Gemba walks versus Waste walks

After visiting several plants in Asia, not long ago, I found a lot of confusion among practitioners about why we do gemba walks, what really is, and how we should do it. Below is a summary of key points from practicing gemba walks for many years and from great lean practitioners such as Masaaki Imai, Jon Miller and others.

What is Gemba Walk?
Gemba walk is a "go and see" practice with aim to understand the current condition of your value creation process (value stream) with the purpose to develop the problem solving capabilities of your people.

Gemba walks shape behaviors based on at least four lean values or principles:

1. Observe problems first hand (go and see)  
2. Embrace scientific problem solving (PDCA)
3. Focus on value streams
4. Lead with humility (respect people intelligence)  

Gemba walks versus waste walks
It worries me that some lean practitioners are confusing gemba walks with waste walks. They are quite different. Waste walks purpose is to develop "eyes for waste". As Shigeo Shingo rightly stated “The most dangerous kind of waste is the waste we do not recognize”, a waste walk aims to recognize the waste by actually going to see the gemba with the help of a seasoned lean practitioner.

A great reference to learn more about waste walk and even to download a template is provided by LEI in the book "Perfecting patient Journeys": http://www.lean.org/common/display/?o=2222      

"The Seven deadly wastes" were created by Taiichi Ohno as he also recognized the challenges to help people see the waste within their own processes. However, Ohno's approach to develop "eyes for waste" was less walking and much more standing and observing.

Ohno's approach to Waste walks: Stand in the Circle
Ohno's approach makes managers to draw a chalk circle around and stand in to observe a process for hours without leaving the circle. Jeffry Liker in his book "The Toyota Way Field" describes this approach with a little more color: "members are left standing for eight hours or more before the sensei is satisfied that they have seriously seen the waste."  While it may appear a harsh approach, this exercise makes evident how difficult is to identify waste particularly in processes we are familiar with.

Jon Miller provides a little less harsh approach to Ohno's one in these two posts:  Give me 60 minutes and I'll give you a lean transformation and 101 Kaizen Templates: Stand in the Circle.  

Similarly, I use waste walks to teach managers how to identify waste in their processes and less about walking. In fact, I asked them to stand and don't walk at all.  

The purpose of gemba walk: Beyond waste hunting

The purpose of gemba walk is to understand the current condition of your value creation process (value stream) at four levels: purpose, process, people and problem solving.

• Purpose: What customer's problem are we solving (value creation)? 
• Process: How do our processes work?
• People: How do our people work? 
• Problem solving: How are problems identified and solved? 

Gemba walks are about continuous improvement which drives waste out of processes. However, it should not be about waste hunting at all. Gemba walks that focus on generating to-do improvement lists without developing the level of the problem solving, process and people do little to sustain or create continuous improvement. The wrong mindset will drive the wrong behaviors.

Jim Womack explains the purpose of the gemba walk: "...truly understand the value stream and its problems rather than review results or make superficial comments": http://www.lean.org/womack/DisplayObject.cfm?o=1869

Where:
Gemba walks must be done where the value is created: at the gemba.

How:
1. Select a particular value stream: start at the closest process step to your customer and follow the value flow backwards through different departments, functions and areas. Keep in mind that value creation process is a horizontal flow while most organizations are vertically structured
2. Invite every value-stream owner: employees, middle managers and leaders who are part of the value stream
3. Ask about: purpose, process, people and level of problem solving

A gemba walk is not the place or the time to fix problems, but to understand the level of problem solving. For instance, when walking throughout a value stream start by asking the following questions:

• Is the TARGET condition at each process step understood?
• Is the ACTUAL condition at each process step known? 
• Do the obstacles/problems that prevent to reach the target condition identified?
• Which obstacles are being addressed right now?
• What are the next obstacles to be addressed later? 
• Do learning and sharing is occurring?

Notice that above questions are not aimed to fix problems or suggest solutions.

