Lean For Everyone

Lean Improvements: Do you remember where you parked?

University of Michigan makes sure you can find your car!

When I went to the childrens hospital I saw that on every level of the parking lot they had these ticket dispensers just before you enter the walkway or elevator.

Each ticket has the parking lot and level your currently on.  All the tickets are different colors.

It's simple, straightforward and easy to do.

When going to the hospital the last thing on your mind is remembering where your car is at!

 Great job Univ. of Michigan!

Fun Visual Controls for the Bathroom

Visual controls can be more memorable with a little humor added in

On a recent trip overseas I saw this posted over the bathroom toilet and had a good chuckle.  

While I can't read what it says, I'm certain that I now know the proper procedure for using the toilet brush.

Lean for Kids - Visual Controls and Learning to use a Computer

If you want someone to push a button...make it stand out!

 

 

After posting my blog about my daughter D. playing Starfall I was asked "How she learned how to operate a mouse?"

 

It was very simple, 100% my wife K.'s idea and made great use of some stickers.

 

 

We helped our daughter using visual controls -

It was really simple for D. to learn how to use a mouse/touchpad by showing her where to click.

K. and I originally thought about getting her a child's mouse that only has one button but we realized that wasn't going to solve the root cause.

 

We put a containment measure in place

Problem - D. didn't know which button she should click to make her games go.

Containment Measure - K. took one of D.'s stickers and put it on the left mouse button (see image above) and said "When you get the arrow where you want, just click the smiley face." She picked up on it almost instantaneously thus empowering her to use the mouse.

 

Things we did and didn't do as containment measures

Originally we enlarged the size of the arrow and slowed down the pointer speed to make it easier for her but now she can operate the system at normal speed.

We did discuss changing the pointer icon from an arrow to a smiley face or dinosaur however we wanted her to be able to use any computer anywhere so we left it as the standard "arrow shape".

 

D.'s current status is that she doesn't need the smiley face anymore so we've removed the stickers,  however they are really cute....I put mine back on!

Goto ALDI’s supermarket, bring a quarter and see innovation in action

You use a quarter to get a shopping cart but you get your quarter back when you return it.  The innovative part is how they do it.

I went to a supermarket called ALDI's and was impressed by this small but important innovation.

ALDI's uses a small system created by Systec called a duraloc.

The mechanism is simple.  All shopping carts are daisy chained together using these small duraloc devices. (see image below)

To release a shopping cart for usage you need only put a quarter in the device and it releases the cart via a simple latch system like a seatbelt.

 

When you return the cart you clip it back onto the chain of carts and it releases your quarter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The entire system:

• Puts the carts back into circulation immediately when they are done being used.
• Reduces the inventory of carts needed by the market
• Engages the consumer in keeping costs low
• Keeps the parking lot free of carts thereby increasing available parking spots
  
• Removes the need for a "cart corral" in the parking lot
  
• Removes the need for employees to collect carts

 

I felt that I was doing my part to help keep the lot clutter free while keeping costs low for myself.  It was engaged on an emotional level and satisfied on a WIIFM level as well.  Good job ALDI!

(Image of daisy chained carts)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lean for Home: Using visual controls when loading the dishwasher

You have to make thousands of decisions each day so why not simplify as many as possible.

I watched another video from FastCap called "Learn to See - Lean Tour"  and found something new.

The video has more than a dozen ideas on how Fast Cap employees have simplified their daily jobs with small innovations. 

In this one I saw an example that was perfect for me to use in the home.

 

 

 

 

The employees used zip ties to lash spoons, forks and knives to the utensil holder in the dishwasher.

When it's time to unload the clean utensils all the forks can be pulled and put away at the same time, then the spoons and then the knives.

 

My wife and I tried this at home and it works great and it only took about 2 minutes to set up.

We had tried to separate them in the utensil area by paying close attention to where each type of utensil went but we kept mixing them up. 

This small visual control minimized the risk for error and now unloading the diswasher has gotten just a little easier.

FastCap: Learn to See - Lean Tour

   

Process Improvement: Red is not necessarily bad and Green is not always good.

Indicators are great for knowing if you process is running smoothly but what if you are trying to "improve" your process.  What do the indicators mean then?

Red, error, defect, problem, customer complaint.  These all translate as "areas that could use improvement"

I love the Red! Where else does a process actually tell you "I need to improve."  'Please come over and help me."

Think of the red as a squeaky wheel.  Yes there's a problem, yes it needs to be fixed.  The difficulty is deciding which issue to prioritize first.

Green  just means you are within specifications, it doesn't mean that your "specs" are very good.

If I'm out jogging and I set my pace at 1 mph I know I'll be able to keep up with it.  That does not mean I'm going to get anywhere very quickly.

Too often companies set a specification or pace to operate at.  The quality control department notices that everything is in the green so there are no apparent issues.

The: "If it's not broke don't fix it attitude" sets in and no improvements are made.  The Green keeps everything at "status quo".

The greatest gains can come from working on a Green process

Just because something is running correctly does not mean it's the best way to do it.  I've seen the greatest gains from taking a perfectly stable system and improving it so it operates with less effort and at a lower cost.  NOTE * to have a stable system you may need to address some of your Red items first.

 

Understanding what Red and Green mean is about understanding your system in relation to your goals and priorities.  Sometimes working on improving a Green process can be just as important as working on a Red issue depending on what the cost/benefit is to your company.

How to potty train your child using lean methods.

Using Lean methods makes potty training easy to understand for my 2 year old.

"I have Potty Power!" shouts my 26 mo old daughter D. as she puts another sticker on her chart.

Potty training can be very difficult for your little one, however, with proper training and understanding of the end goal it can be much easier.

 

Training videos are a great tool to show how to use new equipment and explain the basics.

Potty Power is an awesome video to help give your kids the understanding of how to use a potty.  They even have a goal statement in their catchy song- "No more diapers for ME!"

 

Get familiar with the new equipment.  Touch it and test it.

If you expect your child to walk in on day one and sit down and use the potty you're nuts.  Seeing it on a video is one thing but actually using it is another. A toddler needs to feel it, sit on it and test out the potty before using it the first time.

 

Standardized work will help decrease the learning curve.

Get a set of procedures that you are going to use every time.  If your are going to have your child sit on the potty for 10 minutes at a time then set a timer so he/she knows when they are done. 

Have a few items around the potty to keep them occupied (many of us still read this way).  Finally,  make sure that everyone (both parents, nanny, siblings) knows the procedure so that everyone can  be consistent.

 

Have short term goals and make them visual.  Reward for completion.

Every time our daughter does number 1 she gets a sticker to put on her potty chart.  An additional, number 2 gets her a 2nd sticker.  A short term goal keeps momentum going and a visual chart to show progress helps to re-enforce it.  In this case it's also a reward for achievement.

Things are going well.  It's a new process with new equipment, so accidents will happen from time to time.  We learn from these mishaps and use continuous improvement to find new ways to make it easier for her.  We also sing our goal statement...."No more diapers for US"  Singing works too!

Fun with Visual Controls

I thought this was great advertising for Bulky Boy and a fun use of Visual Controls.  I never thought of sizing clothing this way.