Sharing resources - a "fresh set of eyes" - or "Shinsen'na me" as they would say in Japanese!

"You can't reach for anything new if your hands are full of yesterday's junk"  - Louise Smith 

Early in my personal and professional Lean journey I realized the power of a fresh look at a process or product. Someone that doesn't have baggage and history. In fact, where possible, someone who isn't acclimated to the same departmental or corporate culture as those who deal with the process or product every day.

I experienced it first hand when our Greenbelt cohort were delivered to a "host" site for each of our Lean Greenbelt modules.  As part of the "applied learning" portion of our training and certification, we found ourselves in unfamiliar businesses, and even unfamiliar industries.  This was even more apparent in our Blackbelt programs and cohorts.  While the environment may feel unfamiliar for many or most of the cohort, that unfamiliarity eventually (and quickly) gave way to providing opportunities to ask questions that the host organization often didn't challenge.  They, like all of us, tend to rely on, and in some cases - rest upon, the tacit knowledge and beliefs that we have acquired from within the organization.  Regardless of whether that knowledge and those beliefs are valid or even relevant.

This isn't breaking news!  In many aspects of our personal and professional lives, we are at least aware, if not vocal about the need to "let go of the past" or "don't jump to conclusions", or "it has to be that way - just because".   Having someone from outside the "inner circle" challenge the status quo, particularly if they are from entirely difference industries and background, but are good critical thinkers can unearth what may be obvious to them, but just assumed by us.  So how do we engage the front line team members involved in the process or product, and still avoid bringing too much excess baggage along on the ride?

                                     

About two years ago, when I was drumming up interest in creating a local Professional Practice Group for Lean in the Greater Vancouver area, one of the ideas I started to float was the concept of developing a "Lean Resource Brokerage" or "Lean Exchange Program". As I met more and more people from a variety of industries, all focused on using Lean to drive continuous improvements, it became  And as we grow our informal Lean network, making contacts in these other businesses and industries, we can't help but talk about both successes we have had, as well as challenges.

It was during one of these conversations with someone leading Continuous Improvement at First West Credit Union that the idea came up about possibly trading Lean certified resources for short, very specific activities in order to bring some "fresh eyes" to our Kaizens.   Since then, I have continued to test this idea and concept.

Last week, we had our first event.  Kam Raman, VP, Member Relations and Trade Services at Central 1 Credit Union and BCIT tried our first "exchange".  Kam has been a great supporter of the idea since it first came up. And I have been wanting to actually test this in a real environment.

Central 1 is in the early stages of their Lean journey.  They have strong leadership and commitment. So they are not suffering from inertia.  In fact, they had planned some specific kaizen activities, and had identified a facilitator from within their team.  The facilitator was keen, had basic Lean skills, but had not had real experience leading a cross functional kaizen.  So Credit 1 reached out to us to see if we could engage in a Lean Exchange to provide some outside eyes, "Shinsen'na me".  Some guidance around the kaizen design itself, some involvement during the kaizen to direct the conversations and activities to ensure the objectives are addressed, and some reflection and feedback afterwards to help the Central 1 Team improve for future kaizens.

We attached one of our Lean Blackbelts to their project, and worked with their team to review the objectives and design, and to be there to participate during the kaizen to lend support to the facilitation.  Afterward, our Blackbelt provided the facilitator with concrete and constructive "hansei" to help them further improve their kaizens going forward.  And the feedback we got from Central 1 was extremely positive, and gratifying.

The Lean Exchange Program (proof of concept!) was a success.  We definitely see the value, and look forward to extending this program across the Lean community.

A summary of a whirlwind trip to Germany and Italy - the European Lean Benchmarking Tour

If this is Monday - it must be Porsche! 

For those of you that have asked (and those of you that haven’t – but may be interested) – I have organized my pictures from my trip to Europe in June.  I was there as part of my program to certify as a Master Blackbelt in Lean Methodology (Lean is a name given to a methodology focused on Continuous Improvement. I have completed my Greenbelt and my Blackbelt certifications already).

In June, I was part of a small group (9 people) that went to Europe with our Lean training and certification partner, Lean Sensei International.  This was a Lean Benchmarking Tour: an opportunity to visit and see Lean in action at organizations that are considered exemplars in the adoption and application of Lean to drive continuous improvement and increase customer value.  In 2013, as part of my Blackbelt certification, I was also fortunate to travel to Japan to see many organizations there that have been applying Lean and the Toyota Production System for many years.  For this European Lean Benchmarking Tour, the 9 people that attended were comprised of:

·         2 master coaches from Lean Sensei International

·         3 Master Blackbelt Candidates (myself, a colleague from work – Colin Jones, and a third from Genentech in San Francisco area – Marvin Ilasco).

·         2 Executives interested in Lean from Norsat in Richmond BC

·         2 Executives interested in Lean from Lucy Electronics in Dubai.

