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.

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. 

The 7+1 Mudas (wastes) – For Office, Manufacturing and Supply Chain.

Many people ask me about examples of Mudas (wastes) on 3 main categories, Manufacturing, Office and Supply Chain; for that reason I always share the next table with my customers.

The table do not cover all the possible examples, but gives a general idea about the differences of Mudas , its can be used to Identify the potential projects at Lean Enterprise deployment also.

I hope this help you in your next project.

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.