<rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"><channel><title>efficiencyworks</title><description>efficiencyworks</description><link>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/insights</link><item><title>Value Stream Mapping in one minute</title><description><![CDATA[We hope you find this real quick (1 minute) introduction to Value Stream Mapping and how to do it useful.<img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/xgZUL03kmSQ/mqdefault.jpg"/>]]></description><dc:creator>Glenn Seaby</dc:creator><link>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2018/02/23/Value-Stream-Mapping-in-one-minute</link><guid>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2018/02/23/Value-Stream-Mapping-in-one-minute</guid><pubDate>Fri, 23 Feb 2018 04:37:50 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>We hope you find this real quick (1 minute) introduction to Value Stream Mapping and how to do it useful.</div><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xgZUL03kmSQ"/></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>How Efficiency Works helped a school with Lean Thinking</title><description><![CDATA[The following story on linked in by Michael Smith outlines how Efficiency Works helped his school become more efficient using Lean Six Sigma.https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/organisational-efficiency-can-we-reduce-teacher-workload-smith/<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/32611b_d0b7e3612f384b21af8048daaf3c5665%7Emv2.png/v1/fill/w_592%2Ch_271/32611b_d0b7e3612f384b21af8048daaf3c5665%7Emv2.png"/>]]></description><dc:creator>Michael Smith</dc:creator><link>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2018/02/20/How-Efficiency-Works-helped-a-school-with-Lean-Thinking</link><guid>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2018/02/20/How-Efficiency-Works-helped-a-school-with-Lean-Thinking</guid><pubDate>Tue, 20 Feb 2018 04:11:00 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>The following story on linked in by Michael Smith outlines how Efficiency Works helped his school become more efficient using Lean Six Sigma.</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/32611b_d0b7e3612f384b21af8048daaf3c5665~mv2.png"/><div><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/organisational-efficiency-can-we-reduce-teacher-workload-smith/">https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/organisational-efficiency-can-we-reduce-teacher-workload-smith/</a></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>5S in one minute</title><description><![CDATA[5S is one of the most popular Lean Six Sigma topics we teach. It is also probably the simplest and paradoxically the most difficult to do. So that you can understand the basic theory and move onto the implementation we have produced this video - 5S in a minute. Now for the difficult task and implementing and sustaining it.<img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/T4ZUtQEC1dw/mqdefault.jpg"/>]]></description><link>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2018/01/12/5S-in-one-minute</link><guid>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2018/01/12/5S-in-one-minute</guid><pubDate>Fri, 12 Jan 2018 04:18:39 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>5S is one of the most popular Lean Six Sigma topics we teach. It is also probably the simplest and paradoxically the most difficult to do. So that you can understand the basic theory and move onto the implementation we have produced this video - 5S in a minute. Now for the difficult task and implementing and sustaining it. </div><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T4ZUtQEC1dw"/></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Why do Business Improvement teams often struggle to get results?</title><description><![CDATA[As an organisation whose core services revolve around Lean and Continuous Improvement, Efficiency Works regularly interacts with Business Improvement (BI) teams that are established with the central responsibility for making tangible productivity gains within their host organisations.Their day to day activities involve putting together business improvement plans, identifying business improvement projects, pushing operational functions to progress their projects, and sometimes fending off<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/32611b_d093e840f11f48838ece0d78dee07c56%7Emv2_d_3264_1758_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_626%2Ch_337/32611b_d093e840f11f48838ece0d78dee07c56%7Emv2_d_3264_1758_s_2.jpg"/>]]></description><link>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2016/09/28/Why-do-Business-Improvement-teams-often-struggle-to-get-results</link><guid>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2016/09/28/Why-do-Business-Improvement-teams-often-struggle-to-get-results</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 Sep 2016 02:59:43 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>As an organisation whose core services revolve around Lean and Continuous Improvement, Efficiency Works regularly interacts with Business Improvement (BI) teams that are established with the central responsibility for making tangible productivity gains within their host organisations.</div><div>Their day to day activities involve putting together business improvement plans, identifying business improvement projects, pushing operational functions to progress their projects, and sometimes fending off protests that ‘we are too busy with our workload to get involved in yet another organisational program’.</div><div>The result is often a frustrated business improvement team, annoyed functional managers, an enterprise where tangible productivity gains are few and far between and a cultural profile where business improvement and innovation are a low priority.