We are continuing into the third step of our Lean Office transformation journey by finding the waste and variation in how we transform our products.
3. Make the value-creating steps occur in tight sequence so the product will flow smoothly toward the customer.
Our team has the process map on the wall showing how we currently create the product with Red, Yellow, and Green dots, Cycle Times, Touch Time, Inputs and Outputs, Rework Loops, and Handoffs. As you stand back and look at this map you may ask yourself, "How do we get anything done around here with processes like that!". And you would be right to ask that.... silently in your head, we are not pointing fingers here.
We now have some decisions to make, do we first attack the steps with the Red dots, or the high cycle times, or the rework loops? This is a decision that could be based on the goals in the charter. Fixing the quality of your work would be a good place to start to remove the Rework Loops. Remember that the team is removing waste, not making the waste flow faster by high-speeding the product through a Rework cycle. Again, we are not institutionalizing Rework.
This is the phase where we put our definition of Organization Optimization into practice. How do we look at our relationships in the Value Stream. Do we think our suppliers and contractors are greedy and are just out to steal our profits? Or are they partners where open communication and shared problem solving is encouraged? Do you have the same type of relationship with your customers?
Professional working relationships across our enterprise and overhead costs are also greatly enhanced by removing the other seven wastes. This creates the ability to accurately predict performance and reduce the price point to increase demand. As demand increases, so does our ability to meet it as removing waste increases capacity.
Another concept in our Lean Office is that of 5S. This is not a housekeeping or cleaning methodology, but a framework of standard practices that supports the organization. This attempts to have us answer the following questions; 1) Do we need the things we have, and 2) Do we have the things we need, and 3) Can we see where flow is stopped, and 4) Are our teams performing at a consistently high level? Think about the supplies kept in the copy room, the break room, at our desks, or even on our servers and computer desktops.
There are several improvement models that can be applied during this phase; PDCA, A3, 8-D, DMAIC, DMADV, AFSO21 8 Steps, and many more. Ultimately these models contain tools to identify root causes, improve the results, and implement standard work to keep from backsliding.
As we move through the opportunities we will come across waste we have forced upon ourselves in our "ISO" type documentation or find waste linked to unfunded government regulations. These are classified as Business Non-Value added activities and these are the steps on the process map with Yellow dots. They are not impossible to remove, but it requires more work and a Leadership team that is fully engaged that is not afraid to show some courage.
Remember that Flow Is King, and a stop in the flow of what our customers desire from us is a stop in our ability to satisfy those desires. Always involve the Smart People when we are eliminating waste. One person typically will not have the solution, but each team member has a piece of the puzzle and all we have to do is snap the pieces together.
3. Make the value-creating steps occur in tight sequence so the product will flow smoothly toward the customer.
Our team has the process map on the wall showing how we currently create the product with Red, Yellow, and Green dots, Cycle Times, Touch Time, Inputs and Outputs, Rework Loops, and Handoffs. As you stand back and look at this map you may ask yourself, "How do we get anything done around here with processes like that!". And you would be right to ask that.... silently in your head, we are not pointing fingers here.
We now have some decisions to make, do we first attack the steps with the Red dots, or the high cycle times, or the rework loops? This is a decision that could be based on the goals in the charter. Fixing the quality of your work would be a good place to start to remove the Rework Loops. Remember that the team is removing waste, not making the waste flow faster by high-speeding the product through a Rework cycle. Again, we are not institutionalizing Rework.
This is the phase where we put our definition of Organization Optimization into practice. How do we look at our relationships in the Value Stream. Do we think our suppliers and contractors are greedy and are just out to steal our profits? Or are they partners where open communication and shared problem solving is encouraged? Do you have the same type of relationship with your customers?
Professional working relationships across our enterprise and overhead costs are also greatly enhanced by removing the other seven wastes. This creates the ability to accurately predict performance and reduce the price point to increase demand. As demand increases, so does our ability to meet it as removing waste increases capacity.
Another concept in our Lean Office is that of 5S. This is not a housekeeping or cleaning methodology, but a framework of standard practices that supports the organization. This attempts to have us answer the following questions; 1) Do we need the things we have, and 2) Do we have the things we need, and 3) Can we see where flow is stopped, and 4) Are our teams performing at a consistently high level? Think about the supplies kept in the copy room, the break room, at our desks, or even on our servers and computer desktops.
There are several improvement models that can be applied during this phase; PDCA, A3, 8-D, DMAIC, DMADV, AFSO21 8 Steps, and many more. Ultimately these models contain tools to identify root causes, improve the results, and implement standard work to keep from backsliding.
As we move through the opportunities we will come across waste we have forced upon ourselves in our "ISO" type documentation or find waste linked to unfunded government regulations. These are classified as Business Non-Value added activities and these are the steps on the process map with Yellow dots. They are not impossible to remove, but it requires more work and a Leadership team that is fully engaged that is not afraid to show some courage.
Remember that Flow Is King, and a stop in the flow of what our customers desire from us is a stop in our ability to satisfy those desires. Always involve the Smart People when we are eliminating waste. One person typically will not have the solution, but each team member has a piece of the puzzle and all we have to do is snap the pieces together.
Superb post. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteoffice rework
Thanks!!
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