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
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