2 Second Lean - David Proctor

Hello All

I wanted to jump in on the Triple T with some thoughts I've had lately.  I am in no way the wordsmith that some of my fellow co-workers are but I will do my best to measure up to their eloquence.  

We've all been talking A LOT lately about "LEAN!!"  Each of us probably have our own take on what this is and how to achieve our goals, but ultimately as my good friend Cory West keeps preaching, Lean is simply the elimination of waste.  Recently some of us had the good fortune to tour a lean facility and they were doing many things to achieve their vision of Lean.

  Find the things that bug you and these are the prime opportunities for LEAN.

One of the things that I feel we have to create is a Lean Culture.  We have have to have every single member of our team to realize that Lean is their responsibility and goal.  But we also have to make it easy and fun to be successful.  We do this by finding small seemingly insignificant things that help change the way we all think, and celebrate and reward these small improvements.  Keeping that in mind I have been very interested lately in something called "2 Second Lean".

• 2 Second Lean!  If you have the opportunity to go to YouTube there are many good and interesting videos focusing on Lean.  My favorite videos are by Paul Akers. He is the owner of a company called FastCap.  This guy gets so excited talking about Lean. One of his goals is for everyone to come up with a 2 second improvement everyday.  Think about that.....  a 2 second improvement everyday.  What kind of impact can 2 seconds have you say.  Well lets look at it.  If we have 2 second of improvement everyday in 250 working days = 62750 seconds=  1045 min.= over 17 hours of gained time in a year per person!!!  How great is that!  And it all began with the smallest of improvements.   2 SECONDS!!  The Great Wall of China began with a single grain of sand.  The possibilities are endless.

 Paul Akers and FastCap have a large number a videos on YouTube and a website 2secondlean.com  He brings a different perspective to Lean.  But one thing he does advocate is a developing a culture of Lean.  One of never ending improvements.  Are all our improvements going to be as easy as his improvements that he shows? Probably not but I think that he does show that not all improvements have to save huge amounts of waste. We all have to think about how we can do things differently and eliminate waste. But also develop a Culture of Lean!

Here in our plant we had kicked around the idea for years that the waste that we could make the biggest difference in was putting product in the carton sending it to packing and taking it out and going over it again and the packing it and shipping it.  That bugged me constantly.  But it takes commitment and getting other people to accept the elimination of waste for any idea to be successful.  We finally moved past this and progressed to the point that minutes after a cap comes off an embroidery machine it is cleaned in a box and ready to ship as soon as the order is finished.  We have seen a steady improvement in our cost and anticipate great things in the future

Thank you for your time and allowing me to share in the T3 discussion.  Good luck in your lean journey, which we are all sharing the same journey.

Kaizen - Cory West

My fellow coworkers,

I hope this e-mail finds you in a state of unique thinking and change.  By this time many of you have participated in, if not formed a routine of doing COC's, or Ohno Circles, or whatever you want to call it.  I received very many great observations and appreciate the time you put into this very valuable tool (I mean the Ohno Circles, not me).    

As you performed the observation you all recognized waste.  You also all came up with ideas to eliminate that waste.

The process of actually performing the improvement activity and eliminating the waste is called "Kaizen".  This lean term of Japanese origin literally translates to "change for better" and in the lean sense carries the added notion of being continuous.  If everyone takes the step to perform the Kaizen events to eliminate the waste you observed in your Ohno exercises, many forms of waste will continue to be eliminated throughout our great company.  

In closing, I encourage you all to continue to spend time in Ohno Circles and use the observations as catalysts for improvement.  It's exciting for me to hear about your observations and improvements, but my involvement is not necessary for you to continue to execute these procedures.  Keep up the great work, Team!

Cory

Thinking Differently - Chris

Wow, we have gotten some different perspectives on thinking differently.  Cory and another great "lean" tool, Pam and the critical space where value is added, are both things we are doing around Paramount to think differently.  Kim wrote about the "Aha" moment and being curious, "What can you take that is ordinary from everyday life, and make it your Aha moment?"  Then Kelly helps us all to understand that it's OK to feel fear and anxiety during times of change, it can be an emotional time, even when we know it's the right thing to do.

