Lean

Nov 13 2012

A perversion of the Toyota method | Pierre Deschamps | La Presse

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The article is in French, from Quebec. Following is a full translation:

“A recent story in La Presse reports on the implementation of the famous Toyota method in home care by the Montreal firm Proaction. The article argues that the implementation is driving nurses, social workers and occupational therapists to nervous breakdowns.

In fact, what is described has nothing to do with the Toyota method, but is a practice labeled “Lean,” disconnected from one of the fundamental values of the Toyota approach.

Toyota’s business philosophy is based on two fundamental principles: respect and continuous improvement. At Toyota, the continuous improvement process is based on the respect that the company provides to its customers, suppliers and employees. Continuous improvement, yes, but never at the expense of respect for people.

In recent years, several consulting firms who see the Toyota approach as a business opportunity have appropriated some of its processes, and argued that organizations adopting them would rapidly increase their performance and efficiency.

What these companies have forgotten is that the Toyota method is successful when it is part of a strong corporate culture and in businesses with a healthy work environment. It is not successful in organizations where there is a significant psychological distress and is mental suffering high among employees, as appears to be the case with several employees of the health system.

In addition, for the Toyota approach to be successful within an organization, those who want to use it have an excellent knowledge of the culture and be able to develop a profile of the organization in terms of governance, leadership, ethics, practices, traditions, etc..

In a book called The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership, the authors issue a serious warning about external consultants who claim to be experts in the Toyota or Lean approach.

The traditional role of external consultants is to manage a project and produce a plan of action. Actually, the consultants do the thinking for their clients. They claim to have expertise in Lean methods and guarantee that they say will make the client’s organization more efficient by eliminating all unnecessary tasks and standardizing work.

However, in reality, knowledge of the new methods remains with the consultants and they leave at the end of their engagement is very fragile.

The authors insist that the changes we want to make within an organization to improve performance must be under the direction of a person called sensei or master, who will act as a guide to employees .

In this case, obviously, the Lean consultants — who manage to bring social workers and occupational therapists on the verge of a nervous breakdown, exhaust them, and create a climate of fear — operate outside the philosophy of the Toyota approach.

In fact, they are the opposite of all that is at the heart of this philosophy. The Minister of Health and Social Services is quite right to say that what is at the heart of Lean and, more precisely, the Toyota Way is involving and listening to the service staff in a climate of respect for the values of the organization and all the people, staff and patients.
Want to locate in an area like health care techniques without the underlying philosophy is not only doomed to failure, but can be detrimental to the quality of care.”

See on www.lapresse.ca

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Nov 7 2012

John Shook: Lean Management Success Depends on a Problem-Solving Culture

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But problem solving is a problem at companies accustomed to hiding problems, according to Shook.Cambridge, MA (PRWEB) November 05, 2012 A company’s “attitude towards problems” determines if it succeeds or fails at a lean management transformation,…

See on news.yahoo.com

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Oct 30 2012

Implementing ‘5S’ Programs in Manufacturing Facilities | Hydrotech Motion Control Solutions

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This is one more misleading article about 5S. Following are a few of the more questionable assertions in it:

  • “5S is a system to […] optimize productivity” If all you do is 5S, you will not see a massive productivity increase.
  • “…the concept is especially attractive to older manufacturing facilities looking to reduce their costs.” Don’t expect any measurable cost reduction from just 5S.
  • “The 5S methodology is a simple and universal approach that works for companies all over the world.” It may look simple, but it is not, and most companies fail when they try to implement it. It is not for Lean beginners. If you try it with beginners, the most likely outcome is a mutiny.
  • “It is typically the first lean method that organizations implement.” Yes, due to simplistic advice, and it is a well-traveled shortcut to failure at Lean. Successful Lean implementations almost never start with 5S. Don’t take my word for it. Check out, for example, Art Byrne’s Lean Turnaround.
  • “The term refers to five steps — sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain.” This is a common mistranslation of five Japanese terms that also start with S:
    • Seiri does not mean Sort. It means removing from the shop floor the items you don’t use routinely.
    • Seiton is not too badly mangled by “set in order.” It refers to having assigned locations and labels for everything you retain on the shop floor.
    • Seiso means Clean, not Shine. The idea is to have production operators clean their workplace at shift end, so that they notice details like spills, frayed cables, or broken lamps. It is not about making it pretty.
    • Seiketsu does not mean Standardize. It is the reduction of the first three S’s to daily practice by management enforcement, through things like checklists and audits.
    • Shitsuke does not mean Sustain, and it is not an action but the condition you reach when the performance of the first three S’s has become second-nature to the organization. As long as you tell your kid to brush his teeth every day, you are practicing Seiketsu; once he does it without prompting, you have achieved Shitsuke.

See on www.hydrotech.com

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Oct 28 2012

‘Lean’ approach to health care

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This article suggests that the implementation effort is both intense — with 50% to 60% of US hospitals and health care systems having launched some form of initiative — and confused.

The featured image shows what looks like a barcode scanner pointed at a prescription bag with no barcode. Is that what Lean is about?
While the title only refers to “Lean,” the content gives equal billing to Six Sigma, implying that both have had a comparable impact in Manufacturing.
The second picture shows nurses and administrative staff around a reception desk, suggesting that Lean is not about doctors and patients, but just about efficiency in support activities.

Patient experience is barely mentioned. A manager reports that UMass Memorial has reduced waiting times, which sounds great, but a nurse reports spending less time with each patient, which does not sound so great.
There is no mention of improvement in the quality of care, for example, by prevention of treatment errors, that one would expect out of Lean.

See on www.telegram.com

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Oct 26 2012

Lean Leadership

In the SME Society of Manufacturing Engineers discussion group on LinkedIn, Sam MacPherson asked for comments on the idea that Lean’s greatest need is he willingness and ability to lead.

Following is the response I posted:

“Willingness and ability to lead”  is too generic, and not what I would answer if asked what Lean’s greatest need is.

I look at it from a manufacturing perspective. As Art Smalley pointed out in his 2006 Shingo Prize conference presentation, what goes by the name of Lean in the US gives short shrift to the engineering of production lines. To me, the greatest need still is to put the proper focus on it.

Applications outside of manufacturing are not my focus, but I think that, likewise, the greatest need is to focus on the core of the activity. When the Gilbreths worked on hospitals 100 years ago, they didn’t try to streamline peripheral functions like billing; instead, they worked on the design of operating rooms, and came up with the now standard way, where nurses prepare tools and pass them to surgeons.

Of course, top management must be willing and able to lead, but it has to be in the right direction, to put the focus on the way work is done. And it is tricky.

On the one hand, Art Byrne tells CEOs to personally participate in Kaizen events, which certainly is a way to convey the message that this activity matters.

On the other hand, it can lead the organization to overemphasize Kaizen events, at the expense of other types of necessary actions. It is also impossible for other employees to forget who is on the team.

Generally speaking, whether on a Kaizen even or a Gemba walk, if the CEO expresses an idea on a technical issue, most will agree because it comes from the CEO, and a few will make a point of disagreeing, because it comes from the CEO. In neither case does the idea receive an objective assessment.

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Oct 26 2012

AME names four to 2012 Hall of Fame class | Plant Engineering

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-Honorees have diverse talents and skills, a common commitment to excellence.

See on www.plantengineering.com

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