Machiavellian Lean

Was Niccolo Machiavelli a Lean thinker? He was a political figure in Italy during the Renaissance, and his writings have become a guide of sorts for the aggressive and power-hungry. In fact, the term "Machiavellian" is often associated with the tactics of tyrranical despots and fascists. Niccolo doesn't sound like a good candidate for a Lean thinker, does he? Well, many of Machiavelli's teachings do directly contradict the Lean pillar of "respect for people," but I found a few things in his writings that sounded Lean:

"One of the best, most effective expedients would be for the conqueror to go live [in the conquered area] in person...[so that he] can detect trouble at the start and deal with it immediately."

This sounds a lot like the Lean principle of genchi genbutsu, or going to see the real situation for yourself. This is one of the most important facets of Lean thinking, and is the centerpiece of Toyota's management philosophy. Machiavelli also teaches the power of developing your own internal capabilities, rather than relying on "outsourcing" or temporary labor:

"Wise princes...have always shunned auxiliaries and made use of their own forces. They have preferred to lose battles with their own forces than win them with others, in the belief that no true victory is possible with alien arms."

Self-reliance and employee development are two major focuses of the Toyota Way, and of any good Lean philosophy. While many of Machiavelli's teachings are way out of line with Lean thinking, some of his insights are very appropriate to the Lean mindset. Do you agree?

Improvement at our Ft. Worth Plant

Our Ft. Worth plant has recently made a big improvement. I had the opportunity to visit this plant yesterday, and I snapped a few photos:

Here's their new wall-build area, which is now raised to the level of the house floor:

Here's are some close-ups:

Before the improvement, the wall-builders would set a few walls on a cart, which would be hoisted onto the floor and sorted through by the wall-setters. Now, there is no need to "batch" the walls in this manner. Walls can be "pulled" from the racks one at a time, which is much more conducive to creating flow. Over time, the inventory of finished walls in the rack can be reduced. This will lead to better connectivity between the wall-build and wall-set departments, and thus all of the benefits of flow (preventative problem-solving, more space, quicker detection of defects, shorter lead times, etc.).

The improvement at Ft. Worth is not a Lean improvement per se, but I think it sets the stage for future Lean improvements. Do you have any examples like this that you'd like to share?

Toyota Way Fieldbook (Part 3)

In a previous post, I discussed the "continuous improvement spiral" from The Toyota Way Fieldbook, and went into the first step, "stability." In this post, I'll go into the second step, "create flow."

Once processes are stabilized through implementation of the 6S's and elimination of big wastes and obstacles (machinery breakdowns, employee problems, poor quality, disorganization, shortages, etc.), we can look at creating flow.

What is flow? Flow is the ideal of how an order should move from process A to process B. Flow is trying to avoid having an order stored in a rack (inventory), stopped for rework (defects), or delayed because of any of the other 7 wastes.

Why is flow a positive thing? When work flows across processes, orders get to the customer quicker and at lower cost. This is the most tangible result. Another deeper and more valuable reason to have process flow is that it brings problems to the surface. When there is no buffer between processes, any little problem has the potential to shut down the process and eventually the entire production line. This is a great motivator to identify problems and solve them before they bite you in the butt. There's a reason why Toyota refers to TPS as the Thinking Production System; you have to use your head to keep the line rolling.

How do you create flow? First, make sure that you've properly stabilized the processes that are to be linked. If the cycle times of the processes can't make Takt time, then they aren't ready for flow. If they're truly ready, then go about linking the processes together. When doing this, the rule is to "flow where you can, pull where you must." Aligning processes side-by-side in a cellular flow is the ideal, but if that's currently not feasible, install a pull system.

What is a pull system? A pull system is just an agreement on how a downstream process is to notify an upstream process of when they need more of something. Upstream only produces when signaled by downstream. Many variants of pull systems exist: supermarket pull (stock parts, use kanban to signal for replenishment), sequenced pull (pull from a sequenced feeder), and FIFO sequenced flow (just like flow, but with a small buffer). The key is to constantly reduce the buffers and ultimately approach one-piece flow.

Once processes are connected via one-piece flow and pull systems, problems will be surfaced. These problems must be addressed and eliminated through the use of problem-solving skills. When these problems are removed, the processes will be left in a much better condition. The newly improved processes will be more reliable, more efficient, and much flexible. With the extreme variety that we have in our product offering, these are all necessities.

