***************** Office Efficiency and Waste in Knowledge Workers Work
Daniel Markovitz, a Lean consultant, reports helping reduce the waste in knowledge workers' behavior. In one project the workers gained nearly 10 hours per week for value added work. What would an additional 10 hours do for you office admin, estimators and engineers?
Dan feels that “Lean work habits are critical for knowledge workers, because the multiple value streams flowing through them create a constant tension. Without lean habits to guide their work, the critical flow of information in the value stream clogs up. Think of the information bottlenecks in the form of backlogs on their desks, or the hundreds of unanswered email in their inboxes. Think of the enforced waiting throughout a department when decision-makers read but don't act upon a request. Think of the unnecessary motion of managers searching for documents amidst the masses of paper piled on their desks. Each of these wastes undermines the gains made by any improvements in the design of a company's business processes.”

Lean & 5S's in Construction

Newsletter #20 March, 2007

This e-newsletter is written by Dennis Sowards to share ideas on the 5S’s and Lean practices especially as applied in construction. If you have ideas or lessons learned to share - please contact me.

Keep it Simple

Some suggestions on the how to do the 5S’s and keep it simple:

“Whatever you do, don't seal it in the concrete, as you have to improve it as soon as you've implemented it!
Better stick tapes than paint lines,
Better use movable tools holders than fix them,
Better not using shelves next to workbenches as they hold dust, hide nuts and bolds underneath, put stress on workers having them make a choice for the good part, create walls between people, cut view,
So don't put money in something you're going to shoot out in few days, weeks, or months.”

Lean & 5S's in Construction

Newsletter #19 February 2007

Attack the Waste of Motion

MOTION: Employees moving around do not add value and is waste. These ‘treasure hunts’ happen when we store material away from the job or when workers must go looking for tools, material or information. Treasure hunts happen in the office, when we are looking for files, reports, reference books, current drawings, contracts or vendor catalogues. Poor planning and organization often cause this waste. It happens because we don’t have a designated place for everything. A good way to see this waste is to go to Gemba (where the work is being done) and watch.

These treasure hunts are easy to see, but hard to recognize! What I mean is that treasure hunts in construction are so common that we usually accept them as the way it is. We never question why! I was in a shop the other day and observed a man walk all the way from one end to the other, pick up a paper and walk back. A minute later he walked all the way again to pick up a pair of gloves. What waste, and he and the shop manager were oblivious to it. Watch workers in the field and you will see many treasure hunts going on all day. For each treasure hunt ask why – why do we have to go to this place or that location to get what is needed. Ask “why” five times to get at the root cause. Watching and asking why can lead to improvements by reducing motion. The 5S’s are a great tool for reducing waste.

Lean & 5S' in Construction - Newsletter #18 - January 2007

***************** Attack Waste of Over Processing
OVER-PROCESSING: This waste happens when there are unnecessary or extra steps in the process or if steps that do not create value. The more steps in any process, the more chances for mistakes in processing. In construction this waste includes over-engineering, having to have someone’s’ signature on a requisition, multiple handling of timesheets, duplicate entries on forms or data-entry fields, and getting double and triple estimates from suppliers. Over-processing is caused by a lack of standard methods or processes, by poor communication and/or poor planning. Even when a standard process exists, this waste often occurs as the process slowly changes over time and it is not updated. A good way to detect this waste is to do a value stream, or even basic processes mapping, and look at all non-value added steps. Are these steps even necessary?

***************** Attack the Waste of Transportation
This is the waste of moving materials or goods. Though often necessary, any time material or tools are moved it does not usually add value. In construction unless one is able to fabricate while transporting the material to the job, nothing is changed during the movement to add value. Sometimes the material is damaged while being transported, resulting in more waste. Transportation waste happens when we move material around the shop; when we load it on the truck or trailer; when we haul it to the jobsite; when we unload it; and when we move the material from the yard lay-down area to the installation point.

***************** Warehouse/Material Handling Savings Tips
Inventory is waste so the best approach is to get rid of it. Usually this is not entirely possible as some inventory may be necessary to ensure that the crews never have to wait on materials (waiting is also waste.) Inventory is keep to make sure you only have what is really needed and not excess. Beyond that, here are some ideas to save on material and parts storage and handing:

***************** Be a WASTE BUSTER
Over production of product is WASTE. We create waste when we produce more than the customer needs or than is needed at that time. In construction this often happens when we fabricate material too early. We do this so we can keep the shop workers busy. It happens when we stockpile material either in the warehouse or at the job site. Even estimating jobs that are not won is waste. If we print more blueprints or make more copies of a report than needed, it is overproduction and waste. Performing work ahead of schedule that interferes with other planned work is also waste. We can easily see the waste of overproduction when the job is over and there are many materials left over. We must spend more time and resources handling this excess material. Even if the vendor credits us with the returns there is still waste including all the paperwork in our and the supplier’s offices. Be a waste buster and don’t over order or do work before it is needed. Better planning by the field in ordering will also reduce waste. The Last Planner System can help field supervision learn how to effectively plan the work. How much costs are hidden in this one waste?

Newsletter August 2006 - Issue #13

**************** Inspect Your Own Work

Traditional approaches to quality control/quality assurance is “inspection.’ We typically audit, inspect and/or test at the end of the process. Often we rely on someone else to perform this inspection. Lean does not do away with inspection but changes where, when and who does it.  We want self-inspection.  The Japanese say about defective product – don’t get, don’t make it and don’t pass it on.  Do the people doing the work know if what they received is right?  Do they know when they have done their work right?  Do they know how to inspect their work to see if it is right? Are they trained sufficient in these areas? Does each worker know when he/she has installed the work right?  Is he empowered to stop the work if something is not right?  We never want to install bad product. Field workers need the knowledge, equipment and time to make sure that the product being installed is working properly.  How do you make this happen? How do you know it is happening right?

Lennox Does Lean

I had the opportunity to visit the Lennox plant in Stuttgart, Arkansas to witness first hand their lean application.  Of particular interest was their sheet metal fabrication processes.  They have about 1300 employees and each employee participates in two Kaizen (continuous improvement) events each year.  Here are some of their lean applications: