pmi madison/south central professional development day

Session web site: https://uwmadison.box.com/pmipdd

Scott Converse is the director of project management and process improvement programs for the University of Wisconsin‐Madison's School of Business. In addition, he developed and directs the Technical Leadership certificate series, a collaborative effort between the College of Engineering and the School of Business, and is a lecturer in the Wisconsin School of Business’ MBA program.

Scott has developed courses for and has expertise in the areas of project management, portfolio management, technology project implementation, process improvement, Six Sigma, business statistics, data analysis, and data mining. He offers over a decade of applied experiences in the field, having worked as a former IT director and technologist for an Internet software developer.

Scott has developed programs for a variety of audiences ranging from the technology novice to experienced professionals to C‐level executives. Clients have included Fortune 500 firms, the U.S. military, state and local government, and not‐for‐profit agencies. He is engaging, interactive, and clear in the presentation of technical material. His ability to break down complex topics, use analogies to develop understanding, and include visual and group activities in traditionally lecture‐based subjects helps to make learning fun.

Scott is a Six Sigma black belt and received his MBA from the University of Wisconsin‐Madison. He holds a bachelor's degree in physics from UW‐Eau Claire.

PMI Madison/South Central Professional Development Day - Rapid Process Improvement - Lean Thinking Lab page 1

Brief description of each methodology Problem ‐> Solution ‐> Implementation Approach: A popular approach used when the problem has few underlying variables or root causes or when change is needed but a more rigorous scientific method approach can’t be used due to time/resource constraints.

Six Sigma: A customer focused methodology that aims at reducing the root causes that create variability within the process. It utilizes a 5‐step approach called the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) and is very dependent on data‐driven decision making.

Kaizen: A team based process improvement technique focused on removing waste. Originally developed in Japan, the approach follows a data driven approach that baselines current state and measures future state. The projects are scoped to be small in time completion (typically 1‐5 days involvement for most team members).


The DMAIC methodology consists of the following five steps:

Define high‐level project goals and the current process. Measure key aspects of the current process and collect relevant data. Analyze the data to verify cause‐and‐effect relationships. Determine what the relationships are, and attempt to ensure that all factors have been considered. Improve or optimize the process. Then Implement the solutionControl to ensure that any deviations from target are corrected before they result in defects or problems.

Another view of the DMAIC

Define ‐ Who’s our customer, Where is the problem; what’s causing the customer pain; what are we not going to worry about; can we draw a picture of what’s happening; what does “done” look likeMeasure ‐ Based on data and direct observation, what’s really happening; does this new insight change how we’ve described the problemAnalyze ‐ How well/poor is the process performing compared to the customer requirements; what are the root causes to our problem; Improve ‐ What solutions will most effectively reduce or eliminate the root causes, and how do we best implement the solutionsControl – Does the data show that the solutions implemented really improved the process; how do we sustain the gains achieved

Ironically, by definition process improvement means change from current state to an improved future state, however the 5 step DMAIC approach has no explicit Change Management step.


DefinitionKaizen is process improvement methodology that, when done correctly, humanizes the workplace, eliminates overly hard work, and teaches people how to perform experiments on their work using the scientific method and how to learn to spot and eliminate waste in business processes.

Characteristics of Kaizen Events

•Aimed at achieving specific improvements in a short time•Focused on reducing waste, making more valuable products and services, and achieving flow•Projects are short, typically lasting 1‐5 business days•While still data‐driven, more emphasis is on direct observation and a bias toward action anditerative improvement vs analysis and one‐time improvement implementations.

Characteristics of Initial Kaizen Projects•It’s visual•The complete process is within the “walls” of the area viewed or managed•There are bottlenecks and/or wastes in this process•Has impact to the organization; isn’t just a cleaning exercise•Has operations impact and isn’t being done because of management avoidance•There is a repeatable process underlying the improvement•There is not a negative attitude toward change by the process workers

Pitfalls with KaizenBy far, the biggest problem with Kaizen events is their success. The organization develops a “Kaizen cowboy” mentality where more time is spent on isolated improvements and not enough time on the strategic improvements needed within the organization.


Initially developed in post WWII Japan by Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo as part of the Toyota Production System (TPS), the term “Lean” wasn’t coined until the 1990’s by MIT scholar James Womack. Lean thinking was an approach toward process improvement that was based on identifying non value added activities (NVA) or waste, or muda. Waste was defined as anything the customer was not willing to pay for. The Lean Wastes can be easily remembered by thinking of the mnemonic TIMWOODS. Examples of the 7+1 Wastes include:

Transportation: Transportation is the unnecessary movement of material and goods. Steps in a process should be located close to each other so movement is minimized.

