Did these lone holdouts on the ranch decide to participate and join our transformation journey?  Some did and actually one turned into a top performer and driver when it comes to ideas for continuous improvement.  I am actually very proud of this guy as he is what every Lean Leader desires.  He is a student the same as the teacher is a student.

In closing what did the team and I learn this week?  We learned that all of us on this team have a desire to win, a desire to improve our organization, a desire to improve ourselves, a desire to be treated with respect, a desire to have a clean and safe working environment.  Pretty simple isn't it.  When we boil it all down it goes back to what Yoda tells me all the time, "Cowboy it is about people, processes and culture".  She's right and in the true spirit of the student I too, am always trying to improve who I am and pull my people forward.  That is what makes an organization tick, people, for without them you have a large vacant building with machines that sit idle, and a true static state.  Without processes one has another disjointed state of chaos.  Nothing falls in line, shop orders are lost, customer orders are lost, outside sourced parts never arrive.  Then we touch the culture piece, the "what people do when nobody is watching" part of it.  We are a learning culture, yes I'll say it again cowpokes, a Lean culture is a learning culture.  We are always striving to make those improvements not only on the shop floor but with the design team as well, providing positive feedback about designing for manufacturability.  This is what we learned.  We are a team of guys and gals on a journey that is a marathon, not a sprint.

Thanks for stopping by my campfire folks, it was a pleasure having you here and if you have any comments don't be afraid to post them.

Cowboy

Training, what training?

Howdy folks I'm back again with another posting about Lean from the front line.  Grab a cup of coffee    and take a seat around the campfire while we discuss training and the illusion of training programs.  Yes that's right, the cowboy stated illusion of training and a lack of a true training doctrine my team is experiencing.

One may be reading this and asking, "If you are a Lean guy, what on earth are you doing allowing holes in the most basic of process controls, training your people?"  I'll have to answer this upfront and personal and declare that we are not totally absent of training, our training process needs improvement.  Yes the PDCA cycle once again rears its arms like a saguaro cactus on the way to the White Tank mountain range.  Let's look at how my team and I discovered our training is lacking.

We have expanded our operations into a second shift to increase our capacity.  Nothing wrong with that right?  We had trained individuals train and sharpen the skill sets of semi-trained individuals bringing them up to speed.  Nothing wrong with that right?  Then it hit me like a mule kick to the chest.  I brought in an individual who had no idea of our processes nor our product to work within a cell.  Yes we have VWI's etc... yet there was something glaringly obvious that took two days for me to really pick up on.  We threw this new individual into the mix to observe, things appeared on the surface to be going great then Yoda's voice in my mind kicked in and told me to engage this new member of our team and start asking questions to gain insight from an outsiders perspective as to what he saw.

The question posed was this, "What have you learned the past few days about your role in the team?" His answer blew me away, "I just follow these guys around and try to pick up things the best I can."  Talk about wanting to go hide out in the Lost Dutchman mine.  I failed to train my guys and give them the proper tools to train someone.  Yes, boys and girls this was a failure moment in time.  What do we get with failure, that's right a true chance to make improvement and learn from our mistakes.  Better yet we get to improve our processes, then teach others in our organization where we were making the error so they do not fall into the same pitfall.  Collective learning and effective communication of our efforts.  Why you may ask?  A Lean culture is a learning culture, plain and simple.

With this gap in our process, the team and I whipped out the A3 and went to town to help define and narrow a solution.  Yes we even fishboned this problem to keep the teams skills up on that tool as well.  Within about 2 hours of looking and asking questions to the trainers and the trainee we had came up with a starting point to bridge this gap.  Within the week we had something documented and established as to protocol when we training individuals who are completely new to our organization.   This protocol is now being tested in our fabrication area to prove it out and streamline it to the point where we will deploy this organization wide.  Yes this is still a future state, and it is important that we recognized this gap in our processes that was causing undue hardship for a new individual.

Driving out waste and making change is a full time job as it is, when I as a leader failed to recognize I was inducing the trifecta of Muda, Mura, and Muri all at once due to a rudimentary oversight it was humbling.  As an individual who has had careers where life and death happened based upon situational awareness and interpretation of data within seconds, I felt as if I let my team down.  You'll notice the excessive use of "I" in this paragraph.  The reason, I am the leader hence it is my fault.  The good news is that we had the situational awareness to apply countermeasures and corrective action.

