Understanding the Current State
In my blog post, “It's Day One of Kaizen Week: Kicking off Your Kaizen Event for Great Results” I shared some tips on creating a high energy event kickoff to get your event started on the right (kicking!) foot. This second article in the Kaizen Event Leadership series will focus on how to enable a successful Day 2 of grasping the current situation for the “Classic Shop Floor” Kaizen event.
Over the years, I have found that the biggest challenge you will face on Day 2 is holding your team back. Yes, you read that right! It's normal for the team to be energized and excited to jump in and try all of the things they learned on Day 1. The temptation will be to skip all the analysis, verification of data, and understanding that is the focus of the second Kaizen day and jump right into implementing solutions.
Don't give in!
One time many years ago... and very early in my Continuous Improvement career, I made the mistake of getting caught up in the excitement and allowing the team follow a shortcut on Day 2. It wasn't the best decision I ever made...
I was co-facilitating an event as a part of a large multi-event 'Grand Kaizen'. We had four teams running at one time, and very ambitious scope and objectives set up for each. Executives from all over the corporation were participating on each of the teams.
In short, the Grand Kaizen was high visibility, and it felt like 'high stakes' for making my own mark in the company as a Lean leader.
A lot of 'pre-work' had been completed before the event, including area layouts with measurements, demand and cycle time data, product data, and process steps. The number of operators, the daily work schedule, the inventory, the path of materials was all documented by the host facility and provided in data packets to each team.
So much data! I had never had an event where the data was just given to me!
At the end of Day 1, our team walked the process for about twenty minutes. We came back to the team room, and put together a list of what we wanted to do based on our 'expert' knowledge of the process from our brief observations and the extensive data we had in front of us (note: my tongue is planted firmly in my cheek!).
We thought we had the answers.
At the start of Day 2, we went to the floor and made a fairly cursory effort to collect Cycle Time and other data. Occasionally, something didn't quite jive with the data packet, but we were confident that the CI Engineers at the host facility were the process experts and the data had to be good... right?
So, we stuck with our plan. We kept trying to push the solutions that we came up with on Day 1 onto the process.
And we kept failing.
And failing.
And failing some more.
We kept right on failing for two full days. Frustration was high. We were tired.
Then I had a 'light bulb' moment: what if our understanding of the Current State was wrong?
It was almost the end of Wednesday, Day 3, when I gathered my team, and I said, "What we are doing is not working. This is my fault. I believe that where I led us astray was in not making sure we really understood the Current State. We need to step back, stop what we are doing, and start over."
And we did. We started by writing down what we learned not from the data packets but from our own observations and then did a full analysis of the process.
It turned out that much of the data we had been provided was wrong.
Very wrong.
We came up with a plan of attack, divided and conquered and made huge progress on Wednesday night. Thursday we hit the ground running, worked late and continued our efforts right up until ten minutes before the report out.
By the skin of our teeth, we hit our objectives...
It doesn't matter whether our team was successful or not: this is NOT the way to lead Day 2.
So, lesson learned: Day 2 is for studying the current state. You cannot determine where you are going, if you do not know where you are. This is one of the only times during the event where you may need to slow down to go faster. As a Kaizen leader, facilitator or teammate, you need to understand that "Grasping the Current Situation" isn't just a catchphrase. It's a critical step that the team needs to work through together to enable everyone to "see" the process and its problems, and to start understanding the potential root causes of those problems.
Remind your team often: you cannot solve problems that you do not understand.
Learning a process is a lot like peeling back the layers of an onion. At first, your observations won't be very deep, but layer by layer the team will gain knowledge and understanding.
A skilled facilitator will know this and will guide the team through the process layer by layer. While the process of discovery doesn't happen on schedule, you can systematically approach the process analysis to increase the likelihood of the team reaching common ground and understanding on Day 2.
Kicking off Day 2
At the beginning of Day 2, start with a review of the scope and objectives, and the accomplishments and action plans from the prior day. Explain to the team that the primary goal for Day 2 is the observation, study and analysis of the current state of the process, and identification of opportunities for improvement.
