REQUEST
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RESPONSE
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RESULTS
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| We need an inventory system for all these labels and there’s no budget for it. |
Hundreds of thousands of labels were thrown in a small supply room where workers rummaged through them to find the ones they had to use or ordered new ones and held up the mail until they arrived. A quick look around the building yielded clean, unprinted boxes of exactly the right size that were being discarded on a daily basis. I taped a label on the end of the box so the labels could be stored and organized on available shelving. Each box said when to reorder, based on the volume of mail to that destination. Sometimes the answer to a big problem is a small solution. |
"Invented" a kanban system using recycled boxes in 1968 without knowledge of Deming's methods or awareness of "green." |
See if you can find anything wrong with the way we process this board, from beginning to end. We’re getting a lot of returns.
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Found 67 issues, from trivial to critical and from design to shipping. Examples:
· Product needed a strap for installation – it was not included.
· Carton did not meet specifications, was too small to allow insulation around the entire board.
· Items being shipped did not match the packing list.
· Process had missing steps.
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Streamlined standards; streamlined procedures; reduced complaints and returns; increased positive feedback.
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Our white paper on VOIP at the trade shows is not getting the kind of response we'd like from VARs at the trade shows or afterward.
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Determined that the company's claim that anyone could use the board they developed to create a new and profitable product and the complexity of the white paper were in conflict. Contributions to the white paper from multiple authors has resulted in a very complex, disorganized, and redundancy-filled document. Out of more than 50 pages in the white paper, reduced 37 pages of text to a single half page graphic and reduced the total document to 10 pages.
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Streamlined documents, increased discussion at trade show booth; increased follow-up calls from potential VARs; increased sales; reduced costs.
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The guys can’t bring the manuals into the clean room for preventive maintenance. They forget steps and we have breakdowns that could have been avoided.
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Observed the process across multiple clean rooms of varying categories. Summarized the preventative maintenance information for every piece of equipment, made the procedure into a standardized checklist format, printed it and had it laminated. Checklists lived in the clean room in purchased holders on each piece of equipment.
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Streamlined standards; streamlined procedures; reduced maintenance time; increased maintenance effectiveness; reduced breakdowns; ISO 9000 preparation.
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How can we record all of the hazardous chemicals we have in three buildings without purchasing any software?
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Built a Word table with categories for the type of hazard the chemical posed, the type of fire extinguisher required, the treatment if the chemical got on you, the location, and other factors. Could be sorted on any column and was on laptops for key employees in case of fire or other disaster.
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Streamlined standards; streamlined procedures; ISO 9000 preparation.
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Here are the disaster procedures for our computer room. Finish them up, clean up the language, and make it pretty.
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Determined that the lengthy procedures for how the employees were to retard the flow of water on the computers in case of a fire could only be accomplished if the employee was standing on the only equipment in the room – electronic equipment. Also determined that Halon would be pumping up from under the floor. Made a poster that said, “If this bell is ringing and the light is flashing, GET OUT!” and put it next to the alarm/light by the door. Also determined that a similar procedure for how to get the huge generators going if they didn’t kick in on their own could only be safely done by highly trained experts and placed a poster on the outside of that door with the phone number for the highly trained experts. Finished up the rest of it, cleaned up the language and made it pretty.
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Streamlined standards; streamlined procedures; improved safety.
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Our mortgage loans are looping. We keep hiring more people to process the loans but the pile keeps getting bigger.
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Reviewed the standards and procedures. Steps were not sequential, content was misleading, and necessary steps were missing. Structured the process so steps were in a logical sequence for anyone who was brought in. Eliminated guesswork and misleading content.
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Streamlined standards; streamlined procedures; introduced continuous improvement; eliminated looping and associated fines.
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Develop tests for the accounting system we’re considering. The vendor says it will meet all our needs.
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Developed User Requirements Document. Developed over 200 tests and broke the proposed system in “Vanilla testing.” Tests were used to evaluate competitors' products and select one that met the specifications.
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Avoided purchase of a costly and ineffective solution.
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Our proposal processing process is a mess. We spend a lot of time doing things over and over again and consistently have errors that cost us contracts.
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Developed a structured specification for the process, created files for repeat use articles like staff bios, certifications, successful projects, testimonials, etc. Developed streamlined standards and procedures for proposal processing. Procedures written to the level of understanding of every participant, from top management to temporary help.
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Streamlined standards; streamlined procedures; significantly decreased development time; reduced errors.
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Does our structured specification (more than 400 pages) for this produce warehouse meet the user requirements?
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No. The primary concern of that division is the bumps and cuts procedure since the only person who knows how to do them is retiring. In order to know how to bump or cut orders to stores when a shipment is over or short, you have to know which stores will sell more items and which stores may not sell them There’s no Sales History from the stores coming into your specification, so there’s no way to address bumps and cuts. Pull in the Sales History and you’re set.
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Streamlined standards; streamlined procedures; ensured continuity; fostered continuous improvement; increased sales; decreased waste; avoided presenting incomplete solution to decision makers.
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The calls from our field offices are really hurting production.
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The manual was more than 430 pages and was not easy to use. Stripped anything not related to the user requirements and added keyed illustrations of the forms they used. Resulted in an 86 page manual, including new illustrations.
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Streamlined standards; streamlined procedures; significantly reduced calls to Tech Support and production costs; increased accuracy.
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Our base cabinets are installed in places where it’s not reasonable to leave documentation laying around.
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An examination of the base cabinet revealed an area in the door that allowed enough clearance to attach a drop in slot for the manual.
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Significantly reduced calls to Tech Support and production costs.
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Receiving is not getting everything into inventory and we have no idea of whether we received items or not.
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Observation showed that the only shipping/receiving clerk had to wait outside the buyer’s office for as much as 20 minutes for the paperwork. In the meantime, workers on the shop floor saw parts they were waiting for and took them. Requested a workstation for shipping and receiving. Was told that he was not smart enough to use a computer. Got the computer, developed procedures in the form of two posters – one for shipping and one for receiving, and provided the training.
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Streamlined standards; streamlined procedures; significantly improved inventory accuracy; significantly decreased production time; significantly reduced stress for the shipping/receiving clerk; ISO 9000 preparation.
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My boss says they’re going to have to let me go if I don’t get caught up on my documentation. They’re happy with my customer service and individual consulting with clients but my software reviews are going to cost me my job!
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After looking at several written reviews, asked the subject matter expert what he thought of the products he reviewed. He grabbed them to point out the opinions and saw that they weren’t there. Asked him to tell me what he thought of one of them. He did – clearly and concisely, unlike the wordy, confusing written reviews. Advised him to get a voice to text tool and send the results in as his first drafts. They were going to be edited at the home office for consistency of style anyway. His drafts were accepted on the first pass.
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Eliminated the problem in one session.
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