</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/32611b_d093e840f11f48838ece0d78dee07c56~mv2_d_3264_1758_s_2.jpg"/><div>So what is wrong here? Does the BI team lack technical business improvement knowledge? Do they need more staff? Have they failed to identify opportunities to improve productivity? Do they not have the support of management or the Executive? Are they just incompetent!</div><div> Our experience shows that these common perceptions rarely reflect the facts, but to understand why BI teams often struggle to get results, we need to understand:</div><div> • the organisational dynamics of why the team was established • where they sit structurally • their core role and responsibility, and most importantly, • where they are positioned strategically.</div><div> A common situation is one where the Executive feels they need to start a productivity drive and they establish a Business Improvement capability using internal employees and/or new hires. This group is tasked with removing waste out of the organisation using Lean and other productivity tools and techniques. They may even instruct functional heads to engage with the group who will report back on progress. The problem with this is the strategic positioning of the group and its role. In Lean terms, this is a ‘push’ strategy where productivity projects are pushed by the group onto internal customers who may not want to ‘buy’ these services, or if they do, it might be for a token project that won’t take them away from their ‘real work’. What is required is a ‘pull’ strategy where potential customers clamber to get help from the BI team. How can this be achieved?</div><div>Well, consider the situation if the CEO or business unit head put tangible productivity targets into the performance plans and employment contracts of his or her direct reports, and then regularly (and publicly) monitored progress of the individuals against those targets. Most likely, the direct reports would subsequently incorporate similar targets into their direct reports, and so on.</div><div>With appropriate consequences for non-performance in place, and most likely, a lack of technical business improvement skills within their own operational control, you would expect (and get) a much higher level of interest in receiving services from an established BI group. The result is a ‘pull’ situation where customers seek services from the group, rather than the group trying to sell its services to potential customers. Great! So the BI team assigns its specialists to fix problems. Wrong. Depending on the volume of productivity activity generated through the performance contracts between the CEO and the Executive, under this scenario it would be unlikely that the BI team could cope with the workload and individuals may be tied up for long periods of time. More importantly it doesn’t result in great buy in from the business unit. They are being consulted to and given answers rather than coached on how to find their own solutions. </div><div>The true role of the internal BI team is to utilise their productivity expertise to help the customer realise the business improvement gains. The BI team role is to coach the business unit to identify the problem, formulate a solution and transfer knowledge and skills to the customer so that the team can move on the next opportunity. The other role of the BI team is to provide an overall coordination role for business improvement, using common templates and language for planning, monitoring and reporting progress on the organisation’s progress. This is necessary work but not as important as the leading and coaching work we have discussed. One mistake many B.I. teams make is that all of their work is this housekeeping and managing style work rather than the strategically important leading style work.</div><div>Structurally, BI teams should be positioned along with other organisational services such as Finance, HR, Organisational Development and Governance, although given its role in developing new or enhanced capabilities, there is a natural synergy with Organisational Development.</div><div>Under this model, the responsibility for business improvement sits with the functions, not with the BI Team. BI becomes a normal part of everyday life and the skills of all employees and becomes embedded within the culture of the organisation. The BI Team shouldn’t need to sell although their communication skills should be up there with their Lean technical skills.</div><div>Where this business improvement model has been deployed we witness a great acceleration in productivity and workplace culture, and importantly a happier BI team and happier customers. </div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>You must work out what to do with your lean savings before you get them</title><description><![CDATA[When Efficiency Works gets engaged by a client to implement lean or Competitive Systems and Practices, it is always because they want improvement. Finding waste is never an issue, but before you start on a lean journey you need to work out what you are going to do with the extra resource you will have as a result of the improvements. Why? If you don’t your people will be fearful. For many, the very name lean conjures up visions of cutting and shrinking. If your people believe that your<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/32611b_77e06edac60f497a8bc5d63aa1fda707%7Emv2.png/v1/fill/w_480%2Ch_288/32611b_77e06edac60f497a8bc5d63aa1fda707%7Emv2.png"/>]]></description><link>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2016/08/23/You-must-work-out-what-to-do-with-your-lean-savings-before-you-get-them-and-guarantee-it</link><guid>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2016/08/23/You-must-work-out-what-to-do-with-your-lean-savings-before-you-get-them-and-guarantee-it</guid><pubDate>Mon, 22 Aug 2016 21:52:51 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>When Efficiency Works gets engaged by a client to implement lean or Competitive Systems and Practices, it is always because they want improvement. Finding waste is never an issue, but before you start on a lean journey you need to work out what you are going to do with the extra resource you will have as a result of the improvements. </div><div>Why? If you don’t your people will be fearful. For many, the very name lean conjures up visions of cutting and shrinking. If your people believe that your initiative will lead to a lower headcount – why would it get their support? It is not in their best interest. You will have to guarantee that the improvements will be used to grow the business or at worst provide an ability to maintain the status quo in the short term.