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U.S.A.-S.I.
Universal Small-business Approach
for
Successful Improvements
A Dissertation
Originally Presented to the
Faculty of
Kennedy-Western University Just Prior to the Schools Closing
for Ph. D. in Engineering Management
And Now Presented to the Faculty of Atlantic International University
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in
Business Management
by
John J. B. Silvia, Jr.
Portsmouth, Rhode Island
2002 John J. B. Silvia, Jr.
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Page
Abstract of Dissertation
U.S.A.-S.I.
Universal Small-business Approach
for
Successful Improvements
by
John J. B. Silvia, Jr.
Portsmouth, Rhode Island
THE PROBLEM
The problem of improvement in a small business environment is a
problem of limited resources. Small manufacturing facilities do not have
the resource redundancy that can be found in a large corporation. The
conventional techniques employed in Kaizen events, CPI, TQM, and
various other programs is often bypassed, ignored, or, when attempted,
fails in the small business environment because the people involved are
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Page
constantly being pulled into production. Regardless of how worthy a
program or task may be, people in a small business environment have
difficulty dedicating time and energy when it interferes with their normal,
daily, production demands.
METHOD
Managers and leaders in the firm have to digest all of the
concepts and ideas in relation to their individual business situation, and
decide what will work for that situation and the specific management team.
The heart ofUSA-SI (Universal Small-business Approach for
Successful Improvements) starts with identifying what elements will
afford the greatest possibility of success and then to develop the
leadership skills and techniques that a coach or a facilitator would use to
unfold the process within the organization. The first step is to perform
situation analysis. The initial process of successful improvements should
be led by a facilitator and the facilitator must be from top management.
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FINDINGS
The findings, in the researched literature, found in the results of a
survey that was taken, and demonstrated through a practical case study
that was conducted using the techniques of USA-SI, all agreed and
identified the same concerns. The actual techniques, which took the
concerns into consideration and employed elements of Kepner-Treqoe
Problem Solving and Decision Making, Kaizen events, and Continuous
Process Improvement, were simple and easily communicated. USA-SI
was able to be conducted in small blocks of time and kept at a high level
of importance because of the involvement of top management in the team
itself. This, coupled with the techniques themselves, that were simple,
straight forward, and sensible, resulted in successful improvements and a
fully functional improvement team in the actual case study.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................viii
LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................ ix
CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................... 1
Problem Statement................................................... 3
Purpose of the Study................................................. 4
Importance of the Study............................................ 5
Scope of the Study.................................................... 6
Rationale of the Study............................................... 7
Definition of Terms.................................................... 8
Overview of the Study...............................................11
CHAPTER
2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE.........................13
The Historical Evolution.............................................13
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Japan Organizes the Techniquesand Provides the Discipline.......................................18
USA Focuses on Quality and Improvement...............27
CHAPTER
3. METHODOLOGY. . 43Describe the Approach................................. 44
Identify the Data Gathering Method
and Database of the Study............................................. 45
Comment on Validity of Data.......................................... 46
Comment of Originality & Limitation of Data................... 48
Summary of Chapter 3................................................... 49
CHAPTER
4. THE DATA ANALYSIS SECTION................ 51Introduction .................................................................. 51
The Survey .................................................................. 52
Preparation Phase......................................................... 53
The Case Study............................................................. 54
Choosing the Management Team.................................. 55
Preparation and Training................................................ 57
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Introduction and Explanation of Goals to the Team........ 59
The Second State of the Meetings................................. 71
Set Priority Based on Importance,Urgency, and Growth Potential ................................. 78
Transfer of Functional Authority to Team....................... 83
CHAPTER
5. SUMMARY, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary, Conclusions, & Recommendations...........101
Results of the Study .................................................101
Study Supported Previous Research........................104
Study was Conclusive but MoreImprovements are Needed in Firm............................104
The Implications of this Research
the Discipline.............................................................106
Relative Practices Should be Revised whenApplying Techniques to Small Businesses................107
The Findings Support the Hypothesis........................108
REFERENCES ...................................................................110
APPENDIX: Survey Questions and CorrelatedResponses Including Direct Quotations fromRespondents ...... 114 - 130
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This author would like to acknowledge and thank the management and
employees of International Manufacturing Services, Inc. who cooperated
and provided the case study for this thesis paper.
In particular, this author would like to thank CEO, H. Henry Liiv,
President, Thomas Moakley, and the Improvement Team: Quality
Manager Sharon Benson, Laser Manager Alan Campbell, Screen and
Furnace Manager Daniel Williams, Shop Manager Lori Silva, and
Engineering Manager Scott Durgin. Without their cooperation,
enthusiasm, and hard work, this presentation could not have been
completed.
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
Page
1. Initial memo to members of the Improvement Team
60
2. Second memo to members of the Improvement Team
69
3. Third memo to members of the Improvement Team
73
4. The fourth memo to the team that introduced thefinal steps of the situation analysis process
80
5. Memo from first meeting dedicated to rate and set priority
86
6. Memo to report on the final meeting to rate and set priority
92
7. Team continues to implement improvement items andassignments form the Improvement Team and also reporton results
95
8. Identification of measurable results and comparisons to testin order to confirm the results of the improvements
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implemented
97
9. Team continues to expedite, monitor and measure results
98
10. Summary of Results and Further action recommendationsdiscovered by the Improvement Team & Team continuesto expedite, monitor and measure results
102
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Chapter 1
Introduction
The basic techniques and disciplines of good manufacturing have existed for
many years but it was not until after 1912 that the existing Industrial Engineering
techniques began to focus on applying management principles to the manufacturing
organization Kiyoshi Suzaki points out in his book The New Shop Floor
Management that Early in this (20
th
) century, Frederick Taylor published a book
titled Shop Management in which he recommended segregating the planning of
work from its execution. This is also discussed by Philip Hicks in his second edition
of Industrial Engineering and Management. Hicks points out that From 1912 to
1913 a number of leading United States industrial firms also initiated industrial
engineering programs in their plants: Armstrong Cork (now Armstrong Industries),
Dow Chemical, Eastman Kodak, and Eli Lilly, to name a few. Whereas most
attention in the early stages of the development of industrial engineering in the
United States was directed at the production floor, Henri Fayol in France was
concerned with the application of the principles of management throughout an
organization.
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It was from this change in focus and Fayols development of the concept of
functional foremanship where the functional organization began to develop in
manufacturing and the functions of operations, planning and development became
defined. This basic organization and the manufacturing improvement concepts have
continued to evolve through such organizations as the Santa Fe Railroad, Western
Electric Company (became A T & T Technologies), Bell Telephone, Bethlehem
Steel, General Motors, Westinghouse, Sylvania, IBM, and General Electric.
All the basics and concepts have always been present in the US companies
old organizations but it was not until the Japanese began to look at the shop floor
as genba kanri (a place where people ultimately add value to their society and
strengthen its foundation) did the powerful and necessary improvement concepts
and techniques become a real and necessary part of manufacturing.
Our American Industrial organizations developed most of the techniques we
see and use today, but the Japanese had the right discipline and culture to
implement to simplify and perfect these techniques into the various systems we hear
about today.
