The modern world is full of distractions, and technology often makes it much easier for distractions to find you. It’s easy to want to tune out and go low-tech just to keep people from getting sidetracked. When it comes to the internet, educational institutions have long been weary of students logging in during class time, but this is changing. More teachers are realizing the benefits of online learning, and so too must industry trainers. The idea of letting your trainees bring smartphones and tablets to the workplace might seem risky, but like many things in management, it is not the tools, but the culture that drives activity. So it is with online kaizen training. The right approach will get people familiar with the tools of process improvement and ensure that they are using technology in the right way.

Every day, the internet gives us choices. We can get the latest international news, find out what our friends had for breakfast, learn a new skill, create cute animal memes, buy an anniversary present, or have an affair. Obviously some activities are a lot more virtuous than others. Technology gives us the choice but it doesn’t make it for us. Just like a kid hiding a comic book behind their biology textbook, people in the workplace can try to appear productive while “liking” pictures of dogs in Christmas sweaters on their smartphone. A culture of Kaizen, or continuous improvement, will keep people engaged and motivated in their job, so using online training programs should do the same. In fact, showing this kind of trust in the workforce by letting them take command of their own learning process will get the ball rolling toward a culture of empowerment. This is a major factor for sustaining continuous improvement. If employees don’t feel trusted, they wont feel empowered, and they wont seek out solutions on their own when faced with a problem.

Allowing employees to access online kaizen training material in their own way and at their own pace sends the clear message, “We believe you have the power to improve, and we trust you with that power.” In this way, training itself becomes an act of continuous improvement, and the method of training becomes the first lesson. Ultimately, if you want people to learn to manage themselves, you have to let them manage their own learning. Online learning management systems are great tools for achieving this. People should be held accountable for how they use their time online, but you shouldn’t automatically assume they would spend it on Facebook.

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.

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”.

In our series, Barriers to Lean, we discuss some ways to overcome objections to Lean reforms. One way is a small pilot project.

The Pitch: 

Say you have a manager who is unconvinced about the need for Lean. Offer to do one small-scale project to show that it can create real positive change in your workplace. With very little investment in time or resources, you can illustrate how Lean can be used to improve operations.

Alternately, if you are a manager dealing with employees resistant to change, a pilot project will reduce their apprehension and show them how Lean can make their life easier.

Examples of Pilot Projects: 

Once you have their support for a small implementation, what could you do?

1. Apply 5S to a workstation. Make sure it is a highly visible location so that everyone can see the improvements as they are being made. 5S is a pretty straightforward system, easy to grasp and people will see the difference. To learn how to apply 5S at your workstation, check out our course here.
2. Implement a Kanban system for ordering new supplies. Simply place a Kanban with all the order information near the end of your supply (see picture), whether it is printer paper, cleaning detergent or receipt tape. Learn how to implement this in your office environment with our Lean Office course.
3. Time and document one operation from start to finish. People tend to get a little nervous whenever stop watchs are involved so time one of your own operations. Simply the process of documenting all the steps involved in one operation can open your eyes to potential waste. For more information on this, check out our Time and Motion Study series.

Document: 

Make sure to take measurements before and after the pilot project. How much time did the pilot project save? What does that mean in terms of dollars saved? Take before and after pictures to show what a difference Lean makes.

Brag: 

Don’t be shy about your accomplishments. Let people know, not just the management but everyone at your organization. Feature your improvements in the company newsletter and talk it up at the water cooler. For full implementation, you are going to need the support of everyone in your organization, don’t let Lean be a surprise.

Next Steps: 

After your successful pilot project, it is time to bring in some training. Use üttana to begin training everyone on Lean.

With the right pilot project, you can turn Lean nay-sayers into converts. Feel free to share your success stories in the comments below or email me by clicking here.

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.

Moore’s law states that the computing power of circuitry will double every two years. Over the last century, civilization has made huge leaps forward in almost every field. Technology, finance, even soft science fields like psychology and human geography have all changed drastically both in content and their methods. However, if you consider education, especially workplace education, we have been at a standstill.

In the 1900s, if you wanted to learn, you sat at a desk with thirty other students while the teacher told you the information. After that, you would be assigned homework and then the next day you would do it all again. In the last hundred years, that formula has remained the same.