</div><div>The picture below shows two different paths that can be followed once the waste has been removed you can</div><div>turn the waste to cuts and bank the money orturn the waste into growth. </div><div>There is clear evidence that the freed up resource should be turned in to new sales, higher service levels and greater value for your customer i.e. growth not cuts. </div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/32611b_77e06edac60f497a8bc5d63aa1fda707~mv2.png"/><div>Turning your waste into growth ensures the future of your staff and is clearly worth supporting. Also, turning your effort to growth has a very big upside. You’re only limited by the size of the World market for your product or service. Sure, if you make cuts you get to bank the savings but you only get to do that once. After that, your people won’t be engaged and may actively work against improvement. Savings through cuts are also much more limited. You can only shrink so much, eventually you have no business.</div><div>What if you are a government operation or not-for-profit? The reality is that we are nearly all in a competitive environment, the measures of success are just different. By freeing up waste you will be able to deliver more to your clients\members\public and ensure your livelihood and future. </div><div>Don’t leave people in doubt as to what you are going to do with your savings. Don’t leave it to chance. If you are silent don’t hope they’ll infer your good intentions, they may infer the opposite of what you intend.</div><div>What if your situation is truly desperate? What if things have deteriorated to the point where the company’s future will be compromised if labour cuts aren’t made? If you’re truly at that point then make the cuts before you start your lean journey. Being lean isn’t the reason you’re cutting staff but it will probably be the only way you will be able to find your way out of trouble.</div><div>When we start a lean consulting or Competitive Systems and Practices engagement we tell people that they need to talk about what they are going to do with their savings early. We believe that you need to guarantee that people will not lose their jobs as a direct result of their improvement initiatives and allay the natural fears that they will have. If you do that you have a better chance of people giving lean their all. </div><div>With the guarantee you’re a chance of maximum improvement. You don’t want people improving just enough to avoid being noticed or worse still blocking improvement. You want an environment where people feel comfortable striving for excellence and exposing waste.</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Do you have these 2 critical ingredients for continuous improvement using Lean Six Sigma?</title><description><![CDATA[For organisations that are striving for operational excellence using Lean Six Sigma principles, what differentiates the companies who are forging ahead from those that are just going through the motions?Over the years, during our Lean Six Sigma work with many different companies across numerous industries we have been constantly searching for the "must do, can't fail" practices that are found in organisations that are successful. Here are some musings about 2 of the critical ingredients for<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/3c6ada28ceb647b9942b2a23290d3184.jpg"/>]]></description><link>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2016/05/30/Do-you-have-these-2-critical-ingredients-for-continuous-improvement-using-Lean-Six-Sigma-1</link><guid>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2016/05/30/Do-you-have-these-2-critical-ingredients-for-continuous-improvement-using-Lean-Six-Sigma-1</guid><pubDate>Sun, 29 May 2016 22:25:00 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/3c6ada28ceb647b9942b2a23290d3184.jpg"/><div>For organisations that are striving for operational excellence using Lean Six Sigma principles, what differentiates the companies who are forging ahead from those that are just going through the motions?</div><div>Over the years, during our Lean Six Sigma work with many different companies across numerous industries we have been constantly searching for the &quot;must do, can't fail&quot; practices that are found in organisations that are successful. Here are some musings about 2 of the critical ingredients for success.</div><div>Firstly, long term success relies on the rigorous and repeated use of a scientific approach to problem solving, supported by a culture where problems are seen in a positive light and embraced as opportunities for improvement. In this culture, Problem Solving becomes more about learning than about fixing problems. In businesses successfully applying Lean Six Sigma, the definition of a &quot;problem&quot; is expanded to include the situation whenever there is a gap between the ideal state and the actual state for any process. In this environment, problem solving becomes much less reactive and more a way of thinking. Problem solving occurs at every level and for every activity in the organisation, at the root cause and in real time.