Don't Just Move Your
Equipment...
Move Your Mind
By Richard Tucker
Is lean just a set of tools to go implement? 5S program, check. Tape
on the floor, check. Label my toolbox, check. Visual management boards, check. Do you know the buzzwords, can you speak the lingo? Am I lean now? Did
you calculate the ROI?
I see many companies make a big splash, show some quick gains, but is it sustainable? Time after time
I see companies start a lean initiative and implement the tools only to fizzle out without any long term impact. "This doesn't work in our industry."
"Lean does not work for this type of process." "Just another program of the month."
What is missing?
Lean enterprise leaders will tell you that it is 20% tools and techniques and 80% philosophy. You
cannot bring in a fork lift to move your mind, so what are you going to do? I see lean layouts with Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) in the 40%
range. Management focus is on covering the weekend work to keep parts shipping to the customer instead of identifying and prioritizing the root cause
of low OEE. They have not made the change in thinking that must go along with rearranging their equipment and processes.
Operators are frustrated because they see more problems now that were covered up by inventory before the Kaizen event. (The problems were always there,
they were just covered up.)
Change Happens
Leadership at all levels must change their thinking. Over time, a
shoot-the-messenger management style begets a wait-until-told employee behavior. Then we wonder why they "check their brains at the door." A company
that relies on a top-down, command and control operational style now has competitors where every team member is thinking about the process,
identifying problems, looking for leverage.
However, it is not a free-for-all with management just trying to appease everyone using the "Keep
them happy and they will do the right thing" style. Leaders must think and communicate strategically. What are the priorities? I have a limited
amount of resources, where should I focus? We cannot fix everything at once, so some problems may just have to wait.
Problems Surface
Many lean tools don't fix problems. Instead, they help make problems visible. This creates an
internal stress on an organization to make the problems disappear. Is it OK in your organization to have problems? Do you celebrate
problems? Can you identify and prioritize problems, translating your efforts into sustainable gains demonstrated in business results?
You can read a book, go to a class, but what you really need is someone experienced in implementation
that can coach, challenge, and encourage you through the thinking processes required to manage that new layout. If not, your
current thinking will bring you back to your current results.
Lean Thinking
Management must change their thinking-move their minds. What better time to
break old habits than when you make that equipment move, rearrange that cell?
Remember that book "Lean Thinking"?
-it wasn't about lean tactics.
