Another "Bad 5S" Example

leanblog.org | Lean Blog: Bad Lean/5S Hits the UK Media

I presented yesterday and had a great day (meeting people and learning) with the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative and their annual Lean conference. I'll write more about their story later and will be doing a podcast with their President and CEO, Dr. Thomas Evans.

During my presentation, I made the point that 5S is not about looking neat for neatness sake, it's about organizing the workplace so employees are more effective in serving customers or patients. I used the photo in the article I blogged about with the crazy "5S your desk" effort at a UK accounting firm.

During lunch, a woman from a hospital came up and told me how her husband, working as an accountant at an Iowa manufacturing company got put through the same wringer (and she gave me permission to use the story).

A new boss (apparently a control freak) came in and announced they were going to 5S their desks. They were forced into a clean desk policy and were told they could have 1 black pen, 1 blue pen, 1 pencil, etc. Family photos and personal items were banished and people were limited to one filing cabinet.

The accountant was forced to box up many files and pieces of information, bringing them home or leaving them in his car.

How "Lean" is that? Not very.

If someone needs information, imagine the scene of walking to your car in the parking lot to reference something that you used to keep in your desk. That's just insane.

I asked her if they were "doing Lean" in accounting because they were also "doing Lean" in manufacturing, without thinking about how it would help accountants work more efficiently?

"Well, they THINK they're doing Lean, but then again, they're also using Lean to drive layoffs."

Ouch.

For all of the good positive Lean examples in Iowa, it sounds like there's at least one copy-cat company who doesn't get it.

It illustrates the oft-forgotten "Respect for People" pillar of Lean and the Toyota system. How does any of the above corporate fascism show respect for people?

I'm not for messy desks and complete chaos. But, it's also possible to go completely overboard in implementing 5S the wrong way. Maybe the real issue is the organization of people's computer files or a network drive? Maybe the company needs to provide scanners and technology so people can convert boxes of information to PDFs or graphic files they can access online?

There's got to be better things to do than taking pens and pencils away from people in the name of "Lean."

When manufacturers are L.A.M.E. instead of Lean, it makes it harder for the hospital people to embrace what their spouses have brought home from their L.A.M.E. workplaces. It makes it a bit of an uphill battle, but it's a battle we can win... the fight against L.A.M.E.!!!

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LeanBlog Podcast #46 -- Dean Bliss, Lean Healthcare

Episode #46 is a chat with a good friend of the Lean Blog, Dean Bliss, a Lean Improvement Specialist with the Iowa Health System. Like myself, Dean made a transition in from manufacturing into health care a few years back, he'll share some of his experiences and recommendations for how to use Lean in a hospital and how to make that transition. He will also share some stories about how his hospital prioritized what problems to solve with the Lean methodology.

For earlier episodes, visit the main Podcast page, which includes information on how to subscribe via RSS or via Apple iTunes.

You can use the player (use the VCR-type controls) below to listen to a "streaming" version of the podcast (or click here for the streaming audio and RSS subscription). The streaming link is faster for one-time listening (hardly any delay to start listening). Or you can use the download link to put it on your iPod or other MP3 player.

MP3 File Right-Click to "Save As"

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Episode #46 Key Words and Links:

• Lean in hospitals, making a transition from manufacturing into hospitals, how to get started with Lean in a hospital, what are the differences between working with people in these different settings?
  
• Iowa Healthcare Collaborative
• World Research Group event, June 25-26
• The 2nd Annual Summit on Deploying the Toyota Production System & Lean Healthcare in Hospitals

If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at leanpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave a voicemail by calling the "Lean Line" at (817) 776-LEAN (817-776-5326) or contact me via Skype id "mgraban". Please give your location and your first name. Any comments (email or voicemail) might be used in follow ups to the podcast.

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Iowa Healthcare Leadership and Lean

Leadership Symposium (Iowa)

It sure seems like Iowa gets mentioned here on the blog quite a bit, for lean manufacturing and lean healthcare.

John Touissant, of ThedaCare (in Wisconsin), is speaking at an Iowa healthcare symposium April 22 (unfortunately, it appears to not be open to the public).

I saw Dr. Touissant speak in the UK last year, he's a very good speaker about lean and healthcare improvement.

John Toussaint, MD, is the Chief Executive Officer of ThedaCare Inc., which is composed of four hospitals, 21 clinics, home care, hospice, senior services, and behavioral health. He has been responsible for introducing the ThedaCare Improvement System, a model of continuous improvement, that is transforming ThedaCare to the same level of quality performance achieved only by manufacturing companies.

