Kamishibai 紙芝居; Leadership Process Audit

The use of a visual tool for auditing standards implemented in Genba or even after a Kaizen event is extremely important.

Leadership Process auditing using Kamishibai boards is one of the easiest and most effective.

Although, there is no standard (which is good since you should always adjust to the organization and industry where you work) these are some things to consider.

• 1.     Create a calendar of visits to the genba is recommended on a weekly basis.
• 2.     Create a list of leaders or those responsible for conducting the audit.
• 3.     Identify areas where the audit should be done, usually a letter or a nomenclature is placed in the Kamishibai card.
• 4.     Kamishibai cards are basically; a compendium of points, to be verified in the areas that correspond. In other words, 5's, VSM, Standard Work, Pull System and mainly 8 wastes. Other special points can be added.
• 5.     You should consider another signal (format or card) where the abnormality is written, in order to annex it to the Kamishibai, so that the person in charge of the area can correct this abnormality and there is evidence of it. (Normally this correction becomes Kaizen Blitz)

The discipline and involvement of the leaders responsible for conducting this audit is indispensable and mandatory.

In fact in many LMT in the part of Management Involvement (Culture) is a very relevant point, since it says much of the discipline.

Attached an excellent video, where in a few minutes give a very detailed explanation, also offer to share formats to be modified, to the needs of your organization.

Especial thanks to Kevin Potts for Share this video.

Lean Deployment Plan - (A3-VSM-LMT and P&L)

In preparation for 2017, many companies are developing their Lean and Kaizen Plan.

I will now describe the mechanism in general for that purpose.

First: The present and future VSM must be created (however in companies that have already started, they should update the present VSM and check if the future VSM will meet its objectives). Identify the areas of opportunity and kaizen that are going to be realized. I strongly recommend that all VS be reviewed.

Second: Update, (based on the current VSM), the LMT Lean Maturity Tracker, which is the way, as many companies measure their progress in Lean.

Third: Review progress based on P & L and Cash Flow sheet; basically this is how to measure the effectiveness of Lean activities. Identifying the areas of opportunity, these should be compared, with opportunities for improvement in the VSM and obviously should be in sync, in case they are not should review the VSM again and find ways to improve.

Fourth: Update or create the strategic A3, for 2017, where the LMT, the Gap between VSM present - future, last year's reflection (which, went well and went wrong) and the Kaizen Plan with date and owners, Must be reflected. My personal advice is that in that plan we consider a Kaizen event at least a month, continuity and practice makes it all the difference.

This mechanism applies in both cases, whether you are about to start with Lean or are in the process, the path of continuous improvement never ends.

I hope I have summarized this article in a way that can be easily understood. And mainly, to be of help and / or guide in its preparation for 2017.

Andon System (行灯 - システム) – The Real Visual Management tool.

I have studied many Visual Management Deployments on several manufacturing factories, and I have found a big misunderstanding of Visual Management tool, this have called my attention  on the last days due the company where I’m consulting is a manufacturing plant with more than 30 CNC , Lathes , ,Metal stamping and bending machines.

One of the big opportunities this company had;  was related to the lack of Visual Management, therefore, I teached them about the ANDON system and when they implemented the full process, more than 80% of the Idle Time on Machine was eliminated, the defects where reduced 10% , down time was reduced 30% etc.

 

I encouraged them to see the operators as surgeon in operation room , and the engineers (Quality , Manufacturing , Production etc.) to assist the operators like nurses help the surgeon.

Many companies think they have Visual Management, but instead they have, Genba white Boards Reports , that, do not promotes the Management Operation Actions as many Lean practitioners may think.

The numbers on that white boars just tell the history of the yesterday day , like an autopsy report , noting to do just  cry if numbers are bad or celebrate if the numbers are ok.

 

To install white boards on Genba; just attack the information flow from PC systems reports ( KPI’s) to people awareness;  but hardly promotes actions on real times to fix a problem on real moment - time ; like the ANDON system does.

Visual Management is: the act or skill of controlling and making decisions about a manufacturing business operations.

The Visual Management objectives are:

•          Addresses performance issues and keeps people focused on the real job that add value.

•          Helps people feel, see, hear, and touch problems, potential defects, and enhance actions required to gain competitive advantage and improve performance.

•          Improve the operator performance by use of signals that alert the support of Quality , Engineering , Maintenance and Supervisors.

 

Therefore, none Visual Management Deployment is complete if you don’t have both: Communication Genba Boards  and ANDON lights system in place.

The team and the Lean Managers should analyze how effective the White boards deployed are on floor. Are the white board and information adding real value? Or where those White boards implemented just because the corporate says do it; if the last is the case, then you have Lean Fake only.

 

In other hand there are implementation of White Boards that enhance the operations efficiency, those are a real tool for Operation Management, those are value add.

 

 

 

The ANDON system efficiency is in terms of how well the 6 big losses have been reduced, in other words, you should measure the ANDON implementation effectiveness, based on Idle Machine Time Reduction, Operator Waiting Time Reduction, Changeover Reduction, Defects Reduction ect.

 

The Visual Management and especially the ADON system, needs discipline and Management Empowerment and it is not easy not at all; but the benefices are wonderful.