This was a real learning experience for me as well as the team.  My guys are VERY good at what they do, some of the best in the industry.  Yet as in a previous blog, the devil is truly in the details.  Fortunately we recognized the problem and that is a win which will pay dividends at the bottom line and truly add value to our product.  I'd personally like to thank my guys for the help with this issue the past week.  Without you, we wouldn't have came as far as we have.

Well there you have it cowpokes, another post from the front line of implementation.  Though we fancy ourselves as academics who read the books and listen to the podcasts, we are the ones who make the vision happen.  If you don't believe me... go to Gemba.  Thank you for stopping by my campfire and remember, just when you think you know it all, something simple comes along to inform you that you don't

Cowboy

Saftey

Howdy folks, thanks for dropping by my posting in the middle of the week.  Today's topic I feel is one of utmost importance.  It it safety.  Something that we as leaders have a moral, legal, and ethical obligation to keep our people safe.  This goes from issuing proper PPE, to having daily discussions in the huddle as I do,  to having your safety record posted and using maps to track incidents, accidents and near misses.

It was during a twitter feed that I saw safety come abreast and decided to chime in.  This reinforced my belief that those in the Lean world promote safety and lead from the front with this topic and not the rear.  From an employers perspective it can be overlooked until the fines show up.  From a shop floor employees perspective it could be overlooked until discipline is administered.  BOTH of these perspectives are WRONG!!!!!!!  Safety is the concern of everyone.  Starting from the CFO/CEO all the way down the org chart.  There is no compromise with this.

When we as leaders set standard work in place we do it for a reason.  The same with safety protocol and training doctrine.  This is standard work.  I've written about a handful of topics thus far and never touched on this one as I felt that leaders had a good grasp on this.  Well I was wrong.  When asking other leaders the hows and whys of PPE usage, I'm talking front line leaders here, the answer defaulted to government regulation or company policy.  I didn't hear anything pertaining to, "I do this to ensure that my people go home with all they came in with because it is the right thing to do."  Nothing was ever said about continuing education on safety, or soliciting ideas from their respective teams.

Coming from my former careers, PPE was a way of life.  It wasn't questioned and we were always looking for lighter more effective and durable equipment.  When your life depends on PPE, it is taken rather serious.  This is the same mindset that needs to be cultivated into your teams on the shop floor. Nothing less is to be accepted.  Yeah cowpokes, this sounds like I'm pushing instead of pulling.  Fear not, for the way we do this is thru education and sometimes show and tell.

I have a few souvenirs of where PPE has saved parts of me, one being my eyes during a rather unfortunate incident where my safety lenses shielded my eyes from some high velocity particulate matter that was unplanned and undesired.  Yes, those lenses saved my eyes and performed just like the advertisements and torture tests demonstrated.  I saved those lenses and have them to this day.  Taking these lenses to work with me, I had a genuine and honest discussion with my team about our safety program, what safety means to them, what it means to me and our organization.  By bringing in those lenses and telling the story of what happened coupled with passing them around and allowing a question and answer session, it provided context to the concept.  

There we go with effective communication again, and engaging our people to improve our processes and advance our culture.  Ahhh yes, people/process/culture where it all starts.  There are some things that we as leaders can't compromise on, safety is one of them.  Whether we be at the top of the org chart, somewhere in the middle, or the greenest greenhorn on the cattle drive.  Safety is the responsibility of all.

I'd like to thank you for stopping by the campfire and reading this post.  Hopefully it lands with you and can have the take away of collective mindset when going to work the next day and actively engaging your team and honestly looking at what you as a leader are doing to help promote a culture that values safety.

Cowboy

Teaching the Team

Howdy folks, it's that time once again for another entry into the blog of the Lean Cowboy.  This entry is going to cover the topic of education and how do I educate my team, better yet how do we sustain this education and pique their interest for more.  So grab a cup of coffee and sit around the campfire for a while.

Every Wednesday morning it starts.  We have 3 white boards near my desk, one is a 4x8 pick board in which we have divided up so that ideas can be solicited from the team.  The other two are the Lean Term board where a Japanese term is written on the board with its definition.  Since we clearly defined the word we have to use relevant examples in our environment.  When doing this it makes the term relevant.  If we were to use some example from say ohhh.. a Toyota factory yes it would still be a relevant example, though it wouldn't have direct context with the team.  Something tangible where it is visible to the team and guess what?  A lot of time I learn something, see something I'm not doing right as a leader, someone comes up while I'm writing on this board engages me in a conversation, etc...  See where I'm going with this?  It is a visible means in which to convey a term, define the term, keep it up there a week for all to see and engage with, see how it applies to us as a team and generally exposes everyone on the team to our term of the week.

