My Simple approach to implementing focused improvements in a factory environment.

1. Effective change Planning Simple Is Sweet
Because KISS has the word Stupid in it.
Steaming Green Roses
Because Roses look good and BullShit is green
Observation Inspiration Implementation
Gemba walks are just one source of
observation. Anyone doing a job or
seeing how others struggle, can make
an observation. What they do with it
is the key.
For example:
Walking though a factory one day one
of my favorite mantras came to mind
“What could possibly go wrong”. Since
I was walking next to some racking, I
looked up. There was an overhanging
pallet and another pallet with double
stacked boxes that had partly
collapsed.
Experience, imagination, technical
know how, or just simply by putting
two or more things together to form
an effective opportunity for
improvement. These are all sources of
inspiration.
This is usually the tricky part and the most
dependent on human interaction, so tread
carefully.
One effective approach might be
“Cardboard Engineering”, where a simple
prototype is tested using on-hand materials
or skills to demonstrate the value of a
change.
I would always be aware of safety, data
security, quality etc in any self driven
implementation and do my own risk
analysis first.
Never loose focus on the desired end
result, even if you have to drill down using
the “5 Why’s” process to find it.
• I would do a mental checklist as shown
here.
Safety focus
Fatigue management
Productivity
Loss reduction
Customer Focus
Quality Focus
Customer site
Transport
Factory site
Office based / Admin
Cardboard Prototyping
In house Engineering
Consultants required
Staged implementation
“Right First Time” approach
Why
Where
How
Checklists
Is It Effective ?
How will the change be measured, either by an existing measure or a new measurement.
This is where I would put the payback calculation :
• Measure the current situation and predict the improvement in terms of dollars
• Cost of measurement is also a key factory to consider in the overall justification, but it is critical that
you have established the measure of effectiveness before starting to implement. No point in
measuring the improvement if you haven’t established a baseline.
• Chose measurements carefully, this stage is often a source of further inspiration so don’t leave it out.
Is It Sustainable ?
Quite simply I would ask this question; “If I were to leave tomorrow, would the new process survive”.
• In previous roles I have developed a relational database to manage and production documentation
and instruction. Even though I really wanted to get my teeth into data base design, I checked with
colleagues who were ONLY happy to work with Excel. So my “SOC database” then became a
relational database built into a spreadsheet format. It out survived my existence in that company
by several years and even survived a factory move.