tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75656718697701035452024-03-18T13:53:23.650-04:00Training Within IndustryYour source for TWI content. Read the rants of a Vermonter on a quest for continuous improvement. Download the original Job Instruction manuals fro m the biggest collection of TWI content on the web.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07884296189231369533noreply@blogger.comBlogger38913tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565671869770103545.post-40156366758855339482015-07-11T23:49:00.002-04:002015-07-11T23:49:34.955-04:00TWI Service Blog is MovingSubscribers to TWI Blog have received nearly 400 posts between 2007 and 2013. I've been very happy to share and learn from others who are practicing their skills in continuous improvement and management. I've taken a long break from the blog and content generation over the past two years. That time was well spent experimenting with TWI J-skills and developing a comprehensive management approach that is yielding positive results.<br />
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As a result, we will be moving the blog and TWI website to the next level: resuming the blog, updating the archives with more original materials and creating a member side of the site where people can learn about the positive changes we have made and learned over the past couple of years - with original content that is proven in plants around the world. This blog is moving to the main site and can be found at the following link:<br />
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<a href="http://www.trainingwithinindustry.net/blog" target="_blank">TWI Blog</a> - Update Your Bookmarks!<br />
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The export wasn't as clean as I wanted, so updating the legacy posts will be lower priority, but the original written content is still there - but in WordPress format now. The nice thing is that the blog site will now be embedded into the main TWI site making things a bit easier and more seamless for all involved.<br />
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Thanks for reading and see you on the other site!<br />
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<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanlund" target="_blank">Bryan Lund</a><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07884296189231369533noreply@blogger.com283tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565671869770103545.post-4432168238672848842014-04-01T21:02:00.001-04:002014-04-01T21:02:39.017-04:00Job Instruction - Major Change to Session IIn my new role, I surveyed my team and asked them to independently list the top five problems in the organization that they could have influence over. When we met together to share our opinions and thoughts about the survey, interestingly, the top problem was Training, with Communication not too far behind.<br />
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This prompted me to run a quick JI Appreciation Session, to test the waters with the group. The response was that JI could work well in our organization so we decided to give it a try.<br />
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I scheduled six JI sessions of with six participants each. Team Leads were encouraged to sign up and the rest of the company was invited to voluntarily enter the program. The sign up sheet was full in two days.<br />
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One of the things Mark Warren discovered in the New Zealand program was the fact that the Training Time Table was moved into Session I, from Session III. I had tried this before, but found this change wanting, not fully understanding the change. The thinking was that supervisors should plan for training first, and not jump right into job breakdown sheets - a big temptation for many. But simply presenting the TTT as it is just didn't have the intended effect. People really struggled with the TTT. After some discussion with Mark and additional research into the New Zealand coaching guides, we made a small change.<br />
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I tried this change out today in my first of the six sessions, and I'm really excited about the results. The order of the Session is standard until the end:<br />
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Intro<br />
4 Objectives<br />
Five Needs<br />
Who Needs Training<br />
Problems in the Workplace<br />
Job Instruction Definition<br />
Telling Demonstration<br />
Showing Demonstration<br />
4 Step Demonstration<br />
Establish 4 Steps<br />
Present Time Table<br />
Tree Example<br />
Assignments<br />
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Trainers familiar with the JI program will not recognize the Tree Example. Here is what this is and how it worked:<br />
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I presented the TTT just like in the JI manual, except not with the Bill Smith example, but with a fictional TTT that continues with the 4 Step demonstration in my electrical shop. This seemed to help the participants make an easy transition from the knot tying story to the nuts and bolts of how the Trainer prepared for training. Once the participants grasped the TTT, we moved onto the Tree Diagram.<br />
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The Tree Diagram serves several purposes:<br />
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1) Not all participants are supervisors, so not all are responsible for planning for training,<br />
2) TTT are used to spot problems by the supervisor and to plan to prevent those problems through training,<br />
3) The Tree Diagram serves the same purpose as TTT but in a form that anybody can use to spot problems in their work:<br />
