I admit that this doesn't make lean easier to practice. But maybe it makes it more worthwhile.

"What is a storefront and how can it help my lean manufacturing system be more flexible?"

I haven't found a reference to a "storefront" as such in any lean sources. Storefronts are the interface between the customer and the producer. That fact makes this a key concept in the customer-focused lean culture. There are at least three ways that storefronts can enhance lean manufacturing systems.

The first thing we think of when we hear storefront may be the supermarket system. Supermarkets are well-ordered stock keeping locations within a value stream that are designed to enable pull systems between upstream and downstream processes. The removal of the work in process or finished goods inventories within a supermarket gives the signal for replenishment to the upstream process. The supermarket by itself does not help a lean manufacturing systems be more flexible. Synchronization of the processes within the value stream based on a single downstream scheduling point (i.e. pacemaker) using logically defined buffers (supermarket) can make lean systems responsive to changes in demand.

The second example of a storefront concept applied to make lean manufacturing systems more flexible is the yatai system. The yatai is the Japanese word street vendor cart seen across Asia, not unlike the New York City street corner hot dog stands. It is a small, simple, mobile, temporary storefront that allows a chef-proprietor to serve 1-4 customers fresh food on demand. Many Japanese companies adopting lean manufacturing methods use the analogy of the yatai to help people understand and accept the logic of a small, flexible production cell. The yatai system is what we would recognize as a flexible manufacturing workstation that contains the parts, tools and jigs necessary to complete the entire process, such as assembly, inspection and packaging.

These yatai are so popular that you can buy one on the internet and start your own lean eatery. Food service license not included.

The third example of a storefront within a lean manufacturing system is what I recently heard called a fish market. Many of us know this by another name such as the defect display, sample board or scrap table. The fish market is a small table at or near the production area, typically by the team communication board. It is used to display the latest defects during the team leader meetings. It is used both to raise awareness among team members about the defects that were produced on the last shift, as well as to call engineers, managers and support staff to action on taking root cause countermeasures. Like fish, the defects should be "sold" or taken care of that day, because old fish begin to smell bad. Size the fish market appropriately small to force rapid response.

There is nothing like showing the actual defects in the actual workplace, rather than as data on a computer screen or on a table in a conference room. The genchi genbutsu principle requires leaders to go see on a routine basis. The supermarket, the yatai and the fish market all create simple, visual standards that make it easier for leaders to see and respond to problems quickly.

Gemba Academy is pleased to announce the addition of the 7 QC Tools Course. Within the twenty two video modules we offer detailed explanations on what each of the 7 QC Tools are and how they are used them for improving processes. In this course we placed an emphasis on examples from transactional, administrative and healthcare environments with the hope that more non-manufacturers will be able to apply lean thinking effectively. The first overview module is may be viewed free of charge simply by creating a user account.

The 7 QC Tools course may be purchased individually, or as part of the Complete Lean Package which now offers 112 videos for a low subscriber price of. This includes:

• 13 hours and 38 minutes of video

• 57 quizzes
• 60 Summary documents
• 18 Lean templates / calculators
• 1 audio book
• 61 hours of total learning time including study documents and quizzes

The seven key quality control tools and the idea of the essential 7 QC Tools was put forth by Tokyo University Professor Kaoru Ishikawa over 50 years ago. His work helped make statistics much more practical and accessible and this resulted in the acceleration of the adoption of Dr. Edwards Deming's quality improvement philosophies in Japan. The seven quality tool are the graph, the Pareto chart, the histogram, the scatter diagram, the cause and effect diagram, the control chart, and the check sheet.

The recommended learning time per module is approximately 30 minutes including video viewing, review of support documents and taking the quiz (online). The contents of this 22-module video course are:

Module 1: Seven Quality Control Tools Overview answers the questions "What is Quality Control?" and "What are the 7QC Tools?"

In module 2: QC Tool 1 - The Graph we learn about 5 useful types graphs, and when to use each one.

In modules 3 - 7: we learn how to create bar charts, broken line graphs, pie charts, band graphs and radar charts using Microsoft Excel.

