Leave the Emotion In

Have you heard this one? The one where the manager says, "let's leave the emotion out of it and look at the facts...we need answers, not more problems because somebody's feelings were hurt."

If you came to me and said, "I love my job," would you expect me to reply: "Can we leave the emotion out of it?" Of course not. In fact, I'd probably write a celebratory blog post about it, and if it happened more than once - I'll make a case study out of it for the next Lean HR Summit. If that goes anywhere, maybe I can write a book about it and get credit for the newest Lean Tool!

All kidding aside, who are we as managers to tell people how to feel, or worse, when to feel? My observation is that, as managers, we don't know how to face conflict that involves emotion and since we don't know how to do it we demand our team to do the same. Why?

Do we avoid emotions in the workplace because it takes an extraordinary amount of calories to deal with them? Does this phenomena stem from the tendency for us to be fixers? When somebody is not feeling good about things, do we see an opportunity to fix the emotion? Knowing that the fix is probably more on the person feeling the way they do, do we tend to let it slide, since the work to be done would consume more calories than we can afford it? Fixing emotions is a tough slog through the mud, is it not? And if we fix the emotion, did it fix the problem? Most likely not, but do emotions belong in the realm of problem solving?

Most people, as I've suggested will say, "No, leave it out!" Unless of course, unfavorable emotions cause a person to get into trouble - then we have a low calorie solution for dealing with those feelings: HR. This, we were trained to do, and we are good at it. Unfortunately, even this low calorie solution is a form of ignoring how people feel about themselves, their work, their team and the big picture and only looking at the fix, the result - we need an immediate outcome, we need to fix the bad behaviors and emotions for the sake of the organization, or so it would seem:

"A leader gets results through people. People must be treated as individuals. Good leadership prevents many problems, but the leader must know how to handle those that do arise." - JRT Manual.

Can we ignore how people feel? If we ignore their emotions are we honoring them as individuals? If not, are we treating them like people? Aren't people without emotions considered to be sociopaths? Is that the model team member we want on our team? If not, then why do we ask them to leave their emotions out? How does this square with the hallowed "respect for people" principle? What are we saying to our team when we tell them to leave emotions out? I wonder how many Leansters are guilty of violating the RFP pillar in this manner?

"Complete facts must be known or obtained. Opinions and feelings must be found out and considered along with the facts. It is necessary to look at an individual because people are not alike." - JRT Manual.

Do I want to make my decisions based on anger alone? Fear? Love? No. But I should try to understand how people are feeling about things. If we don't, then we tend to jump to conclusions when presented with a problem. The Job Relations skill helps provide a framework around not jumping to conclusions, while simultaneously listening, gathering facts, and considering the feelings and emotions around a matter. The JR approach, while not the ONLY way to go about this, is one of the few sources where we see emphasis on the consideration of facts AND feelings. Only then can we make whole decisions that are aligned with the Respect for People pillar:

"Decisions are made on the basis of facts properly evaluated and related. And decisions do not make a solution." - JRT Manual

Even if we consider emotions, treat people like individuals and make sound, whole decisions, that doesn't mean the problem is gone. We need to check our decision(cause of the solution) for results(effects of the decision leading to the solution):

"The leader must know his responsibility to check the results of the decision. It is necessary to watch the timing of action and follow-up, and watch for effect on the objective, on the individual, on the group, and on production." - JRT Manual

Lean Thinking, if there is such a thing that can be captured in two simple words, is not the scientific, objective enterprise we would like it to be. The sole reason for this lies within the multi-million person workforce - EVERYBODY is an individual. If people were robots, we wouldn't have to be subjective. To approach each person as if they are more or less the same pair of hands to utilize or the same brain to manipulate is a lethal mistake. Purely objective engagement allows us to pull in everybody without consideration of them as individuals. How efficient would we be at motivating each and every person to reach their full potential? Purely subjective engagement may keep us in the dark and unaware of the facts. How effective will our problem solving actually be?

And you thought Taichii Ohno was tough!

An excerpt from Diffusion of Innovations, 5th ed. by Everett Rogers, here is an interesting story behind Toshiba’s first laptop!