Toyota Way Fieldbook (Part 2)

Previously, I described the "continuous improvement spiral" that I read about in The Toyota Way Fieldbook. The four steps involved with the spiral are: 1) stabilize, 2) create flow, 3) standardize, and 4) level incrementally. Now, I'll delve into the first step a little further.

Stabilizing a process means getting it ready for the rigors of flow. Instability can show up in many forms, including:

• machinery breakdowns ("the foam-seal machine frequently breaks down")


• employee problems ("we always have one guy out every day")


• poor quality ("we've always got one guy on the back line working off gigs")


• disorganization ("my air hose is usually over there, but somebody took it")


• shortages ("we always run out of the right color of formica")

Unstable processes are not ready to be challenged by flow, so the initial focus has to be on stabilizing a process. So, how do we do this? According to the Fieldbook, the first step is to "stand in the circle" and observe the work. From this, you should be able to define the basic steps of the process, record the cycle time for each step, and draw a picture of the work area and the movement of manpower/material within it. This type of analysis puts you in a good position to identify "no-brainer" improvements. Once this initial low-hanging fruit is plucked, you can use workplace organization (basic stuff) and 5S (a little more advanced), and other tools to further eliminate waste. Once multiple operations/processes are stabilized, then you can connect them together to create flow. Flow should not be attempted before processes are stabilized, because the risk of failure would be great.

Are your processes ready for flow?

Toyota Way Fieldbook (Part 1)

I'm reading The Toyota Way Fieldbook. I'm through a few chapters now, and the most interesting concept that I've come across is the "continuous improvement spiral" discussed in chapter 3. Basically, it's a pattern of improvement (described below) that gets repeated over and over again, each time taking you deeper into the spiral (click here for an example of a spiral, have fun). The repeating pattern consists of 4 steps:

1) Stabilize = get the process ready for the intensity of flow by eliminating any process breakdowns (5S is one step towards achieving stability)

2) Create flow = move away from isolated processes to connected/interdependent processes (creating "pull" relationships is one step towards achieving flow)

3) Standardize = document the new process so that it can be improved upon by others, use visuals where possible (not intended to be a how-to-guide for installers)

4) Level incrementally = force the weak link in the process chain to break by "tightening the belt" (increasing production levels, reducing WIP buffers, adding more variety to the product mix, etc.)

Each time you perform step 4, instability will be created (processes will not be able to keep up due to hidden problems) and a new turn into the spiral will be needed. The result of this self-inflicted misery is a Lean process with a lot more capacity and reliability. In future posts, I'll discuss other aspects of the "Lean spiral."

Palm Harbor & Principle #1

I just saw an article from Forbes.com that lists Palm Harbor Homes, Inc. as #8 in a study of the most trustworthy companies in terms of "accounting transparency and fair dealing to stake-holders during 2006." (click here to read the full article). As usual, I can see this in Lean terms.

Specifically, this exemplifies Principle #1 of The Toyota Way: "base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial goals." Corporate credibility and reputation are long-term assets that trump any short-term gains that could be conjured by "cookin' the books." As an advocate of Lean principles and an employee of Palm Harbor, I am excited to see things being done the right way around here.

Book Club: "The Toyota Way" Chapter 14

Summary: Chapter 14 of The Toyota Way discusses principle #8: use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes. Toyota views technology as a tool to support their people. Before acquiring any sort of technology, careful consideration is given to the effect that it will have on their processes. If a machine does not support flow, in-station quality, safety, or any of the other ideals of Lean, then it is not purchased.

1) Before adopting new technology, Toyota will go to what lengths to analyze the impact it may have on existing processes (pg. 160)?

2) Is Toyota totally independent of modern technology (pg. 161)?

3) Describe Mikio Kitano's viewpoint on information technology's place in a manufacturing environment (pg. 162).

4) Recount Toyota's problems with technology at the Chicago Parts Distribution Center (pg. 163).

5) Discuss Toyota's use of technology in their product development system (pg. 165). Specifically, how did they utilize jidoka and standardization wthin this system (pg. 165)?

6) Recount Toyota's technological breakthrough called the "blue sky system" (pg. 166-167). How did this system improve flow (pg. 167)?

