Killer Kaizen

photo credit: keatl

Bill Shankly quote:

Someone said “football is more important than life and death to you” and I said “Listen, it’s more important than that.”

Is the elimination of waste more important than life and death?

A major criticism of the Toyota Production System is that while it:

may bring good benefit for companies, the system may induce new issues too because the system does not always think about workers. In fact, Toyota has issues of Karoshi/major depression, etc.

Karoshi can be translated quite literally from Japanese as “death from overwork“.

About 355 workers fell severely ill or died from overwork in 2006, 7.6 percent up from the previous year.

Unpaid overtime is routine in factories and offices across Japan.

Consider Mr Uchino, a manager of quality control at Toyota:

Mr Uchino was constantly training workers, attending meetings and writing reports when not on the production line. Toyota treated almost all that time as voluntary and unpaid. So did the Toyota Labour Standards Inspection Office, part of the labour ministry. But the court ruled that the long hours were an integral part of his job. On December 14th the government decided not to appeal against the verdict.

The ruling is important because it may increase the pressure on companies to treat “free overtime” (work that an employee is obliged to perform but not paid for) as paid work. That would send shockwaves through corporate Japan, where long, long hours are the norm.

At Toyota, long hours are been built into factory life — in the form of long, after-hours kaizen events that are supposedly voluntary — and are considered a key to the company’s success. Participation in the sessions, though, often figured in a worker’s prospects for promotion and higher pay.

Is this really “Respect for People“, the second pillar of Toyota’s success?

Toyota announced in May that it would begin paying overtime to workers who take part in the kaizen events.

Will this reduce the amount of deaths? I don’t think so. Who wants to be a well paid corpse?

Deming stressed it was key to have an appreciation of a system. A system is a network of components which work together to try to achieve common aims. If the common aim is to cause premature death, then perhaps we need to take a long, hard objective look at the Toyota Production System.

UPDATE
Mark definately has a point (see comments section)

Sources: OECD Factbook 2007: Economic, Environmental and Social Statistics – ISBN 92-64-02946-X – (http://lysander.sourceoecd….) and WHO (http://www.who.int/mental_h…)

USA Today reported that “a suicide fad is sweeping Japan.” Last year nearly 34,000 Japanese men and women committed suicide. The country’s suicide rate is ninth highest in the world and nearly double the rate of the US. The article points to weak economic growth and a high rate of unemployment as one reason for the self-inflicted deaths. This graph shows the suicide rates and long-term unemployment rates in Japan. Among Japanese suicides, nearly 71 percent are men, more than 73 percent are over the age of 40, and more than 57 percent are jobless

Six-sigma / lean project failures – why?

There are many reasons why six-sigma or lean projects fail.

I invite you to take the poll below and share your experiences why by leaving a comment.

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Cause & Effect Diagrams

AKA Fishbone Diagrams or Ishikawa Diagrams

Kaoru Ishikawa pioneered the cause and effect diagram to explore all the potential causes that result in a single effect.

Description: The fishbone diagram identifies many possible causes for an effect or problem. It can be used to structure a brainstorming session. It immediately sorts ideas into useful categories.

Procedure

What is the problem?

Write the problem in the form of a question in a box on the right hand side of a large sheet of paper. This gives you space to brainstorm causes along a horizontal line with the “bones” labelled:

The 6 M’s
Machine, Method, Materials, Measurement, Man and Mother Nature (Environment) (recommended for manufacturing industry).

The 8 P’s
Price, Promotion, People, Processes, Place / Plant, Policies, Procedures & Product (or Service) (recommended for administration and service industry).

The 4 S’s
Surroundings, Suppliers, Systems, Skills (recommended for service industry).