At this point you are ready to start peeling back the onion... or at least that dry, flaky skin on the outside.
The first layer of understanding should be a high level review of what products or processes happen in the target area. Start by documenting the "Before Kaizen" state including:
Area layout
Area Products/ Processes
Process steps
Cycle Time (measured from good part to good part coming off the end of the process),
Input gathered from area workers (collected from the flip chart you placed in the area before the event)
Next, assign the team to work in pairs or small groups to conduct a formal Waste Walk of each of the major steps of the process. Instruct the team to first observe the whole area, but to then focus most of their time observing the process steps or area they are assigned to:
Use a Waste Walk form to document the areas of opportunity
Take photos or videos showing opportunity areas (5S, Safety, Ergo, Wastes, Difficult work) identified during the Waste Walk
The majority of this work will be completed in the target area where the work is being done. Once the team collects facts about the process, come back into the Kaizen Event room, and "download" all information gathered. As a group, review all on the floor observations and capture the information on flip charts.
At this time, you may want to start a couple of charts that you will use throughout the week. One will be titled, "What is Working Well" and the other will be titled, "Areas of Opportunity".
Review Target Area Performance Data
The next step in analyzing the current state is the review of key process data for the area, such as Safety Incidents, Near Misses, and Audit results, 5S Scores, Current Standard Work and Standard Work Audit performance, Downtime, Productivity, OEE, Units per Hour, number of Operators, Scrap, Demand, and Net Available Operating Time.
Although all of this data should have been collected as prework in the weeks ahead of the event, the data must be validated by the team for accuracy during the Kaizen. If any of the data is missing, or inconsistent with observation, or unavailable, take the time to correct the deficiency immediately. For example, if there is not a recent 5S or Standard Work Audit score, conduct these audits now.
The point of the data review is not to get stuck in "analysis paralysis" or to spend the whole day in the Kaizen room dwelling on the data. Based on the objectives of the event, use the data review to look for trends, identify persistent problems, or uncover opportunities. Document the information on flip charts so that your team can refer back to the information throughout the week.
Takt Time and Cycle Times
Bring the team together, and review the process of calculating Takt Time. Walk through the demand and Net Available Operating time calculations as a group. Then calculate the Takt Time and document it on a flip chart.
If you haven't done time study training yet, now is a good time to do so.
Divide into groups of two, and go collect Operator Cycle Time data, Total Machine Time, and Machine Automatic Time if applicable. When you return, assist team members in analyzing their data.
With the entire team present, draw the Takt Time/ Operator Cycle Time (T/T/OCT) bar chart on flip chart paper. Note any operations that are over takt time, as well as those that are significantly lower than takt time. Discuss the variability, and the concept of bottlenecks. Identify the pacemaker for the process, if there is one.
Next, to calculate the required number of operators, add the total Operator Cycle Time, and divide by T/T. Compare the number of operators that are in the cell to the calculated result and discuss the opportunities for improvement.
Study the Three Flows in the Target Area: Material, Information, and Operators
At this point, the team has peeled back the outer layers and has gained deeper knowledge of the process steps, cycle timing, operator work balance, and wastes.
The next layer of understanding comes when you analyze the three flows: material flow, operator flow, and information flow.
Use observation and spaghetti diagrams to document the paths of Material flow and Information Flow for the target area, and Operator Flow for each individual operator.
On the floor, working in teams, ask each operator:
How do you know what to work on next?
What do you do with defective parts?
What data do you collect? Where is is recorded?
Where do you get your materials? When you run out, how do you get more material?
What happens when products are changed over?
Measure or calculate the Walk times/ distance by Operator (especially when observed to be excessive). This can be done several ways, including:
by estimation based on the number of trips and distances between major points in the cycle,
manually by walking the path with a measuring wheel,
by using pedometers for each operator,
by filming and analyzing the flow,
or by using a GPS/ Footsteps tracking application.
Document how material enters and exits the work area, and how it flows through the area. Note where raw materials, work in process, and finished goods are stored and in what quantities.
