Lean Communication is not Lean Vocabulary

A slight change of verbiage can make a big difference, especially in professional organizations. Hierarchies, rivalries, and other negative factors can influence the way employees and co-workers interpret even the most common phrases. Take “training” for example. At best, this can be interpreted as “apprenticeship.” It can be looked at as a mentor and mentee relationship. At worst, the trainee can feel like a beast of burden, being forced to follow commands. People use the word “training” to describe both types of relationships. To avoid misunderstanding, one solution is to change your phrasing; use “learning” instead of “training.” However, this only scratches the surface and applies a Band-Aid to the problem. Like any sort of Kaizen or problem solving, it is better to look for the root cause when dealing with Lean communication issues.

Training or Learning?

If people respond to the idea of training in a negative way, there is probably a deeper issue to deal with. If people think of “training” as a correction or punishment, they will probably react similarly to the phrases “skill acquisition” “professional development” or “workplace learning.” Employees need to know that workplace training is meant to benefit them, not just the organization’s bottom line. When people work better, they live better. It’s not one or the other. Carefully selecting words is not the most effective way to communicate this message. Instead, a company culture of Kaizen (continuous improvement) needs to be created through actions. Its not enough to tell people you want to help them, you need to prove it. Developing your company around its people is a great strategy, since better employees achieve better results. Many managers worry that if they train their employees too much, they will leave and seek better opportunities, but this is backward thinking. Richard Branson sums this up in a great quote, “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” If training you employee’s leads to a more successful company, your company will continue to provide better opportunities for everyone who works there.

Standards or Kaizen?

The same logic for Lean communication can be applied to standards. A lot of people worry that standardizing processes will undermine their professional expertise and creativity. This is because they interpret the word “standard” to mean “rule” or “law.” Once again, this is often because of a company culture that has treated standards as unbreakable regulations. As counterintuitive as it sounds to many managers, the best way to introduce standard work is to simultaneously introduce a system for changing it. That is why many organizations start with current state analysis and a Kaizen workshop. The entire purpose of standards in Lean is to function as baselines, so everyone can see the improvements that are made by changing them. Standards are not “rules” and should not be treated that way.

Lean and Kaizen

The underlying theme in all of this is that Lean cannot be separated from Kaizen. Standardization is not a revolutionary process; it is an evolutionary process. If training and standards come across as commands, then nothing will change. The best way to change is for every individual to reach toward his or her fullest potential.

What is Monozukuri?

A lot of Japanese phrases get thrown around in the business world, particularly in manufacturing. It’s no wonder why, since Japan is one of the most successful industrial societies of the past century. “Kaizen” is thrown around like a mantra, and the Kanban system is a great excuse to buy index cards. “Poka-Yoke” is mistaken for the Hokey-Pokey, while “Hoshin Kanri” and “Yokoten” are talked about at length, but usually viewed as distant cultural ideas. One concept that often gets lost in the intercultural commotion is “Monozukuri.” It carries with it the deceptively simple translation “making things,” but it represents a much larger concept. This concept extends far beyond modern Japanese industry. It speaks of a fundamental aspect of the human condition, and is a major reason why Lean management principles are so effective.

The Human Element of Monozukuri

So what does “making things” really mean? Does it mean manufacturing, craft, design, or engineering? You could extend the meaning even further, to art or even imagination itself. Monozukuri is all of these things. The deeper you look, the more your realize that a large part of what people do everyday boils down to “making things.” It is this ability that sets human being apart from other animals. Beavers might make dams, and bees might make hives, but only humans actively and consciously improve their inventions to fundamentally change their environment.

Monozukuri in Truly “Modern Times”

Since the industrial revolution, this ability to make things has greatly increased. However, as machines and assembly lines became more productive, people became more detached from the processes. They worried about becoming just “cogs in a machine,” tightening the same bolt again and again, like Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times. This wasn’t just a problem for workers; it eventually led to overproduction, defects, and many other wastes. This is exactly what Taiichi Ohno and others at Toyota were trying to combat when they developed what is now known as Lean Manufacturing. Ford’s assembly line model wasn’t working. Toyota production leaders realized that restoring a sense of craftsmanship by allowing front-line workers to take ownership of their processes was essential. This not only restored dignity to the work, it created an environment for waste elimination, through creativity and improvement. In this way, without a sense of Monozukuri, there can be no Kaizen.

Monozukuri Beyond Manufacturing

The “things” you make don’t have to be physical objects. They might be designs, services, or even works of art. The most important thing is to have a sense of ownership over your work. People who have this sense of ownership improve their work, even if it is just one small step at a time. Managers who understand this can tap the natural creativity that all human beings share. Monozukuri has as much to do with creativity as it does with manufacturing. Even if what is being created is simply a new set of standard work procedures, the person creating them should see themselves as an inventor. This creative pride is an important aspect to consider when building support for Lean efforts.

