​  March is almost here and that means the ©GEMBA methodology is almost ready.  Watch this update on the course progress.

  Going to the Gemba is one of the most powerful principles of a lean journey.  If you have not yet engaged in an initiative for daily Gemba walks we suggest you begin as soon as possible.  At the Gemba we discover things that we simply can not discover at our desk (unless that is where the work is being done).  The Gemba as you know is "where the work is done"  it is "where value is created" and it is where "problems can be solved."
  It is a powerful Skill to be able to treat the "Gemba" or a "Gemba Walk"  as a Methodology in itself.  Methodologies allow us to reveal issues and give us the possibility of solutions through teamwork and various methods.  Here is one example of a methodology for "Gemba Walks."
  Just Remember GEMBA
  
G- The G reminds us of the Overall concept that we all know, Genchi Genbutsu.  Genchi Genbutsu means Go and See, we do this so that we can understand what is happening at the Gemba.  This is a key principle and technique of any lean strategy.  When we go and see what is actually happening we are better able to base our decisions on real facts, instead of hunches, opinions, guesses or assumptions.

E- "Engage"  Engagement at the Gemba is very important.  When we engage people at the Gemba it should be question based.  The idea is to help the gemba stretch their minds and empower them to develop problem solving skills of their own.  We are trying to understand what is happening in the current condition and not jump to conclusions.  The 5 Why technique is a great way to understand why certain things are happening.  Like any other problem though try to discover the "What" "Why" "How" and "Where".  One last thing, take notes while engaging; some of the best solutions you will hear come from the people at the Gemba.

M- Muda, Mura and Muri, simply put being at the Gemba is a great time to observe what is going on there.  You will have great opportunities to discover many forms of Muda, so introduce yourself to TIMWOODS while you're there.  While at the Gemba you will get a sense of where people may feel overburdened and you will see processes that are not level.  Take notes.  Then you can attack all origins of waste later on.

B- Be respectful at the Gemba.  This is a time to exercise humility and to serve others.  We promise if you are respectful, humble, sincere and willing to serve, people will tell you where the pain is.  

A- Finally analyze what you have collected.  Be sure at this stage of the Gemba walk to include everyone at the Gemba.  The individuals from the Gemba will be able to help analyze findings and often may add details to your initial discoveries.  Including everyone will also foster a culture of teamwork and help develop a true lean culture.

 The Gemba Methodology is a great format to follow when performing daily Gemba walks and it is rather easy for anyone to understand.  One last thing to note after you have performed your Gemba Walk be ready and willing to support The Spirit of Kaizen.  One way that you can do this is to offer yourself in service of finding solutions to the issues that are discovered.  A Gemba Walk can be quick, easy and very effective in pinpointing opportunities for improvements, so start today and in time you will discover great and powerful ways to "transform" activities in each of your many Gemba's.  

  Don't forget if you need more information on the ©GEMBA Methodology or how to go to the Gemba,
​Register for our course coming out in March of 2018, The ©GEMBA Methodology.

  After a holiday break it can sometimes be hard to get the body up and moving again the first morning of work.  Extra caffeine, long conversations and a fuzzy memory are some of the signs you may experience.  For others though getting started again is simple; they just jump back in the groove like they never even knew there was a break.  Here are three simple things you can do to jump back in the improvement groove after an "extra" day off.

How did they leave?

​  Most individuals and teams will start their holiday break off by making sure there desk area is in 5S condition and neater than they left it before.  Many studies have shown that if you take the time to clean things up, organize and set things in order the morning you come back in will be much smoother.  Think of it like planning for the day you come back.  Just like Admiral William McRaven shares in the video below: "If you wanna change the world, start off by making your bed."  If you leave your work area in a neat, tidy and in a sanitary condition you will return to an organized, more energized, calm and ready environment.  Along with these benefits comes one other notable effect.  By displaying a behavior of always maintaining a standard condition in your area, you in turn promote a culture that does the same.

Spend some time at the Gemba.

  You may be tempted to hang out by the coffee dispenser and chug down one cup after another.  While the caffeine will certainly give you a boost of energy, to much caffeine may leave you feeling anxious, frantic and disorientated.  Don't get me wrong a little energy is good for everyone, but try taking one cup to the gemba.  At the gemba you can review the process and refresh your mind while interacting and strengthening relationships with others.  Take a piece of paper with you as you visit the gemba and jot down notes pertaining to: the energy of the value stream, the load of demand placed on the team and of course any changes in the process that may have occurred in the interim.   

Come together!

  Last but not least, bring the team together.  Take some time for icebreakers, sharing and quality time.  Though from a production efficiency standpoint this might not make any sense at all, ponder for a minute the tactical approach.  Meeting together in a morning huddle and taking 5 minutes to share one thing or begin with an icebreaker can be a nice transition that helps others feel as though they are cared for.  