Lean & Six Sigma , History Time Line

Many people have studied  the Lean Manufacturing History Time Line , but very few are aware about Six Sigma History Time Line.

I used a very popular picture from the internet and I have updated the time line , and according to my research,  the combination was formally done by Micheal L. George 2002.

KPO team Members and the Lean Implementation Change curve.

Many customers ask my help to define the KPO  (Kaizen Promotion Offices) or Lean Manufacturing Department, some concerns are related to People Characteristics, Aptitudes and Attitudes.

My first advice is in terms of Leadership, based on my experience; the KPO members, Lean Managers, Lean Leaders; all of them fit on Transformational Leadership style and the Emotional Intelligence.

Leadership and the Lean KPO.

Transformational leaders have Integrity and high emotional intelligence. They motivate people with a shared vision of the future, and they communicate well. They're also typically self-aware, authentic, empathetic and humble.

Transformational leaders inspire their team members because they expect the best from everyone, and they hold themselves accountable for their actions. They set clear goals, and they have good conflict-resolution skills. This leads to high productivity and engagement.

However, leadership is not a "one size fits all" thing; often, you must adapt your approach to fit the situation. This is why it's useful to develop a thorough understanding of other leadership frameworks and styles; after all, the more approaches you're familiar with, the more flexible you can be.

Emotional intelligence (EI) and the Lean KPO.

EI is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, and those of the people around you. People with a high degree of emotional intelligence know what they're feeling, what their emotions mean, and how these emotions can affect other people.

For leaders, having emotional intelligence is essential for success. After all, who is more likely to succeed – a leader who shouts at his team when he's under stress, or a leader who stay in control, and calmly assesses the situation?

There are five main elements of emotional intelligence:

1  Self-awareness.

2  Self-regulation.

3  Motivation.

4  Empathy.

5  Social skills.

The more that you, as a leader, manage each of these areas, the higher your emotional intelligence.

So, the KPO members must adapt, their own behaviors to each situation, there is certain characteristics that must be applied unto the situation.

There is a desirable situation where the KPO team needs to take the organization and this situation is the called the Chaos, for many people this doesn't sound logic, however the Chaos is one step that every organization must face if they want to change for better.

Therefore the attitudes desired for the KPO team members or Lean Leaders are quite different unto the stage of the implementation.

The Lean Implementation Change Curve.

As we have described the Lean Implementation Change, starts with a Temporary Excitement (nobody wants to say they are against the change right ?  This is normal…) and High Management Expectations (Based on the Lean benefits  that Management have heard from others companies), however everybody who has implemented Lean Manufacturing know the real life and all the Resistance (Active and Passive) that exist when the Lean Tools are implemented, (just remember your last Kaizen event) ; the trick here is to reach the Chaos area , that is critical in your transformation process , if you delay the Chaos you delay the Benefits of Lean in terms of Time and Magnitude.

That’s why you need KPO resources committed with the Lean Philosophy and Lean Leaders not Cheer Leaders, with high Emotional Intelligence to manage the Change Process.

All this if you don’t want Lean Fake Implementation otherwise don’t follow these steps.

Lean Elements that must be present before Lean Deployment.

I hope this helps in your next Lean Deployment. 

Obeya “War Room” a powerful Visual Management Tool.

On Toyota Management System there is one Visual Tool that helps the teams to reach the Goals and promotes generations of solutions and actions; that can be developed and implemented quickly.

This tool is known as Obeya (War Room); many people think, it is just one type of Obeya but there are different types on the organizations.

Before to describe the types, lest understand the theory behind the Obeya or “Big Room / War Room”.

The Theory behind Obeya is based on a simple idea:

Dedicate time and space to Coordination and problem-solving and organizational barriers will be minimized. The ability to maintain Proper Problem Awareness in Real-time, listen to Team Member, concerns, make discoveries, resolve problems together, collaborate, accelerate leader and team-member development and reach our full potential is critical to a Lean Organization.

The Obeya promotes coordination, strategy and flexibility while leveraging the

expertise and support of teammates from diverse areas.

Types of Obeya:

Global Launch Obeya;

When developing a new vehicle, managers responsible for decision making in design, production engineering, and manufacturing gather in one place to shorten

lead-time through real-time communications & simultaneous engineering.

Business Process Layout Obeya:

Centralized data collection, prioritizing and action planning.

Focus Obeya;

Ø   Project War Rooms

Ø   SQDC/PDCA

Ø   A3 Problem Solving

Ø   Jishuken rooms

Its very important to consider some points for Obeya :

1.    I strong recommend to use just two colors, Red and Green, for status, not Yellow, Orange, Blue ect. The reason behind this is to avoid ambiguities; the status is OK or NOT OK.

2.    Define Metrics on SMART ways, not more than 5 metrics, due is impractical review every day 100 metrics.

3.    Issues Boards, there is mandatory, the team is prompted to solve issues immediately, the procrastination to solve the problem is not allowed.

4.    Discipline for meeting attending on time and should last no more than 10 min.

5.    The Flow for Obeya is CPDCA instead of normal PDCA.

Here one video of Takashi Tanaka - Lean for Knowledge Work,  Mr. Takashi gives a great explanation about the use of Obeya.

I hope this help you in your next Project.