One potential “Barrier to Lean” that we address in our latest video series is unions. Let me be clear, Unions are not a “barrier”, they simply present a different set of challenges and opportunities that need to be addressed. If included in the process, labor can be a fantastic asset for any Lean efforts.

Perspective

It is important to remember that the goal of organized labor is safer and better working conditions. An authentic Lean effort is aimed at achieving those very goals. By empowering workers to solve problems and improve their operations, you are giving union members the ability to remove safety hazards and accomplish more with less effort.

Contracts

One of the central functions of a modern union is contract negotiations. Often, job tasks and responsibilities are explicitly spelled out in the contracts between labor and management, which can make it difficult to streamline processes and rearrange work flows.

Furthermore, there may be concerns that if issues like job descriptions and responsibilities can be changed as part of a Lean effort, than issues of pay and benefits can also be altered. This can create serious anxiety in the workplace that will be counterproductive to any reforms.

Trust

The key to resolving these issues and moving forward with unions as allies is trust. Without trust, union members will be concerned that they might be improving themselves out of a job and there will be power struggles as the Lean efforts move forward.

To build trust, it is important to involve union representation early and often, in Lean discussions. Reserve a seat at the table for union members, reach out to their leadership and provide frequent and honest communication about what the Lean effort will look like. By bringing the union representation in early and at each stage, you will build trust. They will know how things are unfolding and have a say as to ways to avoid legal complications with contracts.

Benefits

Remember, unions represent your ground floor workers, the people you most need to enlist in your improvement efforts. With their support, you can take that to the workers as a seal of approval, that Lean is something to be embraced, not feared.

Also, unions have access to methods of communication outside the traditional workplace. They can share information about the Lean efforts through their newsletters, emails and meetings. Sometimes the same message will be better received from a different source.

Opposition

Some Lean thinkers and union representatives see each other as opposition but it does not have to be that way. The true meaning of Kaizen is to enlist everyone’s creativity towards continuous improvement and in that frame, there are no enemies or opposition. You can make the interactions between your Lean implementers and unions a success through open communication and involvement.

To learn more about unions, Lean and overcoming barriers, check out our series titled, “Barriers to Lean”.

When I recently attended a Lean Conference, one of the most crowded workshops was titled, “Are Middle Managers the Problem?” Speaking with the attendees, I heard many variations on the same story, “How do I convince my manager/coworkers/employees to go Lean?”

It can be deeply frustrating when you are trying to implement Lean and are faced with tight budget, struggles with unions, resistant coworkers and non-supportive managers. To address these challenges, we have written and produced a series titled, “Barriers to Lean”.

What is a Barrier to Lean? It can be as straightforward as a resistant employee or maybe as complex as conflicting departmental goals. Barriers to change occur whenever there are reform efforts, simply as part of changing the status quo, you are going to encounter resistance. What determines your success is how you overcome these barriers.

Organizations can become deeply invested in maintaining old ways of operation or worse yet, stuck in the same mode of thinking. Breaking people out of these constraints requires a mix of interpersonal skills, careful planning and a healthy dose of fresh training and education.

I was discussing Lean with one of our members who had recently started to train their customer service team. The customer had just finished our series on visual managementent and was curious, why not just eliminate managers all together?

The Role of a Manager

It all depends on what the role the manager fills in your organization. The traditional image of a middle manager, exemplified in the movie “Office Space”, is an older employee who wanders around and tells other people what to do. It is all top down communication, the manager directs each employee when and how to carry out their tasks.

In a Lean system, employees use visual management to communicate their tasks to each other and self-manage. There is no need for someone to go around and tell people what to do, with the transparency of Lean, they already know what needs to be done.

So what happens to managers in a Lean system? Simple, their role changes.

The Mentor and Team Player

Instead of directing people, a Lean manager becomes more of a coach, stepping in to assist with a difficult task or providing additional training to round out your team’s skill matrix. By being on the shopfloor or front lines, the manager can nurture struggling employees and help facilitate the Kaizen process when problems are encountered.

Instead of being “above” the workers, the manager moves into a support position; filling in for sick employees, providing additional assistance to meet a deadline and keeping an eye out for the big picture.

In other words, a Lean manager is the ultimate team player.

Changing Culture of Management

By changing the role of a manager, you can drastically improve the workplace culture. By shifting their duties to supporting others, you can reduce the “us versus them” conflict that can plague workers and management. Instead, employees can see management as truly committed to helping them do their jobs, instead of telling them how to do their jobs.

So are managers a waste? Not necessarily. If you accept the new roles and responsibilities as a Lean manager, you will never become a waste.

Materials of Lean To a casual learner, Lean might seem very material focused. Using SMED to develop Poka-Yoke devices to speed changeover times, the practice of TPM to maintain machines and increase skill levels, applying 5S to a workstation to remove clutter and safety hazards; all these tools seem to be centered around physical materials but this view neglects the biggest part of Lean and Kaizen philosophy.