</div><div>Secondly, in the successful organisations the leadership are actively coaching teams to master problem solving. In this culture the leadership philosophy is &quot;follow me and we'll figure this out together&quot;. The leader is responsible for keeping people in the problem solving cycle, and in this way becomes a &quot;transmitter&quot; for developing improvement thinking. For this to happen, managers will be both confident and knowledgeable in the selected problem solving methodology, and demonstrably able to lead, challenge and support team members to take ownership of the problem solving process.</div><div>The overarching culture is one where people are given the responsibility to propose countermeasures to problems they actually own, with managers and leaders developing people by becoming coaches and facilitators.</div><div>So here we have 2 critical ingredients (among others) for sustaining and developing a culture of continuous improvement using Lean Six Sigma. </div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>What are Gemba Walks and why they should become Standard Work for leaders?</title><description><![CDATA[The Gemba Walk is a walk through the value creating (or destroying) processes of your business. The leader walks the process to understand how the business is actually working. It is about getting out of the office and into the process with our people, to help our teams discover issues and fix them. It becomes a valuable mechanism for staying in touch with our managers and team leaders, and staying across the real operational issues in our business. When we do Gemba Walks regularly (preferably<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/5e960dc55c064a92aeb2aaa31d57cbcb.jpg"/>]]></description><link>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2016/05/20/What-are-Gemba-Walks-and-why-they-should-become-Standard-Work-for-leaders-1</link><guid>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2016/05/20/What-are-Gemba-Walks-and-why-they-should-become-Standard-Work-for-leaders-1</guid><pubDate>Thu, 19 May 2016 22:24:00 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/5e960dc55c064a92aeb2aaa31d57cbcb.jpg"/><div>The Gemba Walk is a walk through the value creating (or destroying) processes of your business. The leader walks the process to understand how the business is actually working. It is about getting out of the office and into the process with our people, to help our teams discover issues and fix them. It becomes a valuable mechanism for staying in touch with our managers and team leaders, and staying across the real operational issues in our business. When we do Gemba Walks regularly (preferably daily), we demonstrate that we are serious about continuous improvement, and that we are the 'lean leadership' our personnel want and need. They are so effective at changing organisations we believe that they should not only be regular but standard work, a planned and deliberate cornerstone of leadership in your business.</div><div>Some other reasons why leaders need to build Gemba walks into their daily routine include that</div><div>We can address problems in real time and help identify baseline performance levels.We can lead by example and model an action-oriented culture based on structured problem solving and PDCA.</div><div>We can use the Gemba Walk to reiterate our vision for the organisation and make sure we are doing the 'right things' - right. There is no better way to reinforce our vision than repeated face-to-face dialogue.</div><div>We can break down the barriers between management and the teams and improve communication channels throughout the operation. Often, team leaders and team members will be reluctant to raise issues for fear of being 'wrong.'</div><div>The Gemba Walk helps us build relationships with our team leaders by getting to know them better and helping them improve their processes. This is fundamental to improving teamwork and the effectiveness of our teams.</div><div>We can help people discover opportunities for improvement by asking questions and listening to the answers. In this way, we can offer real support, encouragement and praise, something which is fundamental to effective Lean leadership.</div><div>The Gemba walk becomes a mechanism for 'catching' people doing the right things and allows us to recognise people for the good work that they do. Lean leadership can use the Gemba Walk to improve morale by actively showing respect for people.</div><div>Our visibility shows that we care about how things are going, and want to support the teams to set targets and improve performance. When we show interest in certain aspects of the operation, the teams will usually also take an interest.By getting the daily issues under control with input from frontline people, leadership can concentrate on more strategic issues.</div><div>To learn more about this and other leader standard work that can contribute to effective Lean leadership, call Efficiency Works on +61 7 3340 5178 or email info@efficiencyworks.com.au .</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Kaizen Blitz 101: Top 7 tips to blitz your workplace</title><description><![CDATA[Are you under pressure in your workplace to get rapid results but you feel stuck in a rut?Can you not see the waste through all the white noise?Are you too busy doing what you have always done, to stop, reflect and work out how to: Deliver exactly what your customers want when they want it Improve and smooth processes Save time and money Stop the waste Inject some energy back into your team A workplace blitz might be your answer. Kaizen means roughly "change for good". Companies that practice<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/32611b_1584f62072df4adda756ec3c3f15772a.jpg"/>]]></description><link>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2015/07/01/Kaizen-Blitz-101-Top-7-tips-to-blitz-your-workplace</link><guid>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2015/07/01/Kaizen-Blitz-101-Top-7-tips-to-blitz-your-workplace</guid><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2015 05:57:54 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>Are you under pressure in your workplace to get rapid results but you feel stuck in a rut?