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Problem Statement
The problem of improvement in a small business environment, as touched
upon in the overview, is the problem of limited resources. Small manufacturing
facilities do not have the resource redundancy that can be found in a large
corporation. The conventional techniques employed in Kaizen events and various
other forms of tiger teams will not work in the small business environment because
the people involved are constantly being pulled into production. Regardless of how
worthy a program or task may be, people in a small business environment have
difficulty dedicating time and energy when it interferes with their normal, daily,
production demands.
Purpose of the Study
This study focuses on a small US electronic component manufacturing facility
and applies a blend of techniques and concepts from a variety of programs including
Kepner-Tregoe Problem Solving and Decision Making, Kaizen Events, and
Continuous Improvement to accomplish product and process improvements. This
study recognizes the limited resources that are characteristic of a small business
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environment and addresses the unique constraints of these limitations with
innovative approaches that utilize existing management and operation personnel
while continuing to conduct business-as-usual. As this paper will demonstrate,
success will require focus on three key elements: 1) Approval and commitment from
top management, 2) An efficient program of Situation Analysis with key management
involvement, to ensure that resources and energy are being focused in the best
direction with the highest probability for impact, and 3) Breaking the total task into
small bite-sized steps that can be accomplished in as little as an hour per week to
allow business and production to carry on as improvements unfold.
Importance of the Study
In business environments, but especially in manufacturing and production
environments the firm must solve problems and improve processes. This is critical
to reducing yield loss, improving quality, reducing cycle time, reducing inventory,
reducing cost, and the overall and ultimate goal, satisfying the customer. H. Henry
Liiv, CEO of International Manufacturing Services, Inc., in his orientation for new
managers, offers the simple description of the three-legged-table. In his description,
the table is the firm and the three legs are Quality, Cost, and Delivery Time. In his
discussion he points out that it is critical that these three legs be constantly
strengthened and improved as the table grows in size and mass, and enters new
competitive markets. He also cautions that if all three legs are not equally
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SPC, SQC, and Benchmarking to name a few. The scope of this case study focuses
on combining techniques of three systems: Kepner-Tregoe Situation Analysis,
Kaizen, and Continuous Improvement. These were combined to affect improvement
within the specific constraints of the small production and manufacturing
environment. It is beyond the scope and limit of this study to analyze all of the
available programs and systems that have been developed to stimulate, manage
and create improvement in manufacturing. These could be topics for further study.
Rationale of the Study
The Rationale of this study is to answer the question: How can improvement
be attained within a small manufacturing and production company, utilizing the same
personnel and resources that exist in the firm but are already dedicated, full time, to
fulfilling the needs of the firm? This is both an important question, and common
need, throughout industry. All the programs, systems, techniques and buzz-words,
that have developed over the past decade all have a common goal of using
organization and teamwork to affect improvement.
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Definition of Terms
1. CPI: (Continuous Process Improvement), an ongoing system which increases
value and/or excellence in the quality and condition of the method(s), or steps of a
firms operations.
2. Kaizen: Japanese for Improvement. It has come to be understood as an
event incorporating a cross-functional team of five to fifteen people implementing
improvement ingredients in one area of a plant or firm for one week.
3. Cycle time: The actual time taken by an operator to process a piece of
product. (Imai, Masaaki. Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense, Low-Cost Approach to
Management. McGraw-Hill, 1997.)
4. Five Ms: A method of managing resources, specifically manpower, machine,
material, method, and measurement. (Imai, Masaaki. Gemba Kaizen: A
Commonsense, Low-Cost Approach to Management. McGraw-Hill, 1997.)
5. Five Ss: A checklist for good housekeeping to achieve greater order,
efficiency, and discipline in the workplace, specifically sort, straighten, scrub,
systemize, and standardize. (Imai, Masaaki. Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense,
Low-Cost Approach to Management. McGraw-Hill, 1997.)
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6. JIT (just-in-time): A management philosophy aimed at eliminating waste from
every aspect of manufacturing and its related activities. The term JIT refers to
producing only what is needed, when it is needed, in just the amount needed.
(Suzaki, Kiyoshi. The New Manufacturing Challenge: Techniques For Continuous
Improvement. The Free Press, 1987.)
7. Standards: A set of policies, rules, directives, and procedures established by
management for all major operations, which serves as guidelines that enable all
employees to perform their jobs successfully. (Imai, Masaaki. Kaizen, The Key to
Japans Competitive Success.
McGraw-Hill, 1986.)
8.) TQM (Total Quality Management): Organized activities, involving effort toward
improvement, involving everyone in a company managers and workers in a
totally integrated effort toward continuous improvement at every level, ultimately
leading to increased customer satisfaction and success of the business, (Imai,
Masaaki. Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense, Low-Cost Approach to Management.
McGraw-Hill, 1997.)
9. SPC (statistical process control): Originally developed at SQC (statistical
quality control) by Shewhart in the 1920s, SPC employs statistical sampling against
a chart depicting what is normal. This chart is employed when the goal is to
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maintain statistical control of some single variable of interest (e.g., a dimension for a
part or assembly). (Hicks, Philip E. Industrial Engineering and Management, A New
Perspective. Second Edition. McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994).
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Overview of the Study
Before any alleged problem can be addressed, or solved, it must first be
defined, rated, examined and evaluated. The Kepner Tregoe system was chosen as
a leading, solid, proven, and well-known system of Situation Analysis. Situation
Analysis prevents the tendency to jump to the wrong conclusions, and is an easily
learned system that will allow flexibility and many brainstorming techniques to take
place. This study uses the general Techniques of Situation Analysis plus other
techniques, then moves the resulting rated priority list of problems and goals onto
the improvement teams.
A Small Businesss limited resources often pre-empts the successful
implementation of many of todays improvement systems and techniques. Most
small businesses have a few, multifunctional managers, professionals, and
operational employees. Whenever these individuals are presented with a choice
between completing production goals and deadlines or spending time on
improvement project assignments, the improvement projects become shelved and
put on back burners. In this study, the constraints of the small business
environment were recognized and the techniques employed attempted to neutralize
the scheduling roadblocks and use the existing management of the organization as
effectively as possible.
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The front end of this process uses Kepner Tregoe situation analysis and
Kaizen Blitz Event techniques and the final stages and implementation of the
improvements evolve into methods resembling Continuous Improvement. By
assigning Top Management to the front end, the priorities set by the team become
those of Top Management as well.
The final stages of process improvement and improvement implementation
become assigned to subdivision teams, headed by Managers from the original team.
By using techniques found Continuous Improvement systems, the long term
implementation and continuous benefits can be realized.
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Chapter 2
Review of Related Literature
The Historical evolution
As engineering evolved along with the growth of civilization and its
construction, so has the need to create and control its excellence. An almost
universal difficulty that is often identified but seldom solved is how to control and
ensure the form, fit, and function of the structures, and items that man has created
and fabricated. The early engineers were not called engineers but what we consider
craftsmen and their greatest creations were considered works of art. Procedures
were not written down but were pass to the next generation through the apprentices
who served the master craftsmen for many years to learn the skills and techniques.
Seldom was a job repeatable and no two creations were identical. There were no
interchangeable parts, no quality standards, and little or no documentation.
As Philip Hicks describes in his Industrial Engineering and Management, :In
contrast, Sprague de Camp states The story of civilization is, in a sense, the story
of engineering that long and arduous struggle to make the forces of nature work
for mans good. In this sense it is obvious that engineering is as old as civilization
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itself. (In the 15th century) we find Leonardo da Vinci who was one of the great
geniuses of all time. He anticipated many engineering developments that were to
follow, such as the steam engine, machine gun, camera, submarine, and helicopter.