7) How much time per day does the VP of Manufacturing spend on the shop floor (pg. 167)? What benefits are there from spending so much time on the shop floor (pg. 167)?

8) How much cost analysis did Toyota do before implementing the "blue sky system" (pg. 168)?

Please feel free to add any additional topics for discussion.

6S in the Frame Shop (Part 5)

Here are some additional improvements that we made to our Frame Shop since we performed the 6S event:

We created new labels for our materials that are much more visual than the previous ones. They include lots of information about the material, such as the common name, the inventory name, the inventory number, and a photo of the item:

We also posted a visual control board in the Frame Shop close to the tool locker. The associates will be responsible for checking the first 4S's (Sort, Safety, Set-In-Order, and Shine), the supervisor will check the fourth S (Standardize) to ensure that the first 4 are being systematically maintained, and the production manager will check the 6th S (Sustain) to ensure that the entire system is working correctly. This visual control board will allow us to see at a glance whether the 6S's are being properly maintained.

Additionally, we posted a "6S Success" display board in our break area. It has general information concerning the 6S's, a schedule of 6S events, and highlights from our Frame Shop event.

6S in Rough Plumbing (Part 1)

We are in the process of making improvements in our Rough Plumbing area, where we pre-build water lines assemblies and drain-lines that the Floor Department installs in the floor cavity. This area is located on a second level mezzanine adjacent to the Floor Department. When we first assessed this area, we saw some obvious issues:

1) There was no good way to stock long material (i.e. 20' water lines) due to the lack of forklift access. The installer had to carry the unwieldy material upstairs by hand and lay it on the ground haphazardly.

2) Due to all of this material laying around and a large work table sitting in a poor spot, the large space felt cramped.

3) The stairway location was a safety hazard because visibility was always blocked at the bottom of the stairs by material being used by the Floor Department.

4) Material was disorganized and poorly labeled, and there was a lot of overstock.

5) The tables, walls, and flooring needed refurbishing.

Before we could do a typical 6S event, we needed to make some changes to the layout of the area:

1) We tore out the two old work tables and rebuilt them. This time, the table that had been in an inconvenient location was located against the wall (like the other table) instead of in the middle of the floor. This created a lot of space for working, walking, and delivering finished plumbing sub-assemblies to the Floor Department.

2) We repaired a damaged and uneven area of the floor.

3) We relocated the stairway to a safer location. As a side-effect, this freed up a lot of room for the Floor Department below to store material underneath the stairs. Also, by moving the stairs we were able to create an access for pulling long-stock material out of a rack (see #4 below).

4) We fabricated a storage rack for the long-stock material. Its location is forklift accessible, which means that the installer no longer has to spend time and energy moving this awkward material upstairs. The end of the rack is butted against an access window leading to the Rough Plumbing area, so the installer can easily pull the material from the end and take it to his work tables.

Now that we have made the necessary changes to the layout of the area, we are ready to do a 6S event. As with all 6S projects, our goal will be to stabilize the process and make waste visible. I will provide details in upcoming posts.

Book Club: "The Toyota Way" Chapter 13

Summary: Chapter 13 of The Toyota Way discusses principle #7, "use visual control so no problems are hidden." A basic characteristic of a Lean process is the use of visuals that allow communication to occur immediately and constantly. Whether they be helpful pieces of information needed to perform a task, or progress boards showing the status of different projects, visuals are simple, yet intelligent ways of managing processes. Here are the discussion topics:

1) Talk about the traditional mentality of "firefighting" that exists in the manufacturing world (pg. 149).

2) Go into detail on each of the 5S's (pg. 150). What role does a 5S program serve in Lean (pg. 151-152)?

3) What is a visual control (pg. 152)? Give some examples (pg. 153).

4) Describe the "process control board" that Toyota uses in its Hebron parts warehouse (pg. 153-155).

5) Recount the example of how Toyota demands 5S attributes in an office environment (pg. 156).

6) Describe an "obeya" (pg. 156).

7) Typically, what does an "A3" report include (pg. 157)? What size are these reports (pg. 157)?

8) Discuss Toyota's hesitancy to adopt technology at the expense of visual control (pg. 157-158).

Pleae feel free to add any additional topics for discussion in next week's training session.