Below are the pictures from the trip.  They are organized chronologically (Frankfurt was my first stop, Stuttgart next, etc).  Essentially – the trip was focused on touring a series of automotive manufacturers (Lean has much of its roots in the Toyota Production System that was introduced and refined by Toyota Motors).   Something to note though:  Each of the automotive factories we visited had a “no pictures allowed on the manufacturing floor” policy….. but they also ALL had incredible museums to tour and learn about the history of the companies.   There are plenty of youtube videos (that have been approved by the manufacturers) available on the internet showing the actual production processes and factories we toured. 

So the pictures below are made up of:

·         General touristy type scenery shots around the various cities we visited (in particular, below, the first stop, second stop, fifth stop, eighth stop, ninth stop, and twelfth stop)

·         Pictures from the various museums and welcome centres we visited. (all the rest)!

 

First stop: Frankfurt Germany:  Pictures of Frankfurt   

I arrived in Frankfurt on June 12^th, giving me time to acclimate to the time zone changes and long flight.  Frankfurt was for the most part a fairly modern city with a large modern walking/shopping mall. At one end, on Saturday, a market sprung up for the day in an area that was (and would be again the next day) a large empty square.  Fresh breads, cheeses, vegetables, etc.  At the other end was a street fair paying homage to northern Italy! (I would be heading there shortly).  Street vendors and food outlets.  Walking toward the river, I came upon the “old town” square – a delightful, quaint square in remarkably good shape, with some buildings dating back 6 centuries.  Something to watch for in the pictures; while walking the shopping mall, there were street vendors wearing charcoal grill BBQ’s (a frame that went over their shoulders with a container on the back for buns, and the grill strapped in front of them at their waist).  It was close to 30 degrees Celsius out – I can’t imagine how hot these guys were!!

 

Second Stop: Stuttgart Germany:  Pictures of Stuttgart  

From Frankfurt, I took the train to Stuttgart.  A fairly short (just over an hour) ride.  Stuttgart is the home of the Porsche factory and museum, as well as the headquarters for the Mercedes factory and museum.  Stuttgart is a fairly industrial city, though with very little exploration, I found again the local walking/shopping mall.  Germany is actually divided into 19 provinces, each with its own parliament – and Stuttgart is the Capital of the Baden-Wurttemberg province.  At the end of the walking mall was a beautiful park with fountains the provincial government buildings.  As in all of the cities (and throughout the tour) – the food and restaurants were fabulous (there are a number of pictures of food and the group enjoying local restaurants).

 

Third Stop: Porsche – Stuttgart: Pictures of Porsche 

After an evening familiarizing ourselves with Stuttgart, the next day we started with a tour of the Porsche Museum.   This was on June 15^th.   The day before was the last day of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, and Porsche had a huge party with large screen live broadcast of the race (the Porsche No 19 car won the race).   One of the pictures below shows our group sitting just outside the museum where they had a Porsche 919 race car on display.   The Museum itself was a beautiful piece of architecture – curving and spiraling floors reaching up 5 stories.  And throughout the museum, we were able to see (and touch) all of the cars Porsche had manufactured, including some concept cars that never made it to production.  The tour through the production factory was as equally impressive.  Seeing the production of high performance cars in a mixed-line (all models interspersed based on customer orders).  The blend of meticulous engineering (both the cars, and the production process) with a mix of robotic and human activity. 

Fourth Stop: Mercedes – Stuttgart: Pictures of Mercedes

The other stop while in Stuttgart was the Mercedes factory and museum.  This museum was incredible, and enormous.  Eight large floors of displays, each floor winding down to the next floor forming a giant spiral (this was a common design as it allowed the cars to be moved throughout the museums from floor to floor by following the spiraled ramps).  This museum truly told the story of the Mercedes brand – starting on the top floor with the company’s early history in the late 1800’s with the first 3 wheeled motorized vehicle built and patented by Karl Benz in 1885. Walking from that point down through the floors of the museum, you travel through time seeing the vehicles; coaches and buses, racing, utility, passenger, even planes chronologically as you approach the main floor with today’s models and concept cars.   The production factory was huge.  We started in the metal stamping shop, and basically followed the production line through all stages of production to the final test and roll off the line.

Fifth Stop: Munich Germany: Pictures of Munich 

From Stuttgart, we took the train to Munich.  Much of Munich has been rebuilt after the second world war, so it is a fairly modern city.  We stayed at a wonderful hotel that provided great opportunities to walk and sightsee in the few hours we had between our scheduled activities. Included in this was a visit to the Hofbrauhaus beer garden for dinner. 

 

Sixth Stop: BMW/Rolls Royce/Mini – Munich: Pictures of BMW / Rolls Royce / Mini Cooper 

Our first scheduled tour in Munich was BMW  Welt, factory and museum.  With BMW is Rolls Royce and Mini Cooper.  The tour through the museum was again, incredible.  The day we arrived they had just unveiled their new 7 Series line (we got a picture of the new car on a billboard on the way into the museum, and while we were there, they drove it in, covered in a shroud, for a formal media unveiling later that night (after we were gone).   Like all of the car companies, the museum was truly amazing.  As was the production facility. 