However, he probably had little influence on engineering thought of his time. His
research was an unpublished mishmash of thoughts and sketches. He was an
impulsive researcher and never summarized his research for the benefit of others
through publication. .
It wasnt until the late 18th century, (Hicks, 1994) in 1795 that Napoleon
authorized the establishment of the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris which became the
first engineering school. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1824, was the
first engineering school in the United States.
Until 1880 engineering was either civil or military and for all but the last 100
years was both. In 1880 the American Society of Mechanical Engineers was
founded, followed by the American Society of Electrical Engineers in 1884 and the
American Institute of Chemical Engineers in 1908. The American Institute of
Industrial Engineers, representing the last major field of engineering to become
organized, was incorporated in 1948. (note: since then other specialty engineering
societies such as the Biomedical Engineering Society and others have come into
being).
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From Adam Smith and his Wealth of Nations in 1776, Matthew Boulton and
James Watt, Jr. and their mechanical improvements to the Arkwright spinning jenny
in the early 1800s, mathematician and Charles Babbage and his early computer, the
analytical engine. All of these brilliant individuals lacked a set of standards and
interchangeability. It wasnt until after the Revolution of 1776 that Eli Whitney first
got the support he needed to develop his system of interchangeable parts for
muskets. This was a breakthrough. The concept of interchangeability became the
foundation for the industrial age. Later, Henry Ford, observing the conveyers in a
slaughterhouse got the idea for the progressive assembly of automobiles and this,
together with the concept of interchangeability, began the evolution to modern
assembly including standardization, processes, procedures, and ultimate the need
for improvement programs.
According to Hicks (1994), it was Frederick W. Taylor who has often been
referred to as the father of industrial engineering. It was Taylor who offered the
concept that it was an engineering responsibility to design, measure, plan, and
schedule work.
In Taylors paper entitled Shop Management we find some very modern
concepts considering it was written over 100 years ago:
1 Methods study
2 Time study
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3 Standardization of tools
4 A planning department
5 The exception principle of management
6 Instruction cards for workers
7 Slide rules for metal cutting
8 Mnemonic classification systems for parts and products
9 A routing system
10 Costing methods
11 Employee selection in relation to the job
12 Task idea permitting a bonus if the job is completed in the
specific time
As early as 1912 people like Dr. Frank Gilbreth were conducting scientific
studies in micromotion on bricklayers and developing the concepts of motion like
search, find, transport, empty, preposition, grasp and so on which we now call the
science of ergonomics.
Carl Barth with the Barth batch slide rule and his speed and feed calculations,
and Henry Laurence Gantt and his graphic work schedule production charts (Gantt
Charts) were all pioneers and their contributions have created the basis for our
modern manufacturing systems.
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A full study of the history of our modern manufacturing practices and their
evolution through time is certainly beyond the scope of this paper, but it is important
to understand that the basic tools, techniques and foundations came from, and were
largely developed in and by the American Industrial Revolution.
Japan Organizes the Techniques and Provides the Discipline
Dale Compton (Compton, 1997) points out that: Manufacturing often found it
difficult to provide a product with the desired level of quality at the desired cost
objective. The time to bring a new product to market was often excessive. This
description of the environment prevailed throughout much of the U.S. industry in the
decades of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. I would probably have persisted through
the 1980s had U.S. industry not been challenged by more efficient manufacturers in
Japan who had developed an approach that had almost none of the undesirable
features (a company that becomes a collection of groups, frequently with
incompatible goals and objectives and frequently in competition).
The U.S. had the history, materials, education, science, and technology.
What the U.S. lacked was a disciplined approach that focused totally on the
customer. According to Compton (1997), The compartmentalization of knowledge
creates a false sense of confidence. For example, the traditional disciplines that
influence management-such disciplines as economics, accounting, marketing, and
psychology-divide the world into neat subdivisions within which one can often say,
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This is the problem and here is the solution. But the boundaries that make the
subdivisions are fundamentally arbitrary-as any manager finds out who attempts to
treat an important problem as if it is purely an economic problem, or an accounting
problem, or a personnel problem. Life comes to us as a whole. It is only the
analytic lens we impose that makes it seem as if problems can be isolated and
solved. When we forget that it is only a lens, we lose the spirit of openness.(Senge,
1990). Compton (1997) goes on to say that, Poor communication, a lack of
common organizational goals, and compartmentalization can have a debilitating
effect on an organization. Product redesigns were often found to be necessary
when it was discovered that manufacturing could not produce the first design within
the cost objectives of the product. Changes in design to modify an attribute were
often found to require changes in other features in order to be compatible.
Engineering change orders (ECRs) were frequent during the launch of a new
product. The control of costs was difficult. Manufacturing often found it difficult to
provide a product with a desired level of quality and the desired cost objective. The
time to bring a new product to market was often excessive.
What Japan did that the U.S. was not prepared to do was to take all the
powerful industrial engineering concepts, most of which were developed by U.S.
companies like General Motors, Sylvania, Westinghouse, General Electric,
Raytheon, Rand Corporation, RCA, Xerox, and IBM, and apply them into the
workplace with top-down management support and discipline. The powerful and
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innovative experts like W.E Deming, and J.M. Juran, developed, saw and
understood what was needed, but it was not until the Japanese manufacturers
demonstrated international competitive success did the U.S. manufacturers pay
attention to the need for a new focus and evolution in America.
Alan Robinson and Dean Shroadeder (1993), provide the understanding into
where and how the Japanese came to learn the improvement techniques that have
given them industrial success:
W Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran, and other Americans have rightfully earned
their place in the history books for their significant contributions to the industrial
development of Japan. However, the U.S. Training Within Industries (TWI)
programs installed in Japan by the occupation authorities after World War II may
have been more influential. At least ten million Japanese managers, supervisors,
and workers are graduates of the TWI programs or one of their derivative courses,
all of which remain in wide use in Japan in 1992. TWI has indeed had a strong
influence on Japanese management thought and practice: a number of management
practices thought of as Japanese trace their roots to TWI.
The TWI programs were developed in the Unites States fifty years ago. They
were designed to play a major role in boosting industrial production to the levels
required to win the Second World War. Even though TWI did this very successfully,
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after the war the programs usage dropped off until, in 1992, they are hardly used or
even known in the United States.
Dr. W. Dekker, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of N. V. Philips
Gloeilampenfabrieken in his forward for Masaaki Imais (1986) Kaizen: The Key to
Japans Competitive Success, supports this further when he says: If we look back
over forty years following the Second World War, we have seen Japan attain the
status of an world economic power, going through five phases of adaptation to
become a formidable competitor in various product areas. These phases are:
Large-scale absorption of technology imported from the United States andEurope.
A productivity drive of hitherto unseen dimensions
A country-wide quality improvement programme inspired by the ideas ofDr. Deming and Dr. Juran of the United States
A great degree of manufacturing flexibility, and finally
Multinationality
After successfully assimilating foreign technology and then achieving a very
high productivity and top quality, Japanese industries are now focusing on flexible
manufacturing technologies. This means having the capability to adapt
manufacturing in a very short time to changing customer and market requirements.