Convincing the corporate leaders at Toshiba that Mizoguchi’s vision for a laptop computer made sense turned out to be extremely difficult. The company had just failed in the marketplace with its personal computer, taking huge losses, and corporate leaders had decided to get out of the computer business. They denied Mizoguchi’s request for development funds and refused to assign him any experienced engineers for a laptop R&D team. Not discouraged, Mizoguchi went “underground” with the laptop project at the company’s Ome factory, located some twenty-five miles from Toshiba’s Tokyo headquarters. He diverted funds and shifted ten engineers from military projects to design the laptop. A prototype was created in twenty-four months, but the process was very stressful to those involved. For example, one Friday afternoon, the exhausted engineers were unable to find space to pack one more device into the already jam-packed prototype (Albetti, 1997). Mizoguchi ripped the cover off of the laptop and poured a glass of water inside (thus ruining all the electrical circuits). He turned the laptop upside down, and a few drops of water came out. Turning to his stunned engineers, Mizoguchi exclaimed, “See, there is some space left! Work smarter!”

On the one hand, you have to admire Mizoguchi's secret skunkworks approach to getting the first laptop computer developed. This takes a lot of bravery and vision to see this level of innovation through. However, not a lot of respect for people, property or his team’s effort and he was rewarded later in his career despite this destructive behavior towards other individuals. Any thoughts on how Mizoguchi could have devised a better coaching method - even if your method isn't as entertaining?

Fives on the Mind

Five is your new favorite number. Add a Y, S or N after the five. Trust me on this.

Lets start with the five whys (5Y). Do I need to elaborate on the importance of this? Read the section of Toyota Way Field book on causal chain and then go use it. And please don't stop at five just because it is five.

How about the five esses (5S)? The 5S' embody the very simple basics of workplace organization, improvement and building self discipline.

But don't start with either of these, they will come soon enough. You need to start with the Five Needs of every leader (5N).

What are the 5N?

The 5N can be separated into two basic needs: knowledge needs and skill needs. The knowledge needs can be parsed again into:

1. Knowledge of the Work
2. Knowledge of Responsibilities

Leaders must acquire this knowledge. By acquiring this knowledge, leaders can earn respect, grasp the situation more easily when problems do arise and can take prudent steps that are aligned with the organizations culture.

I mention these first needs because I have recently taken on a new role as Director of Quality in a manufacturing company. To say that I need to acquire these two packets of knowledge is the understatement of the New Year. But acquire them I must. The next question is then, what to do with the knowledge that I acquire over time?

Experienced leaders know that they have three other needs:

1. Skill of Instruction
2. Skill of Improving Methods
3. Skill of Leading

In the TWI approach, the skill of instruction is learned through Job Instruction. In my new role, I've asked people in the genba to train me in the job in order to better understand the work and problems that they encounter (knowledge need). Since I've been practicing Job Instruction for several years now, I can also evaluate the company's training effectiveness, its efficiency and other strengths and gaps. Interestingly, there is a direct tie between the 5N and 5S. In Job Instruction, we learn about the "Get Ready" steps of instruction. Two of the steps are to determine if everything is available for work: 1) machines, materials, tools, etc., and 2) is the workplace organized the way the person is expected to maintain it - even during work. Sounds like 5S to me!

Next is the skill of improving methods. It is said that Ohno wasn't satisfied with Job Methods when it was introduced to Japan in the 1950's but that he retained the "questioning method" that was learned in the program. You may be surprised that another "five" reveals itself in Job Methods: 5W1H. Perhaps this odd five-plus-one is best expressed in Rudyard Kiplings' poem:

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.

O.k., there is a sixth wheel here! But, the answers to 'how' often lead to many improvements. The Job Methods questioning method of 5W1H will bring the leader to many systemic improvements. It is the 5Y questioning method, however, that can allow deep insight - in probably the simplest manner ever devised - to millions of workplace problems today. Incidentally, there is a definite order to the questioning method in Job Methods, it starts with a simple question: "What is the purpose?" and then is followed by a relentless stream of why's until the questioner is satisfied. This gets people thinking about elimination (not needed if purpose is irrelevant) rather than streamlining waste and jumping to false conclusions.

Interestingly enough, the many little jobs I'm learning through Job Instruction can be snapped together like legos and eventually build up into a bigger process that can be analyzed and improved through Job Methods. In other words, as we learn the TWI job skills first, we begin to see how the five needs begin to work together with the five whys and the five esses...

