Archives for October 2013

Nemawashi at Walters & Wolf
October 29, 2013

Nemawashi at Walters & Wolf

I had the pleasure of attending our 3 day off-site this week.  Our fiscal year ends in September so every October our senior leadership team meets to review the past year’s results against our goals and look forward to what we need to accomplish in the coming months.

I say I had the pleasure because it really is one of the things I look forward to every year.  Most people hate meetings so looking forward to 3 days of meetings probably seems odd.  But the reason most people hate meetings is because they don’t really serve the intended purpose.  Our planning meeting is really a well crafted meeting with tons of content.

I titled the post as Nemawashi because this is really what we are doing.  We are laying the groundwork and seeking consensus on the direction of the company for the next 12 months.  The term Nemawashi is used in lean to describe seeking consensus on changes before proceeding.  I think this is one of the keys to our company’s success.

I have worked at several different companies in our industry.  One of my biggest complaints was trying to get a clear direction for growth.  In some companies, they are just happy doing what they’ve been doing.  In others, there were ideas but they just came and went without any follow-through.  When we attend conferences on lean, this is one of the biggest complaints “No real leadership commitment to lean”.  Having a leadership team that is aligned, agrees on the direction, follows through on the commitments and works together is one of the toughest things to find.

Our senior leadership team includes the COO and CFO along with the leaders of the sales, operations, shop and field departments.  There are people that have been with the company their whole lives and others of us who have been at other companies and then came to Walters & Wolf.  We have a diverse group and some of the best people I’ve ever worked with.  We are okay arguing our points and being honest about how we really feel.  Conflict is expected but it is just part of the process.  The goal is for everyone to get their points across and debate the issues but in the end reach a decision that we will all support.

Our offsite begins with opening comments.  Each member of the team gives an overview of where we are, where they see our company going and what they want to accomplish during our off-site.  This gives us all a voice right at the beginning and gives a flavor of what the meeting will involve.  After that, we review our goals by department and overall.  Over the years, we have established and tuned the metrics for our company so that it is easy to get the pulse of the company in a very short amount of time.  These metrics make it easy for us to go back to the team and describe the goals and the team knows what “winning” looks like.  The sales metrics are shown right on the sales dashboard every day.  The project metrics are shown right on the main project page so it is clear.  Knowing what we are trying to achieve then communicating that back to the people who do the work is the key to getting alignment.

After the opening comments and reviewing last year’s goals and achievements, we move into what we need to work on this year.  This has been a different process each year and continues to evolve.  This management team has been meeting since it was established about 9 years ago.  Some of the people have changed and at first we needed more specific agendas but as we have matured and the trust between departments has built, the direction of the meeting is a lot more open.  We started by discussing some of the key goals we are trying to get to next year.  We were struggling with what that would look like.  Nick decided to try a 5 why exercise to see if we could get to the root cause of what was preventing us from reaching our goal.  This was an interesting approach because most people had not done a 5 why before (we just recently learned to use them at our Kaizen event in Las Vegas) and it was a pretty high level problem.  We started out struggling with the problem statement.  This is typical because we all tend to state the solution as the problem.  But after wrangling with that we were able to get to a specific problem statement.  Now the work began to work through our “why” questions to get to the actual root cause of the problem.  It took a while, but in the end, we successfully arrived at a conclusion.  Since we all participated in the exercise and we all worked through it together, we all were in alignment about the root cause.

The last step is to develop a set of counter measures to correct the problem.  We ended up creating a swim lane process map of our steps so we could identify processes that we need to target.  We then created a “who does what by when” matrix to ensure we have accountability as we return to the office.  We used several new tools this year in our process that I think made things more visual and helped create alignment.

Our leadership team faces a lot of issues.  There is the looming threat of overseas manufacturing, the need to develop products at a much faster rate to stay ahead of our competition and the difficulty of finding great people just to name a few. I think that our ability to continually evolve our planning process and adopt new ideas into how we make decisions will really help us to make the tough choices required to stay competitive in this shifting landscape.  I truly enjoyed our planning process this year and learned a lot in the process.  We have a huge year ahead of us and I’m excited to return to the office and help set the direction for how we will accomplish our goals.

