by Lee Fried, on 26 Aug 2007 02:39 pm
The Journey
Quote of the Week
I have written a lot about the Model Line area over the last couple of months and our focus on creating transformational and sustainable change. During the week I got in a very exciting email exchange with one of the line managers and process owners from the Model Line area who is in the process of leading her team through this transformation. She has been doing an excellent job leading her team through a roller coaster of change and it has been exciting to watch her develop her leadership skills.
My concern is that we might focus more energy on RPIWs (rapid process improvement workshops) and less on our daily management system (standard work system based on the Training Within Industry program). If we don’t understand how to create metrics to measure our status and progress toward “what our customers want” and learn to create visual systems to help us manage our business, what difference does it make…RPIWs get us big reorgs and major breakthroughs, but they are here today and gone tomorrow. Our daily management system gives us a solid foundation to fall back on. —Debra Moore
There are many reasons why I love this quote. It demonstrates to me through its sophistication how far and fast the learning has progressed in the Model Line area. A learning that can only occur through application and PDCA. In her role as a line manager, Debra is currently in the position of balancing transformational change, which is the outcome of the RPIWs and sustaining that change, which is the purpose of the Daily Management System. This is often a tricky balance to strike, because you can only go so far before you outpace the speed by which you leaders can learn. Because of the hard work of Debra and her team we have put much of the foundation for improvement in place, but boy it has been very heavy lifting.
on 29 Aug 2007 at 3:42 am 1.Andrew Scotchmer said …
You’re absolutely right. By focusing to much on RIE’s we tend to view it and use it as a tool and as a tool, when the event is finished we put it away until next time. This allows old ways of working to resurface and remain unchecked. The only time we notice a backslide is when we run another RIE some months later.
First educate members of staff in continuous improvement techniques and the importance of continually monitoring ourselves through effective information gathering tools and then apply the RIE technique. By doing so your reorganisation will become sustainable and even enhanced due to the continual nature of kaizen as an underpinning support.
RIE’s do not ingrain themselves in the culture of the workplace as they are too brief. For that you need kaizen.