With the skill of leading, learned through Job Relations, leaders aim to maintain and improve cooperation and workplace relations. This is done through the lens of improving problems of production, quality, cost and morale. It is not a stretch to see how improving workplace instruction, methods, organization and increasing problem solving skills can tackle all four problems listed. Where does Job Relations come into the picture? There are a few ways. First, by acquiring the knowledge of responsibilities we are better equipped to lead and maintain good relations. Second, when we talk about stabilizing the process through better instruction of standards, improving methods, machines, materials and environment - what we are really doing is changing the culture of the organization. Job Relations helps the leader help others through the change.

Do we need a huge toolbox to operate daily? Sure, there are a lot of nifty tools out there, but if everybody had a case of the fives - whoa, look out! Yep, I've got a bad case of the fives - and thank goodness there isn't a cure!

2009 TWI Summit Keynote Address Now Available

Patrick Graupp's Keynote Address is available through the TWI Summit - To Japan and Back: Insights on My TWI Journey

Hear Pat’s insights on TWI in Japan and learn how his early experiences as a trainer there shaped his passion for TWI. After working with TWI in Japan for many years, Pat returned to the U.S. and became a pioneer in reintroducing TWI in the U.S. The lessons he learned along the way will enlighten experienced practitioners and TWI beginners alike.

SPECIAL APPEARANCE: Patrick's mentor in Japan, Mr. Kazuhiko Shibuya, will address the Summit with Patrick translating to English. Mr. Shibuya learned TWI in the early 1960s from the first Japanese Masters! Don't miss your chance to hear this historically significant event that ties together TWI's past with today!

Keynote Address Available Here

New SME Video focused on TWI

SME has produced a TWI video. There is a sample clip at the following link along with a shopping cart.

SME TWI Video

TWI Yahoo Group - Mine the National Archive Data!

Join this Yahoo Group - TWI Collaboration Opportunity!

Mark Warren at Tesla2.com has really outdone himself with the amount of work put into additional TWI research. The materials I have researched and posted at TWI Service came from the National Archives. That was almost two years ago now and it was really only the tip of the iceberg. Mark went back to the archives and dug into the TWI Foundation materials. The TWIF was a non-profit started after the decommission of the ABC government programs. The, "four horsemen" as they were called, directors of the wartime TWI Service founded the non-profit- members-only organization in order to continue the great progress made in industrial human relations and continuous improvement.

I also have posted some material from another consultant (TWI, Inc.) that actually won the Japanese/US contract to bring TWI to the JMA and JITA which last time I checked still offers the J-skill courses today. The most exciting thing about this is that the Japanese specifically had a need for Problem Solving - the result is what you will find at this link. This material comes from the Western Reserve Historical Society at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio. The U.S. TWI story kind of ends there though, except that Walter Dietz gives us many hints in his self published book "Learning By Doing" in 1970 that described TWI lived well beyond its useful purpose in wartime production. We just never knew if any materials existed. It turns out that about three or four months after I left the archives, somebody donated the private TWIF collection! And that is where Mark picked up the TWI trail - in the rest of the National Archives.

There really isn't enough space in a blog post to say the following: so I will run the risk of....glorifying.....TWI here. My apologies please know my intent isn't to say that TWI is an "answer" for all of our woes. When looking at the breadth and depth of the TWI materials, its origins and the results (most notably, Toyota) we practitioners were quite amazed. I mean, this is good stuff! And those of us using it today are getting fantastic results! But now, as Mark releases this new material that fills in some of the voids in the timeline between 1955 and 1975, the staggering amount of materials that extend the TWI lifespan is overwhelming. But, it is more than just how long it lasted. This was (and still is) a critical piece to the management training puzzle we face today.

Here is the welcome post offered up by Mark at the TWI Group page:


"This group was established to share and discuss TWI programs. The "Files" section has copies of materials that were transcribed from the National Archives collection. These ranges from the Sessions Outlines to Institute Conductor's Manuals to Trainer's Guides to Coaching material to Follow-Through program materials for each 'J' program, plus many materials that were "For TWI Staff Use Only". All of these documents are in MSWord(2002) and can be edited. Feel free to add comments, suggestions and correct typos (please turn on tracking so I can see what was changed) and submit to: Mark.Warren@Tesla2.com - I will periodically update the files with the improvements. This group is also a good place to ask questions and debate the pros and cons of the materials."

Not to mention an awesome Job Economics Manual. Want a different perspective on the economy? Check it out.

I encourage anyone who has an interest in business history, Lean, or if you are looking for a way to better your skills - join the group and continue the journey.

