The Importance of Lean in A Quality Environment
Think that it's a matter of one or the other: quality or Lean? Sometimes Quality initiatives take a back seat when Lean activities get going.
Quality and Lean
Often organizations think that it's a matter of one or the other: quality or Lean. Sometimes Quality initiatives take a back seat when Lean activities get going. In fact they need to work together.
Lean Methodologies give Quality an effective roadmap. Both look at the idea of waste removal. When it's just a Quality initiative, there's a more narrow definition of waste. Companies become more focused on point improvement, working on a specific element of the end-to-end process. Six Sigma activities are good examples of this narrow focus on specific elements.
The Lean Roadmap keeps you on target, saves you from costly detours or dead ends. You apply Quality techniques where they will best improve the end-to-end process. Lean keeps you firmly in touch with the big picture and the customer. Otherwise, you'll save here and there but ultimately fail to have impact of the production process as a whole and your customer may see very little improvement. That's critical in achieving significant and sustainable improvements to your bottom line.
A lot of companies or consultants focus on one activity to improve. Whether it's TQM, SPC (Statistical Process Control) or 5S - they see an issue and grab the tools one at a time. That's point improvement.
I'm a believer that Quality and Lean fit well together. Both emerged from the thinking of W. Edwards Deming. Product quality, considering the entire supply chain and an emphasis on the customer are fundamental for Lean. (In fact, Deming may have been the first person to draw a Value Stream Map as we know it today)
Starting at the end of the 90's, companies began to see the incredible success that came with Lean Practice. They often looked at it as a program rather than a philosophy and leaped to implement its tools on the job. Sometimes the Lean advocates, in trying to lead the way seemed to be selling the program concept rather than showing how Lean practice fits and integrates with other company initiatives such as Quality (and Six Sigma).
If you create that kind of situation, people in the company can't help but feel that this is the new 'flavour of the month'. They'll tend to sit and ride it out. It becomes the plan, in effect, and the whole initiative starts to make sense. People see it as an important method to integrate activities, select which tools to use where, and to keep the improvements tightly focused on the overall bottom line. You don't drop other things to do Lean, you use Lean as your thought process to run your company. It helps you make sure the things you and your group are doing are consistently focused on the customer. You eliminate all those activities, which are waste. This is the only way companies will survive in the future.
Lean Advocates
Companies that succeed in Lean inevitably have Lean Advocates. This can be both a formal and an informal role or roles (depending on company size). Often this role is that of persuader, reporter, trainer and coach all in one. Being an advocate or coach usually means you have to depend on influence rather than power or line authority to bring people along in the ideas and approaches.
Building a critical mass of support and effort is crucial. Without that, you can become a lone doer, and your Lean Initiative will fail. Part of that critical mass of support also has to be from senior management. You have to get a high enough level to say 'yes'. They're the ones who let you and your teams go in and begin to improve processes.
Having an advocate doesn't necessarily mean you'll be successful, but without an advocate you will fail. Your advocate needs to be passionate about the benefits of Lean. You can't just take someone ready to retire and make him or her the Lean advocate because they don't have anywhere else to go. You need someone with a track record, someone who has already shown a passion for reduction of waste, for process improvement.
Your advocates 'see' the promised land, they know and believe that there will be significant and lasting improvements. These are the people who will show others who have done it the old way and convert them to Lean practice.
Sometimes Lean advocates just appear in an organization. Sometimes you have to find them. If you're recruiting someone, there are some skills and attributes you should look for. They need the passion for improvement. They need some skills at influencing and to be able to make presentations to various groups. It's critical that they have solid credibility within the company and at many levels. They also need a successful track record, perhaps in industrial engineering or quality control.
Most of all, your advocates need patience. They have to keep at it and get the message out. Other companies that have gone Lean have often had major success. The metrics are incredible and sometimes colleagues and managers will look at you like you're making it up. You have to be dogged and work away at the disbelief.
Your advocates have to be fairly sensitive to the issues facing senior executives. They have to convince executives who often face tight resources, constrained expenditures, pressure for short-term results, and a perennial shortage of time, that this initiative needs more of the same. The advocates have to be somewhat 'hard sell' but they also have to remember the needs facing executives. Don't put them in a position where there's no way out, don't force them into a corner. Resource allocation has to be negotiated and sometimes phased. Advocates need to learn this and make it work for the initiative rather than against it.
Lean advocates have to be 'doers', especially at the beginning. They have to be able to roll up their sleeves and work at it, particularly in the first few years. They can't just be someone who talks about 'doing', they have to have a track record in the company for getting things done, for getting their hands dirty. It's part of their credibility.
Working in Committees
A committee is not necessarily a team and a team is not necessarily a committee. This is important.
Teams have a common problem to solve. You bring together people involved in the problem from various roles. Similarly, you would put a team in place to improve a particular process as part of your overall Lean strategy.
Committees in Lean practice often take the form of a steering group. They give direction and oversee what's happening on all fronts. They have the big picture, end to end while a team tends to focus on one element.
