Article from “The Pocket Sensei” by Hal Macomber & Calayde Davey
This lesson reminds me of construction job-sites. The more space there is on the site, the more materials seem to take up that space. Construction managers and site superintendents want lay-down space to keep materials ready for use. But the more space they use, the more non-value-adding work has to be performed. Material inevitably has to be moved multiple times before it is used. Material has to be inventoried so it can be found. Material has to be protected from weather. It has to be protected from theft. The more space we use, the less Lean we are. And as all Lean leaders know, inventory is waste.
At the opposite end is the inner-city construction site that has no lay-down space at all. It certainly is more work to co-ordinate the availability of material so production is not interrupted. Or is it? Downtown job-sites have far less inventory that is moved, damaged, stored, and tracked. Why would we want more space in the first place?
More space is a physical buffer for the variation that occurs in the production of the project. We don’t know when something will be completed by one trade, so we don’t know when something else will be started by another trade. We want more space to accommodate this variation in task completion—and with the use of that space we add waste to our operations.
Instead, let’s go to the source of that waste—the variation of work completions. By decreasing the variation in the completion of work, we won’t need buffering. High reliability of task completion uncomplicates the coordination of material arrivals. The reliability of task completion makes Kanban possible.
How do you improve reliability? By making and securing reliable promises.
As usual, we start with ourselves. Begin recording the promises you make to include all elements of the promise along with the characteristics of reliability. Follow the form below:
I (performer) promise to do something (conditions of satisfaction) for someone (customer) by some specific time in the future. I have the wherewithal to perform; I have estimated the time it will take; I have allocated that time on my schedule; and I sincerely intend to perform, still acknowledging that the future is uncertain, and I might have to revise my promise or take care of the consequences of not performing to my customer’s conditions of satisfaction.
Record at least eight promises you make each day for a week. Repeat the process for the following week by recording the promises others make to you. Capture at least eight promises each day.
What are you noticing about your reliability? How did it change over the week you recorded your promises? What impact will reliability have on your work? The work of others? What are you noticing about how you work with others? Are they becoming more reliable for you? What is the connection between reliability and waste in your operations?
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