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Control Plans are not very sexy, but are necessary!

It’s human nature to feel good about effecting positive change.  Perhaps you have removed some unnecessary steps from a process and now it is easier to perform a task.  Or you have modified the way that work was being done and now there is less rework.  Maybe your team has agreed on a more effective way to communicate and share information among various working groups.  It could be that you identified some “critical X’s” to control and now there is less variation in the process.  In any case, making small improvements that have a large effect can produce a great deal of satisfaction.  After all, this is why we invested time and effort – to become better at whatever we do.  It’s time to celebrate!

Unfortunately, improvements can be temporary.  After the team disbands, the process can revert back to the previous condition or people drift back to the old way of doing things.  Without something to prevent this regression, it is only a matter of time before any improvements (and the associated benefits) are in the rear view mirror. In the Lean Six Sigma world, the tool that is most often used to maintain the gains is a Control Plan.  It is the centerpiece of the “C” step in the DMAIC methodology.  A control plan should be used whenever you want to keep hard-won improvements in place.

[google-drive-embed url=”https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1OxOJTWR3nwDQHItpMaXkN__Suin8Z5U6m3HqkvRoBz4/preview?h=512″ title=”Improvement loss over time” icon=”https://ssl.gstatic.com/docs/doclist/images/icon_11_drawing_list.png” width=”100%” height=”400″ style=”embed”]

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Think Quick! Can you work faster AND safer?

 “You can observe a lot just by watching”

Yogi Berra

faster and saferOne of the foundational Lean tools is QCO (quick changeover), which is also sometimes referred to as SMED (single minute exchange of die).  SMED includes a set of techniques that make it possible to perform equipment set-up and changeover operations in less than 10 minutes.  Not every changeover can be completed in this amount of time.  However, any operation would benefit from using this Lean tool if there is a requirement for:

  • a change in “lot” types
  • a process or set-up change

For this discussion, I will use the term QCO as being interchangeable with SMED. Most of the time, the opportunity for implementing QCO in a process is driven by the need for greater flexibility, quicker delivery, better quality, or higher productivity.  These are indeed significant benefits that are realized –  because this approach identifies and removes some of the eight sources of waste.  But there is an equally significant benefit to assessing a process and implementing QCO: the resulting process changes often make setups simpler & easier – and therefore faster and safer. The following case studies demonstrate how using QCO principles can lead to work which is not only completed in less time, but is also safer. Continue Reading

Why do people violate rules? The concept of procedural drift

Red Light, Green Light

Years ago, I moved to a community in a different state for a new job.  While driving to work on the first day, I was involved in a number of near-miss automobile accidents.  Let me describe a risky driving behavior, which I quickly learned was “the way we drive around here”.

rulesDrivers approached an intersection with a traffic light.  The green light turned to yellow.  As expected, one or two cars entered the intersection while the light was still yellow. But what I observed next surprised me.  After the light turned red, the next three drivers continued through the intersection.  Remarkably, the cars in the opposing lanes (who had a green light) paused for 3 or 4 seconds for the red light violators to clear, then drove through the intersection.  When the light turned red for opposing lanes of traffic, the same behavior repeated.  The unspoken norm was that a “red light” meant that 3 more cars were allowed to pass through the intersection….the 4th car should stop. The amazing thing to me was that somehow everyone knew that this was the rule.  At first, I thought this was an isolated incident.  As I soon discovered, this happened at every intersection.

Now imagine someone who had never been to this town (me) approaching an intersection – and expecting that red means stop and green means go.  It took me four or five close encounters (of the wrong kind) at intersections with local drivers to figure out what was happening.  I quickly adapted to the local behavior.  By the time I arrived back home, I was Driver #3 going through a red light.  No consequences.  No tickets.  In fact, local police cars were following the same protocol!  (I learned later that 3 cars was indeed the limit.  If the police observed a 4th car driving through a red light, that person was always ticketed).