The continuing education component of the term of the week comes in where I as the leader, circle back to everyone, yes thats right, everyone.  When circling back engaging everyone in conversation. This does a few things, it affords me direct personal interface with the team to know how things are going with that individual, see if they understand what I was scribbling on our board, and most of all I get input back from what I was doing right or wrong in the course of the week and give them an opportunity to critique me and upwardly evaluate what I'm doing.  See cowpokes a Lean culture is a learning culture.  We are a collective learning unit that pull each other forward with simple things such as boards, 10 at 10 Ohno circles, the Wednesday morning huddle with the team.  These are the elements of Lean that we are mastering.  The basics are the key.  My team knows that I've had a couple different careers before coming into manufacturing and that I bring a unique perspective and teaching style.  They will tell you that a mastery of the basics is a mastery of the art, we train until we can't get it wrong.  Hence we PDCA all the time.  For you Demming purists, yeah we PDSA for we do not like reworking the improvement due to the fact we didn't think it out in the planning stages.

These sustainment component and continuing education modules come in the work.  It is required of me as a leader to actively engage my people respectfully, even when the idea is unsound or my idea would be better served at the bottom of a campfire.  The active engagement facilitates the learning processes and pulls us all forward.  Though I may be the trail boss at this organization, I learn just as much from my team as they learn from me.  This is the beauty of it all, the beauty of Lean.  A learning collective coupled with implementation and improvement with active engagement from the team.  For if it were not for those hardy souls that ride the trail with me on these 60 plus hours a week thru thick and thin, disagreements and victories, we wouldn't go anywhere.  We would all be stuck back at the stable bickering about which horse we would get.

The continuing themes are prevalent here once again, People/Process/Culture, *head nod and smile to yoda*.  We must engage our people to improve the process and change the culture.  You'll notice I've only written about the first board and did so for a reason, I'm going to revisit this in a second entry discussing my second board where I discuss the concept board and how theory and application merge into what we do everyday.  See as an engineering student I've got the hands on of manufacturing supervision first, my other careers where life and death were a daily and very real issue,  and the cowboy code and lifestyle I lead are very unique to our Lean journey.

I'd like to thank you for stopping by my campfire this week and sharing in this entry.  I'd also like to thank yoda, for without her, my journey to find true north would have never started and would have stayed the course a solitary man.  Until next time buckaroos, keep your head up and keep smiling.  Simple words and concepts, yet powerful when applied.

Cowboy

Who is your customer?

     Howdy folks, I'm on the plane to work and it is a Sunday night.  So fetch a cup of coffee and grab a seat around the campfire.  I'm here tonight to talk about who is my customer and how do I serve them.
     We all have customers internal and external, yet do we know who they really are?  Do these customers have a voice or do we as suppliers push our solutions and goods to our customer?  Oh yes, the push vs. pull concept is rearing its head once again just like an angry rattle snake ready to strike.
    My direct customers are my guys and gals that report to me.  Yes those 42 hardy souls who have watched our transformation from a push to a pull and all the continuous improvement we have done, along with all the improvement we have to go.  These are my customers.  Yes I know what you are thinking, "Cowboy what about the individuals downstream and your external customer?"  I'll have to admit you are correct and that I am mindful of what we are doing.  Note here buckaroo's, I said "WE" that is my team and I, not a push but a pull system of thoughts and actions.  We are mindful of our internal customer in the value stream and our external customer who pays our bills.  What I'm talking about is the day to day structure of what I do listening to my team.
     There have been times in the past when I listened to an idea generated from a pick board, and discussed it with the individual who supplied the knowledge and experience along with the effort to write it on the board.  The problem with before is that I shut the idea down based on my opinion.  I was not listening to my customer.  This is true when organizations don't listen to their internal customers and disconnects occur.  Shop floor will not respond to a supplier that is unwilling to give them what they need.  They disconnect and continue to struggle with their current problems while we, the supplier thinks that "we know better".  That is far from the truth, the supplier may know the needs of his or her customer, but the customer more than likely will have a general scope of the issue and a list of resolutions at hand.  Only if you are willing to listen.
     I thought I had the answer to the worlds problems and how to cure boredom with this cart I designed and constructed for one of my guys.  Boy was I proud of myself.  Here is the catch, he didn't need that cart, the cart didn't fit the parts he was generally manufacturing, it didn't have a way for the individual to push the cart, etc...  This was just a handful of items to this solution in search of a problem.  If I would have only gone to gemba, spoken with my guys, LISTENED TO THEIR NEEDS, and collectively constructed a cart which would provide them a viable solution.  I didn't listen nor understand who the customer was in this instance.  I thought the customer was the paint department not the fabrication department.  I failed to see or ask who my customer was and induced waste into the value stream.  Ooops, you can say I left the barn door open and all the horses got out on that matter.
     In all seriousness though we as Lean leaders and managers have to understand who our customer is, and ask the questions as to their needs and desires.  Be they internal or external customers.  When we figure out what problem it is we are trying to solve with our customer vs shoving answers and solutions at them we grow as Lean leaders.  Growing also builds respect and bridges along with friendships
     I'd like to thank you for stopping by once again to hear my frontline experience in leading and implementing Lean.
Cowboy

