Let the workplace speak

What is it that Jim Womack and Dan Jones overlooked—and what has that got to do with 5S? When the authors

published Lean Thinking in 1996, they offered the world a book that codified the core principles of a key

operational model. Though not stated directly, they created a profile for the Toyota Production System that was

revelatory and highly useful, adding a deeper logic to JIT, standard work, kanban, load leveling, and other

associated operational mechanisms.

The impact of that book (and its model) was nothing short of dazzling. Its elements work—and work well

together. Finally, a way of contemplating the war on waste (muda) that is drawn broadly enough for it to apply

not just to many work venues—but to any work venue. This was a coup and a contribution of a very high order.

Plus the lean thinking model positions marketing and sales as a partner to operations, a surprise to many at the

time.

Five principles are noted: value, the value stream, flow, pull, and perfection. Who could argue with those? So

then: What is the problem? The problem is: As a model, what Womack and Jones defined remains incomplete.

A principle is left out. As such, the problem is one of omission, not commission. Interestingly, the omitted

“thing” was (and is) invisible to most eyes anyway—the principle of visual information sharing.

If—like our authors—you think of the visual workplace as a series of point solutions, albeit clever, relevant, and

useful, you will miss my meaning. You will see such visual devices as kanban, andon, color-coding, and the

like, as enablers—tools that support value, the value stream, flow, pull, and perfection. You are not wrong on a

micro-level; those tools are enablers. But you are missing the level of principle: that workplace visuality is a

system first. More than that, it is a system of systems. Further still, the visual workplace is the very ground in

which those systems reside. Now we are getting closer to the heart of it, the point.

All work is the translation of information into exact behavior—the behavior of people, the behavior of

machines, the behaviors of the OEM and of its supply chain, and other such pairings. Workplace visuality is the

very ground in which the stream of value we call work exists. Let me put it another way. The conversion of

material (or thought) into greater value—some product or service the customer is willing to pay for—requires

two core ingredients: information (e.g., specs, work instructions, etc.) and a physical locale. Even when that

work is computer-based, the implements of that work are physical.

The required marriage of information and physicality is what makes the visual workplace a required operational

principle. Lean, with standard work as organizer, does a remarkable job in identifying and shrinking flow

distance and flow time, namely the value stream. But if that information is not physically imbedded—the stream

of value unravels.

A Publication of Improvement Initiatives, LLC (480) 820-0877 Projectz! 2017

Q1

Seeing Improvement with "Visuality" Dr. Galsworth provides insight ...

"Vision comes first, then transformation. Before you begin the visual journey, choose a location that can serve as your vision place. Think of McDonald's, the airport, local library, multiplex cinema, office supply store or, my favorite, Disneyland."

Dr. Gwendolyn Galsworth from Visual Workplace/Visual Thinking

Excerpt from her series on "Lean Alone is Not Enough" —

Page 2 of 8

This is bedrock. Information-in-the-workplace literally defines the five lean principles that Womack and Jones

set forth in their ground-breaking book. Made visual, that information becomes an active partner in realizing

those five. How? By imbedding them.

Hidden in plain sight, visual information sharing is the platform on which lean happens. That is why I say that

visuality is not just a principle of lean thinking but its equal and powerful partner on the journey to operational

excellence.

The active partnership between visual and lean is the only way that destination can be achieved — and

sustained.

And so when in 1996 Jim and Dan placed 5S as the first step on the journey to lean and spoke to the importance

of “transparency in everything,” I assumed, however wrongly, that they too had discovered the impeccable logic

that makes the visual workplace indispensable to the war on waste; that they knew visuality is the very ground in

which the principles of their new model must reside.

However, just because they omitted the pivotal principle of visuality doesn’t mean you have to.

Here are some examples:

Without the logic of visuality, in fact, the stream of value can be only partly found.

The purpose of visuality is to imbed the gross and minute details of your operational system

into the living landscape of work—because those details are the work.

Let the workplace speak

ABOUT Visuality

Most people hold a vision of the visual workplace that is entirely too small. They think of it as a series of

point solutions that are helpful, maybe even clever, but that’s about it. Yet, in fact, visuality has the sweep

and power to totally transform a workplace, and take a company to new levels of competency and profit.

Let’s take a look at some important things you may not know.

1. Visuality is a language. It is a complete, imbedded system of information detail that can capture and

make functional the elements of your current operational system. This is as true in health care and offices as

it is in manufacturing, food processing or an open-pit mine. On its most effective level, the visual workplace

allows you and your company to see how you think—and where the gaps are. The words and grammar of

your new imbedded language are visual devices and visual systems. The result? A workplace that speaks—

whatever the venue—along with dramatic increases in productivity, quality, safety, and the satisfaction of

employees and customers alike.