1. Ask about family, friends and experiences.
2. Play a fun 5 minute game.

The key is to segway and TRANSITION back into improvements.  If you begin this way you will most likely avoid the many side conversations later.  All you have to do is show you care.

​  

  There you have it; three very simple things to get continuous improvement started again when you return from a holiday break.

  ***How do you reach out and re-energize teams when they return from a holiday break?***

  All year long we strive for improvements.  Squeezing waste from every corner of organizations,  Posting new videos, or trying to eliminate that pesky root cause, whatever it is you do labor day is for each and everyone of us.  Here are three important things to keep in mind on your day off:

1. Rest

  Studies have shown that taking a day off can actually increase your productivity when you return to work.  Taking a day off doesn't mean sneaking in an email here and there, it means rest.  Spend time with your family, BBQ, but most of all enjoy the day.  Trust us if you're like most hard working people you'll be going crazy by the first day back and you will get a lot of work done.

2. Use the labor day excuse

  Believe it or not the first day back is a great time to ask someone you never talk to, "hey what did you do with your day off."  This is a great way to get to know some of your co-workers, share pictures and laughs.  If you're on the improvement journey it may give you an opportunity to pull someone new onto the team.  

3.  Share with your family

  Sometimes we get so busy with life, work and everything else that we don't get anytime to share with the people closest to us how work is going.  Labor day is a great opportunity to share with children, grandchildren, wives or friends how work is going for you.  Just remember to listen too.

  Whether you have the day off, or you're pulling some overtime we would like to wish each and everyone of you a wonderful labor day weekend.  Enjoy!

  ***  We would love for each of you to share one of your labor day highlights in the comment section below.  ***

​  In my career, I’ve been lucky enough to work established defense industry programs as well as starting up new products and factories.  This has given me many opportunities to see problems and do something to fix them.  I’ve used many Lean tools over the course of my career and I would like to explore these tools with real world examples of how they were applied and the results they produced.

  One of the most important aspects of a successful lean journey is leadership.  Lean brings powerful changes to each and every organization the strategy is implemented into.  Any Lean practitioner who has seen a few projects or benchmarked various organizations has most likely witnessed a unique culture that somehow just happens naturally in lean companies.  For this reason leadership often times takes on a more servant style of leading, afterall they exist to help the people they serve succeed.  
​
    Here are a few important concepts that will help leaders keep moving forward.  

 1.  Pareto Leaders-  As a leader you may start off in an improvement project, in fact you probably should. Experiencing kaizen and improvement events first hand will help you understand what happens in the events and experience first hand the spirit of kaizen.  In many organizations as much as 80% of Kaizen is driven by those who are closest to the work.  Finding out where those 80% of improvements are coming from can give you insight regarding the areas your mentorship is needed in.  As a leader application of the pareto principle can also help you identify:

1. Gaps in performance.
2. Areas where you need to focus.
3. People you need to reach out too.

 2. Genchi Genbutsu- Many years ago "the Gallow" would drop and everyone in the company knew that leadership had made a directive.  We have all seen it and felt it, but in today's day and age the "dictator" approach doesn't yield such great results.  Today Leaders are responsible for developing, training, discovering and mentoring future leaders.  This most often times involves "Leader Standard work"  and frequent Gemba walks where you can "Go and See" (Genchi Genbutsu). 

  - Often times employees are considered resources amongst machines and equipment.  This sort of mindset will certainly place your lean journey at a stand still if your employees are just "resources."  As a leaders one of the most important things you can do for your organization is empower others.  Those people should feel empowered and prepared for success and if they stumble they should know exactly who to look to for mentoring and guidance.  

  - Training, Training, Training.  Did we mention training?  One of the most important aspects of developing the organization is developing the people who work their.  Like any "Sports Team"  every individual must be prepared to carry and support their weight.  For this reason helping individuals develop their skills will certainly press your strategies forward.  Establishing a standard onboarding process which includes basic training like learning foundational concepts of a lean strategy can help ensure all employees start of on similar ground.  Even if employees are at advanced levels, we can all agree, review still helps.  

  - Building a solid foundation for any strategy is quite the task and as a leader it should be a top priority.  One common mistake is passing the orders down from the top and interpreting value as the amount of direct labor your projects absorb. This is known as the underutilization of skills or more commonly the eighth form of waste.  You need to build a solid support system amongst team members.  Part of this process is creating a culture where people are confident that they are part of decisions being made.  It will not happen overnight.  Some things you can do to support your teams and people are:

1. Give them the appropriate tools to "win." 
2. Help them to feel empowered, confident and accountable for different levels of change.  Those people who have been in "the trenches"  are the people who know the issues the best and have seen the processes at the 10 foot level. 