The key words are mechanization, automation, robotisation, and related systems.
As Imai (1986) himself points out: In trying to understand Japans postwar
economic miracle, scholars, journalists, and businesspeople alike have dutifully
studied such factors and the productivity movement, total quality control (TQC),
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small-group activities, and suggestion system, automation, industrial robots, and
labor relations. They have given much attention to some of Japans unique
management practices, among them the lifetime employment system, seniority-
based wages, and enterprise unions. Yet I feel that they have failed to grasp the
very simple truth that lies behind the many myths concerning Japanese
management. The essence of most uniquely Japanese management practices
be they productivity improvement, TQC (Total Quality Control) activities, QC (Quality
Control) circles, or labor relations can be reduced to one word: KAIZEN.
KAIZEN in an umbrella concept covering most of those uniquely Japanese
practices that have recently achieved such worldwide fame:
Customer orientation
TQC (total quality control)
Robotics
QC Circles
Suggestive system
Automation Discipline in the workplace
TPM (total productive maintenance)
Kamban
Quality Improvement
Just-in-time
Zero defects
Small-group activities
Cooperative labor-management relations
Productivity improvement
New-product development
Kiyoshi Suzaki (1993) finds the same need for organization transformation:
In todays business, competitive challenge is everywhere. Thanks to the free market
system and the principle of survival of the fittest, businesses that offer obsolete or
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uncompetitive products, services, concepts, or systems will become extinct. The
same is true for management concepts. There are many fashionable concepts, but
competition will weed out the one without much substance.
Michael Regan, (2000) points out some of the same ingredients common to
both kaizen events as well as continuous improvement:
Setup reduction
Workplace organization and cleanliness
Standard work Teams of employees who think and take initiative
A significant element in all of the research is the team. Regan describes
Jangbus Map which is a demonstration of a the difference between a team and a
collection. In his description:
The collection has:
creator - Traditional Supervisor
a.k.a. - Babysitter
whose goal is - Enforce Rules
members treated or behave like - Children
members become - Dependent
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The Team has:
Creator - Leader
a.k.a. - Team Builder
whose goal is - Self-Directed Teams
members treated or behave like - Adults
members become - Interdependent
Dr. William Hitt (1993), calls his core leadership function coaching and
provides the insight: When it comes to coaching, the effective leader understands
and applies Confucius philosophy of teaching:
The ideal teacher guides his students but does not pull them along; he urges
them to go forward and does not suppress them; he opens the way but does
not take them to the place (Lin Yutang The Wisdom of Confucius)
Dr. Hitt lists his outline for coaching which can be summarized as follows:
Take time to build a personal relationship with each of your staff members.
Give special attention to each staff member at the beginning of a new jobassignment.
Use work assignments effectively as a primary means of staff
development. Master the art of delegation.
Give honest feedback on a timely basis.
Use performance appraisal as a means of teaching, not exhorting orpunishing.
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USA Focuses on Quality and Improvement
Armand Feigenbaum (1991) has a very similar view from his Total Quality
Control perspective: Recent years have seen the growth of an unprecedented new
kind of world marketplace of volume, of variation, and quality. It is a marketplace in
which the rising expectations of buyers whether consumers or industrial
corporations couples with the changing role of government have greatly intensified
the demands upon business management.
The breadth and complexity of these demands embrace a whole spectrum of
management problems.. Effective solutions to many current problems are no
longer matters of traditional management and engineering methodology. They are,
instead, matters of critically important new management and engineering substance,
such as:
Managing to make the businessperson, the scientist, and the engineer asum rather than a difference.
Managing to approach product consumerism positively rather thannegatively.
Managing to confront the necessity for energy and materials conservationand waste reduction and improved resource utilization.
Managing in international terms rather than only as national managementslooking outward to other markets..
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Nowhere is this need for improvement more clearly evident than in the area of
the quality of products and services. This is a situation with which industry is vitally
concerned and one calling for the new systems and technologies of total quality
control.
One of the most concise and useful understandings of how Continuous
Improvement are related is found in Winning Manufacturing by James A. Tompkins,
Ph.D. (1989). Dr. Tompkins uses the term requirement of Success for winning
manufacturing, and describes it as follows: The most consistent definition of
quality in Japan is satisfying the customer. The most consistent definition of quality
in the United States is the conformance to requirements.
The Japanese definition is good because it defines the customer as the judge
of quality, but it is weak because it does not lead to a method for evaluating quality.
The United States definition offers a method of evaluating quality, but its weakness
is that it does not state that quality can only be obtained when the customer
establishes the requirements.
The combination of the Japanese and the American definitions leads to the
best definition of quality: Quality is the conformance to customer requirements.
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David Garvin in his book Managing Quality: The Strategic and Competitive
Edge, presents the following elements of quality for which a customers
requirements should be recorded, using a car as an example:
1. Performance. The operating characteristics of the product (acceleration ofa car)
2. Features. Secondary characteristics that supplement the productsoperating characteristics (air condition in a car)
3. Reliability. The anticipated failure rate of the product (length of time to thefailure of a cars starter)
4. Conformance. The lack of defects in the product when delivered (fitting ofthe trunk, hood, and doors of the car when delivered)5. Durability. The useful life of the product (number of years before a car
deteriorates to the point where it should no longer be repaired)6. Serviceability. The ability to obtain satisfactory repair (availability of
engine parts and ease of installation of these parts)7. Aesthetics. The customers feelings about the appearance of the product
(how the customer views the styling of the car).8. Perceived quality. The customers overall feeling about the product
(subjective judgment of the customer as to which is the best car)
Customer requirements should be established for each of these eight
elements. The product that best conforms to these requirements is the highest-
quality product.
In order to understand quality, you must understand the terms quality control,
quality assurance and total quality control. These terms are not synonymous.
Quality control is the design of the product and processes so that the conformance
of the product to customer requirements is achieved. Two principles of quality
control that must be understood are:
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1. Quality cannot be inspected into a product,
2. Quality cannot be built into a product.
Quality can only be designed into the product and the processes that produce it.
Quality assurance is not the design of products or processes, but the ongoing
activity that ensures products conform to customer requirements. Therefore, quality
control is a design activity that occurs before production, and quality assurance is an
auditing activity that takes place during production.
The combination of quality control and quality assurance is known in the
United States as total quality control and in Japan as company-wide quality control.
For all products, first the proper design must occur to control quality and then
manufacturing processes must be audited to assure quality. The combination of
quality control and quality assurance is a Requirement of Success for winning
manufacturing.
What Dr. Tompkins concisely describes is a universal theme found
throughout the acronyms, programs, and quality and improvement-oriented systems.
This common thread in all of the modern thinking, whether Japanese Kaizen, or
United States based improvement programs is that quality has to be designed in.
This means that improvements must come from all functions starting with design.
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George Robson, in his book Continuous Process Improvement (1991),
outlines some excellent techniques for Problem Solving which parallel those found in
Kepner Tregoes plan for Situation Analysis, Problem solving and Decision making
program. Robson offers the following: Two basic types of techniques are used to
solve problems, judgmental and analytical. The judgmental technique is used when
detailed data is not available; analytical techniques are used with quantifiable
information and data available. Judgmental techniques are used to get the process
started by helping the tam exercise their thought process and come to consensus on
where to begin and what to do. The analytical techniques are introduced to enable
the team to dialogue with the process and help verify initial judgments. By linking
the two, you will see the process come to life. One team member referred to CPI as
A living organism that became part of their business.
