The Loop You Can't Get Out!

It could be too much already about PDCA but I hope my post here could contribute just a little more.

I first encounter the word "PDCA", Plan Do Check Act, I felt this is so simple. Of course it is simple! But what exactly the meaning behind the "P" "D" "C" and "A" is very powerful. So I name it the loop you can never get out, it is close. I also was wondering why they call it cycle! And I just realize that it is rotating only if you considering and challenging for a continous improvement/kaizen (popular word!). 

None of these four letters have less important but for me I put a little bit heavier weight on the "P" which not just planning but it is about studying/investigation/taking the real picture of what happening now. Most of my time, I use it and call it the losses intelligent/deployment and from that that picture we can perform a deep analysis using RCFA if applicable. We have to be sure at the beginning of what problem we are going to solve!

The "D" part or "Just-do-it" could be matter of execution discipline! 

Check for result "C" is often confusing sometime, what are we exactly check? This is often the result from what we have been done, do the "D" part impact on the bottom line? Since shopfloor people is the first front line to react with deviation, things that require monitor must be in their language meaning it must be measureable at their level for example measure/monitor number of defect or breakdown but not OEE. Because only from that level will give them the opportunity to react with the deviation using whatever tools relevant!

The "Act" for me, I give the most powerful part that stop the PDCA wheel from rolling back or the gain will keep holding! How? Let me elaborate a little bit more! Most of the time, we come with the new ideas during the "P" part as from the analysis which could be new SOP, OPL, PM system, etc... require! After execute these new "Preventive" ideas and it has proven success! At this step we have to consolidate these into the "new standards work" and provide training to people to do the same things. That is why in Toyota Production System, Standard Work is very important as Taichii Ohno mention, correct if I am wrong, "Where there is no Standard, there is no Kaizen"! I believe what he had refered to is here. We can only see the real improvement obviously only if we have the "first standard" which we can compare the "Before" and "After". When we compile these standards together, it is becoming the "system" which is dependence of people I mean the whole process still keep running at what require eventhought key people has retired! As Jim Collins mentioned "great companies build clock not time tellers" in his book "Build to Last, Goods to Great, and How Mighty Fall".

I attached here my handwriting just a picture, scrape it or keep it if find it useful!

Toyota Production System

The well-known and believe to be original founder to "Lean Production", Toyota Production System (also call: TPS). Look at the books which are displaying in book store of Changi International Airport of Singapore.

This is mean that to get the knowledge in lean is quite abundant BUT to apply it or trying to transform into the Toyota way, may be not easy as learning

Enterprise Change Model, Lean Thinking and Others

Lean, TPM, Operational Excellence, Agile Manufacturing, Six Sigma, WCOM, TQM, TOC

Lean six sigma probably the most probably change model that being adopted by many businesses. According to Bozdogan in his research on A Comparative Review of Lean Thinking, Six Sigma and related enterprise process improvement initiatives, he had summarized in the table below.

Change Model	Lean Thinking	Total Quality Management	Six Sigma	Theory of Constraints	Agile Manufacturing	Reengineering
Goal	Create value for multiple enterprise stakeholders and build dynamic competitive advantage	Meet customers expectations, improve profitability and increase share holder value	Increase customer satisfaction and create economic wealth (higher profitability and share holders value)	Improve netprofit	Enhance enterprise competitive	Improve enterprise performance
Strategy	Eliminate waste with goal of creating value	Improve product quality	Reduce variation in all enterprise operation	Remove constraints to throughput in production operations	Anticipate and meet customer needs, provide high quality, low cost, innovative new products, deliver individualized customer solutions	Radical change in processes for dramatic improvement
Focus	Enterprise value stream (all enterprises process, function, and people)	Business unit; production operation (products and process)	Enterprise operations (all enterprise processes)	Business unit (production operation)	Extended enterprise (all enterprise processes, functions, and people)	Business unit (business operations)
Implementation Method	Value Stream Mapping and analysis	Statistic process control (SPC), quality circle, quality engineering	DMAIC cycle - define, measure, analysis, Improve, Control	Improving throughput ("drum-buffer-rope")	Integreate customers, suppliers, and internal processes; from virtual organizations; create adaptive, flexible, efficient manufacturing system; pursue continueous process improvement	"Clean sheet" process design - mobilisation, diagnosis, redesign, transition process
Improvement Process	Evolutionary systematic change	Continuous incremental change	Process-specific incremental or radical change	Continuous incremental change	Continuous incremental, as well as radical, change	Radical change
History	Since late 1940s	Since early 1980s	Since mid-1980s	Since mid-1980s	Since early 1990s	Since early 1990s

What he had not discussed about is "TPM" here which also one change model adopted by many businesses such as Uniliver, Nestle, Heineken, Tetra Pak. TPM here refer to Total Productive Management not Total Planned Maintenance which is so much different.

