March 2009, Volume 1, Issue 3

Change vs. Practice

Lean times drive Lean business practices. And Lean business practices usually mean change. In my 18 years of practicing Lean methods in the front office and on the production floor, nothing has been more difficult than making change a practice. I like to think of a practice as something we do automatically without thought. A practice is the way we do it. Great managers are gifted at turning change into practice. The consultants, subject matter experts, and teachers can design and institute the change, but only the great manager can turn that change into a practice.

Dr. Shigeo Shingo, one of the inventors of Just-In-Time along with Mr. Taiichi Ohno, has been my teacher of Lean since 1990. Unfortunately, that was the year of his passing at 81 years of age. So my studies were through his many translated books published by Productivity, Inc. Dr. Shingo had many books translated into English covering such topics as SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die), Poke-Yoke (Japanese for mistake-proofing) and industrial engineering perspectives on the Toyota Production System (since renamed Lean Manufacturing.) Dr. Shingo understood the importance of practice. So much so that he designed a simple group activity that highlights the learning curve we all know but sometimes don't identify and accept. Those of you who have heard me present "Streamline Before You Automate" at conferences have taken part in this activity. Use this at your next management team meeting. It only takes 10 minutes, but leaves an indelible understanding of the learning curve. It helps you manage through change.

Materials:

• Index cards - 10 each per team of two
• Graph paper with the x-axis labeled "Seconds per Card" and indexed 1-25, and the y-axis labeled "Number of Cards" and indexed 1-10.
• Watch with a second hand for each team of two. Or one stop watch projected on a screen or wall.

Procedure

• Have the group divide into pairs and distribute 10 index cards and 1 graph paper to each team.
• One team member keeps time and charts progress, the second member executes the process.
• Ask each team to write "Graphic Arts" neatly and consistently on each card while the timer plots the number of seconds it takes to write each card. Use a "dot" for this graph then connect the dots.
• Now make a process improvement. Cut the number of letters in half and ask the team to write the same thing on the reverse side, but every other letter, starting with the "r" in Graphic Arts. No fair writing this first on the conference room table and copying it!
• Again, the timer plots the number of seconds it takes to write each card. Use an "X" for this graph and then connect the X's.
• Review the results

The resulting graph should look something like this.

The process was drastically improved - a 50% reduction of work steps. Yet most of the teams didn't realize any savings until a few tries. Eventually, the cycle time is reduced by about 50% as well. Now compare this to the last significant change you made at your company. Think of the pushback you received when it took longer, produced inferior results, or turned off a customer. Were you steadfast in instituting the change to allow the team to make this a practice? Or was the change abandoned?