Brainstorming is a judgmental tool used to generate ideas to support the
storyboarding process. Storyboarding in turn is used to:o Stimulate creativity
o Organize judgmental problem solving
o Visually display individual ideas
o Develop team consensus
o Create and organize a plan
Process flow diagramming (PFD) is a very powerful analytical techniqueused to visualize the steps, events, and operations that constitute aprocess. Most team members and coaches say this is truly the heart ofCPI. It makes the process come to life, develops consensus, and builds
teamwork. I have referred to it as the spinal cord or skeletal structure. Analytical data charting is a graphical tool used to display data to:
o identify problem areas
o Interpret information
o Pinpoint and isolate activity
o Use data rather than storing it until its too late or youve forgottenwhere you put it.
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Control charting is a simple, but very powerful tool used to:o Let you dialogue with your process
o Recognize trends
o Avoid producing bad products or serviceso Prevent problems rather than react to them after its too late
George Robson, (1991) also lays out some ground rules, which provide an
excellent set of ground rules for starting a team:
1. Be open. Dont be afraid to share an idea. Remember, its yours and itrepresents an expression of yourself. As you listen to other peoplesideas, be open, supportive, or passive. Never attack! It kills ideas and
erodes trust.2. Be supportive and noncritical. When someone expresses an idea, be
supportive and youll be surprised how it is returned. Contribute in anoncritical manner. Remember, criticism kills ideas. Open supportnurtures and encourages participation and builds trust.
3. Be positive. After listening to an idea or comment, respond positively. Tryforcing yourself to say something like, I like that idea becauseRemember, around every donut hole there is a donut.
4. Be willing to share your thoughts and feelings. Express your ideas nomatter how insignificant or dumb you think they might be. When youshare your thoughts and feelings you make yourself vulnerable. You will
discover that when you are vulnerable, most people will want to help.Open sharing is a great team-building activity.
5. No finger pointing. Never be threatening. Remember to check your handto see how many fingers are pointing back at yourself when you point atsomeone else.
6. K.I.S.S. (Keep it straightforward and simple). This is a cardinal rule ofCPI. If you are tempted to try to make something complex, dont. If youare attempting to solve a complex problem or address a complex process,break it down to its simplest form, then proceed.
7. Have fun. When people have fun together, stress level goes down,defenses go down, and creativity is enhanced. Never take yourself too
seriously. I still hate to hear my wife tell me to lighten up. But it alwaysworks. Learn to laugh at yourself or a bad situation. Remember, only youcan control your attitude and outlook.
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When the details of Robsons Storyboarding techniques are examined
closely, they are found to carry much of the same principles and framework found in
Kepner and Tregoes Problems Solving and Decision Making core techniques.
Robsons Storyboarding steps are as follows:
You may find it helpful to post a copy of the list to help youre your team on
track.
1. State the problem.
2. Develop the purpose.
3. List the benefits of solving the problem.
4. Identify headers if appropriate. Otherwise, let the brainstorming
results generate the topics.
5. Brainstorm and post all ideas.
Once the board is filled or ideas begin to dry up, take time to clean up the
board by eliminating redundancies and by grouping cards as naturally as possible.
Remember not to force anything.
6. Review each card to ensure the team agrees on its meaning.
7. Clarify and rewrite the cards if necessary.
8. Eliminate irrelevant or redundant cards. Cards may be removed
only with team consensus.
9. Identify your top three or four ideas.
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If team consensus can be reached on the list, then step 9 is complete.
However, if consensus can not be reached, then you should use the multivoting
process as explained in step 10.
10. Multivote for consensus. Each team member selects ideas from
the list and votes as follows:
* 4 votes for first choice
* 3 votes for second choice
* 2 votes for third choice
* 1 vote for fourth choice
If a tie exists for any choice, vote again using only the top four ideas,
including those causing the tie. Continue the process until prioritization is complete
and no ties exist.
11. Examine each topic or header card and if necessary restate it
as an action item. In other words, replace the noun with a verb.
If the topic is too broad, break it down into bite-size pieces you
can work with. Remember the K.I.S.S. rule.
12. If subtier actions are necessary, post them under the header
card. If there isnt enough room, use an adjacent space and
make the link with color-coded cards, string, yarn, or numbers
on the cards. Use your imagination and whatever tools you
have on hand.
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13. Assign a completion date to each appropriate item. Its
important that the person responsible for the item agrees with
the date.
14. Post dates and the name of the responsible person on either
side of the action card. Should responsibilities or dates change,
the cards should be adjusted accordingly to maintain the
accuracy of the board.
15. Sequence action items by date. This step is optional. It does
require additional effort to move cards around on the board, but
ordering events chronologically helps manage the
implementation and completion of the projects.
16. As items are completed or become overdue, it is recommended
that a color-coding system be used to indicate project status,
such as green for complete and red for overdue.
According to Dr. Hitt, good team building will result in a very highly productive
team with the following attributes:
1) The members have a common mission.
2) The members have a common vision.
3) The members have a common set of values.
4) The members have a common strategy.
5) The members engage in honest and open communications.
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6) The members feel free to express their individual opinions.
7) The members deal openly with their conflicts.
8) The members collaborate in solving problems and
making decisions
9) Once a decision is made, everyone supports it.
10) The team IQ is greater than the average IQ of the members.
Many of the premises of Charles Kepner and Benjamin Tregoe parallel and
support both George Robson and his CPI techniques as well as Dr. William Hitt and
his Model Leader. Kepner and Tregoe (1981) provide a very solid plan and
framework for problem solving and decision-making as well as the techniques for
facilitating a successful team. Their techniques are simple, structured and easy to
follow. The basic premise is that before one jumps to solving a problem or making a
decision, they must first recognize the situations that exist, separate them and
simplify the complex into their individual parts, set a priority and determine what to
do first, and then perform the correct action on each element of the situation.
Kepner and Tregoe (1981) identify three possible actions: 1) Decision Analysis, 2)
Problem Analysis, or 3) Potential Problem Analysis. They also identify another
related category 4) Opportunity Analysis. Referring to the Management team,
Kepner and Tregoe (1981) answering the question What kind of method (should be
used) for coordinating their efforts? One consisting of simple, common, sensible
guidelines and procedures expressed in a commonly understood language:
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guidelines and procedures that bridge the differences within the team and its
individual functions, guidelines and procedures the team can use jointly to carry out
responsibilities without inhibiting individual contributions or adding new, unessential
tasks. Kepner and Tregoe also point out that: For years social scientists have said
that humans resist change and so they do. But they resist only those changes
they do not understand, are suspicious of, or consider to be against their interests.
Humans embrace change that seems good for them or for the world they live in and
care about.
The best approach then would be one that acknowledges human nature, and
works to improve upon the elements of human nature that exist. Kepner and Tregoe
recognize this by recognizing that managers have four basic questions already in
their minds and these are:
Whats going on?
Why did this happen?
Which course of action should we take?
And What lies ahead?
From Whats going on? Kepner and Tregoe develop the action of
clarification. From Why did this happen? they focus on cause-and-effect thinking.