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Toyota plan aids U of I hospital efficiency

DesMoinesRegister.com

More good lean news coming out of Iowa, this time in the "lean healthcare" world there.

University Hospitals is among at least a dozen Iowa hospitals using or considering using Lean Manufacturing, a zero-waste process developed by Toyota, the Iowa Business Council reported.

Check out the article link for the full story.

Iowa and Lean, Once Again

Making Iowa more business friendly a goal for lawmakers

Iowa sure pops up quite a bit in the lean news, between Maytag and Pella, and Gov. Tom Vilsack's promotion of lean.

In this case, the Governor is trying to help promote lean throughout the state, including his own government (thanks to the Gemba Panta Rei blog).

Vilsack's plan also includes creating the Lean Manufacturing Institute, which would provide training for Iowa's manufacturers. The training would help companies focus on methods of reducing inventory, on-time delivery and higher productivity.

Here are some earlier articles referencing Iowa.

"Iowa is a Manufacturing State"

DesMoinesRegister.com

Interesting to see that Iowa's manufacturing economy is six times bigger than agriculture. It's good for people to recognize that manufacturing is important, if not critical, and it is certainly overlooked. I think that's mainly because we don't have TV shows set in factories! Manufacturing is not, and probably will never be, a "glamour" profession.

This state of Iowa report mentions lean, of course, as a core strategy. I hope the state didn't waste too much money on reports and subcomittees. The real work is done in the manufacturing shopfloors... good luck to those of you who read this from Iowa. Do you think your state is helping, or will help, or are the politicians just making noise?

Iowa manufacturing can survive: Lean manufacturing just one tool to guarantee it

DesMoinesRegister.com

More discussion about the future of Iowa manufacturing, with a focus on lean. Iowa has been hurt with recent news about Maytag, among other companies who have been scaling back or closing factories.

It's nice to see lean highlighted in a general news publication.

"Currently, Lean Enterprise processes are finding their way into Iowa health-care facilities, academia and government agencies such as the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The Lean Enterprise system shines as one of the leading initiatives employed by Iowa manufacturers today that consistently succeeds in producing effective results."

The Gemba Pantarei blog also had an item about lean government in Iowa.

Town Fears Being Hung Out to Dry By Maytag Sale

WSJ.com - (subscription required) | A free link here (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

The gist of this article is that Maytag Appliance is probably being bought out by an investment company (another article about that here). Folks in Iowa are very concerned about what that, or a foreign buyer, will mean to Newton, Iowa -- the factory jobs and headquarters jobs.

But this small story below is illustrative of the inherent conflicts we face with manufacturing globalization -- we want to benefit from cheap prices, even at the expense of our neighbors or our own jobs:

"The deal also will likely end Maytag's long resolve to keep nearly all of its manufacturing jobs in the U.S., a determination that contributed to the company's troubles and, arguably, to the current angst in Newton.

The town hasn't always helped itself. "People come in the door, and the first thing they want is cheap appliances," says Marilyn Deppe, whose husband is Don of Don's Town & Country Appliances here. In addition to Maytag ranges and washers, the store carries televisions from Japan's Toshiba Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.'s Panasonic. Mr. Deppe says he has seen local Maytag plant workers opt for less expensive Amana brand washers -- made by another Maytag division but not at the Newton plant. The Amanas run $100 to $150 less than the Newton-made Maytags, he says."

This is like GM workers buying Kia's because they're cheaper. It's amazing to see that people would be so short sighted and not buy products made at their own plant. No wonder other Americans are choosing foreign branded or foreign made appliances and that Maytag is in some financial trouble.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Forbes.com

Some stories here about the impact of lean manufacturing on two companies in Pella, Iowa. The article says, "Highly productive workers are keeping manufacturing jobs in tiny Pella, Iowa. But they're also foiling economic growth." It's not an argument that lean is driving jobs away from those two companies. In fact, they have increased employment by 650 employees over the past 12 months. Other companies are scared away because the resulting labor market is so tight, some claim. With all of the other plants that have closed around Iowa, I'm not sure if I understand or buy the main point of the article. But, either way, there are some details about those companies' lean success.

Lean Training through Iowa Community Colleges

The Waterloo Cedar-Falls Courier Online!

Here's a nice example of some community lean training. The wider we can spread these ideas, the stronger our local business communities and economies will be. It's not just the John Deeres of the world who can benefit from lean. Rather than government subsidies and tax incentives, it would be nice to see our local and state governments sponsor training that can help make companies of all sizes more efficient -- which is better for their long run success than being propped up without being given tools to get better.