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A participant was asked what his job was. He replied that it was Manufacturing Engineering Technician. I then used a tree diagram (i.e. like an org chart) to drill down to the next layer of work units. He listed three basic units: utility planning, facility layout management and fixture design and validation. Since these are still large units of work, we drilled down further - after I asked him which unit is the source of most of his problems. Once he identified utility planning, we broke that piece down further: electrical, air and developing specifications. I asked him which one of those was most problematic. Once he had indicated the task that has the most problems, I congratulated him on picking his practice job!<br />
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Using this method, we successfully gave ALL participants a method for learning to look at their work a different way - whether they are responsible for training or not. In addition, ALL participants could see that they now have a method that they can practice on a real problem that will make their work, and others, easier to manage and with improved communication.<br />
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As I complete the sessions over the next few weeks, be sure to check in and see what else becomes of this change. What do you think of this change? Does it sound like it could make a difference in your approach to training and communication?<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00005560498779686434noreply@blogger.com77tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7565671869770103545.post-16163469302463627422014-03-23T22:06:00.000-04:002014-03-23T22:06:09.267-04:00The Biggest Waste of All?Perhaps not bigger than some government spending programs, but that is a different problem far out of our control. Let's focus for a moment on a spending pipeline we have direct control over: lean consulting and payroll dollars.<br />
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If you do a quick search on LinkedIn for the term "Lean" and filter for Industry: Management Consulting you will get a return of approximately 3,468 results.<br />
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Let's say for a moment that all of those results are for hire. And for a modest Lean Manufacturing Implementation Project, a consultant should reasonably expect to take in <i>at least</i> $100,000 per year in order to live to see another day. One way to look at this problem is that companies are spending somewhere in the neighborhood of $350M for Lean Consulting. Companies who shell out this cash readily admit <a href="http://trainingwithinindustry.blogspot.com/2009/06/lean-failure-rates.html">that an estimated 75% of the time</a>, their Lean Implementation is considered a failure. In other words, we are prepared to flush $268M down the toilet every year. Sounds wasteful, right? Hold on just one minute and look in the mirror.<br />
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That is just the cost associated with Lean Consulting companies. What about those of us working within industry itself?<br />
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There are approximately 1.8M LinkedIn users that return the word Lean back in their current or past job title, this author included. Let's say that on average, these individuals are paid $80K per year. That puts us into some serious spend territory that would put some politicians to shame. Before I claim $144B is spent on Lean payroll per year, let's whack that back to a conservative 25%, just for the sake of argument. This lands us on $36B per year of estimated spend on assigning people to seek out and eliminate waste. On top of an additional $350M. Let's round to $36B and throw in our 25% success rate: o.k., we waste $30B per year on Lean activities!<br />
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And that doesn't include yellow aisle tape! And we Leansters wonder why executives and workers get bent out of shape over the next flavor of the month! We are advocating for a clean flush of their dollars!<br />
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I suppose if you compare this number to excessive inventories, we are talking small potatoes. January 2014 durable goods inventories were 10x the value of labor - so definitely not the biggest waste of all. But if I look at that inventory number ($387B) and assume that Lean was successful 25% of the time (that is in achieving flow and thereby reducing inventories) then there must have been some payback, right? How many do you think were truly successful at fully utilized lean systems where inventory was drastically reduced and maintained as a flow system?<br />
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Very few, perhaps less than 1% if I had to bet. In fact, durable goods inventories rose 3.7% in one year, hardly an inventory reduction. Of course, I'm playing with fire and about to be smacked down by a real economist who knows precisely how these numbers work, right? But that isn't really the point of this post so I'll stop while I'm ahead.<br />
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I wonder what that payback is on all of these Lean skills we have been learning? Are we achieving what we really need to? How do you see the payback? How do you sell the need for continuous improvement? What is the value in your organization? What responsibility does each individual in your organization have to effectively spend this money wisely? What can each do? How do we maximize the potential of each and every person, and not waste it 3/4 of their time? Can you imagine the results?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00005560498779686434noreply@blogger.com28