So for example:

1. MAN – Does the operator have the proper training, experience, and ability to perform the function?
2. METHOD – Are the work instructions available and up-to-date? Do they reflect the best method to perform the task? Are the proper tools available? Are the process parameters specified clearly?
3. MACHINE – Does the machine have the capability to produce the product as specified? Does the machine have the ability to produce the product on a consistent basis? Are there regular routine maintenance and preventative maintenance tasks? Are they performed according to schedule?
4. MATERIAL – Are the correct materials available for the process? What is the quality of the material used in the process? Is there more than one supplier and does quality vary with different suppliers? What types of material problems could exist?
5. MEASUREMENT – Are the measurement instruments adequate for the process? Are they maintained correctly and regularly calibrated? Are the measurement instruments affected by environmental conditions such as temperature, vibration, dirt, etc.?
6. ENVIRONMENT – Is the manufacturing environment affected by temperature, humidity, dust and dirt, power fluctuations or seasonal differences?

Analyse your diagram:

The diagram will shoe all the possible causes of your problem. Depending on the complexity and importance of the problem, you can now investigate the most likely causes further. This may involve setting up investigations, carrying out surveys, etc. These will be designed to test whether your assessments are correct.

To successfully build a cause and effect diagram:

1. Be sure everyone agrees on the effect or problem statement before beginning.
2. Be succinct.
3. For each node, think what could be its causes. Add them to the tree.
4. Pursue each line of causality back to its root cause.
5. Consider grafting relatively empty branches onto others.
6. Consider splitting up overcrowded branches.
7. Consider which root causes are most likely to merit further investigation.

Also

1. It is helpful to pull many people into the construction of these diagrams, as this ensures enough diversity of thought to make sure you get the righ potential root causes.
2. Keep asking “why” until you arrive at something atomic and actionable.
3. The purpose of this tool is to answer a question, then brainstorm about how to fix the identified root cause.
4. Getting more people involved will give them a sense of ownership — and that sense of ownership is very important because now that they feel part of the process, resistance to change will likely be less of a problem.

Watch a video on this subject below:

ISO 9001 -v- six-sigma

ISO 9001 objectives
ISO 9001 is a Quality Management System, which includes specialized quality management standards for specific industries. A Quality Management System is a system of clearly defined organizational structures, processes, responsibilities and resources used to assure minimum standards of quality and can be used to evaluate an organizations overall quality management efforts. An ISO 9001 certification assures a company’s customers that minimum acceptable systems and procedures are in place in the company to guarantee that minimum quality standards can be met.

Comparison with Six Sigma

• ISO 9001 and Six Sigma serve two different purposes. ISO 9001 is a quality management system while Six Sigma is a strategy and methodology for business performance improvement.
• ISO 9001, with guidelines for problem solving and decision making, requires a continuous improvement process in place but does not indicate what the process should look like while Six Sigma can provide the needed improvement process. Meanwhile, Six Sigma does not provide a template for evaluating an organization’s overall quality management efforts whereas ISO9001 does.

Combining Six Sigma with ISO
Six Sigma provides a methodology for delivering certain objectives set by ISO such as:

• prevention of defects at all stages from design through servicing;
• statistical techniques required for establishing, controlling and verifying process capability and product characterization;
• investigation of the cause of defects relating to product, process and quality system;
• continuous improvement of the quality of products and services.

Six Sigma supports ISO and helps an organization satisfying the ISO requirements. Further, ISO is an excellent vehicle for documenting and maintaining the process management system involving Six Sigma. Besides, extensive training is required by both systems for successful deployment.

The Toyota Way – Part 3

This post continues my summary of the The Toyota Way by Dr Jeff K. Liker.

Principle 3: Use the “Pull-System” to Avoid Over Production

The pull-system hinges on the idea of restocking inventory based on the day-to day demand of the customers rather than on a fixed schedule or system. This calls for a flexible system that relies on consumer demand. The Just-in-Time (JIT) system provides customers with what they want, when they want it and in the amount they want it. Material restocking based on consumption minimizes work in process and warehousing of inventory. You only stock small amounts of each product and frequently replenish based on what the customer actually takes away.

