Larry Loucka, a close friend and colleague, recently pointed me to a February 16th Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article.
Now, before you roll your eyes and give me the WSJ-isn’t known-for-getting-the-lean-thing-right look, hear me out. What the Journal published is really, really good stuff…even if lean, and 5S in particular, was the furthest thing from their brilliant mind(s).
Labels, lines, and shadows have little personality. Their job is largely around identification, location, and quantity.
Visual performance metrics provide insight into the health of a process or value stream by comparing actual performance versus target within the context of people, quality, delivery, and cost.
Andons are dynamic in nature. They visually (and often audibly) signal abnormal conditions and trigger problem-solving...or at least, most immediately, problem containment.
In many ways, visual controls are a 24/7 mirror of leadership’s competency and credibility.
I never anticipated posting something about scrunchies (you know the decorative pony tail holding device) or quoting Coco Chanel. But, here I am.
Heck, it's Friday, why not share something light about lean?
Truth be told, I LOVE really simple and creative applications of lean. Even better when it's the voluntary work of a relatively new lean convert, like my friend Lisa.
This past weekend I made a quick visit to see my parents.
I've driven past the building pictured below well over a dozen times. It appears commercial in nature, but with the lack of descriptive visual controls, I had no idea, until now, what it is.
Visual management is typically applied for the purpose of indicating process and system performance so that everyone can tell, at glance, whether the situation is normal or abnormal. Abnormalities should prompt an appropriate response.
Point of use storage is an excellent strategy for reducing the waste of motion (and transportation). Sometimes motion is a minor inconvenience. Sometimes motion is a bit more problematic.
I just had an experience that prompted me to think about the effectiveness, or sometimes lack thereof, of visual controls. Yesterday I was at a client site. No kaizen, just training.