</div><div>Can you not see the waste through all the white noise?</div><div>Are you too busy doing what you have always done, to stop, reflect and work out how to:</div><div>Deliver exactly what your customers want when they want itImprove and smooth processesSave time and moneyStop the wasteInject some energy back into your team</div><div>A workplace blitz might be your answer. Kaizen means roughly &quot;change for good&quot;. Companies that practice kaizen have a culture where they are making lots of small changes over time which eventually add up to a big improvement. A &quot;Kaizen Blitz&quot; is making these small improvements quickly. Getting improvement over time, quickly, is an oxymoron but an improvement blitz might be just what you need to get back on track and on your way to a kaizen culture. </div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/32611b_1584f62072df4adda756ec3c3f15772a.jpg"/><div>Blitzes get big results, fast.</div><div>It’s easier than you might think, but there are some things that you must get right for your blitz to work.</div><div>Here are our 7 top tips for performing a successful workplace blitz:</div><div>1. Think long term</div><div>Your Kaizen Blitz must be linked to your strategy and its goals. If you don’t have a strategy then you better do that before doing your blitz.</div><div>If you can show how the blitz is working towards business goals, it will make it so much easier to keep people motivated.</div><div>Efficiency Works’ Tip:</div><div>Write down what business goals the blitz will help achieve, with reference to your business strategic plan.</div><div>2. Cover off the 5Ps - Preparation and planning prevents poor performance</div><div>We’re pretty sure that this is an old military saying but it is just as relevant for a Kaizen Blitz. It should be obvious, but make sure that all logistics are sorted out first. If you are going to do a blitz, your team is going to be diverted from normal duties, probably for a few days.</div><div>Lock in the answers to these questions before you schedule your blitz:</div><div>How are you going to cover the usual day to day team tasks?Do you have a suitable venue your team can work from without being interrupted? You will also need to be able to access the work areas easily so that you can “go see” how the work is done. Getting the balance right between these two requirements can be tricky and needs to be thought through before the event.Safety – has everyone been inducted? Do they have the right PPE? Do we need to do a risk assessment?What dates and times are the team expected for? If you are working multiple shifts – do you need to observe the late shifts? How can we get all shifts involved?Can we see the real work being done? Do we have enough resources\consumables?Is pre-training on lean principles needed?</div><div>Efficiency Works’ Tip:</div><div>Answer these questions to cover off the 5Ps so you can get started on your blitz.</div><div>3. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes.</div><div>To be a success, your blitz must improve things from the point of view of the customer. </div><div>Many people make the mistake of improving a process from their own point of view from within their own organisational silo. If your blitz doesn’t improve things from the perspective of the customer then any improvement is an illusion. In fact a good blitz may result in the work of an individual team getting harder rather than easier. This is fine as long as the value stream of the whole process is improved and the value flows better and in more efficient ways to the customer from a whole of business perspective.</div><div>Efficiency Works’ Tip:</div><div>Make sure you understand what your customers value. If you’re unsure you could, do a quick spot poll while you are talking to customers about other matters. Ask them - how can things be better for them?</div><div>4. Blitz what’s important, not what’s easy</div><div>Don’t just target the low hanging fruit. You want to make sure that your blitz is important to the business. Doing a good job in step 1 goes a long way to achieving this. Doing something important means that you will have no problem motivating people to be involved and do a good job. We find work teams are easily tempted to do something easy so that they can be surer of a result. </div><div>If the blitz didn’t deliver a result that made a real difference, people will wonder what was the point. Of course if you are lucky enough to have something that is both important and easy to work on then go for it.</div><div>Efficiency Works’ Tips:</div><div>Decide what one area is worrying you most because it is slowing you down, reporting cost overruns or generally not performing, and focus on this for your blitz.Document the blitz results and process so you have a good business case that you can reference to gather support for your next initiative.</div><div>5. Measure results</div><div>When you get to the end of the blitz it’s important to be able to evaluate the success of the event. You must be able to do this with facts. The better the facts you have the more useful the blitz will be to attaining your long term goals. Lots of objective measures are possible depending on the style of blitz you have done.</div><div>The best measure in business however is dollars. </div><div>Efficiency Works’ Tips:</div><div>Nominate someone on the team to take before and after photos of the workspace Document before and after lead timesGet the company accountant involved early and brief them to track the dollar savings for you. Ask them what numbers they need from you to make it a water tight case to prove your dollar savings.