Filed Under: Leadership
Slot Machines and Kaizen
October 20, 2013

Slot Machines and Kaizen

As we begin our lean journey at Walters & Wolf, one of the things we are doing is reaching out to companies that practice lean to see what they are doing and what things we might want to adopt or avoid at our company.  It was that practice that lead our Las Vegas office to contact one of the local slot machine companies.  This company in Las Vegas has been practicing lean for over 7 years.

Nick, our COO had attended a tour here several months ago along with the other people from our Las Vegas office.  On the tour they mentioned that they hold Kaizen events every quarter.  Nick then asked if it would be possible to observe one of the events.  We were told they would let us know.  As it turns out, we were not allowed to observe an event, we would need to participate in an event.  That first event a few months ago involved three of our employees. Nick, one of our Las Vegas employees and one of our Arizona employees.

Last week, I was invited to participate in one of the quarterly Kaizen events in Las Vegas.  It was so interesting working at another company for a whole week so I thought I would give a quick overview of what I learned.

First, the structure.  Scope sheets for different projects are created ahead of time.  Months before the event 3 scope sheets are selected.  The sheets show what the current state is, what problems they are having with this process, and what the goals of the improvement will be.  For our Kaizen, we arrived at their office at 8:00 on Monday.  The first day was just training.  An overview of most of the lean tools, some practice in how to calculate Takt time, how to measure cycle time, and several other great exercises to help you with things you will probably need to do in the coming days.  There were three teams that ranged from 7 to 9 people.  The teams were very cross functional and the people had either volunteered or had been picked for the group.  Some people that were selected were necessary for the group to achieve their goal.

My team arrived in the training room at 7:00 am on Tuesday.  We set out to document the current state and validate our scope sheet and that took most of the first day.  You find yourself going out to different departments and talking to lots of people and getting input on how things “really” work.  We then put that puzzle together and started to form a view of the problem we were tackling.  On the second day, you dig into the cause.  This was an amazing experience for me because I had read about a lot of these tools but had never practiced them.  The most interesting and powerful to me was the 5 why exercises where you use this tool to find the root cause of the problem.  In most cases, people have a very hard time defining a problem.  The problem is we have no standard process.  The problem is our cut sheet should have a bar code.  These are the kinds of things you write down at first and then the Sensei or one of the managers has to reel you back in to say “No, that’s not the problem”.  It really forces you to stop stating things as solutions and begin to really find the problem.  You then have to create a very logical list of questions that get you to the root cause.

After working out the current state, defining clearly the problem we are trying to solve, gathering data about the problem and examples of things contributing to them and then using the 5 why techniques to find the root causes to those issues, you now work on the countermeasures.  What will you put in place to solve these problems?  How will you know if they get solved?  What other ideas do you have if the first solution doesn’t work?  By the third day you should have a countermeasure in place and be able to observe if the change is successful.

Each afternoon there is a “report out”.  The team leader gives an overview of the day’s progress back to the leadership of the company.  This runs from 4:00 to 5:00 and allows the rest of the department heads and upper management to help guide the process.  “Did you think of how that would effect shipping?”  “Are you sure you looked deep enough into that issue?”  “Maybe tomorrow you should go to the line and verify that?”  This helps ensure the project is moving forward correctly and that all the departments have a say.  As outsiders, we were allowed to view this process.  Typically it is just the team leader and the management along with the Sensei.

On Friday morning we gave a presentation to the company on what we found.  We gave our results, read through several of the 5 why’s and read through our 30 day follow-up.  Everyone on the team presents part of the story from the week and the audience gets to hear what they found and what countermeasures were applied.