Cement Heads are People Too!

O.k., so this week I face the ultimate Lean change agent challenge: working with a certified cement head. You know who I'm talking about: someone who simply either refuses to "get it" or simply can't "get it". I don't mean to say I'm working with a dolt - that is HARDLY the case. Smart guy, knows his machines inside and out. But don't talk to him about Lean. Doesn't want to hear it.

So, what is stopping me from asking him a simple question? How about these for starters?

"What is the problem?"

"How do you know?"

"If we did this, then would the problem go away?"

"No? What other problems could occur?"

"Do you have any ideas about how to prevent that from happening?"

"No? What about this? Can you try it?"

"Yes? O.k., what can I do to help you get this into action?"

TIP for working with cement heads: You don't need to "get" or speak Lean to be able to ask these KAIZEN oriented questions. Wish me luck. So far, so good.

TWI Roadshow with Don Dinero

Looks like folks in Indiana get a chance to spend some quality face time with a great TWI master, Don Dinero. Many TWI Blog readers know that Don trained me in Job Instruction and Job Methods a few years ago. I've met few people that have a deep understanding about TWI like Don does, he doesn't feel that this is just another Lean training program, but a way to get people to think and behave Lean.

Don takes TWI program standardization to the next level - his TWI J programs are very standardized, but like anything else in this world, a teacher that is passionate about teaching serves his students well and knows how to adapt to different industries and situations while improving the overall program.

Don brings his life and Lean work experiences into the training, so that students can see how easy it is to apply the J-skills accordingly. An optional "deep dive" lunch is on the itinerary as well; this is no surprise as Don can't stop thinking TWI!

If you get a chance to attend this great opportunity, I highly recommend you do so with Don.

Measuring Lean Results - Re-coupling HR & Production

In lean, we are used to measuring tangible things: distance traveled, inventory, number of steps, defects and suggestions. I often get questions about how HR can apply lean thinking to their job.

A simple example comes from the TWI Job Relations program:

"Wonder what the people who say JR benefits are intangible, will think of this: 'We were able to reduce the frequency of our greivances by at least 25% and the severity by 90%. We have applied the term frequency to the number of grievances which reached Step 2 of our grievance procedure, and severity to those which reached Step 4 of our greivance procedure. Following the introduction of JR, we experienced a period of six months without one greivance coming to Step 4."

And another from the TWI Job Instruction program:

As to training through JI, "50% production increases, cost reduction of 20%, reaching of production efficiency in from 10% to 75% less time"

Seasons Greeetings from the TWI Blog

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

As individuals we all believe this, but as groups we take the defensive. As individuals we give everything we have to those few nearest to us, but as the circle widens we become possessive and belligerent. As individuals we are courageous and stand for what we think is right, without hesitation. As members of a group we fight to preserve the group though it destroys the individuals who built it.

With Christ the dignity of the individual was born, but the struggle still goes on to recognize the individual within the group.

Once again, on Christmas Day we face this age-old problem with confidence that some day, notwithstanding centuries of struggle, groups of individuals will learn the importance of the dignity and true worth of every individual soul, for whom the very existence of any group is but to serve.

The TWI - Job Relations card says, “People must be treated as individuals.” This is both good Job Relations and the Christian way of life.

May all our Christmas gifts, given and received, remind us of the parts we play as individuals within the group that giving will be the rule some day among organized groups, industry, labor and nations, as it is and always has been among individuals.

C.R. Dooley,

Director, TWI Foundation

Taken from the TWI News Letter, December 16, 1944

Is TWI Relevant Today?

At first I thought I would write a rebuttal article on a collection of criticisms taken over the past few years regarding Job Instruction training methods. Then I thought..."no, that would be the worst article ever."

Rather than make you cry, let’s see if you can make the critics cry uncle!

I have a list. Today’s criticism of Job Instruction is:

“There exists a risk of mechanical (i.e., unconscious) training without comprehension.”

Agree or disagree? Your thoughts on this? Any experience you would like to share on this matter?

Training Within Industry - Five Needs of Every Person

This past week, a fellow TWI zealot, Mark Warren is at the National Archives digging through the original materials. Here is a snippet from our group dialogue based on one of Mark's finds:

Jeff Maling writes: “Many of us have felt the TWI "5 Needs" piece is somewhat ineffective, although we all still do use it. It just doesn't always resonate with people. No disagreements, just silence. We noticed that Toyota's version is 5 Needs of a Leader. This is my preference. I'd say really any employee. Mark came across a TWI Foundation (after war) bulletin from 1946 that uses, in my opinion, better words than the original.