</div><div>6. Use the small win to motivate people for the big picture</div><div>Small wins are a great way to keep people motivated to change. You can use that psychological fact to your benefit by making sure that you not only measure the results as we recommended above but that you publicise the results. </div><div>Efficiency Works’ Tips:</div><div>A case study, either formal or informal that you can refer back to in future can be used to gain support for your efforts and help decrease resistance to your next initiative.It is important that the blitz is the first step towards a culture of continuous improvement. The end game is a continuously improving business.</div><div>7. Squash blitz fear</div><div>Because it involves challenging everyday truths, teams can find workplace change scary and confronting. We commonly find team members are worried at first. They ask themselves:</div><div>“Will I get into trouble?”“Why didn’t I think of this myself?”“Will I get sacked for needing help?”“Will I hurt people’s feelings?”“Will I make myself redundant?”</div><div>A well-facilitated team will soon relax when they see these fears are unfounded and that they have worked their way from the current undesirable state to the new and improved version.</div><div>Efficiency Works’ Tip:</div><div>The answers to your workplace problems are probably right under your nose. But to flush them out, get an experienced facilitator to act as coach.</div><div>We enjoy working with both teams and individuals from all types of workplaces. We are happy to arrange a quick chat on the phone or via email if you think you might need assistance.</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>How do we progress beyond just using the Lean Tools?</title><description><![CDATA[Jim Womack and John Shook are constantly reminding us of the importance of the balance between “Process” (Technical) and “People” (Social) to achieve our organisation’s “Purpose” as we implement Lean in our companies. John Shook has told us that in the eighties we generally had too much weight on the social side of the scale, and in the nineties and beyond the balance has swung to the opposite side with the emphasis now on the technical (or tools) side of the balance. Also we hear all the time<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/ef9ce3e48be340a4b91f0c3e1644aa5b.jpg"/>]]></description><link>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2015/02/10/How-do-we-progress-beyond-just-using-the-Lean-Tools</link><guid>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2015/02/10/How-do-we-progress-beyond-just-using-the-Lean-Tools</guid><pubDate>Tue, 10 Feb 2015 06:43:40 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/ef9ce3e48be340a4b91f0c3e1644aa5b.jpg"/><div>Jim Womack and John Shook are constantly reminding us of the importance of the balance between “Process” (Technical) and “People” (Social) to achieve our organisation’s “Purpose” as we implement Lean in our companies. John Shook has told us that in the eighties we generally had too much weight on the social side of the scale, and in the nineties and beyond the balance has swung to the opposite side with the emphasis now on the technical (or tools) side of the balance.</div><div>Also we hear all the time that Lean is more than “just” a set of tools. This is true, but if we are serious about implementing Lean in our organisations, how do we progress beyond the tools? Every organisation implementing Lean will need to go through the “tools” phase at some point in the process, but what should a Lean organisation look like when we have moved beyond the tools phase?</div><div>The important thing to remember during the early phase of a Lean implementation is to communicate the “real” reason for using Lean and why the tools are important. When all is said and done, the primary reason for every one of the Lean tools is to create robust systems for the exposure of waste and errors in realtime, and to link those systems to a widespread use of Root Cause Analysis and PDCA by shopfloor teams and management. In this way Lean will eventually transition from just tools to a deeper cultural way of thinking with an emphasis on both the Social (people) and Technical (process) aspects of business improvement.</div><div>So what do Womack and Shook mean by achieving a balance between “Process” and “People”? To give us a better understanding of how we can achieve balance, let’s explore these 2 important aspects for creating a Lean culture, by expanding on some thoughts from John Shook.</div><div>Process focus</div><div>For every change we implement, make sure we consider how our whole process delivers value to our customers from product design to disposal / recycling. This will require a widespread use of Value Stream Mapping.Have a total focus on getting everyone involved with creating, using and improving well defined processes and systems that implicitly expose problems. These processes will be based on the pervasive use of visual systems and lead indicators.Make a habit of understanding and using PDCA at every level in the business in real time. This means having an unfaltering focus on finding and destroying root causes at every opportunity.Ensure decision making focuses on simultaneously improving customer service levels, reducing costs, improving quality and shortening leadtimes while increasing our capability to deliver variety for our customers.Use the reduction of Inventory and Work in Process (WIP) to expose and fix weaknesses in our processes. Like hard training for an athlete we will build strength by constantly testing the limits of our processes as we work on ways to get value to flow faster to our customers.Use the standardisation of processes as a basis for both “Systems” Kaizen and “Point” Kaizen. Improvement will be most effective when we can engage people to improve an already standardised process. How can we be sure we have improved the process using PDCA unless we are able to compare the “new” standard with the “old” standard for that process?Ensure we have a widespread use of metrics that are deployed in a way that encourages people to speak up about problems.