Safety/ Ergonomic/ 5S/ Environmental Improvements
Many organizations require a standard objective of identifying and correcting a number of Safety/ Ergonomic/ 5S/ Environmental improvements during each Kaizen Event. If your organization has this objective, be sure to identify these issues early in the week, preferably no later than the end of Day 2.
Be sure to give these objectives the attention they deserve: Safety comes first!
Really dig into the process to look for opportunities. Take time to talk to the operators about concerns they have. Talk to your plant safety or ergonomics expert and have them look at the process if there are areas of concern raised by the operators or seen by team members.
Document these opportunities on a flip chart. Be sure to assign them to team members to work on, usually in pairs.
Creating the First Action Plan
At this point, your team will have a lot of problems and opportunities identified. You will want to categorize these into the following:
Just Do Its: these improvement items are simple, obvious and can be done quickly and easily during the event.
Problems & Opportunities to address during the event: these items are in line with the scope and objectives of the event, but the team will need to understand the true root cause of each to address them during the event.
Parking Lot Problems & Opportunities: these are issues or problems that are outside of the scope and objectives or are simply too large to complete in their entirety during the current Kaizen event. Sometimes Parking Lot Problems can be resolved with future Kaizen events or projects. During the event, take the time to define and document clearly the Parking Lot Problems that were identified, and consider adding them into your Kaizen Pipeline for future work.
Root Cause Analysis
Before implementing solutions to any identified Problems & Opportunities that you plan to address during the event, the team will need to perform a detailed root cause analysis to understand the true cause(s).
At this point, select the most pressing problem and facilitate the team in the "five whys" or other means of analysis to drill down to the root cause. By doing this, you are creating hypotheses to test via rapid Plan-Do-Check-Act cycles on Day 3.
It is unlikely that all root cause analysis will be completed on Day 2... if it is, you either have a wickedly smart team or maybe your scope was a touch conservative!
Managing Day 2 Activities
As you work through Grasping the Current Situation on Day 2, post each of the flip chart pages around the room, in order. Keep them neat for use in your report out or for use in presenting results on the floor. The presentation manager should incorporate all information into the presentation throughout the event as it is developed: do not wait until the end of the week to start creating the presentation.
Throughout Day 2, use your Kaizen Event planning template or checklist (also known as the "Kaizen Newspaper") to assign tasks to team members and make sure the team is staying on track. Check off each of the items that are completed as you finish them.
Daily Management Review
Towards the end of Day 2, the team will conduct a Management Review Session. The goal of this meeting is for the team to present what they have learned about the current state, talk through the ideas for improving the area, and solicit feedback from the Management team and Kaizen Champion.
Each member of the team should participate in the review, using the flip charts and the Kaizen Newspaper to present event progress. By including the entire team in the review, you effectively increase the team's ownership of the Kaizen event and build organizational support and buy-in.
During the review, be sure to take notes, and document the questions and suggestions from the session to help guide actions for Day 3.
It's the End of Day 2: Bringing It All Together
Meet with your team at the end of the day to review what has been done. Review the event objectives, and focus on the identification of activities that will enable the improvement.
Using the Kaizen Newspaper, create a game plan for Day 3. Identify specific actions and assign them to team members.
If there are any tasks identified that the team can get ahead on at the end of Day 2, get clear definition and get them started. For example, if the team needs to build something or have it built, collect or procure materials at the end of Day 2 so they are ready to go the morning of Day 3. If engineering, maintenance or material handling support is required to complete a project during the event, seek that assistance now to increase the likelihood of completion during the event.
Improvements should be made during the Kaizen Event, not added to an ever growing "homework list" to be completed later. Set the tone for creating a bias for action early in the event, and maintain it throughout. Always ask, "what can we donow?"
Remind team members to attend the area start of shift meetings for Day 3 to update area workers on the Kaizen activities and to gather feedback. Thank your team for all of their hard work and confirm the event start time for Day 3.
Please look for the next blog post in the Kaizen Leadership series, "It's Day Three of Kaizen Week: Focus on Making Improvement" . If you have any questions on this or any article in this series, please post them as comments below.