I kinda like the term Five Fields of Need. I think we can refit the Knowledge of Responsibilities and Work into something much more meaningful. This is a step in the right direction. Please think of better ways to get across this message in current terms. Bryan, care to blog on the subject?

Jeff

Thanks for this nugget Jeff. I agree, that there are some reasons behind the five needs that aren’t obvious. Sometimes we need to go back to the original intent of the program to pull out those key points.

Recall that Job Instruction was delivered to over 16,000 manufacturing plants during the war and over 1.7 million people. What do you suppose the most common response was to TWI J-courses in many of these plants?

“We are different, that won’t work here!”

The five needs were introduced first to the group of supervisors for this reason: “We Are Different” syndrome (WAD) is a perception. However, TWI faced a big problem in selling their patterned plan to what is undeniably different between 16,000 organizations: 1) technical processes and 2) policies of a company. TWI refers to these as "knowledge needs."

These differences, coupled with our experiences create a perception that what works for one company won’t work for another. This is true in one sense and we are foolish to deny this. A battery manufacturer will have a hard time adopting and adapting to the company policies and technology of a semi conductor manufacturer.

So, for any leader, these two needs are required for success and can only be supplied by the organization itself. As a TWI trainer, you should make a point of stating this and that TWI isn’t aimed at working out policy or technical process problems in the sessions (although it can if used by a manager on the policies she created). In stating this clearly, you may avoid those gripe sessions that are inevitable when your group begins to talk about standardization, training and other management topics, otherwise known as excuses. The conversation can go south on you quickly if you don’t nip this in the bud early. By stating the knowledge needs first you can effectively “take away” the WAD syndrome excuse.

Q. “O.k., Bryan, I don’t have 16,000 plants. I don't even have 2 plants. Why do I need to cover this at all? Nobody responds to this when I work this out on the board during the session? Why even bother?"

A. You may find that this is not appropriate for your local plant. However, what if you did not state this clearly in the beginning?

You would then only focus on the three skill needs. The three skill needs – JI, JM, JR are universal and can be applied anywhere. In other words, these skills are not limited to use in one plant, or is proprietary information. The three J-skills can be applied anywhere. The focus then, by tying these needs to the needs of a supervisor, leader, or any good employee, is to get the participant to focus on how to apply the J-skills to their job.

However, the J-skills cannot stand alone. Behind the Job Breakdown sheet is the technology, the process and safety policy protocols. Behind the Job Methods analysis are the questions regarding staffing levels and customer demand levels. Behind the Job Relations program are the absenteeism policies, the plant culture and etiquette, the approach to HR policies. These cannot be ignored. By drawing the line in the sand, we also implicitly state that we cannot have the knowledge needs without the skill needs, or vice versa. You are also in a way saying that you are not an expert in battery manufacturing, coffee roasting, or painting bicycles, or whatever it is the people in the session do. But you can help them help themselves.

This brings us to some TWI dogma regarding delivery. There are some questions on whether or not you should just read the manual and get on with it, or, use your experience to shed some light on the materials and bring some context into the world of your participants. I opt for the latter. Some trainers out there will simply state the five needs and move on. I’ve done this and you do get yawns and blank stares. This is fine to do; you will still get some results as you move through the sessions. But others will expand on it a bit more, deviating from the manual in the way that I just did. Or did I?

TWI Article on ThomasNet

A nice article with direct links to TWI Service manuals. Link to this article here:

http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2008/08/new-attention-on-old-world-war-2-era-training-method-state-of-training-within-industry-twi.html

Lowell Mellen Papers Summary - TWI in Japan

Here is a link to the summary provided by Case Western Reserve Historical Society Library's regarding the Lowell Mellen Papers:

http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=MLO

Is Lean a religion?

I've seen quite a few discussion forum posts on the Lean debate being compared to a debate on religion. Either you are a believer or you are not is one argument. The other typical argument is that there is common ground in the middle somewhere. A common criticism of this argument is that lean could be advanced much more quickly and effectively if the zealots would stop viewing lean as a religion. My take is this:

It sounds (and in a way it is) a religious argument because as many people will realize about lean, over time we are talking about a philosophy in leading an organization.