2. Lean does not include visual; they are equal partners. Visual partners closely with lean by imbedding

improvement gains into the physical workplace. Like two wings of a bird, visual and lean need each other—

in equal and balanced synergy. Neither is more important; they are of equal importance. There is

understandable confusion on this point because nearly every early training session on lean has a built-in 5S

module, which has a small visual component. This leads us to mistakenly believe that lean includes visual. It

does not. Visuality, on one hand, builds operational information into the physical work environment,

enabling people and machines to work with greater precision because they are each increasingly self-

regulating. Lean, by contrast, defines and directs the flow of work that visual spells out, dramatically

reducing lead-time and flow distance.

3. Visuality puts 5S on steroids, and goes on from there. To put a finer point to it, in over 30 years of

researching and implementing visuality, I have never found a more powerful approach for empowering and

aligning the workforce—not just value-add employees but all employees, including managers and executives.

When you liberate information, you liberate the human will. In fact, applying 5S solely within the context of

lean not only gives us a false belief that we are implementing workplace visuality, it also vastly reduces the

impact that so-called “5S” can contribute to the company’s journey to excellence, both in terms of improved

KPIs and employee engagement.

4. Visuality provides a wholesale upgrade of your expectations and results.. Nearly without exception,

we see a 15% to 30% increase in productivity on the micro or departmental level. Partner that with lean on

the macro level and those results are stabilized and actually hit the bottom line. Effectively deployed,

visuality populates your operational landscape with hundreds, even thousands, of visual devices and visual

mini-systems that entirely re-define the way work gets done, waste is reduced, employees are involved,

customers are served, and profit is made in your organization.

5. Visual Thinking becomes a new core competency in your organization. Visuality offers the promise of

excellence as a way of doing business, as part of daily work. That excellence is founded upon the emergence

of a new core competency in the corporation, one that we call visual thinking. Simply defined, visual

thinking is the ability of each employee to recognize motion and the information deficits that cause it—and

then to eliminate both through solutions that are visual. Done iteratively, cycle after cycle, the enterprise and

every cabinet, desk, machine, tool, wall, and bench speaks with a clear and precise voice—your voice, the

voice of the enterprise.

Page 4 of 8

From MODERN MACHINE SHOP ...

A “Visual Workplace” Can Improve Your Productivity

WAYNE CHANESKI Executive Director, Center for Manufacturing Systems, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Over the years, I have found visual signals to be an effective means of communicating in a plant environment. Unfortunately, many companies complicate communication with detailed instructions that consist mostly of written words. Although we have all heard the expression “a picture is worth a thousand words,” we do not necessarily take advantage of the power of pictures and other visual signals in the workplace. If we did, we would encounter fewer misunderstandings and discover a workplace that is easier to manage.

There are many types of visual signals. Whichever type you choose, consider the following suggestions:

Make the signal obvious and easy to see from a distance. When it comes to visual signals, the larger and brighter the better. Employees should not have to walk up to the signal in order to understand it.

Ensure that information is on or near the item to which it relates. To avoid confusion, ask yourself if the message is really located properly. Make the signal clear to anyone. Regardless of a person’s language, a visual signal is just that—a key to get something accomplished. Avoid words, if possible, and replace them with pictures, charts, cartoons or whatever it takes to convey the message to anyone. The ideal signal will automatically spark some type of action. Nothing has to be permanent—if it doesn’t work well, change it later. The point here is to try something. Things do not have to be permanently marked. Changes can be made based on worker feedback.

One of the simplest and yet most effective types of visual signals is the shadow board. This device is well named, as it uses the shadow of a particular item to indicate where that item should go. Just as important, the shadow clearly indicates when the item is not there. Many of us have used the shadow board concept at home, perhaps in our garages or basement workshops. The outline of a hammer on a pegboard, for example, is a visual signal indicating where that hammer belongs. Some companies are avid about the use of shadow boards and make it part of the daily cleanup procedure to ensure that all tools are properly located on these boards.

(continued on next page ...)

Let the workplace speak

The use of color is another effective visual signal that communicates important information quickly. OSHA has defined safety color codes, such as yellow for caution, red for fire protection equipment and emergency stop controls, orange for machine danger points, green for safety equipment and blue for equipment being worked on.

Another example of the use of color is in the identification of raw material bar stock. Colors on the end of the bar stock indicate material type. At a glance, employees can determine if the color-coded materials have been mixed. Color can also be effective in grouping tools together. Certain size punches and dies can be color coded to ensure that they stay together. Color coding is also helpful in handling components for different types of products. One company that makes pumps uses blue totes to hold all components for one type of pump, red to hold components for another type and yellow to hold the components for a third type of pump. Even the pump names have adopted unofficial titles that include the color designations.