From Which course of action should we take? they focus on the choices that must
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be made. From What lies ahead? they look at assessing what problems might
happen or what decision might be necessary down the road.
With investigation, one can see that the manufacturing and industrial
engineering techniques, developed during the industrial revolution, perfected by the
giant U.S. corporations, and re-written with a new simplicity and discipline by the
Japanese, offer an excellent basis for improvement. There are many seminars,
books, video courses, and consultants available but the concepts and techniques
revolve around a few common concepts.
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Chapter 3
Methodology
As a manager and leader, one has to first digest all of the concepts and ideas
in relation to their individual business situation, company, or SBU (small business
unit) and then decide what will work for that situation and the specific management
team. The heart of USA-SI (Universal Small-business Approach for Successful
Improvements) starts with identifying what elements will afford the greatest
possibility of success and then to develop the leadership skills and techniques that a
coach or a facilitator would use to unfold the process within the organization. The
first step is to perform situation analysis. The initial process of successful
improvements will be led by a facilitator and the facilitator must be from top
management.
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Describe the Approach
The research first focused on an evaluation of others experience with
improvement programs in order to identify elements that increased success as well
as elements that contributed to program failure in order to focus on the good points
and avoid the failures. This was done through a survey, which was conducted using
the Internet and voluntary participation of mid-career college degree candidates, and
others who responded to the URL (Universal Resource Link).
The second portion of the research focused on combining elements from
Kepner and Tregoe situation analysis, decision making, and problem solving,
together with leadership and coaching techniques. These were combined with
selected Kaizen Event elements and CPI (Continuous Process Improvement)
techniques. This researcher served as the corporate facilitator, formed an
improvement team and instructed the team on the analysis and improvement
techniques that were to be used. Once the team itself had developed its own
synergy and was sufficiently trained to continue on with the improvements, a
facilitator was chosen from the team and the team was empowered to continue on
its own. The goal was to identify and select the best product line to improve first and
then to carry out improvements to that line. Once this was accomplished, the team
would continue on its own as a regular continuous process improvement entity for
the company.
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Identify the Data Gathering Method and Database of the Study
A simple questionnaire survey was created using an internet company called
Insiteful Surveys. There are several services available online which allow the
creation of a survey and provide a URL address that can be offered to potential
survey participants. The address provides a direct hyperlink to the survey itself, and
after the participants complete the survey, the data is compiled by the internet
survey company until an appropriate time or number of participants is achieved.
This was the exact method used to gather the information on reasons for success
and/or failure of Improvement Programs.
Additional data gathering was in the form of a review of literature on forming
teams, kaizen events, Gemba Kaizen, CPI, problem solving and decision-making
techniques, leadership and coaching skills, total quality, and improvement methods
of industrial engineering. In addition a case study was performed by an actual and
practical application of the techniques that were extracted and compiled to create an
innovative approach which was useful, successful, and completed valid process
improvement to a major product line of the company.
Finally, the USA-SI program was applied and tested by applying the
techniques to a real-life problem improvement opportunity at International
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Manufacturing Services, Inc., a small chip resistor manufacturing company in
Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
Comment on Validity of Data
The data from the survey is presumed valid since it was truly a random
gathering of 61 separate individual inputs from employees and former employees of
various sized companies from all over the United States. The majority of the
participants voluntarily participated in the survey through an invitation on the
Kennedy-Western University general newsgroup site called The Pub and
Business-Minded. These participants were largely mid-career professionals who
are seeking their Bachelor, Masters and Doctorate degrees and they provided high
quality input to the survey.
The data from the review of the literature is valid from the standpoint of the
repetitive concepts that were common between authors and the various techniques
and approaches.
The data from the case study was a valid and the actual accomplishment of
improvements to a major product line of a small U.S. chip resistor manufacturing
company with a national and international customer base. The company,
International Manufacturing Services, Inc., was incorporated in the State of Rhode
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Island in 1974. The facilitator, this author, is VP, Operations. The team consisted of
the QA Manager, Screen Process Manager, Laser Process Manager, and Shop
Manager.
All the steps in the improvement process and the actual improvements to the
product line of the case study were documented.
Comment of Originality & Limitation of Data
The survey was created by this author. It was entirely original including: the
questions, the order of the questions, and all the data was taken during the period of
the preparation of this paper to be used only for this paper. All work was new, fresh
and original. The survey is qualitatively sound but not a intended to be a complete
quantitative statistical sample. Its purpose was to document some of the reasons for
success and failure in various companies with the concept of Kaizen and other forms
of improvement. Although it fulfills this purpose adequately, it is limited and not
intended to be a quantitative statistical analysis tool
The literature review was extensive but within the limitations of the authors
time and abilities to digest the available information. Certainly, new publications are
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being produced daily and it would not be possible for this author to research all the
available information.
The case study was also subject to the limitations of the author and his ability
to not only serve as the initial facilitator and trainer for the improvement team, each
of the members of the team possessed their own limitations which varied with each
team member. The whole focus of the team approach for creating improvements
was to reduce the individuals limitations by combining the strengths of each
individual and harvesting the best thinking and most enthusiasm of the group in total
Summary of Chapter 3
When looking at the kaizen event or kaizen blitz alone, it possessed
limitations in its magnitude and the need to commit a block of time from a group of
employees of a small workforce. In a small business environment, where resources
are limited and production is already JIT (just-in-time), it is impossible to sacrifice a
group of employees away from the daily production needs. On the other hand, CPI
(continuous process improvement) techniques call for a long-term commitment from
all employees and before the process can be started the initial management teams
need training and time to develop the top-down approach necessary.
This researcher was able to schedule weekly improvement team sessions,
limited to one hour, and accomplish successful improvements while at the same time
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training a team that could either continue in the mode of creating gradual,
methodical, improvements, or form the basis of a full CPI program.
CHAPTER 4
THE DATA ANALYSIS SECTION
Introduction
This data analysis first focuses on the qualitative survey that was taken to
document some of the experiences that companies have had with successes and
failure with the concept of Kaizen and other improvement processes.
In addition the data analysis will also focus on the case study conducted by
this author together with the managers of International Manufacturing Services, Inc.,
Portsmouth, RI. During this study, the actual techniques used were elements of
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established techniques extracted from Kepner & Tregoe problem solving and
decision making, Kaizen events, and Continuous Process Improvement. The
techniques were combined, applied, and the specific combination of the techniques
and sequence of events, this author has named USA-SI (Universal Small-business
Approach for Successful Improvements).
The Survey
The survey was conducted through the use of an internet service called
Insiteful Surveys. The service allowed the creation of a questionnaire. Once
created, the questionnaire could be accessed by the potential participants through a
URL that was provided by the service.
There were six questions on the survey (in the APPENDIX). The first three
questions were designed to determine the size of the participants company and
number of human resources the company had. Question #4 was to determine if the
participants company had any improvement program experience. Question #5 was
designed to solicit a measure of the success of the participants company
improvement program. The final question, question #6, was open-ended and
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allowed the participants to provide their opinion on the success or failure of the
program. This question was the most insightful. The responses, found in appendix
A have been correlated to the profile of the respondents ascertained from the
questions in the beginning of the survey
Preparation Phase
One universal lesson found BOTH in the literature researched and in the
Survey is that one must first obtain the commitment, support and enthusiasm of top
management before any program or system can be successfully implemented. It
was probably best said by Masaaki Imai in his book Gemba Kaizen (1997) referring
to the three most important conditions for successful implementation of any program
including Kaizen Improvement:
The first condition is top management commitment. Unless top
management is committed, and renders full support, nothing will succeed.
