Making issues in your workplace more visible – not less – is first step on a journey of continual improvement.
You might have heard the story of Taiichi Ohno, famous advocate of Lean principles, took the reins at Toyota in the 1980s. Among the first changes he made was regarding worker uniforms. He required all production plant workers wear white head-to-toe. Why white? Wouldn’t grey or navy make more sense?
The more quickly a problem surfaces, the easier it is to examine and then solve it.
To Ohno, white jumpsuits were a calculated choice. A mechanic who’s spent the day working on a machine that’s broken down because of an oil leak will be very obvious leaving the plant floor at the end of the day.
The still-pristine uniforms can be presumed to have had a smooth and problem-free shift. The white jumpsuits are a visual reporting device of sorts; they allow production supervisors and management to stay in touch with the problems that need to be fixed on the factory floor, and to respond more quickly and effectively to fix them.
Are white jumpsuits applicable to your business?
Maybe, maybe not. The point here, is that any system or tool that allows you to pinpoint what’s going wrong is a valuable asset to ongoing operational success.
Create an environment where it’s okay to flag problems.
Reward the whistleblowers. You’ll have better ability to improve and fewer bad surprises. However, before you can place such a system or tool in place, you and your organization have to embrace the idea of wanting to uncover problems rather than hide them.
No one wants to be reamed out.
In many companies, the last thing anyone wants to do is let the boss know when there is an issue, for fear of being blamed, reprimanded and embarrassed in front of their colleagues, or (in the very worst case scenario) fired. That social pressure, coupled with the survival stress associated with working in an environment where admitting to making a mistake is a career-limiter, can make even the most knowledgeable employees reluctant to come forward with what they know.
I’ve got PILES practical suggestions for incorporating visual management systems like the white jumpsuit concept.
Shoot me an email, or connect with me on social media (see below!) and we’ll have a conversations!
