Progressive Lean: Sort and Shine: Wrap Up
Well, I've given you all the pieces you need to get this phase of Progressive Lean done. What now? Well, like it says on the shampoo bottle: "Rinse and Repeat".
What I mean by that is that, even with all the pieces in place and working well, you'll find that you have to be persistent and patient. You'll need to walk the shop floor daily to see how things are going. You'll need to meet at least weekly with the team leaders and supervisors. You'll need to keep the Steering Committee updated week by week. You'll need to have lots of conversations with everyone to make sure they understand what's going on and what their own roles are.
It's tempting to think, "Why do we need to do all this? It's sorting and shining for gosh sakes! Just give them the basics and they'll do it." And, in many cases, you'll be correct. But there will be barriers aplenty and ignoring them will just cause the initiative to fail. Here are some of the barriers your attentiveness and perseverance will overcome:
What I mean by that is that, even with all the pieces in place and working well, you'll find that you have to be persistent and patient. You'll need to walk the shop floor daily to see how things are going. You'll need to meet at least weekly with the team leaders and supervisors. You'll need to keep the Steering Committee updated week by week. You'll need to have lots of conversations with everyone to make sure they understand what's going on and what their own roles are.
It's tempting to think, "Why do we need to do all this? It's sorting and shining for gosh sakes! Just give them the basics and they'll do it." And, in many cases, you'll be correct. But there will be barriers aplenty and ignoring them will just cause the initiative to fail. Here are some of the barriers your attentiveness and perseverance will overcome:
- Not understanding what has to be done,
- Not having time to do what needs to be done,
- Conflicting demands ("You say I have to sort and shine but the production manager says I gotta run parts!"),
- Apathy or "Laying low until it all blows over" syndrome,
- Lack of follow through and reinforcement on management's part,
- Loss of early energy, onset of ennui
With all this in mind, it's best to give Sort and Shine some time to take hold. Don't move too quickly to Straighten and See.
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