© Health Quality Council 2008 Going Lean – Can It Work for Universities? Keith A. Willoughby, Ph.D. Senior Operations Research Specialist Health Quality

© Health Quality Council 2008

Going Lean – Can It Work for Universities?

Keith A. Willoughby, Ph.D.

Senior Operations Research Specialist

Health Quality Council

Saskatoon, SK

[email protected]

Denis Caron

Provincial Dean of Industrial Training

Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science & Technology (SIAST)

Saskatoon, SK

[email protected]

© Health Quality Council 2008 2

Part I• Lean 101

– History, principles, tools

• Success stories

• Lessons learned


What we hope to accomplish• Acquaint you with the concepts of Lean

• Introduce some of the language

• Answer the questions, “What is it? What’s in it for me?”


More information on Lean systems

• Womack JP, Jones DT, Roos D. The Machine That Changed the World, 1990.

• Womack JP, Jones DT. Lean Thinking, 2003.

• Some valuable websites:– www.lean.org (Lean Enterprise Institute)

– www.leanUK.org (Lean Enterprise Academy)


Pop Quiz• Who started this whole notion of Lean

principles, and when did they do this?


Answer A?• Jim Womack (1990)

• 5-year, $5 million study of global vehicle production – International Motor Vehicle

Program

• Co-authored “The Machine That Changed the World” with Dan Jones and Dan Roos

• Coined the term “Lean”


Is it…Answer B?• Taiichi Ohno (1912-1990)

• 1950’s: Toyota Production System

– Continuous Flow Production– Just-in-Time (JIT)– Eliminate defects– Top management commitment– Employee participation

• 1969: Established the Operations Management Consulting Group

– “Trainers” commissioned to promote Lean thinking within Toyota and the firms in its supplier group


Or, how about… Answer C?• C.R. Dooley

• Helped to develop the “Training Within Industry” program (1940s)

• Infiltrated into Japanese industry by the Allied forces after World War II


Could it be…Answer D?• Henry Ford, 1920s

• Continuous Flow Assembly

• Reduce wasted time– 1913-1914: doubled

production with no increase in workforce

– 1920-1926: Cycle time from 21 days to 2 days


But maybe it is…Answer E?• Eli Whitney (1700’s)

• Quick production of high-quality muskets – Standard interchangeable

parts

– Minimal product variation

– Ordered and integrated workflow


Another choice…Answer F?• The Venetian arsenal

• Republic of Venice, early 16th century

• Could produce nearly one ship each day– Standardized parts

– Production-line basis


What does this show us? • This is not new stuff

• So why all the buzz today?


What is “Lean”? • Providing value with less waste

• Making common sense common practice


Lean definitions• Providing exactly what the customer needs, safely, when

needed, in precisely the right quantity, and without waste

• Providing value for the customer

• A set of quality improvement tools and philosophy designed to eliminate the sources of waste in a system


The 8 sources of system wasteCorrection (defects) Waiting

Overproduction Inventory

Motion Overprocessing

Material movement (transportation)

Underutilized human talent


What Lean is NOT

• Layoffs

• Customers = widgets

• Making people work faster


Lean principles

• 1. What is value from the customer’s perspective?

• 2. Understand your process– We’ll say more about this later

• 3. Smooth the flow– Eliminate congestion


More principles• 4. Pull

– Supplier doesn’t produce until the customer signals a need

– Is there smooth communication between process steps?

• 5. Pursue perfection– A continual, never-ending

journey


Lean tools: A quick survey• Poka-Yokes (Failsafes)

– Eliminates or reduces the opportunities for mistakes

• Check John Grout's PokaYoke Page on www.mistakeproofing.com


Vehicles• Arrow to indicate

location of fuel tanks (driver/ passenger side) – Great for rental

vehicles

• Gas cap tether does not allow the motorist to drive off without the cap


European streets• Tourists used to right-

hand side driving need some help in London

• Instructions are printed right on the asphalt


At the airport

• If your bag fits in the size-wise unit it will fit in the overhead compartment


Visual control systems• Labels, colour-coding to:

– make it easier to find items

– quicker ability to detect abnormal from normal

• Examples:

– Surgical shadowboards

– Diagonal stripe along the fronts of binders


The philosophy of 5S • “5S” stands for 5 Japanese words each beginning with

the letter “S”

• Translated into English as:– Sort, Set, Shine, Standardize, Sustain


Exploring 5S• “A visually-oriented system

for organizing the workplace to minimize the waste of time”

• “Clears the clouds”– Eliminates the waste of

motion/ looking for things

• Makes the abnormal visually obvious


Does this look familiar?


Some more on 5S• It is NOT simply cleaning up!

• Following 5S principles helps provide the disciplined habits necessary for further phases of Lean implementation


5S: Five Hills Health Region (before)


5S: Five Hills Health Region (after)


More from Five Hills


Process mapping• Obtain clearer understanding of how the process

currently operates

• Helps “learn to see” and “develop eyes for waste”– Redundant processing, unnecessary movement or

wait time

• Assist with identifying and planning improvements


Process mapping in practice


Facilitating communication


Lessons learned• Culture, culture, culture

– Top-down vision

– Front-line enthusiasm

• Build your own capacity

• The first pass through a process map can identify obvious sources of waste


Lessons learned• Let your data tell the story

• There is a difference between a good idea and the right idea

• Imbed improvement events within the day-to-day operations of your organization

• Start with maintenance or purchasing


Part II

• Lean Application in Post-Secondary Institutions


Words of Wisdom

• "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction."

• "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."Albert Einstein


Strategic Thinking

Old Mind

• Develop strategic plans• Operate independently• Lead with authority• Cope with technology• Delegate financial

management• Communicate facts and logic• Manage risk• Become an expert

New Mind

• Plan, think strategically

• Lead with vision & teams

• Leverage technology

• Develop personal business acumen

• Uses metaphors, stories, images

• Balance risk and reward

• Remain a learner


Strategic sense

Management

Get on the Balcony 1

1 Heifetz, R.A & Laurie, D.L. (2001)

Leadership


Strategic Planning Model (Traditional) INDUSTRIAL DIVISION STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS

Strategic Planning Cycle


Strategic Thinking Model

Strategic Planning“What and Why”

Supporting Objectives “What”

Evaluate Plan in Action“How”


Why Lean? Public sector perspective - Finance stewardship


Why Lean? Public sector perspective - Human resources and capacity


SIAST’s Approach (How?)

• SIAST and division strategic plan• Business case• Survey• Strategic direction• Lean program pilot

– Industrial Mechanics Labs and Classrooms


Leaning Industrial Mechanic’s Program “Pursuing Excellence”








SIAST - Lessons Learned

• Plant the seed early• Find and support champions• Don’t go it alone• Find quick wins • Leverage success• Communicate effectively and frequently• Educate, educate, educate• Remain focused and determined


SIAST - Future Direction

• Industrial Division– Expansion of lean practices

– Self sufficiency

– Education and training (Green belts)

• Registration Services– Registration process

– Student transcript process

– Waitlist management


Potential Post-Secondary Applications

• Facility maintenance• Care-taking services• Food services• Finance, procurement and inventory control• Student registration and transcript processes• IT processes (student and staff course management,

libraries)• Classroom scheduling• Research and publications


Q & A

• Keith Willoughby, [email protected]

• Denis Caron, [email protected]

Documents

© Health Quality Council 2008 Going Lean – Can It Work for Universities? Keith A. Willoughby, Ph.D. Senior Operations Research Specialist Health Quality