Module 8: QC Tool 2 - The Check Sheet teaches how to leverage this simple but powerful tool in both manufacturing and front office situations.

Module 9: QC Tool 3 - The Pareto Chart teaches the history and application of arguably the simplest and single most important problem solving tool available.

In module 10: Creating a Pareto Chart in Sigma XL we demonstrate exactly how to create a Pareto chart in the Sigma XL program.

Module 11: QC Tool 4 - The Cause & Effect Diagram introduces
the QC tool commonly referred to as the Fishbone Diagram, the Ishikawa Diagram, or the Cause & Effect Diagram, and how it is extremely helpful at identifying root causes.

In module 12: Basic Statistics we learn what statistics are and how they can help us when used properly.

Module 13: Measures of Central Tendency teaches the 3 measures of central tendency are as well as how to calculate them manually.

In module 14: Measures of Dispersion we learn what the 3 measures of dispersion are as well as how to calculate them manually.

Module 15: Generating Descriptive Statistics teaches us how to quickly generate descriptive statistics using either Microsoft Excel of Sigma XL.

Module 16: QC Tool 5 - The Scatter Diagram teaches what the Scatter Diagram is and how to create one, as well as introducing Simple Linear Statistics such as R Squared and how to build predictive statistical models.

In module 17: Creating Scatter Diagrams and Regression Statistics we learn exactly how to create Scatter Diagrams while also generating Simple Linear Regression statistics such as R Squared and Predictive models.

Module 18: QC Tool 6 - The Histogram teaches what the histogram is and how it can help you better understand your front office or manufacturing related process.

In module 19: Calculating Cp and Cpk we learn what Cp and Cpk are as well as how to calculate them.

In module 20: Creating Histograms and Cp / Cpk Statistics we learn how to easily generate histograms as well as Cp and Cpk statistics using Sigma XL.

Module 21: QC Tool 7 - The Control Chart teaches what the control chart is as well as the difference between common and special cause variation.

Module 22: Creating Control Charts in SigmaXL teaches how to quickly generate both Individuals and Individuals + Moving Range Control Charts using Sigma XL.

The course is taught by Ron Pereira, a certified and practicing Six Sigma Master Black Belt (MBB), lean implementation leader and co-founder of Gemba Academy. He is an expert trainer who has taught this countless times over the past 15 years. Ron's delivery, use of practical examples and skill at demystifying statistics makes this a truly valuable course.

Whether as a complement to your existing six sigma yellow belt or green belt training program, as a quick video reference for teaching employees basic statistics and quality control tools, or as part of a leadership development curriculum, we are confident that the 7 QC Tools course will be an important asset for your continuous improvement learning.

We always enjoy hearing from you so please feel free to email us at academy@gembaacademy.com, call us at +1-866-599-1398 or visit www.GembaAcademy.com and start learning within minutes.

13:15-13:30 签到 Check In

13:30-13:45 致开幕词 Opening Speech

13:45-15:15 主题演讲 Keynote

15:15-15:45 茶歇 Networking Break

15:45-16:45 互动讨论 Panel Discussion

The location is Shanghai Jiaotong University. The fee is RMB 100 (about $16) per person and goes to cover expenses, coffee and snacks. The event is free for VIP members of 1mfg.com

To register, or just to laugh at a badly outdated photo of me, download the PDF of the lean networking event: August 6th Gemba Salon Shanghai (EN, CN).pdf

Can I ask you a question: Standard WIP = One piece flow?

No Tony, the two are not the same. The minimum necessary amount of stock to keep flowing one piece at a time is known as SWIP. The key point to remember is that one piece flow does not mean zero work in process. The work in process (WIP) levels will drop drastically when compared to traditional batch and queue process design, but the pace of customer demand (takt time) and the process cycle times will require that the standard work in process (SWIP) quantity is calculated and maintained in order to keep the process flowing.

