by Lee Fried, on 05 Apr 2007 07:23 am
The Journey
When Lean Becomes Really Hard
Like most organizations we started our Lean journey by buying from a consulting group a set of tools that we quickly put to use on improving primarily functional processes. After several successful projects we expanded our effort into value stream mapping across departments and began to connect our improvements. This further increased our rate of return.
With the Model Line we have taken the next step on our journey and boy is it a big one. As on senior leader puts it “we are looking for sustainable cultural change.” This is when Lean becomes really hard. So why is it harder? Mainly because we are no-longer just trying to change the process, instead we are trying to change the entire system. We are not looking to just use the tools to eliminate process waste we are looking to put in a management system. So what does that mean and how it is different? I guess the simplest way to describe our objective is that the elimination of waste in now no-longer focused on just the front line. Leaders are being asked to eliminate waste in their own processes, which means standard work for management work and a new management system. We are asking leaders to not only sponsor, but to own, role model and participate in kaizen. This is hard work, because as any Lean practioner can tell you it is a lot easier to change practice and behaviors at the front line then it is in mid or senior management. Yet, without having the change in the way senior leaders behave and think we can do nothing more then apply the tools.
on 05 Apr 2007 at 11:19 pm 1.Robert Thompson said …
Culture echoes management style. Managers tend to hire people just like themselves, the established organizational culture is reinforced by new employees. Culture grows over time and for people to consider culture change, usually a significant event must occur. Creating a lean culture can be compared to “nemawashi” as Wikipedia says, “an informal process of quietly laying the foundation for some proposed change or project, by talking to the people concerned, gathering support and feedback, and so forth. It is considered an important element in any major change, before any formal steps are taken, and successful nemawashi enables changes to be carried out with the consent of all sides.”
However, I stress that culture chane has to come from the top!
Rob
on 07 Apr 2007 at 5:15 pm 2.Mark Graban said …
Are you making explicit the management behaviors that make up a “lean culture?”
I’d highly recommend both The Toyota Way and Creating a Lean Culture.
I’ve been facilitating a discussion group at a hospital on The Toyota Way, talking about how the principles apply to the hospital (not just reading it to become experts on Toyota). Cultural issues come up, such as trust, fear, and teamwork.
How do you plan on determining if the culture has changed? Employee Satisfaction surveys? Is the culture one where people are pressured to cover up errors and not make waves, or one where people can bring up near misses without fear of retribution?
on 08 Apr 2007 at 2:59 pm 3.Lee Fried said …
Hi Mark,
In the Model Line area we are working hard to make explicit the management behaviors that make up a Lean culture. Our primary method for doing this right now is called our VP Audit which happens each Thursday. During the audit the Vice President spends all day visiting teams on the floor with our Sensei asking questions and coaching managers. The purpose of the audits is not to be the boss, but the teacher. As we begin to implement our Daily Management System it is a big strech for managers to spend so much time on the floor in the work areas, but when the VP finds time to do it every week he is leading by example.
We are also developing a measurement tool that we will be using to measure the rate of maturation of our new management system. The tool is a simple spider diagram that rates teams from 1-5 on catergories such as visual management, root cause thinking, standard work, etc. The VP and Sensei will fill it out once per quarter during their audits and we will make it visible to all.
Thanks for your questions,
Lee