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