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