My goal is still to get you thinking about things differently.  You haven't forgotten, have you?   I hope this weekly T cubed e-mail encourages, inspires, and re-motivates you to step outside of your normal thinking and help you to be innovative in ways only you can imagine.  Take some time each day to stop and think.  Look at things from different angles.  Ask questions of people that you don't normally ask.  Be curious like a little kid.  Don't forget, it's OK to embrace failure.

Please share this weekly communication with your group, and if you want,  I can have them added to the list and it will go to them directly.

And here we go with a few statements and questions to get your mind working......

• Don't forget about the paper clip made of chocolate....

• An optimist would say the glass is half full....everyone knows the next part...the pessimist would say the glass is half empty.  But...how about a different perspective, the glass is always full, it's just half full of water and the other half is full of air.

• How about the salesman that sees no opportunity in selling caps in this region, nobody wears caps in this region....maybe he should look from the angle that it is a glorious business opportunity to sell caps in this region, nobody has one yet.

•  If you struggle in thinking outside the box, how about just thinking inside a different box.

• "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." - Albert Einstein

• Think different, but don't believe everything you think.

Have a great week.

Aha Moment - Kim Latham

When I was asked to participate in the T cubed project, I was a bit hesitant.  I was not sure I had anything of real value to share, or any process that is just groundbreaking in the way of thinking. Then I realized that it isn’t rocket science.  You just have to take what you have, look at it a different way, and see what you can do with it.

I pay someone to come to my house and spray for bugs, roaches, spiders, grasshoppers, those nasty creepy crawly things no one likes.  However, in Thailand, they pay people to serve them so they can eat those creepy crawly things.  We both pay someone for the same thing, but for different reasons.  I want to get rid of them, they want to obtain them. 

It is taking what you have and moving it differently. Stretching your imagination, looking for that one true Aha moment. It’s a clue, that moves you to the next level, where you find the puzzle piece, which fits part of the puzzle, but you need the next clue to find the next piece. Only to find that piece is not exactly what you wanted.  Then you go back and find something you already have and make it new.  Again that Aha moment. 

Einstein said – or at least I think it was Einstein, “I have no special talent.  I am only passionately curious.”  That’s all it takes, is a passion and a curiosity.  Everyone has those qualities.  Those are just human nature. The late Steve Jobs in his commencement speech reflected on his success:  “Much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on.” 

My T cubed words of wisdom is to find what you are curious about and how you can be passionate about it?  What can you take that is ordinary from everyday life, and make it your Aha moment? 

Fear & Anxiety OK - Kelly Long

In August my youngest daughter will be leaving the nest to attend MIZZOU.  It is wonderful to see the promise and excitement she is displaying during the hustle and bustle of her preparations to make this change.  But for me, it is a mixed bag.  Intellectually, I understand this is the right direction she must take in order to grow and achieve her true potential.  Emotionally however, I find myself struggling with the sense of loss and the unknown this change will bring to my life.  I know things will not be how they have always have been in my house in a few short months and that is a source of fear and anxiety for me.

Change, I think, is just that way.  I believe you can be both excited for the promise of the future while at the same time finding it difficult to let go of the past.

It is an exciting time at Paramount for sure. Intellectually, it's easy to understand the benefits that will come from the Lean Initiatives we are pursuing, but there is an emotional component also.  In order to fully reap the benefits of  these initiatives  we must change and change means things are not going to be how they have always been in our PAI house. This is going to cause some fear and anxiety for some of us but that's OK.

It is important that we understand and agree that these feelings are real, normal, and legitimate.  Identifying such emotions and discussing them in an open and supportive manner will help us all make it where we need to go, and to get there together.

Think about it,

Kelly

PON - Pam Volner

​Good day all,

It's Thursday Think Tank time again!! 

Today's topic is " PON" or Point of Needle.