For me, the main takeaways were as follows:

  • Man, I have a lot to learn.  If I’m going to lead lean in our company, I need to know these tools so well that I can teach others to use them properly.
  • These events really help people inside the company learn more about how all their departments operate.  You are also interacting with lots of people in your company and getting to know them better.  They really help to build synergy inside the company.
  • A structured event like this yields great results.  This company, as good as it is, still has lots of issues to work on.  But with every event (they don’t just do them at the quarters) they get a little closer to their goal.
  • Inviting outside people to participate yields a different view.  In addition to Walters & Wolf, several vendors were present.  This allows an “outsider” perspective but it also gives the vendor a view of what is happening inside their customer’s company and how they might better serve them.
  • Pay it forward.  We are so grateful for the help of companies like this that share their time and ideas with us.  We will definitely be paying that back as we start our events.
  • Make more connections.  We actually met one of the vendor companies and invited them back to our Las Vegas office for a barbecue on Friday and then toured their facility in the afternoon.  Another good connection that we may be able to learn from or share with them what we are learning.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized
Thoughts on BIM
October 13, 2013

Thoughts on BIM

One of the difficulties we’ve been facing with BIM is the best way to approach it. There are some schools of thought that everything starts with the model. You begin by modeling the work, then you derive your shop drawings, fabrication drawings and everything else from the model. I think this type of “top down” modeling would work pretty well in a field where the parts being modeled are fairly consistent and how they are used varies. So, for instance, if you were an electrician or an HVAC or Plumbing guy, or even structural steel, you have a specific kit of parts. A library of sorts that you pull from. These parts then can be placed and modeled fairly easily and even though where they are might change, the parts themselves don’t.

The problem we face is that the kit of parts changes constantly. In addition, the parts interact with each other so if one part changes, it not only impacts that particular part but usually all the parts that intersect with it. In addition, the parts are a bit in flux when you start the job. You have to design them, get them approved by the architect, then get them built by the extruder before you “really” know what the parts will look like. So in our world, if we start with a model, we will have to modify the basis of the model, not just the geometry which is easy, but the logic and the parts which is hard.

The next problem is one of detail. Most models for Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing or Structural have to detail that trade. In our world, we need to detail all the trades. The most important thing we are doing in our model or shop drawings after showing the aesthetics of what our system will look like, is to show how we will maintain water integrity with the rest of the skin. Now we have a level of detail problem. The standard Revit model doesn’t really model caulking. So now we are creating 2d details that represent the other trades materials, flashings, membranes and caulking. Not the end of the world, but another consideration. Most architectural drawings are 80 percent plans/elevations and sections and 20 percent details. Our shop drawings are 20 percent plans elevations and sections and 80 percent details. It is a big consideration.

The final issue is getting a model to shop floor solution. While it isn’t hard to create a model for the contractor or architect, it is quite another thing to create a model that will drive your fabrication tickets and CNC process. Another consideration in the mix. So let’s examine the different software choices and their strengths and weaknesses.

Revit. This is the tool of choice for Architects. Clean and simple interface, look good and will update your drawings as you modify the model. Keeps your drawing sets coordinated. Lots of good features. We see a number of curtain wall companies using Revit for creating shop drawings and models. It is a great tool for the plans/elevations/sections part of the drawings. It is not as good with detail. It is hard to get blown up elevation drawings with dimensions. It is not a great 2d detailing tool. Some of the things that we produce (metal panels for instance) are not as easy to create. Revit is not good for fabrication tickets and information.  Also, a curtain wall can have a ton of parts and if you try to create and represent everything, Revit can have a hard time handling that much detail.

Inventor (or any of the other solid modeling platforms out there). This tool is actually a pretty good way to model. Lots of detail. Details update when you update the model. It is a good tool for metal panels and other things. Good for fabrication tickets and downstream data also. Not the best at 2d details (caulking, waterproofing, other trades) but you can just do that in Autocad after the fact. If parts change on you, you have a lot of re-work though. A good solid middle ground.

Third party programs. Things like V6, Tekla, or other programs are also a good option. Usually with these types of programs you end up with some setup required for the systems. When systems are constantly changing, this is where you will find your issues. In addition, many of them are not good at shop drawings. They can create something basic but for a major curtain wall company, the drawings need to be world class and we found the outputs less than stellar. You can get there, but there is a lot of work and it won’t be as flexible as you want. You will also need another solution for your other products (aluminum or composite panels, etc…).