Encarta Dictionary: Philosophy

1) school of thought - a particular system of thought or doctrine

2) guiding or underlying principles - a set of basic principles or concepts underlying a particular sphere of knowledge

3) set of beliefs or aims - a precept, or set of precepts, beliefs, principles, or aims, underlying a person's practice or conduct.

There are many similarities between traditional manufacturing and lean manufacturing: each requires production control, sales and marketing, engineering, supervision, human resources and accounting. But the philosophy of HOW to do this while respecting people is drastically different; if not polar opposites. For this reason alone, it is not unreasonable to expect severe differences of opinion in how to run business. Because we hang on to our old habits, we fail at understanding the lean philosophy, and this is due to the cultural behaviors so prevalent in the discipline of U.S. management. When we do not understand, we will not try; when we do not try, we will not do it; when we do not do it, we will not understand. In lean, the concept of 'learning by doing' and experiential learning is so highly valued in the gemba.

A couple of the underlying disciplines in Lean/TPS are production engineering and manufacturing engineering. These two disciplines heavily influence the philosophy of TPS. In my experience, I can think of many examples where a manager of a department or company on the "lean journey" either:

a) doesn't understand any of these disciplines (or those which are related)

b) holds the traditional belief of these disciplines that work standards exist to enable command and control management, in other words - hold people accountable (U.S. speak for disciplining them when they do something wrong or make a mistake.)

In other words, in order for lean to be successful, it must be part of how a person conducts themselves as a manager. Traditional manufacturing in terms of production/manufacturing/industrial engineering does not hold the concept of employee involvement in high regard. This is a fundamentally fatal flaw of traditional western management yet is a core philosophical point that underlies lean management, or TPS.

Is my assessment far off the mark?

Job Methods New Materials Update - TWI Service Website

I'm doing my spring cleaning in the winter! A couple of days ago, I announced the Job Relations materials update. There is also some Job Instruction for Healthcare. Hospitals need as much standardization improvement today as they did during the days of Gilbreth, Mogensen and others recognizing the need for standardization and simplification of healthcare work.

Today, visit the Job Methods page for insight behind Toyota's secrets to Kaizen, TWI! Dig deeper into the development of Job Methods and Kaizen by exploring archival documents retrieved from the U.S. Archives.

Job Relations - New Archive Manuals and Materials at TWI Service Website

I just finished uploading the new Job Relations page at TWI Service. Check it out!

Also, I had nearly forgotten about the material I retrieved in the National Archives a couple of years ago, but stumbled across it last night. It is the material created by the original TWI Service so district representatives could convert their Job Instruction Manuals into a Job Instruction for Health care manuals. This is really interesting stuff.

Within the next week or so, I will upload the Red Cross files discovered at the files. This involves the work TWI did with the Red Cross and the only evidence that the so-called multiplier effect was a deliberate and effective plan that spread TWI like wild fire!

Bryan

Job Instruction - Key Points about Standard Work and Kaizen

People don’t like details. How often have you heard, “I don’t care how you do it, just get it done.” For training, we skip over details so we can get the person working quickly. When it comes to standard work, we focus on filling out the form and getting it posted in the work cell. Unfortunately, standard work can quickly become expensive wall paper if this is the attitude we have towards details.

Fortunately, we can determine how Job Instruction relates to standardized work and methods improvement. What reasons suggest why training someone in the methods used for standard work is so important? Why are we told that standardized work is necessary for a successful continuous improvement program?

There are two major reasons. The first is related to methods improvement. From an industrial engineering viewpoint, there are five basic factors that must be considered when analyzing and improving work:

1) Materials
2) Design of Product
3) Sequence of work
4) Equipment
5) Method

In particular, people get hung up on factor #5 during the JI session: “who cares if Sally does it differently than Betty? They get the same result and nobody gets hurt.” But when we discuss Standard Work, the importance of teaching good methods becomes clear. Remember, in Standard Work there are three basic elements that must be determined:

A. Takt time
B. Work Sequence
C. Standard WIP

Standard work makes an assumption that you have the work area ready, the job is repeatable or patterned, and the volumes are relatively stable. But notice the common link between methods improvement and standard work: work sequence. If we want to adhere to standard work, we must have an established work sequence. An example might be washing dishes. First the material (1) is dirty dishes. Second, the design of product (2) is clean, dry dishes. The sequence of work (3) is clear the table, scrape the dishes, stack the dishes, wash dishes, dry, and put away dishes. The equipment (4) is water, sink, soap, scouring pad, wash cloth, etc. The method (5) is dependent on the person doing the job. The third and fifth factors are where Job Instruction becomes critical for success.

