Reminder - Week 1 Muda Walk

This week’s theme is the Waste of Waiting.

Hopefully by now you have had a chance to look for Muda.  Lean is about “knowing by seeing” not just “thinking we know” - you must GO and SEE.  Here are some of the observations Muda walkers saw last year, have you seen similar?

• Crews having to wait or return to complete a job due to the warehouse running out of material.
• Need a Kanban * system? Eyeballing the shelves does not seem to work.
• Crews having to wait until the morning of for instructions on where to go next. They are forced to load job specific material for next task that morning.
• Crews waiting on information/instruction from office about a particular job. The wait takes place due to the difficulty of finding job folders in a paper environment or by not providing timely action (waiting until the last minute or neglecting to answer the cell phone).
• Crews having to wait for a material delivery from vendor. Vendors are backordering a lot of necessary material to complete a phase or job.
• Controls vendors are not giving the owner/operator adequate control of control systems.  If a simple set-point needs to be changed at a site, most of the time, it requires a phone call to the vendor.  If the vendor is not there, it requires another phone call.  If trial and error is required, then multiple more phone calls are required to the vendor to make necessary adjustments.
  

Here are some ways to reduce waiting include:

• Use the Last Planner System ** and make sure all tasks are ready (CAN DO) to be done prior to committing to do them.
• Schedule shop deliveries so the crews have what they need when they need it. (Giving the shop the real need times helps.)
• Arrange the shop flow so that pieces go from one tool to the next without waiting on tables or the floor in batches.
• Use the 5S’s to organize the work area/gang boxes so that any tool or piece of equipment can be found quickly. (Use the 30-second test.)
• Sort out un-necessary parts, tools, materials, etc, so they don’t clutter the work area and slow the FLOW.
• Apply a Kanban system to consumable parts and material so that crews never run out while working but do not have excessive inventory.  Use Min/Max lines, dual bins, or other simple techniques.
• Design the yard layout area so that material deliveries come in one end and exit another.  Backing up is waste and unsafe.
• Reduce the size of material orders delivered from the shop or vendor to the site so that the material can easily be unloaded and quickly installed.
• Make sure all equipment (drills, meters, etc.) are in working order prior to starting the shift.
• Map out the steps in your process and look at where delays (waiting) happen.  Determine the root cause and work to make value flow.

Remember one hour of watching for Muda. Record your improvements.  
Post your observation here.

Muda Walk Week 1 - 08/30 to 9/03 – Look for the Waste of Waiting

Welcome to Muda Walk for a Month

This is your first week to do a Muda Walk. The theme is the Waste of Waiting. We want value to flow and never wait.

When employees, equipment or even customers are WAITING, it is waste. They may be waiting on processes or other equipment to finish work or for an upstream activity to be completed. Examples of this waste are when crews are waiting for inspections, field instructions, another trade or material; when a worker is waiting for the coil line to fabricate material; or when payroll is waiting for late time sheets. Waiting in the field can happen due to incomplete material deliveries, unanswered RFIs or a failure of another trade to be reliable in fulfilling a commitment. Waiting is often caused by poor communications between the field, support functions and/or suppliers; when people are unsure what is to be done; and/or because of poor coordination between trades.

During every Muda walk this week look for waiting and drive to the root cause to eliminate it.  We want the material to FLOW to installation with no or as little waiting as possible.  Talk with your employees – ask them:

• What creates waiting?
• What keeps them from doing the work?
• What barriers get in their way?
  

Remember that every problem they surface is real to them. Thank them for bring it up. Let them know it is a legitimate problem and you are serious about helping them to solve it. Solve immediately if you can.  Being listened to and seeing action will build trust and they will share more ideas with you.

Remember try to do a Muda Walk for one hour each day.  If you can’t do that - do what you can.
Record your improvements.
Best wishes in spotting Muda.

What wastes do you see here?

Muda Walk Practice - Picture 2

What waste do you see in this picture?

Practice for Muda Walk for a Month

What waste (Muda) do you see? Why?

Muda Walk for a Month is Coming

Muda Walk for a Month is Coming
There has never been a better time to attack waste and increase productivity. One study estimates that 57% of the time in construction is waste! Reducing waste can make you more competitive. The Fourth Annual Muda Walk for a Month is coming this September.  This event is not just about driving out Muda (Japanese for waste), but is to create a culture of continuous improvement. High-performing contractors thrive on continuous improvement. Last year one contractor had all of his project managers participate in this event and they discovered many improvements.

How it works - during September I will email participants the weekly theme to use while doing a Muda (waste) walk in one’s company. The walk may be at a job site, in the shop, office or even a service truck. During the walk, participants will look for ways to eliminate waste and improve operations. The Muda Walk challenge is to do a walk at least one hour a week and best if it is done one hour each day.  That may sound like a hard commitment to make, but those who invested the time in past years have reaped useful rewards.  I ask that participants log the problems and improvements, and share them with me at the end of the month.

This is a free service, but participants must sign up by Aug 27, 2010. The first week of the Muda walk will start on August 30th.  To register, just email your request to dennis@YourQSS.com