The second, I begin, then pause a moment and watch out of the corner of
my eye as members of the audience pick up their pens to write down my
words in their notebooks. I finish my sentence by saying, is top management
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commitment. By then, they stop writing and begin to smile. When I end by
saying that the third condition, too, is top management commitment, the room
fills with laughter.
When I mention these three most important conditions, I am in fact
serious, as I know that nothing gets done without top management
commitment
The Case Study
In this case study, three steps were conducted to ensure top management
commitment. First, assurances were obtained that the C.E.O. was enthusiastic
about initiating a team improvement strategy. Not only was he enthusiastic, he had
been subtly encouraging the idea for some time. Second, this author, who is VP,
Operations of the company, and the company President met to analyze and discuss
the best area and product for the Improvement Team to initially focus upon. Finally,
this author served as the initial facilitator, through the steps of situation analysis
which demonstrated the real top management support to the management team,
and also created the enthusiasm and synergy to initiate the process.
Choosing the Initial Management Team
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One of the greatest difficulties in assembling a team or task force in a small
business, is deciding how to remove key people from the daily routines and still
manage to make the necessary production commitments. In a small business,
(electronic component manufacturing business in the case study), managers and
key personnel are scarce and usually overburdened with multiple tasks,
responsibilities and assignments.
It may be that some time has to be created by top management. In this case
study, top management was ready to temporarily re-organize production schedules
and other priorities to make the time necessary for the team. This is a very
important reason for having top management commitment from the beginning. No
improvement team can succeed if they are penalized and reprimanded for directing
time away from their other functions to participate in an improvement effort.
Time was also initially limited to 45 minutes per week for the Situation
Analysis, and, as long as the team was progressing, there was no pressure placed
on the team to complete their improvements in a defined block or time. This was
necessary because when the team first began its work there was a rapid growth
period taking place in the company. Later, economic conditions flattened production
and the team was able to dedicate more time to completing and implementing the
improvements.
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The actual team itself consisted of the Quality Manager, the Screen Process
Manager, the Laser Process Manager, and the Shop Manager, with the VP,
Operations serving as initial Facilitator. In addition the new Sales Engineering
Manager audited the teams sessions in an effort to learn more about the
manufacturing process.
This team was the core of operations for the company and each member bore
multiple functions in the company as is characteristic of most small companies. The
45 minute per week initial plan was chosen over a block of time as is done in a
Kaizen Event because the members of the team could not be drawn away from their
daily duties for a block of time and still perform the other necessary functions. The
alternatives: 1) stop or slow production or 2) make up a different team excluding the
key managers, was not acceptable. In later stages, once the situation analysis was
complete, other teams could be formed but the initial situation analysis which
identified the key elements, determined the importance and urgency of each
element, and set the priority for the improvements, must be the key management.
Just as the key management needs top management commitment, the individual
departments needs key management commitment and enthusiasm.
Preparation and Training
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Before successful improvements can be accomplished, the team and its key
members need to be trained. Many courses are available which range in price from
zero to many thousands of dollars. Some of the best courses are available from the
professional societies: American Society for Quality, Institute of Industrial
Engineers, and the Society of Mechanical Engineers, to name a few. Local chapters
of the professional organizations often offer small dinner-meeting courses, as well as
full certification and training, often in conjunction with local colleges and Universities.
In addition there are many private firms and consultants who specialize in teaching
the skills and techniques and, for a fee, will bring an entire program into the
company.
In this case study, the training took several forms. In the past, this author had
attended a full week-long training on how to be a facilitator for the Kepner-Tregoes
Problem Solving and Decision Making Process. In addition, just prior to the
formation of the Improvement Team, members of the team attended a presentation
on Kaizen improvements together. This presentation was sponsored by a local
professional society chapter. In addition this author and the Quality Manager
attended additional courses covering several improvement topics through a local
reputable college: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, including: Implementing the Five
S System, Developing Lean Manufacturing Work Cells, How to Implement Kaizen
Events at Your Company, Improving Cycle Time Through Setup Reduction, and
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Poke-Yoke Mistake-Proofing. This was all necessary so that the key facilitators
would have the skills necessary and the members of the team would have some of
the basic ideas of brainstorming, organizing thoughts, and working in a team
approach. Equally important, this also provided time prior to the initial meeting to
discuss the topic together from the same platform.
Introduction and Explanation of Goals to the Team
The first meeting was planned and announced. The introduction, agenda,
goals, and team assignment was communicated. Figure 1 is the initial memo that
introduced the assignment to the team and set the focus and agenda of the first
meeting. This portion of the Improvement focus is using the techniques of Kepner
Tregoe problem solving and decision making situation analysis. Other techniques,
like George Robsons Storyboarding could have been used instead of the Kepner
Tregoe techniques, but this author, who was trained as a facilitator in the Kepner
Tregoe techniques believed it to be the best system available.
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(Figure 1: Initial memo to members of the Improvement Team. The names of theteam members have been changed to protect individual privacy)
RC3(C)0402 Product and process improvement Team
We have been talking for some time about establishing an improvement team andtaking the 0402 pull through product as a good place to start to make improvements.
Looking at some of the recent presentations we have had on Kaizen, ContinuousImprovement (5 Ss), Lean Manufacturing, and other techniques, I believe we havesome valid tools available to create some good improvements at IMS.
Ultimately, I believe we can use a combination of Kepner-Tregoe problem solvingand decision making, Kaizen and CPI or the 5S system to implement ourimprovements, but first we need a forum to perform the Gap Analysis (Determinewhere we are starting from (baseline), where we want to go), and get a feel for thetime, resources and ease of improvement implementation.
We will handle the front-end planning by the Improvement Team using sometechniques I learned from Kepner Tregoe which give us a framework but doesntstifle any inputs and gives everyone an even playing field.
Ted and I selected the Master Team consisting of Dave - Screen Process Manager,Lara Shop Manager, Albert - Laser Process Manager, and Shelly QualityManager. I am scheduling our first two meetings on Thursday 4/26/01 at 2:00 PM 2:45 PM and Wednesday 5/2/01 at 2:00 PM 2:45 PM. I will act as facilitator anddo my best to facilitate rather than participate. The meetings are limited to 45minutes.
This system starts with Situation Appraisal.
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In situation appraisal, we go in the following order and try hard to not jump aheadtoo soon:
1) Identify Concerns
This first step may seem so obvious that its legitimate to ask why we need it. Theanswer lies in a tendency to react to situations, or firefight, rather than think ahead.Its easy enough to recognize concerns that arrive at our desks a failed lot, or ascream about a late delivery, but it takes conscious effort to seek out opportunitiesfor improving the effectiveness of the work environment itself
Recognizing concerns is a systematic surveying of the work environment for threatsAND opportunities and the result is a comprehensive list of areas needing our
attention now and in the future.
Please be prepared in our first meeting to List Concerns:
- This is done by Questioning to the Void, meaning asking What Elseand What Changed until NO ONE has any more ideas.