So, if this were an operation that was to make money, we tend to establish time standard associated with the work sequence. The problem of course depends on the person doing the job, whether the area is setup properly, are the methods for each step of the work sequence identical, etc.

This is why Job Instruction is so important, which is the second point of this post. We can establish the work sequence quite easily, but getting people to wash dishes, in step 4 of the job, to the desired specification is the real challenge. People will learn on their own. Should we let them learn poor ergonomics, timing, quality and safety key points on their own? What is the chance of one person adhering to takt time if they learn their own methods? So, if you think standard work is as simple as writing down the work sequence, controlling some WIP levels and establishing a takt time for the pace of work, think again. Remember, “If the person hasn’t learned the instructor hasn’t taught.” The real trick lies in teaching people to do each step of the work sequence using the current best practice.

PDCA’s Halloween Costume This Year? TWI, of course!

Given that Halloween is in only two days away, I thought we could dress up TWI a bit. Many people look at TWI as an OJT training program only, as described through the most successful and universal program Job Instruction Training. This however is only one-quarter of the story from a practical view. There are four distinct programs under the TWI clothing and all programs work to a specific pattern of thinking:

Job Instruction: how to instruct best methods, or as the TWI directors described it: “a concept of training as a way used by the plant management to solve specific production problems which involves people.”

Job Methods: how to improve methods, “a plan to help produce greater quantities of quality products in less time by making the best use of the people, machines and materials that are now available.”

Job Relations: how to lead people, “a plan to help get results through people by maintaining good relations, treating people as individuals and preventing and solving the problems that affect their work.”

Program Development: how to meet a problem through training, “a means by which management tackles their own production problems with a training plan.”

Within each program is a four step method for purposes of standardization and ease of knowledge transfer. It was highly desirable during the war production period to have as many people as possible using these four programs:

TWI’s four step methods are not unlike the PDCA method we are used to seeing today: Plan, Do, Check, Act. This elicits thoughts about the scientific method itself. When brought to light in management discussions, the PDCA analogy is often met with some indifference, as PDCA has a somewhat haughty air about it. PDCA, I’m told, cannot solve all of our problems, nor can everyone think like a scientist, so why should we expect them to do so? The basic resistance to this program is summarized in this response: “We just want good quality, on-time delivery and low cost. Let’s not pretend TWI is the answer, after all, it is far too easy today to assign a biased weight to Lean tools in this age of management fads. We don’t want to go through that again like we did with Lean, do we? Plus, it is a sixty year old program! Aren’t we a bit more sophisticated than that?”

Will TWI suffer the same fate in the information age? Will people see TWI for what it really is: PDCA built into simple skills for every industrial person? I suspect some will, but far too many will not. One thing to consider in this discussion is how the directors of the program saw the TWI program as a grand industrial experiment, and the future they desired for the program as it moved beyond the realm of the government:

“Much technical advance has been made as the result of research in the laboratory. There, scientific problems are isolated and tackled, and solutions are sought. New knowledge and new methods evolve.

In the field of human relations, the workplace is the laboratory. When people work together, the inter-relationships of job and supervisor and worker introduce many variables. The environment and atmosphere of the working conditions cannot be transplanted for experimental purposes. Change one condition and a whole situation is affected. This means then that future progress will depend upon the willingness of industry to carry on development work under its own auspices, and also to share the results with other plants. The experimenting must be done right where the work is done.

There must be, within industry, people interested in and competent to carry on such development work to meet new needs of workers, of management, and of industry. These people inevitably can do much to increase the effectiveness of industry in making its maximum contribution as a vital social institution in our Democracy.”

The TWI Report 1945, Work Ahead

Seasonal Strikes

Check out this link on the transportation stikes happening in France.

The French are apparently used to this sort of thing, some citizens even buying shoes for the annual event. It's like a national holiday, "Hey everyone, its 'Walk Seven Miles to Work Month!'"

I've heard of seasonality affecting business cycles, but the sneaker companies have to love this market.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the face of this strike. Will the French unions bend under the financial stress of legacy pension and benefit burdens? Or will they stare down the French rookie conservative President?