If one piece flow is a river flowing to the ocean then SWIP (also called standard in-process stock) is like a series of locks that let the water collect to a certain level before continuing to flow through obstacles. As the article above explains, processes with cycles times longer than takt time require one or more pieces of SWIP in order to maintain flow. These include batch processes, outside processing, drying or curing time and several other specific conditions explained in the article.

Most people are not aware that David Bowie was answering this same question in one of his hit songs, although for some reason the record company decided to change the words when the record was released. Here from our kaizen songs archives is...

(SWIP Can't Be) Zero (from Heroes by David Bowie)

Why, why do we think
"Oh when, will we become lean?"
Though kaizen will drive waste away
We'll always see waste, just flow one piece
SWIP can't be zero, when we flow one piece

And you, you can go see
And I, I'll check all the cards
Because we're leaders, we manage by fact
Yes we're leaders, we have our own takt

Though on-time, and stock turns keep getting better
To shorten lead times, just flow one piece
SWIP can't be zero, when we flow one piece
P-D-C-A

By counting our SWIP
From the dock lanes, the dock lanes to ship
Though on-time, and stock turns keep getting better
We can see waste, for ever and ever
Oh SWIP can't be zero, when we flow one piece

Why, why do we think
"Oh when, will we become lean?"
Though kaizen will drive waste away
SWIP can't be zero, when we flow one piece
We can see waste, just flow one piece

I, I can remember (I remember)
Standing, in the circle (in the circle)
Andon lamps, flashed red our heads (over our heads)
Targets missed, workers stopping to call (stopping to call)
And the blame, was always assigned
Problems were hidden, hid by high stock levels
SWIP can't be zero, when we flow one piece

SWIP can't be zero
SWIP can't be zero
SWIP can't be zero
Just flow one piece
SWIP can't be zero

"We're batching, and batching protects us"
Like we were blind, when we covered mistakes
But stock could be lower, just flow one piece

Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, just flow one piece

A mode of composition that does not assign itself limits becomes pure fantasy. The effects it produces may accidentally amuse but are not capable of being repeated. I cannot conceive of a fantasy that is repeated, for it can be repeated only to its detriment...The creator's function is to sift the elements he receives from her [the imagination], for human activity must impose limits on itself. The more art is controlled, limited, worked over, the more it is free...If everything is permissable to me, the best and the worst; if nothing offers me any resistance, then any effort is inconceivable, and I cannot use anything as a basis, and consequently every undertaking becomes futile...I have no use for theoretic freedom. Let me have something finite, definite--matter that can lend itself to my operation only insofar as it is commensurate with my possibilities. And such matter presents itself to me together with its limitations. I must in turn impose mine upon it. So here we are, whether we like it or not, in the realm of necessity. And yet which of us has ever heard talk of art as other than a realm of freedom? This sort of heresy is uniformally widespread because it is imagined that art is outside the bounds of ordinary activity. Well, in art as in everything else, one can build only upon a resisting foundation: whatever constantly gives way to pressure, constantly renders movement impossible.

My freedom thus consists in my moving about within the narrow frame that I have assigned to myself for each one of my undertakings. I shall go even further: my freedom will be so much the greater and more meaningful the more narrowly I limit my field of action and the more I surround myself with obstacles. Whatever diminishes constraint diminishes strength. The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees oneself of the claims that shackle the spirit.

The sentence, "The more art is controlled, limited, worked over, the more it is free" is a classic contradiction of the type that powers lean thinking, such as "less is more" or "giving away authority gives you more power" and "plan slowly and thoroughly in order to implement quickly."

The following Stravinsky sentence nicely echoes Taiichi Ohno's statement that "where there are not standards there can be no improvement":

"[...]in art as in everything else, one can build only upon a resisting foundation: whatever constantly gives way to pressure, constantly renders movement impossible."

I remember learning in a university class on classical music titled "The Art of Listening" that when Stravinsky's piece The Rite of Spring was first performed in Paris in 1913 it caused a riot. Both its complex rhythmic structures and innovative choreography were ahead of its time. I think that any brave manager who attempts to perform the standardization of knowledge work / creative work as described by Stravinsky, "my freedom will be so much the greater and more meaningful the more narrowly I limit my field of action and the more I surround myself with obstacles" will also face a riot.