Seventh Stop:Audi – Munich: Pictures of Audi 

Our second scheduled stop in Munich was the Audi factory and museum.  Each of the companies we visited had a ‘customer delivery centre’.   In Europe, it is much more common to order your car from a dealer with all of the options, colours, etc that you want, and then go pick it up when it is ready from the factory where it is made.  The Audi factory was no exception – and you will see someone taking delivery of their brand new Audi – with a big bow on it!  The Audi museum is truly fascinating.  Audi, as a brand was about to go out of business in the late 1920’s.  This was during a global post-war economic downturn (the crash of Wall Street, etc).  There were 3 other automotive manufacturers in the same area about to realize the same fate.  But then they got together and formed the “Auto Union” of four manufacturers, and produced cars under that name for a while.  The four “circles” that make up the modern Audi logo represent each of the four original companies coming together under the Auto Union label.  They included Audi, Wanderer Automobile , Horch, and DKW.  The production facility was a great example of managed supply chain and just-in-time supply.  For example, the cycle time for a new Audi is about 3 days – but the Tact Time (how often one rolls out the end of the process) is about 58 seconds.   Audi uses a supplier to manufacture and provide the seats – and since the production line is based on actual customer orders, the models and customizations are varied throughout the production line.  But the seat manufacturer is located on the same property as the production line.  And when an order is started, the seat manufacturer knows exactly where in that 3 day timeline the seats are needed, and manufacture and deliver directly into the production line the specific seats for a particular car/order just when they are needed.

 

Eighth Stop: Florence Italy: Pictures of Florence  

From Munich, we flew to Florence in northern Italy.  Florence is a beautiful city in Northern Italy, and became home base for the next leg of the journey and scheduled visits and tours.  The architecture and art in Florence is unsurpassed.  Our hotel was in the old part of Florence, and in fact, it was the first hotel in that part of Florence (it has been wonderfully updated, while retaining the charm and elegance it once had).  We were just a few blocks from Il Duomo di Firenze (formally called Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore), the famous Ponte Vecchio, and the Piazza del Signoria with the striking fortified 13^th century palace, the Palazzo Vecchio.  This city just invited hours and hours of walking and exploring (and since one of the days was a Sunday with nothing planned, that helped expand the exploration).

Ninth Stop: Bologna Italy: Pictures of Bologna 

A short train ride away from Florence is Bologna Italy.  Bologna is home to the oldest continuously-operating university in the world – The University of Bologna established in 1088 AD. Bologna and the areas around it are also home to a number of industrial and manufacturing companies, including two that were on our scheduled tour.  Lamborghini and Ducati are both located in the Bologna area. 

Tenth Stop: Lamborghini – Bologna: Pictures of Lamborghini 

Our tour of Lamborghini was a bit different than the others in a very special way.  Our first stop on our day with Lamborghini was at the “Lamborghini Family Museum”, where we were hosted by Fabio Lamborghini, nephew to the founder (Ferrucio Lamborghini) of the modern Lamborghini group in 1963.  Fabio Lamborghini was charming and extremely welcoming. He showed us through the family’s museum and history of the development of the Lamborghini brand.  The Lamborghini family designed and manufactured farm equipment and vehicles since the early 20^th Century.  The beginnings of the Lamborghini motor car, according to the stories we heard from Fabio, were based in the following:  In the early 1960’s, Enzo Ferrari (also located in the Bologna area) produced a production high performance car for sale.  Ferrucio Lamborghini, who was still designing and manufacturing tractors and farm equipment (and other things like portable air conditioners) decided he wanted one of Enzo Ferrari’s cars.  He bought one, and over the next few months modified it to improve the performance and operation.  He also had a list of other ‘suggestions’ for improvements – so he drove over to Enzo’s, introduced himself, told him he really liked the Ferrari – but had some suggestions for improvements.  Enzo, being a proud man, told Ferrucio “it is not the car, it is the driver” that causes any problems.  To that, Ferrucio said that this would be the last Ferrari he would ever own, because he would go and build his own high performance car.  And that the was the birth of the Lamborghini motor car (thanks Enzo!).

 

Eleventh Stop: Ducati – Bologna: Pictures of Ducati 

The other planned stop on the tour while in Bologna was Ducati Motorcycles.  It too had a rich and interesting history.  Originally making things like vacuum tubes and radio parts in 1926.  They moved on to manufacture cameras, radios, and electric razors.  But during the Second World War, the German army asked them to develop a small gas motor that could be adapted to bicycles.  And that was the beginning of the Ducati Motorcycle company.

 

Twelfth Stop: Rome Italy: Pictures of Rome 

After spending time in Florence and Bologna, it was time to take the train to Rome. With only a few days and fewer hours in those days to explore and appreciate Rome, it became a  personal challenge to see as many of the more common sites (the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona,  the Vatican & St. Pauls square, the Coliseum, Circus Maximus, and Bernini’s Triton Fountain).  So again, a walking frenzy.  Fortunately, the charming little hotel I was staying in was literally just a few blocks from many of these (in fact, Bernini’s Triton was directly in front of the hotel).  So I set out to explore – knowing I wanted to get a glimpse of each of the above, and knowing along the way I would “discover” many other gems – which I did.

All in all, a rather whirlwind trip – 6 cities, 6 automobile factory and museum tours, all in 12 days.  And I would do it all over again in aa second!