Jon Miller proposes 10 practical rules to follow when leading a gemba walk: http://www.gembapantarei.com/2012/01/10_rules_for_good_gemba_walks.html

Who:
Every value-stream owner including leaders, functional managers, supervisors and all employees who are involved in the value stream.

When:
Frequency of gemba walks should increase for people closer to the value creation. Daily gemba walks must be part of daily management systems in order to understand the current condition. Middle and senior management should do it several times a year as a way to break silos and functional barriers and grasp the value creation process.

Managing your lean transformation

Lean Six Sigma Deployment Memory Jogger, 2012

Lean transformation is about managing "people  learning" instead of implementing "lean solutions."

Companies with sustainable superior performance such as Google, Southwest Airlines and Toyota have one common denominator: Processes that allow harvesting their people ingenuity and energy better than their competitors.

Southwest Airlines cost advantage derives from very capable, productive and motivated employees who look for ways to survive and thrive in an industry plague of bankruptcies, no barriers to entry, many substitute products and non proprietary technology. Google's constant innovation is driven by an organizational environment that allows people to be creative and focused.

These companies are managing their transformation by leveraging their people capabilities instead of spending effort on copying solutions.

How is your company managing its lean transformation?

The KAIZEN CULTURE as competitive advantage

Managers rush to improve operation effectiveness through kaizen events to quickly implement kanban and mistake-proofing solutions confusing them as the source of sustainable superior performance. This is what I call the "wrong" lean.

If your lean transformation efforts are oriented to implement "lean solutions" on the idea that these solutions will recreate the competitive advantage that we see in Toyota or Southwest Airlines, your changes for success are as good as 2%. I wish you the best of lucks. You will need it.

The term "transformation" in lean transformation does not refer to changing your operation processes but to change your people dynamics and capabilities to identify, prioritize, solve problems and share improvements continuously which is the source of competitive advantage of a lean organization. This is what I call  the "right" lean or "kaizen culture"

For instance, Southwest Airlines practices to delivery low-cost and convenient service such as quick plane turnarounds at the gate are not the source its competitive advantage but how its people are organized to identify these practices and execute them. In the same way, Toyota superior operation effectiveness is result of how its people can continuously deliver reliable, high-quality and low-cost automobiles faster than its competitors.

What lean are you doing: "wrong lean" or the "kaizen way"?

Lean transformation is more than Operation Effectiveness

If you believe that Lean is about operation effectiveness, you most likely would fail on creating a sustainable superior performance.

Michael Porter, perhaps the world’s most known business-school professor, in his “What is Strategy?” paper, clearly stated that Lean and other operation effectiveness practices are not competitive advantages. Professor Porter is right when states that Operation Effectiveness is not a competitive advantage but wrong about defining Lean as Operation Effectiveness, a common mistake made by even lean practitioners.  

Porter defined Operation Effectiveness as “performing similar activities better than rivals perform them”. He expanded by adding “It refers to any number of practices that allow a company to better utilize its inputs by, for example, reducing defects in products or developing better products faster”.

If you believe that the Toyota Production System or Lean, a term coined by James Womack after studying Toyota, refers to these "number of practices" or "lean solutions" to gain operation effectiveness you are making a common but fatal mistake.

Here is some data. In 2007, an IndustryWeek study showed that only 2% of the companies implementing lean manufacturing have fully achieved their objectives and 74% recognized not making good progress. And not long ago, in 2010, after several awarded companies by the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence failed to sustain their Lean transformation and even filed for bankruptcy, the award committee recognized its selection criteria required adjustment. In fact, if you believe that the core of a lean transformation is operation effectiveness you might speed your own demise. 

The KAIZEN CULTURE as competitive advantage
Managers rush to improve operation effectiveness through kaizen events to quickly implement kanban and
mistake-proofing solutions confusing them as the source of sustainable superior performance. This is what I call the "wrong" lean.