What was going on here?  How could every local person in this large community end up developing and accepting a norm that was clearly violating the standard?  One explanation could be the concept of entropy. The dictionary provides one definition as follows:

 en·tro·py   lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder.

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Why can’t we get people to do simple things?

  • behaviorHave you ever wondered why some people don’t seem to be motivated to take action, even when what you are asking them to do is clearly the “right thing” ?
  • Have you noticed that some desirable habits are relatively easy to develop, while you struggle to make other habits a part of your routine?
  • Have you become frustrated when someone repeats a poor habit or behavior, in spite of a recent detailed coaching conversation?

Dr. BJ Fogg of Stanford University developed a behavior model that helps us to understand how to influence someone.  The Fogg Behavior Model shows that three elements must converge at the same moment for a behavior to occur: Motivation, Ability, and Trigger.  When a behavior does not occur, at least one of those three elements is missing or insufficient.  His model is depicted in the graphic below.

[google-drive-embed url=”https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Mlw1LnMyhbeMEqcy5fGs1ToFfTb94tUdDQwZYUZ_NaY/preview” title=”Fogg Behavior Model” icon=”https://ssl.gstatic.com/docs/doclist/images/icon_11_presentation_list.png” width=”100%” height=”400″ style=”embed”]

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Ask 3 questions to challenge the status quo

Regardless of the approach that is used for continuous improvement, at some point in the process the team will engage in a discussion to identify potential solutions.  The most common methods include silent brainstorming or a round-robin format, collecting the ideas from all team members for consideration by the team.  Often, this can be very productive.  A sufficient number of ideas is obtained and the team reaches consensus on which ones to implement.

However, one limitation of these conventional brainstorming techniques is that the ideas are generated within our existing paradigms.  In other words, every one thinks about potential solutions in the context of how we currently do things.  As a result, the improvements that are made tend to be incremental in nature.status quo

But what if we are seeking significantly higher levels of performance?  Will the ideas that the team implements be sufficient to get us there?  Or what if we have already made several improvements to the process, but the performance level is still not where we need it to be?

The team may need to leverage an alternative way of thinking to generate new and different solutions.  The Creative Challenge E/R/A approach is designed to question the current solutions.  It allows us to investigate the current way that work gets done – and surfaces alternative solutions that could be even better than the existing ones.

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How do you set expectations?

“If you expect nothing from anybody, you’re never disappointed.”
―    Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

Earlier in my career, I had the opportunity to work with a group of four supervisors at a manufacturing site.  I spent a week with each supervisor, with the objective of getting to know each person better.  After a month rotating among the supervisors, it was clear that there were stark differences in how each of them related to their respective crews.  The contrast in styles was greatest when comparing Mitch with Harold.

Mitch considered himself to be “old-school” and was proud of it.  He had spent nearly twenty years in various line positions at the plant, eventually working his way into a senior operator role before being promoted to supervisor.  He was a no-nonsense guy who ruled with an iron fist and a commanding voice.  His philosophy was to set the rules and hold people accountable when they were violated.  Mitch believed his primary responsibilities were to “keep the line running” and to “make sure that no one does anything stupid.” During the shift, he could often be found in the supervisor’s office area, unless the line was down for some reason.  His crew tended to have the least senior people, mainly because there was a lot of bidding to move to another supervisor’s crew.

Harold also spent many years as an operator in the same facility before accepting a supervisor position.  He had a calm demeanor and spent most of his time on the floor, listening to his crew members.  He frequently answered any questions with a question of his own, “What do you think we should do?”  Harold challenged his crew to come up with solutions, not just to identify the problems.  I would overhear him privately praising each person, telling them that they were among the best operators he had ever been around.  When someone made a mistake, he would make it a point to ask the individual what lesson was learned and what we could do differently the next time.  Harold’s crew had the most senior people.  It was clear that they respected Harold and valued the opportunity to work on his crew.

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