</div><div>People focus</div><div>Lean is centred on engaging and supporting people in the process to focus on improving their processes.If we are serious about creating an environment where people can solve their own problems and improve their own processes we will also need to be serious about developing people capability at all levels of our business.We must be prepared to lead by example with Leader Standard Work built into our daily schedules and routines.We cannot expect our people to be engaged in our improvement ethos unless we are all having regular (at least daily) visits to the “Gemba” to promote discussion around the important things happening in the process.Sustainable continuous improvement relies on embracing a culture of enquiry at all levels of the organisation and encouraging people to continually challenge the status quo. We can work towards a “Learning Organisation” if people in the business are actively encouraged to safely experiment with ways to improve processes.In the Lean culture, respect for people is fundamental and often misunderstood. A good summary of what is needed here is - “Follow me and let’s work it out together”. We should be using all the Lean tools as an opportunity to engage team members in the implementation of their solutions for problems they are experiencing.Every employee will be involved in improving process using a standard and structured problem solving process that seeks out solutions to root causes.Taking the time to constantly complete the PDCA cycle in everything we do. We can often forget to finish the cycle with the “Check” and the “Act”. These final two steps in PDCA are critical as they enable us to standardise the change and create a platform for the next improvement.Using relevant visual performance measures for every team combined with some level of problem resolution process to provide clarity around giving people the responsibility for the health of their processes. These measures will provide an important opportunity to interact with and support team members to make the “right” improvements.We will create a more sustainable business model if our role as managers and team leaders is seen as more the role of “Steward” for the organisation with the operator as the “customer”. In this way our job is more about being a coach, offering support and facilitation for change.</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>5S: What problem are we fixing?</title><description><![CDATA[Put simply, 5S is method of creating, maintaining and improving a clean and orderly workplace that exposes waste and errors. 5S helps identify unplanned levels of inventory either as tools, materials, work in progress or finished goods. Often we can use simple visual processes to help us identify these problems quickly through systems that provide instruction, information and feedback on how well the operational process is working. 5S can be applied to any process, including administrative and<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/d71eeb10d78198988d2bea3203e54bb1.jpg"/>]]></description><link>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2015/02/10/5S-What-problem-are-we-fixing</link><guid>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2015/02/10/5S-What-problem-are-we-fixing</guid><pubDate>Tue, 10 Feb 2015 06:39:24 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>Put simply, 5S is method of creating, maintaining and improving a clean and orderly workplace that exposes waste and errors. 5S helps identify unplanned levels of inventory either as tools, materials, work in progress or finished goods. Often we can use simple visual processes to help us identify these problems quickly through systems that provide instruction, information and feedback on how well the operational process is working. 5S can be applied to any process, including administrative and electronic systems.</div><div>5S is much more than just “housekeeping”. Housekeeping and an organised workplace are the results of 5S, but the real purpose of 5S is to make problems more evident more quickly.</div><div>5S is a great place to start on our Lean initiative because it promotes an action oriented approach to change and allows people at all levels in the business to get involved and provide input with improving their workplace.</div><div>Here are some suggestions for implementing 5S:</div><div>Create a sense of urgency around our 5S activities. Let’s understand we are implementing 5S in our business and why we need to do this now and why we shouldn’t leave it for 12 months. If 5S does not improve our operation and fix people’s frustrations why would we use it.</div><div>Have the team develop a vision for how our business will be different once 5S has been implemented across the organisation. Take the time to put some thought into how it will affect our Value Streams and the expected operational benefits that will result.</div><div>Implement in a pilot area first and then develop and execute the rollout plan for the rest of the organisation. The rollout plan should include regular and achievable milestones and targets that are visible and unambiguous. Each area should have visual 5S measures displayed in the work area, and celebrate the achievement of their targets at least every few months.</div><div>Make sure 5S is seen in the context of the whole Lean initiative and not as a stand alone tool, and make sure people know why we are doing 5S.