Care and Feeding

[EVERETT813 at aol.com]

In a message dated 6/22/04 5:38:41 PM, clee-engel at bastyr.edu writes:


> 
> Dear Paul,
> 
>   
> 
>  Thank you for your outrageous story! You wrote:
> 
>   
> 
>  "I was engaging the entire workforce in the ideas of WCM, so it was a big 
> project, many months. 
> 
> One of the principles in WCM is the idea of the Outrageous Goal...
> 
>   
> 
>  ...That's the story. As close to an industrial miracle as I've witnessed in 
> my 40 years of manufacturing experience.  I have several other such stories, 
> one regarding plastic pipe extrusion, but the principles were the same---set 
> the Outrageous Goal, set the "new rules" and get out of the way.
> 
> Paul Everett, Consultant
> Lean Systems Thinking (WCM)  * * "
> 
>   
> 
>  and so I am very curious about the relationship between the previous "many 
> months" of work, and the ability to rapidly self-organize to come up with and 
> meet an Outrageous Goal. What kind of conditions do those many months 
> create?
> 
>   
> 
>  Christy Lee-Engel
> 
>  Seattle (where it is sunny! and hot!)
> 
> 

Dear Christy,

Well, well, well---we are close.   It was sunny and hot in Shelton, too, in 
fact, hotter than Seattle.   But, normal June has returned and it's cloudy and 
cool.   Sigh.

As to your question: every person on the workforce had been through about 80 
hours of training in the principles of World Class Manufacturing (Toyota 
Production System), now called Lean Thinking by many, and they not only had the 
philosophy of the TPS/WCM (elimination of the Eight Deadly Wastes by identifying 
Value Adding and Non-Value Adding Time) and an understanding of the Six Keys 
to WCM (one of which is the OG), but also they had tools such as creative 
problem solving, quick change tooling, lead time shrinking, statistical quality 
control (16 hrs), teamwork, Cause and Effect Diagrams with the Addition of Cards 
(CEDAC), and more.   So, the training and education probably affected the 
machine start up but I'd hesitate to say it was causal.   I think it was the 
suspension of the rules, the organization into self-chosen teams together with 
their recent classroom experiences, that were major factor.   Also a major factor 
was management's willingness to try something that had never been done before. 
     

*
*
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