Principle 4: Level out theWorkload (heijunka)

A strict build-to-order system builds a lot of inventory, over-head cost, poorer product and service quality and hidden problems. To eliminate this problem, Toyota came up with a scheme of leveling out the production schedule. The leveling of production by volume and product mix is known as heijunka. The process does not build up products according to the actual flow of customer orders. Rather, it takes the total volume of orders in a period and levels them out. This results to having the same amount and mix made each day.

Benefits of a Leveling Schedule

1. Flexibility to make what the customer wants when they want it.
2. Reduced risk of unsold goods.
3. Balanced used of labor and goods.

Principle 5: Build a Culture of Shopping to Fix the Problem, to Get the Quality Right the First Time

Quality for the customers should be the driving force behind any company’s philosophy. Quality should be built in your company and your production processes. Building an Early Warning Device into your line or equipment prevents problems from being passed down the line. This reduces costs and is more effective than inspecting and repairing quality problems after the fact. You should also build a support system that can quickly solve problems and create counter measures. The development of a company principle of stopping or slowing down work when a problem is detected and getting the quality right enhances productivity and profitability in the long run.

Principle 6: Standardized Tasks are the Foundation for Continuous Improvement and Employee Empowerment

Standardization is the foundation for continuous improvement, innovation, growth and quality. It is impossible to enhance any process until it is standardized. Quality is likewise guaranteed through standard procedures to ensure consistency in the process and product. When implementing standardization, it is important to strike a balance between providing the employees with firm procedures and providing them the freedom to innovate and be creative. Standards should be specific enough to offer useful guidelines yet general enough to allow for some flexibility.

Principle 7: Use Visual Control So No Problems are Hidden

Five S’s for Elimination of Waste

1. Sort.
2. Straighten.
3. Shine or cleanliness.
4. Standardize or create rules.
5. Sustain.

• Keep only what is needed and dispose of what is not.
• Maintain orderliness. Remember, there is a place for everything and everything in its place.
• The cleaning process often acts as a form of inspection that can identify defects or abnormal conditions that can affect quality.
• Develop systems and procedures to maintain and monitor the first three rules stated above.
• Maintaining a stabilized workplace is an ongoing process of continuous improvement.

Principle 8: Use Only Reliable, Thoroughly Tested Technology that Serves Your People and Process

Adaptation of new technologies must support your people, process and values. It must not displace or replace them. Introduce new technology after it has been tested and proven with the involvement of a broad cross-section of your organization. Before adopting any new technology, Toyota first analyzes the impact it might have on existing processes. If it determines that the new technology adds value to the existing process, it analyzes it further to determine if it does not conflict with the company’s philosophy and operating principles. If it violates any of the principles,Toyota rejects the new technology. The introduction of new technology is done through a process of consensus, analysis and planning involving the employees and all the stakeholders in the process. This painstaking process results in the smooth implementation of the new technology without employee resistance and process disruption.

The next post in the series will cover the remainder of the fourteen points and how to apply the Toyota Way in your organization.

Six Sigma and Multitasking

photo credit: an untrained eye (is elsewhere)

I’ve mentioned before that Six Sigma certainly has its critics, and here are some more:

almost five dozen companies that have adopted Six Sigma and found that the vast majority have underperformed the stock market … while fully 86 percent of them use Six Sigma or similar continuous-improvement methodologies, they generally achieve only incremental gains … companies can’t rely on Six Sigma alone; they must regard it as a specialized tool suitable to certain needs but far from a cure-all … in the current business climate, which is focused on growth and innovation, Six Sigma’s emphasis on cost-cutting and efficiency might prove a harder sell. “Six Sigma is following the course of other methods, like Total Quality Management: after awhile you start seeing cracks in its armor,” he says. “Then something new comes along and companies rush to get it.”

Critics have long contended that the further Six Sigma strays from its manufacturing roots, the less effective it becomes.

I’m not sure if this is true, for example, Six Sigma and Lean have been appplied with success in a number of diverse situations such as healthcare and even government.