Cross-functional teams are very important. Sometimes people interpret Lean solely as an engineering or senior management function. To be successful you have to broaden the levels of involvement and you can't forget employees on the shop floor. They need to be part of the process. You have to communicate what you're doing and why. Involving shop floor employees on your Lean teams is a critical step for sustainable success.
There is another type of group you may want to put together. This is half way between a committee and a team. If you have Lean advocates distributed throughout your organization, you may want to bring them together on a regular basis. This becomes a forum to share their experiences and to come up with new ideas for people to try. The members must avoid trying to convince the other members to follow their way, they must be open minded and look for opportunities to learn from each others experiences.
Business Transformation and Change
Lean activities should bring change, otherwise you're not really embracing it. This will be fast change, Lean improvements don't happen at turtle speed. As a result, you need to expect change that will happen quickly. Prepare for it.
Lots of ideas will tumble out as people start to understand Lean. Don't kill the ideas until you've had folks kick them around a bit. Use brainstorming techniques. You'll find that thinking and talking about ideas often makes them better. Ideas must fit your Future State Implementation plan.
When someone asks me how you should manage change, I respond that communication is key. Communicate the goals, what you're trying to do and how you're going to do it. Let people know at the beginning, help them grab onto it as it goes by. You need people to be on board, following the plan, not just cheery picking issues. Once your teams are up and running, let them lead the change. You have to have faith. They're going to move things around, but you'll see the improvement in a couple of days.
Measurement
Measurement of results is critical and needs careful management. You have to measure the right things to get the right behaviours, and to drive the consistent direction for the company. Old styles of measurement may not be right for a Lean environment. Appropriate measurements have to be in place so that you can report on the changes and improvements. Senior management has to rely on their Lean teams not only to make the changes but also to be able to measure the effects of those changes both operationally and on the bottom line. Measurements should also take into consideration the needs of the customer as well as customer satisfaction. They shouldn't be restricted to internal use or needs.
Role of Training
Lean advocates in most companies can't make the improvements without relying on others. That's where training comes in to focus. You will need more Lean advocates and skilled Lean practitioners to get the work done. As well, you'll have to train some people, in depth, on specific Lean tools such as Value Stream Mapping and problem solving techniques.
Training and communication are closely linked. You communicate what's going on and the training helps people understand why. The Lean Advisors Inc. hands-on approach to Lean training is very important. You combine theory, shop floor practice and awareness in the sessions. As the individuals learn, operational improvement results happen simultaneously. The theory is proven right there and then.
Lean and Different Industries
I've worked on Quality and Lean in a service industry (Canada Post Corporation) and in a high tech corporation (UNISYS). Yes there are differences in these kinds of operations but Lean practice makes significant improvements in both. In any process, whether it's the flow of materials or information there is waste. Your target is to remove that waste in order to improve profitability. Even in the change management process itself you'll find areas of waste.
Look at people today who write computer programs. What's the challenge? Write the fewest lines of code possible for each program. That's removing waste.
Some organizations get caught up spending big dollars on automation. It becomes the solution to improving profit. Automation is usually about moving pieces through areas of the shop floor at high speeds (point velocities). It's also about batches and inventories.
What has to be remembered is that Lean practice is about eliminating waste and producing to a customer demand. One piece flow is a very important concept. It saves money and improves performance and there are no large capital costs.
On Coming to Lean Advisors Inc.
Over the years I've developed a passion for training. I enjoy sharing my thoughts and experiences in the two fields, Lean and Quality. I was drawn to Lean Advisors Inc. because they share my beliefs in the value of training as opposed to 'consulting'.
It's about giving people in organizations knowledge that they can go out and use themselves to make positive change. We give them help from time to time to keep them on the right path, but it's not a matter of us telling them what to do.. To succeed, a company has to own and work on the practice of Lean. No one can do it for them.
Training in Lean is a two-way learning experience - you have to stay fresh by learning from the field. There's always something new that someone will think up to solve a problem. Our approach is to share the process and philosophy; it's not about applying case studies from somewhere else to your environment.
This is a methodology that people can understand, take and use on their own.
Importance of Lean
There's more and more competition worldwide. It's not a level playing field. For Canada to keep a high standard of living, processes will have to improve. We have to cut the waste to be more competitive. That's the way to cut the expense of producing goods or services. It doesn't matter what the business is, Lean practice can cut waste and improve performance.
Key Lean "DO"
"Do" get people from various levels involved in Lean implementation. Communicate and remove their fear. Tell them what to expect. Jobs will stay although they may change. Remember the two key ingredients: participation from the shop floor and active support from senior management. You need both to be successful. Follow your Future State plan and don't focus on 'point' improvements.
Key Lean "DON'T"
"Don't" confuse the implementation of Lean with downsizing. You have to separate these activities; if they are tied together you will do irreparable damage to Lean efforts. Don't start Lean if you're in the middle of a downsize. People will rebel. The organization's nay sayers will focus on downsize as the hidden agenda for Lean. It's not.