Definition: The Critical Space Where Value is Added

Have you opened your tool box and started to work on PON in your area?? If not it's time to do so. I would like to share a couple examples of things that are currently in progress. 

Let's start with mine "Quality Control" (I'm so excited I just can't hide it !!!!)

We are currently working on not only reducing time (and lots of it) but waste. In the past every audit performed was documented on a paper audit form. Now each quality inspector has their own lap top and audits are entered on to a shared document that can be monitored every minute of every day. No more stacks of paper!!  We still have a couple phases to go and are working out the bugs but itsAMAZING!!!!!!!!!!  A big thank you to those that have helped get us there. 

Next is "Screening"

Remember we talked about the 5 main PON tools???

1) QRS (Qualified Reference Sample)

2) TOP (Top of Production)

3) F/M/L (First/Middle/Last)

4) 30 Minute Lesson

5) Measles  

The below image is a summary of data collected from the measles chart and 30 minute lessons. This allows the department Mgrs, supervisors and operators to see what the leading contributors are so action can be taken and improvements made.

We are still in the implementation stages but progress is being made. 

1) SOPs have been created and posted so operators clearly understand their responsibilities.

2) Approval samples are clearly identified and displayed for easy reference at the press and at     the stacker table(now on orange hanger). Now when walking through the screening dept. I look     for the green light at the press which means it's running and also to see if there are approval     samples displayed on the orange hangers. If so the start up process has been followed. Simple and quick!!!  By the way, the orange hanger for approvals was a suggestion from one of the screening qcladies "Dottie". She was thinking differently!!!  

Well that's it for me. 

Best Regards,

Pam Volner

Director of Quality Control 

#1 Paramount Dr.

Bourbon, Mo. 65441

Phone#: 573-732-4411 Ext 285

Cell#: 573-205-7152

 

Cory's Ohno Circle

Hi Everybody,

Welcome to another edition of Thursday Think Tank!  Do you all remember what lean is?  I'm going to assume you do.  Great job!  That's right, Lean is the elimination of waste!

To eliminate waste we first have to see waste.  Has everyone been practicing seeing waste?  If not, I have a suggested program to keep us on track.

Drum roll please.......

Cory's Ohno Circle, or COC for short (pronounced "See-Oh-see", not "caulk")  

This is the suggested execution for each department:

1. Every department should participate at least once a week.
2. One person will stand (or sit in their cart) in the circle for at least a half hour. Hula Hoops will be available Monday in the production office.
3. Time and day can be whenever you choose.
4. For now, the manager should be the one participating in their department.  If you don't belong to a specific department, you are free to choose your location.
5. This is observation time only, no distractions from employees, coworkers, cell phones or mother nature...remember to visit el baño before you start or you could end up like this:
6. Improvement sheets (see attachment) will be provided for any ideas you may have while observing.  Turn these in to share your ideas.
7. Every other week a guest will join from a different dept. for discussion partners.  Please get back with me so I can assign guests for week 2.
8. Program begins the week of Monday 3-23-15

If you have any questions or would like to clarify anything, please contact me.

Your buddy in waste elimination,

Cory West

PS

For more on the Ohno circle, look at this picture:

First Thursday Think Tank - Get off your butt

Happy Thursday Everyone,

"The critical ingredient of success is getting off your butt and doing something. It's as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today."  -- Nolan Bushnell (Founder of Atari Inc, & Chuck E. Cheese)

What a great quote to get us all thinking about the meeting last week.  My goal was to get everyone thinking differently, or at least thinking.  What happens after that....well that's where we need your help.  Here is a few questions to ponder in your mind or discuss within your circle of influence.

• What actions have you done with thinking or thinking differently in the past week?
• Are you the person that thinks you are thinking differently already? REALLY???
• Have you shared your different thinking with your group?

Here is a spot someone is thinking differently....a packing machine in thescreen printing department.  

Waste that is being eliminated....(1) inventory waste - WIP between screening & packing (2) transportation waste - moving inventory between screening & packing (3) Waiting waste - shipping not waiting on packing to process.

Remember, it's not how good you are, it is how good you want to be.