“Kaizen Green is PEOPLE!” My apologies to Charlton Heston for the butchered quote, but the point stands. Kaizen and Lean needs to focus on people. They are the true engines of progress. Implenting 5S might look impressive, but we can be drawn away from the core concept. Kaizen is continuous improvement. That doesn’t just mean constantly upgrading software, it means tapping into the creative power of your employees to improve their work.

Retaining the Focus Are your current practices truly People-focused? Ask yourself, is the form you fill out more important than the idea it represents. Does the process for improvement encourage or discourage participation? Are the procedures within your facility driven by people or machines?

Lifelong Practices While several children play musical instruments in school, only a few continue playing music in their adult lives.  Research has found that one of the key factors in whether or not that person will continue playing music had to do with the type of music they played as a child. If they learned music they enjoyed listening to, they continued to use their instruments into their adult life.

Enjoying the Work Similarly, if the practice of suggesting and implementing ideas in the workplace is an enjoyable experience, your coworkers will continue to do it. They will carry those values of continuous improvement throughout their career, but that will only happen if their experience with Lean is people-focused. To learn more about Kaizen philosophy, click here to check out our course on the value of a Kaizen workshop.

Sometimes, for all your best intentions, Lean just is not catching on at your facility. You have tried workshops, trainings, and even conducted a 5S pilot project but you can’t seem to get people interested. It can be deeply frustrating — at its core, Lean is about making your work life easier and more satisfying — unfortunately, it has been anything but that. What can you do?

Invisible Barriers to Lean

There are plenty of reasons why your Lean efforts have yet to provide the results you expected. It might be that the Lean tools you are using are not the right fit for the needs of your organization, or it might be a lack of good information about how to do the implementation. However, most likely, it is simply a lack of support.

A Lean effort without the support of the employees involved will not be successful. You need everyone to be engaged, contributing ideas and involved in the process. When subordinates, coworkers and managers are hesitant or actively opposed to reform, it is essential to identify, and remove, these invisible barriers to Lean.

Toss the Anchor Draggers Overboard!

No, you cannot push your coworkers out a window if they are opposed to improvement efforts, as tempting as it might be. However, if they are stopping progress, consider reforming a process that does not involve them. You can use those results to help persuade a resistant coworker (or as they are known within the Lean community, “Anchor Draggers”)

Another tactic is to actually put the unconvinced employees in charge of a portion of the reforms. Although counter-intuitive, this might reduce their fear of change since they will control the implementation. Obviously, it will be essential to track goals in this situation so that everyone understands what is expected.

Building a Lean Team

You don’t have to do this alone. We believe that everyone wants to improve their working conditions. The key is helping coworkers understand that Lean allows them to do just that. Network with fellow Lean enthusiasts, share your favorite learning materials (hopefully from üttana) and share success stories among your peers.

Together, we will transform how people work, one person at a time.

Ever since Toyota put Lean on the map for businesses, the idea of efficiency has been tied to the bells and whistles of a shopfloor. Crack open one of the hundreds of Lean books out there and you will find examples involving presses, polishers, smelters and packagers; a laundry list of manufacturing applications.

However, in the past couple of years, other industries have begun to apply the principles of Lean to their operations – taking the learning out of the factory, and into our hospitals, schools and offices.

Almost every organization has administrative functions. Whether it is a street vendor selling tacos out of a trailer or a multinational corporation, there are forms to be sorted, taxes to be filed and bills to be paid.  We recently launched a brand new series titled “Lean Office”. Click here to learn more.

 

Here are some of the ways you can apply that Lean learning to your office, making it as efficient as a Toyota plant.

• Build a Skills Matrix for your Office.
  Tired of trying to track down the one person in the office who knows how to update the website? Build and update a Skills Matrix that shows the proficiencies of each team member. The visualization of skill sets allows everyone to know who is capable of filling in when others are falling behind, and who can provide training.

• Establish and Display Standard Work.
  Consider the process of changing the toner in the office printer. This can be a tricky process, even when you know how to do it. Illustrate the steps with drawings or pictures and write out, in clear language, how to replace the toner cartridge. Then display these steps right next to the printer so anyone can carry out this process without having to search for the instructions.

• Create an information flow map.
  By visualizing the flow of information in an office, you can identify ways in which that flow is hindered in its path toward the customers. Every organization has a customer, whether it is the public who use their service or products, other businesses or simply an owner or board of trustees. You can learn how to properly create an information flow map in our course “Lean Tools for the Office”, and in doing so, eliminate waste in your processes.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. You can implement visual schedules, andon signals for managers, 5S at workstations and so much more. Once you start thinking with a Lean mindset, you will find hundreds of ways to improve your office functions.

Click here to send us your latest office Kaizen ideas and we will feature you on the üttana blog!