Lean Alternatives to Layoffs
Lean projects are easier to start in lean times.
Most books on Lean leadership will advise a
Lean Champion to invent a crisis if a looming crisis
isn't already obvious enough to dislodge the inertia and turf-guarding that can
be insurmountable in fat times. (Remember a few months ago, when it was
so easy to hear, "but we're too busy to make
any big changes right now. And besides, look, we're doing great. We
don't need to make any big changes.")
In today's economy, there aren't many lean
leaders that will need to invent a crisis.
So let's assume that you're in a company that
wants to survive, wants to retain its well-trained and
expensive-to-replace
employees,
and has sufficient motivation to disrupt some old rutted habit patterns.
What lean projects might
you consider?
5S projects are always a good start to a lean journey. Costing
almost nothing, the return on investment can be enormous.
Kaizen Events are can be a great way to get value from people who
suddenly find they have a little free time.
Maybe now might be a good time to take the next step on your
value
stream mapping journey.
1) Hand draw your very first value stream maps.
2) Transcribe to a drawing tool that makes it easier to draw, edit,
store, and share between team members. 3) Start
adding numbers to analyze expected effects of
proposed changes - BEFORE rubber-stamp authorization of every proposed
change.
4) Take your value stream maps to the next level - as a
single-glance production control dashboard
with real-time side-by-side comparisons of safety data, quality data, lean
accounting data, etc. (See
training video)
Standard Work is the cornerstone of most lean programs. The
Standard
Work Combination Sheet is ideal for both reconsidering better ways to do
a process, and then succinctly training workers to remind them to do it
the (better) new way.
Visual Work Instructions provide pictures with detailed
descriptions of exactly how to train a new-hire or a vacation
replacement - without suffering quality and productivity
losses.
Reduce setup times – with the big payoff of inventory flow.
And once you start draining your swamps of protective floods of
inventory, the stumps and alligators of quality problems start to emerge. Once-boring
DMAIC Six Sigma tools might
suddenly become interesting.
A simple flow chart is still the most popular tool for documenting
process flow, and a swim lane cross functional flow chart
can take your flowcharting to another level.
Slow times can be a great time to take on a one-time project.
Maybe a facility restructuring, new product
development,
or an acquisition. The most popular tool for managing a
one-time project is a
Gantt Chart, and a slow time is a good time to
learn how to use this powerful tool – even if only to plan something as
simple as the company Christmas party.
Maybe these slow times might allow you to
divert a
surge of resources to (finally) finish up that ERP or
accounting software project
- and reduce consulting fees by using fill-in-the-blanks tools to
increase what your own people can do in-house.
Slow times are also a good time for
strategic planning. Dust off and
update that Balanced Scorecard that no one has looked at in a while.
Maybe turbo charge your strategic planning with a
Policy
Deployment Matrix to keep your strategic
objectives in the forefront of everyone’s mind in every decision that
they make.
Before laying off your hard-to-replace team members, isn't there
something productive that they might do? |