</div><div>Make sure that our 5S activities are “successful”. That means ensuring that people actually solve some of their problems with the application of 5S. </div><div>Think about ways to set people up for success.</div><div>Don’t just implement 5S because it is easy - implement 5S to engage people in improving the flow of work and eliminating waste. If you cannot clearly see how 5S is going to improve the operation, chose another tool that will drive real improvement first.</div><div>Plan for training and coaching of staff - we should not expect people to understand 5S without relevant training. Think about ways to standardise the 5S training so that everyone receives the same information. The training can be structured into the kaizen blitz’s that are planned for each area.</div><div>Insist that management lead by example by getting involved with 5S activities on the floor and implementing 5S in their own work areas. Every time a manager condones or ignores a 5S issue that should be addressed we are eroding the whole program because it shows that we are not serious. What is not said is often more powerful that what is said. Build 5S reviews into management Gemba walks.</div><div>Build 5S standard work into our processes and daily activities at all levels in the business. Don’t allow 5S to be something that we do only when we have spare time, or on a Friday afternoon. We don’t approach Health and Safety this way.</div><div>Through the involvement of the team members in the work area, clearly define the expected 5S standards in all work areas and use visual standards to display and monitor these expectations.</div><div>Take the time to have the team members visit good examples of 5S in other parts of your organisation or outside the company.</div><div>Use structured problem solving techniques with the teams to solve specific 5S issues. Use of a standard process will accelerate the uptake of the tools as people get more practice with the techniques.</div><div>Ensure that all work instructions reflect the 5S requirements for all activities and tasks, particularly for putting away materials, tools and product.</div><div>Take every opportunity to emphasise 5S by including it in all job descriptions and every meeting. If we apply the same principles to the implementation of 5S as we have to Health and Safety then we are more likely to succeed.</div><div>Build 5S expectations into our performance measures, but ensure that audits and measures are designed to help people understand why we a doing 5S. Sustainable results will not be realised if people are just finding ways to improve audit scores without fully understanding the real objectives of 5S.</div><div>Have the Leadership Team review progress on a regular basis and continue to set new targets. As the new behaviours become habits, develop ways to continuously improve the 5S culture. Consider rewarding and recognising teams for their level of improvement or innovative solutions to 5S issues.</div><div>Be innovative about how 5S can be applied to other processes in other parts of the organisation. As we become more experienced with 5S it becomes more a way of thinking rather than something physical that we do. Ultimately every organisational process will benefit from 5S thinking.</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Separating Authority &amp; Responsibility in Lean Leadership</title><description><![CDATA[How does the Lean leader separate responsibility and authority? This might seem strange because we normally think that authority and responsibility are linked together. Could this be another Lean thinking paradox? The focus in a Lean organisation has shifted from “who has the authority” to “what is the right thing to do”. Successful leaders in maturing Lean cultures have moved from "we have all the answers" to "what do you think?” This is achieved by getting each team member to take initiative<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/5da6025daca645e7baee50a929fe5b82.jpg"/>]]></description><link>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2015/02/10/Separating-Authority-Responsibility-in-Lean-Leadership</link><guid>https://www.efficiencyworks.com.au/single-post/2015/02/10/Separating-Authority-Responsibility-in-Lean-Leadership</guid><pubDate>Tue, 10 Feb 2015 06:34:41 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>How does the Lean leader separate responsibility and authority? This might seem strange because we normally think that authority and responsibility are linked together. Could this be another Lean thinking paradox?</div><div>The focus in a Lean organisation has shifted from “who has the authority” to “what is the right thing to do”. Successful leaders in maturing Lean cultures have moved from &quot;we have all the answers&quot; to &quot;what do you think?” This is achieved by getting each team member to take initiative to actually solve problems that improve his or her job, by transferring individual responsibility for improvement to the lowest possible level where the work is actually done. It is also achieved by ensuring that every person’s job is aligned with providing value for the customer, so ultimately this will lead to prosperity for the company.</div><div>Our job as a Lean leader is to help our people expose problems, and then ensure they have the skills, the tools and the support to solve these problems using their understanding and knowledge of the situation. It is more a philosophy of “let’s figure this out together” and creating an environment where learning from mistakes (and successes) is an accepted part of our continuous improvement process.</div><div>To help expose problems we must spend more time in the process asking why, and then focus on giving people the responsibility and ownership for developing and implementing the solution. Lean leaders avoid relying on authority, instead leading by influence and example, as if they have no authority.</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>