Visual signals can be used to communicate inventory replenishment information. For example, sheet stock can be stored next to a wall with lines drawn on it to represent minimum and maximum quantities. When the quantity of sheets reaches the level of the lowest line, material is reordered. The higher line represents the maximum stacking height line, assuring sheets are kept at or below this level. This is a simple yet effective means for managing the storage of sheet stock.

Lines marked on a floor or worktable are effective signals for indicating areas where items should be stored. The floor lines generally indicate inventory storage locations, while lines on a table indicate areas where tools, supplies or fixtures are stored. Lines on the floor are also helpful in indicating where doors swing open. Again, a visual signal like this will tell workers that nothing should be placed in an area that can interfere with the path of a door.

Think of some visual signals you can use in your plant to easily communicate information to the workforce. Make them simple enough for anyone to understand, regardless of language barriers.

Visual signals are an effective way to communicate. The simpler the signal, the less chance for misunderstanding, which is a leading cause of production problems.

A "Visual Workplace" continued ...

Page 6 of 8

We then developed a walking schedule – where everyone was given a time of day to walk the

dog – based on preferences, age appropriateness, and safety. I took the morning shift because I

am always up early. My son took the night shift because he is way braver than any of us girls.

My daughters Root Cause continued ...

divided up the afterschool shifts. We also agreed on what a walk meant – it wasn’t just a run

over to the parking lot, it meant going down the road a little ways.

TIPS AND TRICKS

It is important that you are able to clearly describe the problem before you drill down to

the root cause.

Write it down!

If you can write it down easily using simple words – you’ve probably captured it.

Make sure you involve the people impacted or are impacted by the problem to participate

with the exploration of the root cause. Focus on the problem, not the people.

Getting down to the root cause of an issue takes some thinking. The first step is to really clearly

state what the problem is. It is said that a problem well stated is a problem half solved.

The key to getting a clear description of a problem is to talk about the issue at hand as a family.

Trying to get it down into a simple sentence is really important.

Examples:

The shoes, backpacks and coats lying around the front door clutter up the front door

entrance, causing frustration for everyone and can result in an injury for someone coming

into or exiting our house.

Meg is having accidents in our house creating a messy, smelly situation for us to clean up

and bad habits for the dog.

In each of the problem descriptions above, I have underlined a part of the sentence. The

underlined part is the “so what??”. The “so what” really captures why the behavior is a

problem. If you can describe the presenting situation and identify why it is a problem, your

family can now start tackling the root cause.

The food for thought is…sometimes we jump to solutions, but it’s okay to stop and re-think

what we are doing. Finding out the root cause of the issue together as a family can create a rich

family bonding that pulls people closer together and resolves issues!!

"a picture is worth a thousand words" ...

Let the workplace speak

Definition

Visuality 1: the quality

or state of being visual or

visible : visibility. 2 : a

mental image or picture :

view, glimpse.

Page 8 of 8

Get to know the experts in your field and learn from them.

MEET DR. GWENDOLYN GALSWORTH

Recognized as a foremost visual workplace expert, Dr. Galsworth has been

implementing visuality for over 30 years in some of the world’s best and most

complex companies.

As a hands-on implementer, coach, and author, she has focused on codifying the

visual workplace — its concepts, principles, and technologies — into a single,

coherent sustainable framework of knowledge and know-how.

ABOUT Visual Thinking Inc. and The Visual-Lean® Institute

Established by Gwendolyn Galsworth in 1991, Visual Thinking Inc. (formerly Quality

Methods International/QMI) is a training and implementation company, specializing

in expert knowledge and know-how on workplace visuality. We bring those to you in

the form of our books, DVDs, Online Training Systems, implementation protocol,

train-the-trainer workshops, and other on-line and on-site services.

The Visual-Lean® Institute is our educational arm. Established in 2005, our Institute

trains and certifies in-house trainers and outside consultants in our core visual

workplace courses. Any of our train-the-trainer courses can be scheduled: 1) On-site

for your trainers only; or 2) in a mixed-company group elsewhere. Each is taught in

person by Dr. Galsworth and includes a complete package of instructional materials,

including the associated suite of Online modules.

With nearly 30 years of hands-on experience implementing the visual workplace—

and over 35,000 actual visual solutions in our database—our commitment is to

provide you with the knowledge, know-how, skills, understanding, and confidence

you need to turn your organization into a fully-functioning visual enterprise…where

what is supposed to happen does happen because of visual solutions.

Let the workplace speak. Get more info at ... http://www.visualworkplace.com/

Copy and paste this tag directly in your browser for hundreds of visual examples:

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&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiwq_-

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LEARN MORE about VISUAL CULTURE beyond the workplace: http://faculty.georgetown.edu/irvinem/visualarts/Intro-VisualCulture.html