Looking forward to the new book!

Is it possible to foster and grow a lean culture with middle management as the driving force?  What would be the keys to success?

Also, what is your favorite color?

I feel like people often get caught up in "well, we've always done it this way...he's worked here for 20 years, he needs time" kind of talk.

How do you approach this mindset of giving the value-adders the right "time" while continuing to work with them to make things better?

Nowadays, there are plenty of new "management theory" based on human ideas and benevolence, sometimes even without managers (like holacracy), so what is the specificity of lean with "respect for people" ?
In your side, have you seen others ways to developing this kind of mindset in firms ?

Michael, as you well know this is a hot button issue with me, and I believe that had the company I watched fail in its lean initiative been more attuned to your lead with respect approach than the "our way or the highway" approach it followed, the initiative would've been more successful. This is not just a lean issue though. Recently I've heard from a guy who goes in to help unions organize and a gal who goes in to help teachers adopt to technology and both  have run into the wall put up by people who take pride in doing their jobs feeling resentful toward outsiders coming in to help them do better. Respect needs, it seems to me, to be a two-way street…and to make it so, the client's employees have to accept that they need help and understand that whoever the company has brought in is there to help (if that's true of course). Does your book address how to make respect run both ways? (And I promise to buy it and read it whether it does or not….)

Dear Michael Ballé! As I respect you and your work I would like to ask something about lean managemant. I am writing my study at the univeresity about the lean improving in my workplace. This Company produce only individual Products (the biggest series was maybe 10-12 unit) , but the process of logistics is low and the Production is not efficient. Is there exist any method of lean, what help us to improve the processes? Thank you!

Mostly through attrition. We have never a layoff for more than a few months. If sales decreases, we use voluntary layoffs for 30 days so our people never lose insurance benifits.  
  

My intension to ask above question was to strengthen my view over push sales as a fundamental waste.

I got my answer. People really behave like the way they are measured so only this thinking can change paradigm of push sales.

Is there any book you suggest to understand sales function in more depth? I am at a middle management in operations and want to understand complete cycle of order to cash.

Hi Michael,

I love the business novels. I like reading how the different characters evolve during the lean journey, what they think, feel and do in every situation. Now I’m half way through The Lean Manager.

Have you thought about making the trilogy a TV series? Or webisodes?

And, would it be a comedy, a drama or a musical?

Have a good day!

Michael,

I have a question about determining product families.  Should cycle times be considered in determining product families. For example, if we have three different 'possible' processes that a product can go through, should the 'cycle time' of those processes be considered?  (My concern is that, based on the variation in the size of product run on the same machine, we could have a larger product that goes through 'one' of the processes and have a longer cycle time than a smaller size product that goes through 'two' processes.)

Chris

Ouch - can't answer this one outright. The Product/process matrix is the basic tool to establish product families, and it's a living thing :).

What problem are we trying to solve? We're trying to produce as close as we can to Takt Time with basic stability in the sense that products take a known path through the plant, and not go on this machine or that according to the MRP calculations or decisions by the elves, so that guys on the line have some idea of what to expect and learn to make the product better.

Cycle time certainly matters, but not as much as varitey. If teh question is "which cell" or "which sequence of processes" should I send a product through? The deeper question is which cell can cope with it: how many otehr products is the cell already making? How easy/hard is it for them to change from one product to the next? How do they cope with existing variety and can they take one more?

Are we talking about unitary products or are you batching?

Thanks for your response!

A brief background on our product/process.  We make pipe with different options on the end of the pipe depending on our customer requirements.  The ends can either be plain (just a cut end of a pipe), have a flange threaded on it, or have a groove put on the pipe OD near the end.  Those are the three options.  The pipe comes in many diameters from 4”-48”.  The length requirements are specifically stated by the customer.  So, we don’t start the process until we have the order and know the length, size, pipe end configuration. (make to order)

We have three cells that can do any of the three pipe end configurations.  The three cells are structured according to the pipe diameter - small diameter, medium diameter, and large diameter. The cycle time/cost in any of those cells has fair amount of variability – within the cell - depending on the “size” (more time to thread or groove larger pipe), and “pipe end” configuration (more time to flange both ends vs. both ends being plain)

To answer your questions: Each cell can make any product configuration, within the cell size requirements described earlier.  It is relatively easy to change from one product configuration to the next.  They cope relatively well with the mix.  We tend to batch the “cutting” operation, and then have more of a single piece flow through the cell.  Then we tend to batch again at the paint booth.

I am looking for the best way to create product families that we can structure the associated costs around and view as a single value stream.

Again – appreciate any insight you can provide!

Chris

Hi Michael,

Would like to ask about the lean team posistion in an org. Thank you.

1. Is there a better way which the lean team should be in an org. chart and who should the lean team report to?

2. In the apparel factory, do you think it better to have Lean & IE in the same team, or is it better that we have Lean & IE team respectively? My leader think eventually there should be only IE team and no lean team, otherwise people always come to Lean team when there's anything that needs to be improved.

Hi Dung,

Hard to answer iun general terms, as it much depends of the size of the organization. Personally up to 100 Million euros turnover, I work without any lean team. Beyond that, it makes sense to have a lean guy by site, attached directly to the plant manager, but his role is to teach lean rather than conduct any improvement activities directly - this is the responsibility of frontline managers.

Not sure what you mean by an IE team - what's IE?