When we say that an artist's work or thought is "ahead of their time" are we saying that they are advanced, or that their audience is stuck in the past? Perhaps it takes a true artist to incorporate new ideas in their work, to embrace standards as part of their creative process.

What do you get when you mix 1,000 engineers, four weeks of additional product development lead time and reduced reliance on outsourced engineering by 67%? In most product development departments this would get a decision maker quickly fired. Not so for Executive VP Takeshi Uchiyamada, a chief engineer at Toyota tasked with turning the tide on quality issues. Toyota is taking some expensive countermeasures to the root causes that their quality assurance process from the product design and testing standpoint seems to have been cut a bit too close to the bone over the past decade through cost reductions and development time reduction efforts.

According to the Wall Street Journal article Toyota Assigns 1,000 Engineers to Quality Drive :

Toyota Motor Corp. has assigned 1,000 engineers to help analyze quality problems and is extending time devoted to testing new models by an average of four weeks in an effort to head off glitches before vehicles enter production

Toyota reportedly saved more than $11 billion in the early 2000s thanks to its CCC21 efforts, and some have linked these cost reductions in the design process as well as supply chain costs as contributors to today's quality problems. Cost reduction should result from following and improving safe, high quality processes that deliver to customer's expectations. When cost reduction programs put quality before the other KPIs there is a danger that the overall costs increase in the long-run.

Mr. Uchimayada said he would like to reduce the amount of outside engineers working on research and development, but the process will take time. The company must wait for contracts to expire before it can bring the work inside the company. A company executive said the target is 10% outside engineering contractors, down from 30% now.

Not too long ago Japanese society considered lifetime employment a virtue and employees and companies considered it a given. As Japan's economic bubble burst and as consultants advised them to modernize their employment policies in line with global best practices, this lifetime employment has gradually eroded to be replaced by an sea of what we might term lifetime temporary workers across a range of industries and professions.

When it comes to the impact of decisions by corporations on society, many of the unintended consequences do not become visible for years, even a decade. In BP's case we see the distressing short-term impact of an eroded culture of safety, and can only guess at the long-term impact for BP and for the Gulf of Mexico. In Toyota's case one of these may be the loss of company-specific values and knowledge relative to quality culture around the design and testing process among the 30% contract engineers. In Toyota's case they may need to turn back the clock by a decade to return to the quality methods and processes that yielded famous results.

Corporations are what are known as "legal persons". What we need are less legal persons whose purpose is to maximize shareholder return in the short term and more ethical persons whose purpose is to maximize social well-being in the long term.

Today an SUV feigned a legal right turn on red, only to crawl slowly across the empty pedestrian crosswalk, slinking another right turn on red around the next corner. Why this SUV didn't simply fly through the red light and empty intersection, I don't know. I shall dub this maneuver "white striped crawling tiger."

There are many parts of the world where "crazy traffic" is the easy excuse for such behavior. Surely they will grow out of it, visitors may think. But the reasons for crazy traffic may lie within deep cultural norms and assumptions. For example red is traditionally the color of life, health and happiness in China. Perhaps people are happy to see a red light and feel free to drive through it. I am only half joking.

Observing this behavior, the simple rule seems to be "if the intersection is clear, go". Never mind the color of the lamp. We could even say this is very lean. Simple rules are resulting in intelligent, adaptive behaviors. Decision making is pushed the the front lines. There is flow. It does not require multiple, complex sets of rules resulting in bizarre and dangerous behaviors, including the invention of technologies to break rules, and other technologies to catch people who break the rules. I am not advocating ignoring red lights in all situations, but there is a certain edgy elegance that must be seen to be believed. It's like there is an invisible traffic circle, only it's not a circle but lines that intersect harmlessly (mostly).

Can you spot a correlation between the color of the traffic lamp and the direction of traffic in these photos?