3. Lead by example -  Above all else lead by example.  For many employees leadership is someone they look up to.  Whether you carry the title of owner, C-level director or front line we all have different levels of "leadership" we are responsible.  Setting a good example for those that follow is a sure fire way to influence others in a positive way.
​
  There will be many different things that you can do for your organizations as the year progresses, but if there is one key element to driving effective change, it's the way we Lead, Support and develop one another.  Effective Change agents whether in manufacturing or service commonly spring from a culture and leadership that supports the people not just the projects.  


  **What concepts, ideals, examples or behaviors do you appreciate most in a leader?

  This guy is perfect!  Kind, team player, technical skills and desire to grow in the organization.  It's like a dream come true finding this type of employee.  Then the final interview question is presented, "how do you feel about lean six sigma?"  They respond, "I've only heard of it."  With the ever growing "popularity"  of both lean and six sigma it almost feels like a game changer if a new employee or existing individual has not sought out lean six sigma education or joined a group to become more familiar with these two powerful strategies.  Then of course there is the "gap."  Yes the gap,  it's that ever increasing distance between those with "master black belts" and lean six sigma expertise and those who "missed the boat" for training or were part of "next years group."  How do we bring those individuals up to speed so that the changing dynamics of an organization or job market of a career does not continue to drift further and further apart?

  The answer to that question has remained the same for hundreds if not thousands of years;  education, training and experience.   

Education:

  It's no secret that education for employees or learning for yourself yields: improved performance, consistent knowledge and a specialized skill set.   But along with these benefits education can influence a group of behaviors in a positive way too.  Imagine for a second an individual who had absolutely no understanding of soccer (I know it's hard to imagine) going with you to a soccer game.  While fans are cheering, eating good food and actively engaged in the game, they just sit there with absolutely no connection with the game or anything going on around them.  Worse yet they may feel left out and never want to be a part of a soccer game again.  A tragedy indeed.  Now let's imagine that for a few minutes, maybe an hour before you share with them important moments in the sport of soccer's history, you briefly explain to them the rules of soccer and you help them understand the general strategy of the game.  Flashback to our soccer game and this time when everyone is cheering, screaming and excited they understand a few things.  Soon they begin asking you more questions and shortly thereafter they want more knowledge.  Similar to this most employees and individuals may feel discouraged in environments where they don't understand what is going on around them.  Whether it's technical or philosophical it is hard to be a part of something you haven't ever heard about.  Why would anyone see the value in eliminating waste when they could crank the machine up and sweat themselves to death creating more value?  How would anybody understand the difference between creating value and non-value?  They can't unless they have some knowledge or education where they can then begin to wrap their minds around the concept.  In our recent release of the  brand new completely remade 8 forms of waste course students first participate in an educational experience learning about general aspects of lean, waste and then moving on to the specifics of waste.  Like a soccer game the community is now completely open to posting in each of the 15 lectures.  This gives students an opportunity to discuss with one another the knowledge they are acquiring.  Additionally they gain a firm understanding of fundamental lean concepts helping them to join or be a part of groups, strategies and initiatives that will surely cross their path sooner or later.  

Training:

  Educate someone on the strategy or direction of the organization and they are off to a good start.  Now instead of "I've only heard of it,"  we might hear, "oh yeah, I was lucky enough to take a class on that."  Place the individual in a community with others and now they can discuss, share thoughts and learn from others.  Add a little training to their already educated mind and talking transforms into doing.  That was the focus of the transformed 8 forms of waste course giving people the opportunity to take education and engage themselves or employees within an organization in activities that provide a real training experience.  The benefit to this of course is that everyone knows what is going on around them and nobody "misses the boat."

Experience:

  With education and training under one's belt the last piece of the puzzle is experience.  As the saying goes "if you don't use it, you'll lose it,"  the same is true for education and training.  If all you do is sit through a course and complete a few reports then after obtaining your prized certification you set aside your new found knowledge you will surely forget what it is you've learned.  Like kaizen a good way to continue developing skills in a field or closing gaps between expertise and novice is to practice everyday.  whether it's a large scaled project or touching up on a recently read book try to stay engaged so that you don't have to start the process all over again.  

  There are many ways to onboard new employees and close gaps in the skill sets of current individuals.  Whether it's a 2 hour course like the newly released 8 forms of waste course or a training program like the introduction to lean finding an effective and affordable way to welcome new faces to your organization and graft them into the field comfortably will empower and enable employees to be a part of your improvement journey and may possibly set them up as a future leader.