Learning about Lean

The more I use them, the more I'm amazed at Control Charts. 
These simple, visual tools have been around for a long time.  And, I've observed, those with keen numeric skills have made them more and more complex. 

Yet the simple is good.  And handwritten is even better for communicating the state of a process to those involved in that process. 



Think about it.  It is a simple graph.  Time is plotted along the bottom.  It can be hours/shifts/days/months.  It doesn't matter what but the period needs to be appropriate for the data.  Then, each period, a person places a dot to measure the parameter in that period. 

The 3 horizontal lines are a mean or target level for the paramater and upper and lower control limits (UCL and LCL).  Typically, these lines are placed 2 standard deviations above and below the mean.

This recognizes that there is inherent varability in a process.  If the varability stays within bounds, the process is working.  If a point exceeds the bounds or shows a trend within the bounds, there is un-natural variablility. 

In the first case, we say the variation comes from common causes.  In the second, we call is special cause.  To mess with common causes is called "Tampering".  To ignore special causes is called "Neglect".  Don't tamper.  Don't neglect.

It's that simple.

Yet, the beauty of the control chart is not the dots or the lines or the statistics.  It is in the conversation the chart data provokes.  The chart focuses attention on the right thing...is the process stable?  If not, what causes the instability and how do we fix it so it stays stable, longer?  It allows the group to avoid finger pointing and talk about issues that matter. 

It happened again for me this morning.  It never gets old. 

If you are not using this simple tool, try it. 

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The vendor had hardly sat down when the deluge began.  We had asked his company for a proposal on a modestly-priced piece of equipment.  When we met, however, it was as if he felt he had to blurt his entire proposal in 90 seconds or it would somehow evaporate.

But it wasn't 90 seconds...it continued, unabated, for 10 full minutes.  My head hurt.  I wondered what I could do to gain some clarity.

"Can I draw a picture of what I think you are saying?"  I finally asked, pretty much interrupting the spiel.  He wasn't quite sure what to say.

I flipped a page over and sketched a bell curve based on data he presented.  I slowed my pattern of speech and asked some short, specific, yes/no questions.  We finally got clarity.

Why??

The simple drawing altered the communication pattern.  It stopped the talking.  The drawing helped sort reality from hype.  It slowed the mind well enough to ask good questions of the essential facts.

Our eyes are keen sensors.  Fast talking only uses the ears.  Better to use both. 

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For a couple of years now, my wife and I have enjoyed having lunch at McAlister's Deli, a line of resturaunts specializing in freshly prepared sandwiches, soups and salads served with exceptional levels of service.

A couple of weeks ago, we got a surprise while there. After our server brought us our food, she put a small red card on the table. "If you need a refill on your drinks, just flip this over," she said and walked away.

"This is a kanban card!" I exclaimed. My wife, a wonderfully patient woman, steeled herself once more for a monologue on pull systems and the beauty thereof.




Indeed, it was a pull system, in all its simple spendor but applied in a place not often expected to use such a tool.

The card is quite simple. If you are happy and don't need any attention, you leave the red side up, near the edge of your table. The server sees it and takes no action.


But once you are thirsty and need a refill (and those of you who have eaten with me realize this is often the case), you flip the card to green. Green means "go" and, in our experience, within 60 seconds a helpful server stops by, picks up the glass, confirms what drink you had, refills it, brings it back to the table and flips the card back to red.



It is just that simple.



Think about what this does for the customer. When you need service, you don't have to crane your neck, wondering if someone will stop by. Instead, you simply flip the card over and, soon, a person stops at the table. Conversation, the reason many eat out, continues uninterrupted. You finish sentences...you explore topics in depth... you don't wonder when or if you'll get another Diet Coke. In Lean terms, the customer gets more value.

Think as well what this does for McAlisters. The eye can move much faster than the foot. So, a simple scan by a server of a group of tables says, in seconds, who needs service and who wishes to be left alone. This allows a single server to handle more tables, more efficiently. Yeah, productivity.

All while providing added value to the customer.

At vitually no extra cost. All for a few laminated cards.

It is amazing what simple systems can do. Where can you apply this?



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Several recent observations converged for me.

Circuitously, I ended up shopping for shampoo recently. Actually, I was shopping for a shampoo bottle, not shampoo. My wife had found a deal on shampoo but it came in a big batch, a huge bottle. I wanted to find a smaller bottle to put in the shower.

I decided I’d like one of the upside down bottles…it would keep the shampoo closer to the opening…less “waste of waiting” you know. I reached for one bottle…oops, the label said “conditioner” not shampoo.


I kept looking…and then it hit me. Sometime in the last decade, multiple manufacturers decided all shampoo would be in right side up bottles, while all conditioners would be in upside down bottles. BRILLIANT! A wonderful visual tool for a place when many people have impaired vision…no glasses, no contacts, not awake yet…the reasons are many.

Which got me thinking…what a great way for simple A-B differentiation of tools, supplies and other needed items. Upside down, right side up. Add color to the mix and it is even more useful. I’m looking for opportunities.

Keep on learning.