After a week of walking a dozen or so of these blocks daily I wondered, "Can the andon system function within a culture where the color of traffic lights is treated as a suggestion at best?" Well, of course it can as many excellent examples of lean companies in this country demonstrate. But these are the exception and not the rule, and they have succeeded at andon systems and at building a strong culture only by overcoming a number of challenges which may include the following:

• People don't have faith that the rules are rational.


• People think they know a better way and don't need to follow the standard.


• People see there are no consequences when others don't follow the standard.


• People learn from their predecessors what is acceptable.


• People are selfish and fail to see the long-term harm to the whole when everyone pursues their own interest and breaks the rules... but let's leave the evils of Wall Street to another day.

I have seen more decorative andon lamps than I care to mention. It's a shame that decorative andons are using electrical power. It's a shame that they erode faith in the quality culture. It is a shame that they are too big and ugly to be recycled as holiday decorations.

Why is it so important to set and follow the simplest of rules? Repeated actions become behaviors. Behaviors expressed across communities become cultures. Over time cultures can determine the well-being of large numbers of people within an environment. The appreciation of rules requires the abandonment of selfishness; think of the whole, of society, the team, everyone in traffic, the long-term. I believe the city government of Shanghai is aware of this problem and is taking action, as evidenced by the "peace and calm" arm-banded community volunteers who stop traffic to let people across the busiest of intersections, regardless of the color of the lamp, whenever the press of humanity exceeds the carrying capacity of the asphalt.

Then there is also that perverse crosswalk on a major road, without traffic light or volunteer, located right in front of the train station, a large department store, a popular park, and a famous Buddhist temple. It's one block before our office. I can read the name of our building standing on the first white stripe. Mere hundreds of paces from my destination, once again it's time for the daily Frogger challenge.

1. Train employees regarding kaizen, different kind of waste, etc.

2. Launch a tool, an Idea box in which suggestions from the employees will be collected.

3.Quarterly basis rewards will be given to best kaizen team.

What else should be done? What I want is that this process should be 100% right the first time because if it fails then it will be very difficult to proceed again after improving the Kaizen process.
Please give your suggestions.

Thanks for sharing your plans and allowing us to help, Ronak. Training the employees in kaizen and how to recognize and agree on different types of wastes is a great start. I can recommend the stand in the circle as a solid practical exercise, which article 1, article 2 and article 3 explain.

Now I would like to point out a few red flags in Ronak's kaizen plan.

First, hold the thought on the idea box. Box-based suggestion systems fail more often then not for a variety of reasons, mainly due to lack of preparedness to manage and motivate kaizen suggestions. The box depersonalizes the suggestion and removes the responsibility of the supervisor or manager to engage with the team member within 24-48 hours to check and develop the idea into a workable kaizen. This assumes you have front line leaders capable of coaching problem solving, many times not the case. What's an appropriate kaizen suggestion? Has this been clearly defined? How many ideas can you approve and implement in a week? If this number is less than the incoming number of kaizens you risk demotivating people.

Second, put more effort into recognition than reward. The pleasure from extrinsic rewards fades rather quickly. It is too easy for the leadership to give money or prizes for good ideas. The only commitment is a line item in the budget. Giving recognition requires actually understanding and appreciating the nature of the kaizens implemented, which in turn requires that leaders actually go see for themselves. The budget for recognition is just human will, which is unlimited. the positive impact of this intrinsic reward is far more lasting.

Third, trying to get kaizen "100% right the first time" is like saying you want to make and eat omelets every day yet never crack an egg. The whole idea of kaizen is to try, experience both success and failure, learn from both and try again. Being 60% right and doing something right away is better than being 100% right and starting sometime in the distant future. If you ever think you have achieved 100% that just means that you need to recalibrate your expectations. Someplace in the 95% to 98% range means you are constantly learning, raising your expectations and DOING KAIZEN!

While Ronak's comment that "if it fails then it will be very difficult to proceed again" with kaizen may be true, it is essential to set the clear expectation that there will be stumbles and failures but we will not give up, before even starting with kaizen. If the kaizen system is not working well, this just means that the system itself needs kaizen. That is the essence of kaizen. When you are training employees on kaizen, make sure that you make this clear: kaizen is not about perfection but the pursuit of perfection. Do not let them get discouraged by failures, either in their personal ideas or in the overall kaizen system itself.