It seems to me that the problem is one of focus and “consistency of purpose” as Deming would have called it. We need to stop multitasking, jumping from initiative to initiative and concentrate on Six Sigma and/or Lean and really understand the philosophy behind these ideologies and commit to making them work because:

Despite the common belief that we have to multi-task to get our work done, and despite the presence of technology that encourages us to do more than one thing at a time, the reality is that we’re undermining our own ability to do a good job when we try to do two things at once.

Part of the problem is that Six Sigma is often oversold by eager consultants who invest huge sums in advertising the benefits without explaining the long-term difficulties faced in actually sustaining the necessary culture to make it work. Perhaps they need to read this post which suggests that:

Lean proposes to produce the goods when they are required by the market and in quantities which are required by the market. This is the base for pull manufacturing. Product is pulled by the demand created by the customer. Here there is no need for advertising to sell your products. No stock holding costs, WIP and other related issues.

What do you think?

Zen & Art of The Toyota Way

photo credit: Dunechaser

She came trotting by with her watering pot between those two doors, going from the corridor to her office, and she said, “I hope you are teaching Quality to your students.” This in a la?de?da, singsong voice of a lady in her final year before retirement about to water her plants. That was the moment it all started. That was the seed crystal. The Narrator, p. 175, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

This is a post which extracts a tiny bit of the wisdom (more to follow) contained in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig and merges it with the philosophy behind The Toyota Way.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was published in 1974 and uses a long motorcycle trip to frame a prolonged exploration of the world of ideas, about life and how best to live it. It references perspectives from Western and Eastern Civilizations as it explores the central question of the how to pursue technology so that human life is enriched rather than degraded.

In summary, how to come to terms with the mysteries of why we exist and how best to live.

The Toyota Way
[link]

The 14 Principles of the The Toyota Way is a management philosophy used by the Toyota corporation that includes the Toyota Production System. The main ideas are to base management decisions on a “philosophical sense of purpose” and think long term, to have a process for solving problems, to add value to the organization by developing its people, and to recognize that continuously solving root problems drives organizational learning.

Both persue how to achieve quality based on deep understanding of underlying philosophies and as such there are many parallels, if you look at them from the correct perspective. So my first tiny bit of wisdom is based around screws ….

According to Pirsig, at the cutting edge of experience is Quality. This is the mass of sensory perceptions that we take in. When we become stuck with a problem, we may be forced to re-evaluate our entire perception as our experience shifts due to a different level of understanding:

“Stuckness shouldn’t be avoided. It’s the psychic predecessor of all real understanding.”

Pirsig talks about a screw which has become sheared so that you cannot remove it when you are trying to fix your bike.

“Normally screws are so cheap and small and simple you think of them as unimportant. But now, as your Quality awareness becomes stronger, you realise that the screw actually has the same value as the whole motorcycle.”

In other words, break out of normal ways of thought and force us to come up with new ideas. We need to rethink things because the world is in a continual state of flux – Quality. We need to look deeper than merely on the surface of things and think about what they are really worth.

How do you attain these new experiences?

Go to the workplace and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situation (genchi genbutsu), while reflecting on what you have leanred (hansei) and practicing continuous improvement (kaizen). Attentive receptivity is to be cultivated. This practice is uncomfortable at first, but with practice and with successful experiences of what this attentive receptivity brings, it becomes an accepted and welcome modality leading to useful results.

More to follow in future posts!

The slow decline of quality?

If the volume of searches is anything to go by on Google it looks like that six sigma, lean, TQM and ISO 9001 are all in slow decline, whereas lean six sigma is increasing in popularity. Strangely, although the volume of searches is in decline, the news articles published on each subject are either static or on the increase (ISO 9001). What are the drivers behind this? Lack of understanding of the philosophy, too much focus on the tools, no impact on the bottom line? What do you think? Leave your comments below:

ISO9001 trends

TQM trends

lean six sigma trends

lean trends

six sigma trends