Plain old Autocad. Seems boring, right? So, here’s what we’ve found. It is completely flexible. You can model anything in it and fairly easily. No it doesn’t have bi-directional detail updating and families and all the other features of some of the other software, but I can draw details for a custom system in an hour or so, get them to the architect, share them with my vendor and be off and running with no setup, no families, etc… With a ton of customization, you can make it do anything.

So here is where we are today.  We have a custom Autocad solution that we use to get from the shop drawings to the shop floor.  It’s really a combination of a database and Autocad that drives the system.  Everything is in 3d.  But we start with 2d shop drawings and then create our model from them.  This gives us the best of both worlds.  A quick way to work through design and changes to create the shop drawings efficiently and when we know what the customer wants to build we model it for the rest of the process and then provide that model back to the customer for coordination.  The only issue we have found is that by modeling everything to that level of detail, the model is very heavy.

So I’m curious what other people are doing.  What BIM solution have you settled on?  Please leave a comment and let me know!

Filed Under: Software
Lean and Society
October 5, 2013

Lean and Society

I was watching a video this morning that was on Paul Akers “American Innovator” site. You can find it here: The Lean Round Table One of the interesting concepts from this video is about the idea of how Toyota sees lean. In the video, Paul describes the Toyota emblem and what it represents. The inner circle represents the individual. If you can teach and change the individual, they will improve and become better. The second circle represents their village or their community. That improved individual then goes out and improves that community. The outer circle represents the world. As the individual improves and their community improves you are actually making the world a better place.

todayandtomorrowThis may seem a bit lofty or strange, but I was putting it in context with some of the other books I’ve been reading. In Henry Ford’s book “Today and Tomorrow”, he describes how he came to the idea of doubling all his worker’s wages. It was his opinion that if the workers in his plant could make more money, then they could be one of the main customers for his product. This was a crazy idea at the time but he was set on it and proved everyone wrong. Henry Ford did double the wages of the average worker and they actually were one of the main customers for the early motor vehicles.

Ford was one of the original lean thinkers. His vision for the motor car was to give the average man the ability to enjoy his leisure time and the ability to drive out to the country and really see more of America. But to be clear, Ford didn’t just double everyone’s wages, the people in his plant helped Henry Ford double his productivity first. Ford counted on his employees to drive the innovation and continuous improvement in their plant. One piece flow and just in time? Both Ford ideas. Elimination of waste? A passion for Ford. Your Kingsford briquettes are a byproduct of his need to find a way to use the sawdust from the shop floor rather than throw it away. Ford did studies on working hours. They typical work week was 6 days back then and a lot more hours per day. He did studies on efficiency and found he could get as much production from five 8 hour days as he was from the current standard, thus freeing up more time for his workers to spend their new money. He was appalled at the state of health care at the time so he created a hospital system that would utilize his efficiency concepts and make health care affordable for his workers. The Henry Ford Health System is still and excellent example of lean in health care. His vision of the individual, the community and the world were all intertwined. He was changing the world one factory worker at a time.

workplacemanagementIn Taiichi Ohno’s book “Workplace Management”, he talks about how at the end of World War 2, it took 5 Japanese workers to equal the output of one European worker and 12 Japanese workers to equal the output of one American worker. The desire to improve productivity and become “lean” (a term not yet invented) was driven by a need to help their community. That change had to start with the individual. The idea of Kaizen or Continuous Improvement was born from this societal need. In this video, the true meaning of the symbols that make up the word Kaizen in Japanese are described. The interesting point is that it really means “change for the better” and the root is societal change. Changing society for the better.

In our world here in the United States, most things are driven by profit. We don’t see a world view that often. We work at a company and want to make that company better so it can make more money and be successful and hopefully that will translate into economic success for each of us. But what if the goals were a bit different? What if the goal was to improve the people at your company so that your community, your society and your world could get a little better? Lean could be a way to ensure that the exterior skins of our buildings are built right here in our community. Not fabricated in some foreign land and shipped all the way across the world to be assembled in another country and finally find its way to the building next to your home. Real community participation between the workers in an area and the builders and the owners. But, the only way this can really happen is if we teach and train our people to be more productive than the cost of buying these materials from the other side of the world. Building a lean culture within your company could be the start of that change.

Filed Under: Lean