In fact, as long as you have the mindset that "not perfect is OK as long as we keep learning" the actual mechanics of your initial kaizen system are not that important. Why not give the suggestion box a try as a learning exercise?

I suspect part of the reason for wanting a "100%" implementation is that you need this in order to convince others in your organization to adopt and support kaizen. During the planning and preparation process for starting with kaizen, speak with various stakeholders to understand their concerns. Even if all of their concerns cannot be addressed during the initial implementation the simple fact of listening to them will make them less likely to resist actively.

Lastly, I would question the assumption that you have "successfully implemented 5S". Does this mean you are all done and that it will sustain all by itself? Are there zero signs of backsliding? Are all abnormalities immediately visible thanks to the superior level of 5S? Use whatever level of 5S you have achieved and sustained as a baseline for further kaizen, and to expose future opportunities, but don't STOP doing 5S in order to START doing kaizen. They are fully integrated, not separate tools that allow for mastery and moving on.

What other tips or advice do readers have on implementing kaizen smoothly?

The ice cream maker as an analogy for the PDCA problem solving cycle struck me recently while teaching hoshin planning in a locale where the temperature outside was a lovely 41C. Just like the PDCA cycle, the ice cream maker requires constant cranking to make it work. When making ice cream the Plan is the recipe including specifying the ingredients needed based on the desired flavor of ice cream. The Do is to add these to the inner cylinder, ice and salt to the outer cylinder and to commence cranking. The Check is to periodically open up the cylinders to confirm progress, the consistency and flavor. The Act or Adjust is to distribute the slushy center from the liquid freezing to the wall of the cylinder, as well as adding more ice or salt if needed to maintain subzero temperature.

Relevant to the review cycle of hoshin planning, in the PDCA problem solving process it is important to maintain a proper and consistent speed when turning the crank on the ice cream maker. Turn the crank too quickly and you have an uneven distribution of ice cream as the centrifugal force presses some of the liquid against the freezing cold wall of the cylinder. Turn the crank too slowly and the liquid does not move enough, or even at all, and the ice melts before ice cream can form. Either way, the child turning the crank in the snow gets tired without periodic check and adjust. Hoshin planning requires regular face-to-face review to check on progress towards business objectives. Doing this so often that learning is not turned into actions simply wears people out. Turning this cycle too infrequently or stopping altogether is the far more common pitfall of hoshin.

I can't recall exactly why we made ice cream in winter. Perhaps we did so in summer as well but these memories are not as sharp as those of sitting on the front step in snow pants, churning the crank out in the cold. Or perhaps it was because of another hidden life lesson about PDCA, waiting to be discovered 30 years hence: for PDCA to work you must have the right environment. Of course ice cream may be the best treat when the weather is hot, but the old-fashioned ice cream maker would required a lot of ice to work on a 41C day. Likewise with old-fashioned PDCA and hoshin, an organizational environment that allows slow and thorough planning, tolerates mistakes and learning through repeated trial and adjustment is necessary. In hoshin planning it's the leader's job to bring the PDCA ice cream maker to a cool, shaded place, maintain the level of ice and salt, and to bring the rewards out into the heat to share with others.

By Andy Brophy

The management of ideas is, in many organisations large and small, a huge untapped or poorly underutilised resource. Yet ideas are the prime source of improvement and innovation. Moreover, good Idea Management brings with it a change in the culture of an organisation. Employees see problems and opportunities every day in their immediate work areas that their managers do not. When employees are not given the opportunity to be heard and the time to implement their ideas they lose faith in management and are thus not fully engaged in their work.

The foundation of a good idea system is based on the realisation that there is far more capability/capacity in our people than is actually being harnessed. The essence of the Lean Philosophy is developing within each employee an improvement seeking and waste elimination mindset. If everyone even improved their job 0.1% everyday that adds up to a 24% improvement per employee year on year. That equates to a colossal competitive advantage over time and competitors cannot copy these compounded small improvements.