So what is TPM?

TPM is about the contiuous effort to eliminate losses/waste through out organization through the total participation of employees at all level

So, the main concept is "Continous Improvement" or Kaizen, "Elimination of Waste", and "The people participation". Therefore, TPM change model if look further detail cover Lean thinking, TQM, Six Sigma, and if fully apply will extend into Agile Manufacturing. I will try post more on what is TPM

So, what is lean?

I

believe there are too many already talking about the definition "Lean". Therefore, I would not talk much anymore on this. You can find more resource about lean on the right side bar here or just listen to James P. Wormack in his audio book on "The Machine that Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production".

So if I would short it, I would like to make it P2F "People - Pull - Flow" which is "Respect people" "Use pull system rather than push" "Smoothen the flow". However according to Prof. Hines, the often forget is "Mura" which mean "overburden to human effort" and "Murai" which mean "uneveness or variation" of input. To me, if you are truly respect for the "people" you likely to solve problem of human effort exhaustion and the application of Six Sigma methodology could lead to eliminate of "variation" on 4Ms "Men, Methods, Materials, Machines".

At this point plus your further research on "LEAN" whether it is within manufacturing or service industry, I believe you already excite about it and understand how can lean manufacturing/service can deliver the business bottom line.

So, my closing remark here "What is lean?" is to remember the "P2F+2M".

What does it take to "Going Lean"?

J

ust say it "Let's going lean". But the next question will be "How" and probably "why need to be a lean organization?"

I think later question must be answered first by senior management team leader, I am talking about CEO or VP Operation level. Because, I believe only lean transformation process is support and drive by the top management level otherwise there is not going to be a real lean organization. Let's talk about real lean later!

Usually, there are a lot rush to answer the "how" question BUT I prefer, from my personal experience, that this have to be answered step by step. Remember that the lean transformation process is a "journey" and the speed of the process vary depend ranging from culture to personality and to the DNA of an organization. It is always good to set the time line for change to happen, realization of "goal" but to use the speed from one place as benchmark to other, I think it is a mistake.

Let's back to the subject, what does it take to going lean and who should drive it? My believe is that CEO should drive the lean transformation process thought there are lots of arguments that CEO have lot other thing to do than just driving lean. Well... If lean manage properly, it will have the impact on the bottom line whether it is about "Profit" "People" and "Planet", the popular "triple P". Taking the recommendation of Prof. Porter in his article "What is strategy?" published in HBR, whether you are "low cost" or "differentiate" or both at the same time, your strategies are still vulnerable to be copied. Therefore, I believe taking your whole organization/business into lean way will make it almost impossible to copy. Therefore, you will always ahead of competitors.

However and whoever is going to drive this lean transformation process should equip themselves at first a skill in managing change transformation process supposing he/she already a leader. The 8 steps to transforming your organization model developed by Prof. Kotter and published in his HBR article "Why Transformation Efforts Fail?" is so striking me and I am highly recommend those who will driving change to come across his research. Also the theory "E" and "O" develop by Prof. Beer and Prof. Nohria in their HBR article "Cracking the Code of Change". Find out more on the right side bar for more downloadable link to change management!

So my closing remark here is, it take first the " need" for going lean by senior management and "change management" skill by the driver.

Welcome to LEAN Transformation Journey

Coming very soon...!!!

I call it a journey because it is need to time to transform the hard side and soft side of the organization into the true lean.

I prefer to call tranforming into lean but not doing lean! Because I believe that doing lean is not going to guarantee that lean way of working is established in organization for long time.

In this journey to true lean, I will step by step post via experiences and learn from other... How can lean journey is possible and remain the organization DNA.