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The FMEA Tool (Failure, Modes, Effects, Analysis) is a powerful tool available to a Lean Six Sigma practitioner. The tool is extensively used where a safety critical environment exists, such as the aerospace or automotive industry. The tool allows a team the ability to design quality and safety into processes or products on the front end of the environment, eliminating potential problems before they occur.

The implementation of a certain tool may bring about on-time and on-budget performance, but the tool must also be used efficiently once it has been implemented. It is all very well to have nice tools; however, it is the behavior of leaders and employees that will determine the final results. An insight from the Shingo Model™ explains it beautifully: "Only via ideal behavior we can achieve ideal results." If we want to have a 100% safe environment, we want to see the staff talk to each other if they see unsafe behavior. Do you want to achieve a culture of continuous improvement? If you do, you should look for new items to constantly place on the improvement board, and you should see tips and tricks shared spontaneously. As leaders, we want to set a good example; and if a leader sees inefficient behavior among his/her employees, he/she must speak to them about this in the correct manner. But how do we get the ideal behavior that we want to see in our organization?

What checks can we install to ensure that the information we send to our downstream colleagues is 100% complete and accurate? What error-proofing tools can we create? It's not that hard to insert data validation tools into a spreadsheet or a web form. Checklists and templates are other tools that can help ensure built-in quality.

Lean goes beyond the tools to challenge our way of thinking. It is about learning to see opportunities and continually improving them. Lean is a system of tools and people that work together.

I'm a tool guy, but I get this! Tools don't improve processes; good tools make good processes more efficient. People first; then process improvement; and only then, tools.

"The general answer to this question from today's webinar is that if people don't find a particular tool purposeful, they don't use it. More specifically for poka-yoke, there are seven reasons team members do not see the tool as purposeful:

I look forward to the day when our company implements Poka-yoke on our paper supplies. It works if you believe in it.

In my experience there are 5 tools that can help with a Visual Workplace and 5S efforts:

It is said that performance is related to housekeeping and workplace organization. It is a first step to improving operating results. The 5S Tool is a common sense approach to improve the visual control in the workplace. The decision-making process usually comes from a dialogue about standardization, which builds understanding among employees of how they should do the work. It can apply to both manufacturing and the service setting.

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a valuable tool in quality improvement for identifying the underlying causes or facts of a issue or incident so proper solutions can be identified and implemented. It is a tool designed to identify not only what happened and how it happened, but also why. When you truly able to determine the facts of why an event happened, then you be be able to apply workable corrective actions to prevent future events. Some organizations mistakenly interpret the term 'root cause' to mean there is one root cause of an issue.

Use these in our CI Class

"An organization can only change so much, or so fast, usually. It's really going to be a long-term process. What you want to do is be focusing on how you build your influence over time. Long term thinking is a very powerful, and much under-practiced, strategy," says John.   Although there are other methods and tools, here are 4 ways how this can be done.

Within virtually any serious lean transformation effort, there are moments of truth. The "truth" represents not the orthodoxy of lean tools and even systems, both extremely important, but lean principles themselves. Violate the principles and fail that moment of truth. Do it consistently and the lean transformation will be nothing more than a lean charade. Effective lean leaders must be unbending when it comes to principles. See figure below for the lean principles as identified in the Shingo Prize Model. So, why do lean leaders waffle on lean principles?

I'm going to try & use this on some maps.

Plan-Do-Study-Adjust (or Act) is a simple cyclical continuous improvement tool that we all use every day but don't often realize it. Properly applied, PDSA helps us properly define a problem and determine a potential solution, enable the solution, and see if that solution worked. On Sunday, we are going to see a fantastic demonstration of PDSA every time Peyton Manning comes to the line during the Super Bowl. Here's how he demonstrates it…in 25 seconds or less.

Gemba walks are not to be confused with management by walking around (MBWA). The primary purpose of Gemba walking is to teach. When you are the Gemba walker, you are playing the role of sensei (mentor, coach, teacher). The role of the sensei is to ask questions, introduce new tools and approaches, stimulate new thinking, teach, and (sparingly) to give advice.

I'm a rabid believer that lean concepts and tools can improve personal productivity enormously - hell, I (literally) wrote the book on that. But it's nice to see validation from the go-go world of internet startups.

Nice article on how to use the Fish Bone diagram.

Businesses are full of managerial approval loops. An employee wants to take a break, and he must check in with the supervisor. An employee wants to buy a hand tool, and she must go through channels to put in the request. A back-office employee wants to do something to take care of a customer, and he has to get permission. An employee wants to learn a new skill, and must get authorization from her manager for the company to pay for evening classes. In each of these cases, if you talked to the manager, you would probably hear something along the lines of the approval being a check to ensure that the employee does not make a mistake. These bosses feel like the approval process is good for the company. But I see it as something significantly different. I see a red flag that screams poor process. I see a lack of trust. I see unclear standards. I see an untrained employee. In short, I see a leadership failing.

After 4 posts about value stream mapping, I thought it would be useful to show a value stream map example. It's easier to learn by seeing examples of how other people use this lean tool.