Management Gurus tell us that an enterprise exists to solve problems. Only when we find exceptional solutions to the customer's challenges, we create value. It has now become a cliche. The concept is easy to state and illustrate with examples. But, ingraining it in the DNA of an organization needs a methodology, persistent efforts, creative thinking, and empathy.
If we immerse ourselves deeply in the customer's business, many issues reveal. We were facing many nagging issues in our plant. We had hired a Japanese Consultant to help us resolve these challenges. The mechanical seal on one of the reactors was frequently failing. We had attempted to fix it on our own, discussed it with the supplier, put up SOPs for the operators, and concluded that the design of the seal was a problem. We ignored the fact that a seal with the same design was working on similar another reactor. So, the first thing Ito told us was to observe the operation. No questions were to be asked to anybody. I sat silently in a corner in the plant and made my notes. The batch time was 8 hours, and I made some useless recordings to kill time. Ito reviewed them and complimented me. He gently told me that I was seeing, not observing.
The next day he accompanied me. He drew a circle in the corner. This is a well-known tool in lean management. It's called standing in a circle or the Ohno's Circle. He removed the chair and asked me to stand in the circle. The observations were to be made with the following questions in our mind:
Why are they doing that?
What is that tool or equipment, or device used for?
Where are they going?
What are they doing now?
Why did they do that?
Why were they interrupted?
What are they waiting on?
Why this batch-size?
I realized that the operators had to move up and down several times in a shift. They had to manually adjust the speed of the agitator. The adjustment was based on experience and gut feel. They manually maintained the batch record. It was a revelation to me. Despite being involved in the plant for many years, I had never got insights into the real problems faced by the team. The solution to the leakage issue was resolved without any significant investment. We also improved other aspects of operations with my observation sheet.
I learned an important lesson. When asked for views, people say what they are expected to say. Many times people find a hack to overcome the shortcomings of a design. These are invaluable insights. They are mostly ignored by the design teams. So, Task Observation (Standing in a Circle) became a tool that I have used ever since.
One of my friends wears two pairs of socks to prevent blisters. If only the shoe manufacturers were sitting on the sidelines and taking note of this!
Metrics: At least once a month, visit your customer or their customers. Observe people performing tasks, take notes, make sketches, write design specifications, prepare prototypes. It will open up new business opportunities. Importantly, it will delight the customers with the concern you have shown to ease their lives.
Subodh
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