Sometimes people give me a variety of answers when I ask them to describe lean: tightening the belt; doing more with less; reducing inventory; cost-savings program; waste elimination; quality program; reducing head count; and turnaround tool.
The word has meaning to many different people – it even has a different meaning in other industries, as I know from the work I do. Most people know lean as a manufacturing-focused set of tools sometimes based on the “Toyota Manufacturing” model. But it’s important to know that lean is about problem-solving. Everything about lean is solving problems. Tools were created to solve some sort of problem that someone had at some point along the way in a lean system. Lean.
Problem is not a dirty word
We all know those days when someone comes up to us and says, “I have a problem.” Typically the first thing we think is, “Now what?” On a lean journey, you need to ask yourself, “How does the word problem make you feel?” A problem is a chance, an opportunity, for you to improve your business. Problems are a way to get at the root of what is really going on. We do not have operations in a bubble, and thus we have opportunities for improvement which are sometimes called problems.
Back to Lean
Many people think of lean as 5S or “sweep, sweep, sweep, sweep, sweep.” Well, if you have time to lean (as in relax), then you have time to clean. While that’s using a completely different definition of lean, the adage is appropriate.
Walk through your operation, your lumber yard, as if you are the customer. Would you to buy components or lumber from a place that is messy and with things all over the place? Look at your own operation and ask yourself, “Does this place look like it can be relied on to deliver a quality product?” When you look at it from the customer’s viewpoint, a nice, clean, organized, well-lit operation with people working all day long helps build trust. The customer is more confident that he will receive the quality and service he needs.
At its base, this is really what 5S is all about, and this is how Lean Thinking and Production Problem-Solving can work together:
5S – Sort, Set, Shine, Standardize, Sustain
Sort: when in doubt, sort it out.
If you did not know this already, people get emotionally attached to the things we have in our businesses. Just try to take something away from them. I have done multiple lean projects over the years where we took garbage cans or bins full of stuff out of a facility. The next day an owner, a manager, an employee, a driver, someone… It is the same every time, it doesn’t matter that there was an enormous layer of dust on the item, they cry out, “I might use that sometime.” Items need to go, we need to sort it out and rid ourselves of the clutter. Our operations will be more efficient, and you really will be able to get along without that item you have not touched since, well, 1990.
Set: a place for everything and everything in its place.
Look at the shelf. Are your employees putting tools and items on a shelf without regard for what should be there, so it just keeps getting stacked up higher and higher? Watch, when they need something, then they’ll have to hunt and move things around to find what they need. A better approach is to eliminate waste, wait-time, search-time, and motion from the system. Put items so everybody knows where they are.
Shine: cleanliness is what Mom taught you!
A clean operation and lumber yard lets you know when things aren’t right. Did you read that correctly? That’s the biggest benefit of 5S—not that you get a clean shop. The biggest benefit is the ability to see problems, the ability to see waste, and the ability to know when something is out of place and not in the right spot.
Standardize: constant drum beat.
Every operation has a rhythm. Whether you have a lumber yard or component operation or both, they all have a rhythm. I once had someone tell me, “A clean shop is a slow shop.” I stopped dead in my tracks. He said, “We’re only clean when we don’t have work.” I said, “We’ve got to get that mentality changed!” We’ve all heard people say, “We don’t have time to clean today because we’re too busy.”And yet we have plenty of time to go searching for tools and parts? Now think about what you can save by spending a few minutes every day cleaning up.
Sustain: rinse and repeat.
Ever notice how habits are hard to break? They say it takes 21 days to start breaking a habit. That’s because the human body and human brain take 21 days of consecutively doing something before it starts to become a habit. The number which surprises people is that it takes on average 66 straight days of doing the same thing to become a habit. Habits are not easy to break or create. We have to continue to coach and mentor people.
I coach my clients; the value of lean, the critical link between lean thinking and problem-solving, is not accomplished in the office, but on the production floor and out in the lumber yard.
The individuals working in these areas know more about the job, the situation, and the facility than anybody else. We need to engage them, involve them, train them in 5S, and empower them to make a difference.
And let me add the 6S of Safety
Safety – Every 5S program needs to include the sixth “S” of Safety. Safety must be a priority for all of our operations and for all of our associates. Start or end your shift huddle with a safety tip/conversation, and be sure to include your office team. Safety is for everyone.
Have a problem or opportunity you want to discuss; give us a call. Want to talk to an expert about plant management software programs and variables, someone who has actually owned and operated multiple operations, give us a call.
Ben Hershey is the CEO of 4Ward Consulting Group, LLC, the leading provider of Lean Management and Manufacturing Consulting to the Structural Component and Lumber Industry. A Past President of SBCA, he has owned and managed several manufacturing and distribution companies and is Six Sigma Black Belt Certified. You can reach Ben at Ben@4WardConsult.com or 623.512.6770.