Difficulty in Sustainment

Howdy folks, yes it has been awhile hasn't it?  Sixty hour plus weeks are still the norm, yes I still am known by name at the airport, my favorite baristas at Starbucks in my town in AZ still shout my name when I show up, and yes I still am a Lean zealot and implementer.  This cowboy has not given up.  My focus has been on implementation and driving out waste this past month.  Once again what a month it has been.

Grab that hammered copper cup and fill it with coffee while I discuss difficulty in sustainment in this blog posting.  Yes that is right I'm talking about difficulty here.  The nuts and bolts of our job as leaders teaching our team and following up with the plans we have implemented.

We all read of stories of win.  Why?  Well, wins make us feel good.  Feeling good about something usually will reinforce a repeat of that behavior or performance.  I'm not going to give out a win today.  Let's look at the sustainment of a win.

I have a team of +/- 45 individuals.  Yes, I have a bonafide team complete with early adopters, superstars, those who do the job great, and finally a few who would tell you the sky is purple just to be contrary.  The best part of my job, I get to work with people.  The most challenging part of my job, I get to work with people.

The area I'm going to discuss today has been one to cause this old cowboy to have a conniption fit of hopping mad proportions.  So as the engineering student in me asks, "What problem are we trying to solve here cowboy?"  I scope the problem.  The area in question has poor 6S habits, the individual is disengaged, his work is of marginal quality, his adherence to standard work is something one would see mending a fence without tools circa 1885.  So what do I do?  I do what I do best and that is solve the problem on my own, implement the solution, issue an individual audit sheet, and wait for magic to happen.  Wow, was I wrong.

Becoming frustrated with this I had to bring the problem to Yoda.  She is my rock, and all knowing eye in the sky when it comes to the People, Process, Culture of Lean.    She sat me down and within fifteen minutes I felt sheepish for I knew what the problem was.  Yup, you guessed it folks.  The problems wasn't with the individual the problem was with me.  Though my process control was solid, the audit sheet and visual management of the area good, I pushed the solution onto this individual.  He was not allowed any input into the solution, hence he took it as an invasion upon his work area. Yoda asked me to put myself in this individuals shoes.  How would I feel?  Then she hit me with her barrage of questions which all led back to, "What are you going to do to solve the root cause cowboy?"  That is something I could answer and knew what to do.

I approached the individual about ten days later, and had to apologize for intruding into his area and forcing ideas and solutions upon him in which he had no input.  Yeah, I started to feel his frustration as I too have been in this individuals situation before and here I was doing something that I so much despised.

Once I whipped out the A3 form, I carry those with me at work as I am quite passionate about teaching Lean to my team as they can attest, involved everyone pertinent to the situation. BOOM!!!! It happened, my individuals started to solve their own problem and implement their sustainment methods based on the requirement set forth.  Yeah buddy, this is what Lean is about.  Teaching, People, Process, Culture, Leading with Respect, Improvement.  Yes this could be called a win, yet it is a teaching tool in sustainment.

The gold nugget of information here I'd like people to walk away with is this.  To sustain true change,  I'm talking about a lasting testament of PDCA and culture shift.  We as leaders must lead from the inside out.  We must know how to "show up" at various situations and not force our solutions or alter the creativity of our workforce.  Yes it sounds easy and at times it is.  Then there are times that we as leaders become myopic and ultra focused scoping the specific issue and not addressing the actual problem or root cause thereof.  Give the vision and work WITH your people, TEACH your people, and LISTEN to your people.   When you stick with these guidelines, I'm sure you will achieve a more desired outcome.