For people learning on the job, if you needed training, a manager or a trainer would take you into a stuffy room, you would sit down at a desk, and they would tell you what you needed to know.

It is time to take learning into the next century. Already, schools are experimenting with the use of a “Flipped Classroom” where the students watch the lecture at home and then spend the classroom time applying the concepts. That way, the students don’t spend their time passively consuming the knowledge but apply it when the teacher can help them with the process.

Workplace learning has just begun to take off. Using the power of video and the internet, people are streaming information directly to the worksite. Rather than being sealed off in a training room, employees can access the skills they need, right when they need it.

üttana is proud to be part of this growing industry. Our courses are meant to be accessed at the worksite. In other words, we are applying the concepts of Just-In-Time to the realm of education. The knowledge becomes accessible precisely at the moment it is needed.

By providing transcripts, videos, downloadable presentations and thought pieces like this blog, we reach the brain in a variety of ways, using a technique called the multiple intelligences theory.

Everyone learns in different ways. For many years, teachers only appealed to those whose brains could best process linguistic or mathematical information. We taught with words and numbers. However, modern psychologists believe that people learn in a variety of ways and the best way to convey information is to appeal to these multiple intelligences.

Finally, after decades of doing the same thing over and over, the field of education is moving forward. Come join us.

When you are first delving into Lean principles, you swiftly encounter two key concepts: Kaizen and Kaikaku. These interconnected ideas of improvement are essential to grasping the principles of Lean. They are not opposites or dueling schools of thought but rather two sides of the same process: your Lean transformation.

As organizations first start embracing Lean, they will often see some drastic early results. After identifying and removing large amounts of Waste, or Muda, from their organization, they will find a boom in productivity and drastic reductions in cost. This initial dramatic phase of the Lean Transformation is called Kaikaku.

Kaikaku

Kaikaku is a Japanese word for radical change. As part of a Lean transformation, this represents the initial fundamental shift towards reducing waste and increasing productivity. When touring a manufacturing facility in Hartford, Connecticut, a Lean consultant handed the CEO of the factory a metal saw and told him to cut all the storage racks in half, so that there would be smaller stockpiles of work-in-process. The CEO was hesitant but knew that this was the Kaikaku, the big dramatic change that begins the work of removing waste. He chopped the storage racks in half and showed his commitment to getting his facility Lean.

Kaikaku is also found in “Lean Workshops” where teams of employees assess a specific area of work – a production cell, a department of the office or a product line – and identify all the ways to remove waste within that area. These events, if properly implemented, can lead to huge leaps in productivity and are key stepping stones as you continue to improve processes.

By its nature, Kaikaku is not meant to be sustainable. If you are frequently overhauling your entire system of production, the lost time in training and employee burnout will reintroduce waste into your facility. That is why it goes hand in hand with Kaizen.

Kaizen

Kaizen is a broader concept. It comes from the Japanese word for constant improvement and is the process of making small changes to the work environment that create more value and reduce waste. The central tenet here is continuous improvement; when people talk about finishing their Lean journey, they are missing the point. Lean is a journey without an endpoint, a constant steady path towards more efficient production. By embracing the concept of Kaizen, you see that you do not need to wait for an event to eliminate waste but rather you can make small changes each day that quickly add up to dramatic savings.

A facility that has embraced Kaizen empowers employees to identify waste in the workplace and propose workable solutions. This usually takes three steps: identify a potential waste, document the problem and potential solution and then implement the solution. Inside a Kaizen-conscious workspace you will find scores of employee submitted ideas up on the walls as they are discussed and implemented. By harnessing the creativity of their ground floor workers, a company can make slow and steady improvement towards efficiency. Whether it is a simple marker on a bucket, so it no longer needs to be weighed each trip, or taping off the location for a tool to remove time spent searching, these changes can save hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

Kaizen and Kaikaku are both essential components of a Lean transformation. Think about how they can be incorporated into your work environment. What is the best way to empower your employees to suggest solutions to workplace challenges? Good attentiveness to Kaizen philosophy will allow a company to maintain the changes implemented by the initial Kaikaku, and prepare employees for the next Kaikaku.

Learn more about Kaizen and Kaikaku in our video series Kaizen Workshop by clicking here.