RULE #1. At this state ALL input is valid, nothing is ignored, no idea is bad or wrongor dumb. Too often gems are missed because they are discarded too soon.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER BEFOREHAND:
1- What deviations are occurring?2- Where are we not meeting expectations and dont know why?3- What needs attention?4- What opportunities exist?5- What actions need to be taken?6- What decisions or choices need to be made?7- What plans should be implemented?8- What future changes in product/customer requirements are
anticipated?
2) Clarify Concerns (Clarify and Separate) First or second meetingdepending on how much time is needed
As concerns are listed we may know exactly what we mean by each concern. If theconcern is clearly stated, we are ready to proceed to the next appropriate stephowever, the list of concerns will include broad or general issues (the production
problem, the morale problem) or only a few words describing an area of concern
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but giving little indication of the action required. We need to know more specificallywhat is meant by the concern to make further progress.
Clarifying concerns does NOT mean listing everything we know about them. We willdo that later when identifying all the relevant information as part of ProblemAnalysis, Decision Analysis or Potential Problem Analysis save the details forlater.
Questions to Consider during the Clarification step:
- What: Re-state vague or general concerns
- Why: To better understand the nature of each concern
- How: Ask separating and clarifying questions
-What do you mean by____?
- What exactly is ______?
- What else concerns you about ______?
- What evidence do you have?
- What different deviations, decisions, or plans are part of this concern?
- Is this a group or basket of concerns, can you break them out?
Best test - Do you know if this needs a decision, or is a problem, or apotential problem?
Concern is clear when there is a commonunderstanding
Concern is clear when it states a single actionableissue
SECOND MEETING AGENDA, Details will follow:
IF we have enough time to complete the List and Clarification of our concernsduring the first meeting we will move ahead, otherwise we will continue duringthe second meeting.
Next Agenda will be to:
Set priority: Seriousness, Urgency and GrowthPlan next steps: Determine Analysis & subgroup teams neededPlan involvement: Identify who Does What and When
I ask the following from everyone:
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KEEP AN OPEN MIND, FEEL FREE TO SPEAK OPENLY BUT TRY TOATTACK ISSUES NOT PEOPLE, DONT TAKE CROSS-DEPARTMENTALINPUT, IDEAS, AND SUGGESTIONS PERSONALLY SINCE WE SEE
THINGS IN OTHER AREAS MORE CLEARLY THAN IN OUR OWN. ALLINPUTS ARE IMPORTANT AT THIS STAGE.
When done correctly and seriously this process is very effective and can befun since the resulting improvements can be extraordinary.
John Silvia, VP, Operations4/19/01
Although the first meeting felt awkward and everyone appeared somewhat
uneasy, the group pulled together and there was a huge amount of work
accomplished. Forty five separate concerns were identified in the initial
brainstorming.
As facilitator, this researcher had the difficult task of keeping his thoughts and
natural desire to manage the outcome away from the process and strive only to
listen and keep the group on task rather than jump to his own conclusions. Often
the largest contribution to failure is to allow the facilitator or a dominant or top
management individual who may be part of the team, to overpower the team or
become an intimidation or bully to the process. The key is to establish the ground
rules in the beginning that NO idea will be criticized and ALL ideas are valid.
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The second challenge, is to keep a good sense of humor and keep the
discussion on a positive note. Robson (1991) highlights this in his Ground Rules
as noted earlier in the Review of Literature: Have fun. When people have fun
together, the stress level goes down, defenses go down, creativity is enhanced.
Never take yourself too seriously. It is important for the facilitator to keep things
light and prevent domination, attacks, finger-pointing, and criticism. This is
especially important at this stage. Later the team will be assigned to scrutinize each
concern.
Another critical element is to make the process and work visible. There are
many tools available including PC and laptop projectors, and very expensive digital
white boards. Although these tools are innovative and interesting, a simple
overhead projector and some transparencies, together with a grease pencil will
suffice.
It is important to have everyone on the same playing field. The facilitators
primary function is to keep everyone to the program agenda, prevent the team from
jumping ahead, and to write everything down in a visible format. To prepare, a
grid with headings was created. The grid table was pre-numbered to save steps
when it was used. The key is to write down everyones ideas and input. It is very
important and worth repeating: The facilitator must not judge, or pre-judge any of
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the inputs. Every input has equal weight and equal opportunity to become part of
the initial list. (Figure 2)
Figure 2, adapted for this paper, is the second memo the team. This memo
quickly followed the first meeting in order to keep the completed work very visible,
and to keep the improvement program alive, fresh and active in the minds of the
team until the next meeting. In many situations, but especially in a small business,
the real-time duties and tasks that build up when key managers are away from their
departments often take immediate priority once they have left their meetings and
sessions. Often, the same top managers and facilitators instantly switch gears and
begin asking their streams of questions and making requests about the daily
production assignments, pushing the improvement team tasks and assignments
further down their list of priorities. The memos, reminders, and discussions between
the team sessions, that come from a top management facilitator concerning the
improvement program, help to keep the program important and active in everyones
mind. This is another important function of the facilitator and another good reason
the facilitator should be part of top management or working directly for, and with, top
management.
The Memo illustrated in Figure 2 actually does several things:
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1) It gives encouragement and support for the work completed during the first
session. This feedback is very important and reinforcement with positive
feedback for good progress and accomplishments is necessary.
2) It provides a reminder of the time and place for the next meeting. Meetings
may move or need to be re-scheduled, but reminders are necessary
nonetheless.
3) It provides the list of Concerns generated in the first session. This list needs
to be actively in the hands of all of the team members. At this stage it is the
most important product of the improvement team.
4) Finally it reminds everyone about the next step and the next meeting with a
brief description of what they can expect. They already received the details
of the actual procedure in the first memo.
It is important to note that the second meeting and as many more meetings
as is necessary, can be solely for the purpose of completing the initial list of
concerns. Before actually moving to the second stage, the eight initial questions
need to be reviewed more than once and the overriding question what else needs
to be repeated until there is nothing more that the team can add to the list.
Once this is accomplished, the finalized list is then shared among all the
members of the group by the facilitator and the second stage begins.
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(Figure 2: Second memo to members of the Improvement Team.)
RC3(C)-0402 Product Improvement Team
Session 1, Situation Analysis List Concerns
This was an Excellent session and six pages (45 concerns) were listed. To help uskeep everything visible and in focus I am listing the items below (typed .therefore now legible) but unchanged from how they were listed. If any otherconcerns come to light before the next meeting on Wednesday 5/2/01 @ 2:PM 2:45, please forward them to me so I can add to list and re-distribute.
1) Resistor spreads in different directions2) Printing in valley 3) Sawtoothed edge4) Perimeter of plate different from center5) Only holding on outside with vacuum6) Cover glass prints with sawtooth7) Low squeegee pressure = thick prints8) Increase pressure migrates paste before bake
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9) Small chip screens dont wear well10) Three different screen people & variations11) Vacuum not well controlled vortex?
12) Not tried stones may need filter too13) Have to thin silver14) Sales pushing tighter tolerances all the time15)
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We will take as many meetings as needed to complete this next step since one itemcan sometimes become several separate concerns and we will have at least 45 tolook at.
Thank you all for your participation and enthusiasm so far.
I am scheduling the third meeting for Wednesday 5/16/01 @ 2:00 PM 2:45 PM sowe can plan ahead of time. I am intentionally sk