Lunch n’ Learn

Simple Visuals in the Workplace

Welcome !

Simple Visuals

Work Better

Imagine a World Without…

• Street signs• Addresses• Scores during a game• Organized grocery aisles• Air traffic controls• Drive-through fast food restaurants

Visuals are all around us !Probably wouldn’t watch a sports game if they didn’t keep “the score”…Also, think of international RED CROSS (symbol)

A Lean Culture…

• encourages all workers to contribute ideas,• responds quickly to suggestions for improvement,• provides a collaborative learning environment,• seeks perfection in its products, services and

processes, • and enjoys the visible support of all employees and

leaders

Example of a Simple Visual(Flowchart of Suggestion Submittal Process)

A Lean Culture…• Focuses on the customer and employees need to understand who the

customer is. (They have internal customers also.) – How they serve the external customer is directly tied to how they treat each other

internally.• Is totally committed to continuous improvement:

– For this kind of commitment to occur, all employees need to be involved with various improvement initiatives.

– This means keeping them enthused about the process and creating a receptive environment for them to make suggestions and take (some) risks.

• Communicates a clear vision for the company to all employees.– Senior management needs to identify the vision and help employees understand

how their daily tasks relate to the vision.• Ensures everyone knows their roles by setting clear standards and

expectations. – The expected behaviors within the organization need to be spelled out. It should be

clear that the (new, improved) culture is now customer-focused, and that the commitment to continuous improvement is genuine

Visual Management My definition of Visual Management is the process of creating a workplace that has eliminated information deficit.

It is the process of creating an environment where things are obvious from the minute you walk into the area.

Visual Management

Visual Management is achieved by inserting time saving, useful information or clues into the workplace in a way that flows naturally with the value adding steps of the product or service.

Visual Management helps to make jobs easier.

It helps us to eliminate the wasteful motion involved in searching for information or items that should be there when we need them.

Guidelines• Charts & signs must be visible at a

distance.• They should be directed toward a

group, not individuals.• Visuals should communicate a

standard and performance to that standard.

• Involve all employees in the visual management process.

• Do not use visual management as a means to control or punish:– Drive to solve problems in a

blameless environment.

ExplanationsSigns/ Labels: Show Where Tools, Inventory, etc. Must Go

White Demarcations: Tape or Paint Marks Off Pathways, Inventory Locations, etc.

Red Lines/ Floor Marks: Show Where Inventory Should Be Stocked to (No Higher) -

Sometimes Written on Storage Area

Add-ons: When Abnormalities Occur, Mounted Andons (Alarm Lamps)

Will Alert Supervisors to the Problem Immediately

Explanations

Production Boards: Show Required & Actual Outputs for an Area

Standardized Work Chart: Easy-to-Read Graphical Representation of Process Layouts, Work Procedures, etc

Standard Work(Laminated)

Meeting Room set-up• Wireless connection• Conference Calling

More types of Visuals• Red Tag Strategy (5S Program)• Sign boarding• Line Demarcations

– Floors & Aisles– Stack Height Limits

• Kanban (Office and Factory environment)• Standard Worksheets (work instructions)• Defective Item Displays

More types of Visuals• Fluid level Markings• Direction of rotation for motors• Lube-point identification• Storage locations – Tools, cleaning supplies, forklifts, material

storage, etc• Heat sensor stickers• Charts showing normal operating ranges• Error prevention boards – Show best practices on common

errors

Simple Visuals, Simple Rules

• A mislabeled item or location is worse than an unlabeled item.

• If there is an existing standard, use it. (Recycling bins, for example, are blue.)

• Don’t keep what you can’t use. Discard it.

Color CodingPurpose:

Identify critical items, parts and areas within factories with common colors to allow any employee or visitor to easily understand Safety or production requirements in each of our different businesses.

Drive Performance

• Visuals are about information and people, targeting waste on a local or micro level.

• The technologies of the visual workplace translate information deficits into visual devices (clues) and systems that populate the work environment, enabling people to execute the standards formulated by lean into performance that is both precise and complete.

Production Charts

CorrectiveActionStatus

Monthly pareto’sWhere do we need to focus?

Internally?Supplier?

What is the major defect?Who is working on it?

Drive Safety

• Effectively and comprehensively implemented, workplace visuality does something more than simply enable lean outcomes.

• It makes them sustainable.

Certified First Aid Providers

Drive AccountabilityI saw one hospital use these visual timers to help make hourly rounding visual (answering the question of “how long since this patient has been rounded on?).

If the standard is at least every 60 minutes, the clock can make this visual. The left clock says it’s been 20 minutes since rounding. The one on the right says that the hour is up. If rounding is not occurring often enough, leaders need to ask why.

Really!?!

Drive Communication*Here’s a photo, a screen grab I took from a WSJ video, that shows the “do not disturb” side:

And here’s a photo, via Etihad, of the green side that says “wake me up.” This is a form of “visual management” or you could call the red and green a “visual control” as a Lean practice.

* The Etihad visual management eyeshade avoids two different problems:Not bothering/waking a passenger who wanted to eat breakfastBothering/waking a passenger who really just wanted to sleep more

Lunch n’ Learn

Simple Visuals in the Workplace

Where, in your job, can you insert a simple visual?