If your lean transformation efforts are oriented to implement "lean solutions" on the idea that these solutions will recreate the competitive advantage that we see in Toyota or Southwest Airlines, your changes for success are as good as 2%. I wish you the best of lucks. You will need it.

The term "transformation" in lean transformation does not refer to changing your operation processes but to change your people dynamics and capabilities to identify, prioritize, solve problems and share improvements continuously which is the source of competitive advantage of a lean organization. This is what I call  the "right" lean or "kaizen culture"

For instance, Southwest Airlines practices to delivery low-cost and convenient service such as quick plane turnarounds at the gate are not the source its competitive advantage but how its people are organized to identify these practices and execute them. In the same way, Toyota superior operation effectiveness is result of how its people can continuously deliver reliable, high-quality and low-cost automobiles faster than its competitors.

Managing your lean transformation
Lean transformation is about managing "people  learning" instead of implementing "lean solutions."

Companies with sustainable superior performance such as Google, Southwest Airlines and Toyota have one common denominator: Processes that allow harvesting their people ingenuity and energy better than their competitors.

Southwest Airlines cost advantage derives from very capable, productive and motivated employees who look for ways to survive and thrive in an industry plague of bankruptcies, no barriers to entry, many substitute products and non proprietary technology. Google's constant innovation is driven by an organizational environment that allows people to be creative and focused.

These companies are managing their transformation by leveraging their people capabilities instead of spending effort on copying solutions.

What lean are you doing: "wrong lean" or the "kaizen way"?

Lean Six Sigma at Jabil: ASQ presentation

Inviting all lean practitioners in the Tampa area to my next presentation entitled "Lean Six Sigma transformation: making it to stick" at ASQ Tampa/St. Petersburg Section.

Date: February 11, 2013
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: St Petersburg Clearwater Marriott
               12600 Roosevelt Boulevard
               St. Petersburg, FL 33716
             
Despite of all the resources and efforts that many organizations have committed to become Lean Six Sigma, evidence of truly successful transformation are scared. A recent large survey found that only 2 percent of companies that have a Lean Six Sigma program achieved their anticipated results. Even more, the Shingo Prize and the National Quality Baldrige organizations that give awards for operational excellence, went back to past winners and found that many had failed to sustain their progress.Why is so difficult? Why to many failed? What can we do?

This presentation will address these questions and provide insight look of how Jabil, a 130,000+ employee company with HQ in Saint Petersburg, is facing these challenge.


Click here to download this presentation.

Making value stream mapping a success: "Mind and Hand"

I see too often wasteful "lean" efforts focused on mapping value streams that would not be followed by actual implementation. They are used to decorate conference rooms, to fill Powerpoint presentations and to feature videos. 

It is absolutely necessary to know your current and target condition to define what actions we should take as part of the Plan-Do-Check-Act but with mapping we haven't accomplish anything yet. 

Last weekend, Dean Schmittlein "revealed" the secret of success of MIT as organization to create value: relentless application of its "mind and hand" principle which appears in MIT's logo. Here some data on MIT's "mind and hand" principle in action:

"Mens et Manus"

Companies found by living MIT alumni employ 3.3. million people and generate world revenues of  $2 trillion, "producing the equivalent of the 11th-largest economy in the world."

Thomas A. Edison who was well known for practicing the "mind and hand" principle once said "The salvation of America lies in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology". And, it is not by accident that James Womack and other scientists re-discovered "lean thinking" while working in MIT's International Motor Vehicle Program.

While "mind and hand" really is not a secret,  it is one of these key principles for success for any lean transformation. It is the same "learning by doing" principle used by Toyota and other lean organizations to describe the active approach to develop people. Even before Toyota, the Training Within Industry (TWI) program and definitely Deming's PDCA style for training programs used the same principle.

Next time that someone shows you a value stream map as the "mind and hand" question: "can we go and see what you are doing to reach your target condition?"