• Extra steps in the process• Distance traveled• Moving paper from place to place

Inventory: Inventory is the liability of materials that are bought, invested in and not immediately sold or used

• Transactions not processed• Bigger “in box” than “out box”• Over‐ordering materials consumed in‐house• Over‐ordering raw materials – just in case


Lean Wastes continued

Motion:Motion is the unnecessary movement of people and equipment. This includes looking for things like documents or parts as well as movement that is straining.

• Extra steps• Extra data entry• Having to look for something• Excessive walking distance between operations

Waiting:Waiting is nonproductive time due to lack of material, people, or equipment. It can be due to slow or broken machines, material not arriving on time, etc.

• Processing once each month instead of as the work comes in• Showing up on time for a meeting that starts late• Delayed work due to lack of communication from another internal group

Over‐production: Overproduction is producing more than the next step needs or more than the customer buys. It may be the worst form of waste because it contributes to all the others.

• Preparing extra reports• Reports not acted upon or even read• Multiple copies in data storage• Over‐ordering materials• Duplication of effort/reports

Over‐processing: tasks, activities and materials that do not add value. Can be caused by poor product or tool design as well as from not understanding what the customer wants.

• Sign‐offs• Reports that contain more information than the customer wants or needs• Communications, reports, emails, contracts, etc. that contain more than the necessary points

(briefer is better)Defects: Correcting or repairing a defect in materials or parts adds unnecessary costs because of additional equipment and labor expenses. An example is the labor cost of scheduling employees to work overtime to rework defects.

• Incorrect data entry• Paying the wrong vendor• Misspelled words in communications• Making bad products• Materials or labor discarded during production

Skills: Skills represent the underutilization of staff skills or the underdevelopment of human resources. It was added later to the original 7 wastes.

• Repetitive, redundant work• Job tasks that do not challenge employees• Non‐involvement of employees on continuous improvement projects or strategy development• Lack of skill building, job advancement, leadership development


Waste Manufacturing Service/Office SoftwareTransportation Moving materials or product

within or between factoriesMultiple paperwork handoffs, excess distance traveled, couriers

Excess handoffs to different groups

Inventory Excessive raw materials, WIP, or excessive finished goods. Should also include carrying cost in inventory calculations

Excess stock of supplies, purchasing prior to the materials being needed. Also shadow data systems

Partially completed work, code not yet ready, bugs that haven’t been fixed

Motion Operators having to walk around to find tools, inventory, and people.

Worker motion from poor layout, ergonomic issues, extra data entry

Task switching and interruptions

Waiting Operators waiting for machinery to finish cycling

wait line issues from large batch sizes, inbox delays, idle time, delays in sign-offs

Delays caused by not getting timely answers to questions

Over-production Producing for than what is required downstream to avoid changeovers

Performing work before it’s needed such as pre-printing paperwork, created reports that aren’t used

Extra features, lengthy code

Over-processing Production rework, adding features that the customer doesn’t require

redundant inspection, reviews, data checks, adding storing unnecessary details to transactions

Unneeded bureaucracy or processes setup to protect process owners and not help satisfy customers

Defects Parts that don’t meet specification

errors, rework, lost productivity associated with putting out fires

Bugs – emphasis should be on prevention, not just identification

Skills of the worker

Underutilizing the existing or potential skills of the process workers. Ignoring worker development



Lean Waste Comparison GridPMI Madison/South Central Professional Development Day - Rapid Process Improvement - Lean Thinking Lab page 7

Identifying Lean Wastes Using TIMWOODS

Transportation

Inventory

Motion

Wait Times

Over Production

Over Processing

Defects

Skills of Process Owner (under utilized or not developed)

Other wastes that didn’t fit the categories above


Common activities perform during a Kaizen Event:

Kaizen Preparation Pre-Event activities performed by team leader (1-4 weeks before event) 1. Project Selection and Charter2. Team and leader identification and development3. Data Collection of process performance4. Securing event resources

Kaizen Event Activities performed by team leader and the team (1-5 business days) 5. Document Reality6. Identify Waste7. Plan a Future State8. Reality Check9. Make Changes10. Measure and Verify Results11. Standardize the new Process12. Reward Team

Kaizen Follow Up Post-Event activities performed by team leader (1-4 weeks) 13. Improvement of the Kaizen method14. Assignment of tabled or open action items that were outside of the event scope15. Independent audit of the event’s workplace and process


The Blitz Checklist on a “By Day” basis:


The Blitz checklist (Wed‐Friday)


pmi madison/south central professional development day

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