Wait, am I just issuing orders again without consulting my customer to scope their needs?  I'll be traveling this week, and I am going to make an honest attempt to post from the aircraft and effectively utilize my time instead of reading the latest issue of Western Horseman.  Thank you for dropping by and as always may the sun warm your face and may you never loose sight of what true north is.

Cowboy

Building Bridges vs Building Fires

Howdy folks, I hope everyone had a great holiday season and was able to spend time with friends and family.  Yoda and I decided to take a couple days off our schedule and travel a few places, couple that with getting caught in the beginnings of a snow storm in the mountains it was outstanding.  Just stepping back for a few days from our respective busy schedules allows us to reflect and enjoy life.
   
This topic I'm writing about tonight is one of great importance to anyone on the front line or board room implementing Lean.  Building bridges vs building fires.  Oh how the uber type A personalities such as myself see fire as the answer to all our problems.  Burn the problems out, fire the problem children, fire the design engineers, fire the VP of manufacturing because he wouldn't know flow if he was placed in the middle of the Rio Grande during a flood, fire everyone.  Let's just start over and do it RIGHT.  Yes sometimes we as uber Alpha type A's see fire as the solution.

Then we have the opposite bridge builders, always trying to form some sort of connection, wanting to  A3 every small problem from dust bunnies to the color of paint, wanting to hold meetings, always asking questions about everything, always desiring to get everyone from the "senior team" involved, all the way down to the contractor who installed the drop ceiling.  These bridge builders appear to be caught in a "do loop" of communication.  Yes it sounds great and their ideas and facilitation skills are beyond anything the type A's have.  They just don't seem to get anything done.  All hat and no cattle, as we would call them.

So how does all this relate to Lean?  Well pull up a seat and grab a cup of coffee while I explain.  I had a situation Monday dealing with the design engineers who want nothing more than to turn your manufacturing floor into a lab, a VP of design engineering working angles to get his projects done, and couple all that with THE CUSTOMER, the external customer wanting their product.  Then we have me, the manufacturing supervisor over everything, looking for a solution.  So what did I do?
As much as I wanted to dismiss the design guys, we have to remember that they are our INTERNAL CUSTOMER, and the VP of design engineering is their voice.  I decided to play facilitator here.  Start asking questions, look at due dates, how can I incorporate this as a standard work opportunity, who do I know that can help me with this, is everything programmed, how can I get better lead times so I can work this in as standard work.   Those are the questions I asked internally, so I may lead Lean from the inside out.

Yes you heard that correctly I was leading Lean from the inside out. Running the entire scenario and looking at all the options, before I decided to act.  Contacting my team members who knew the best way to perform the technical aspects of what needed to be done.  Contacting the programmer to double check that all programs were at the appropriate equipment. Contacting the actual design engineers to give approximate times when things were going to be done for them.  Ahhh... yes I'm sure some of you wise and educated Industrial Engineers and OPEX types are knowing exactly what my team and I were doing before we set one foot in motion.  You guessed it,  "THE PLAN"!!!!!  The planning phase of the operation before we went to DO.  CHECKED our results, by the way my team rocked it as you guys are the best.  Then comes the ADJUST, or the after action "Well what can we do differently next time to increase tempo of the flow without affecting quality".  Yeah more questions, don't you just love it?  We are manufacturing types, we want to see a finished product.  We don't want all these questions and planning.

This is where I have Yoda to thank.  She being the wise and learned jedi with a couple fancy engineering degrees and facilitation skills that are truly world class.  I hear her voice in my head saying "Now Cowboy....".  Yeah I must slow down and involve people that are doing the work, inform my customer what is going on, create a vision on how we do this, then arc the sequences flawlessly into a steady stream.

Yes we must slow down to speed up, isn't that the truth.  My team and I are learning that it is great to have drive and tenacity to get things done.  Though where we are really progressing is our capability of vision.  I am starting to learn how to construct a vision congruent with my organizations core values, explain this vision to all involved, execute the vision, and then.... and then.... WE go back and look to see what we will do  better next time.

Each day my team and I are making those base hits and scoring runs in the process.  A Lean transformation isn't an overnight thing. It is a long cattle drive.  Involving many individuals at all levels with each playing a key role; all bound by respect for each other and clear communication.

There you have it folks, another story from the front line of Lean implementation. Given from an implementer and his team's perspective who are on the front line.  Yes we are guys and gals in the middle of Gemba, not sideline casual observers.  Thanks for stopping by and remember, Lean is a lifestyle of continuous improvement, it isn't a destination it is the beginning of a lifelong journey.

Cowboy