Operational waste can take many forms including waiting, excess walking, unnecessary services, rework and defects, energy, excess inventory, etc. There is no end to improvement opportunities if we become sensitized to waste as the thought provoking quote from Shigeo Shingo reveals:

"If the nut has fifteen threads on it, it cannot be tightened unless it is turned fifteen times. In reality, though, it is that last turn that tightens the bolt and the first one that loosens it. The remaining fourteen turns are waste."

Idea Management's purpose is to deliver continuous incremental innovation, employee involvement, and up-skilling to the workplace. Employees are coached to put forward ideas that make their job easier, can be implemented quickly, eliminate the cause of problems, save money, and don't cost much to implement.

We commonly hear; "That's already happening here, we just don't write the ideas down". However is there anything else that we do that is important to us like, for example your expense system that you don't have a process for? Ideas are too important to be left to chance and in the absence of a defined process they will be pushed to the back burner due to urgent day to day pressures.

Traditional methods of attempting to capture ideas such as suggestion boxes don't work. There is the story about the suggestion found in the suggestion box; "Can you get rid of the suggestion box? Nobody ever uses it!" Employees feel they would be better off dropping their ideas into a paper shredder if they never hear about previously submitted ideas. Suggestion systems also get stuck in their own bureaucracy. There are long implementation times, low participation rates (typically < 5% of workforce) and high rejection rates, partly because some are duplicate suggestions which have already been paid for. Most traditional suggestion systems fall prey to ideas for other people to do something about, rather than the originator of the idea. If all you have to do is suggest an idea for someone else to implement you can say whatever you like.

Lean uses the Kaizen approach to Idea Management where emphasis is placed on total workforce participation. Idea activity is an expected part of the job. There are high participation (typically > 50% of workforce) levels in comparison to suggestions box type approaches. This is because roles and responsibilities for the idea system are outlined at all levels. Ideas are visually displayed on boards, implemented fast, and recognised. New skills are learned by employees through interacting with support functions when implementing their ideas. People are coached to recognize "hidden" waste and the idea system is integrated into daily problem solving. Idea activity is also measured. The employee's direct manager mentors and supports the idea originator during implementation. Small ideas don't take enormous time and resources to implement and are not a burden on management, the opposite in fact.

There are also very high approval rates for ideas put forward. Employees are coached as to what constitutes a good idea. "Bad ideas" are viewed as training opportunities; the intent behind the idea is teased out and put forward again. Peer accountability is expressed through employees posting their ideas in the work area. Ideas are often tested and implemented prior to putting forward into the idea system.

Well run Idea Management Systems are realising substantial returns. Subaru's employees, save over $5000 per employee. American Airlines IdeAAs System saves on average $55 million a year. In 2009 the Idea System at The Baptist Healthcare Hospital in Florida realised over $25 million in cost improvements.

Surprisingly the best performing Idea Systems don't pay a percentage of savings for ideas. With monetary rewards there are winners and losers, to overcome this you should make ideas and creativity part of the job.

The key is to tap into people's intrinsic motivation, the natural desire that they have to make a positive difference. It is the buzz got from making an improvement. The greatest reward for employees is to see their ideas used. An example of recognition is a variety of token items and monthly raffles for implemented ideas.

In closing, the personal and organizational costs of failing to fully engage the passion, talent, and collective intelligence of the workforce may be far greater than our comparatively high wage cost base. Idea Management Systems run to their capability in best-in-class organizations are providing the solution to this and are a non transferrable asset.

Author profile:

Andy Brophy is the co-author with John Bicheno of Innovative Lean A Guide to Releasing the Untapped Gold in Your Organisation, to Engage Employees, Drive Out Waste and Create Prosperity. For more information contact andy@lean2innovativethinking.com or visit www.lean2innovativethinking.com

Legend has it that for twelve years Heracles traveled all over the Classical world to complete a dozen incredible tasks given him by King Eurystheus. Here are the Twelve Herculean Labors of Heracles and what lean leaders can learn from them:

1. Slay the Nemean Lion!

This monstrous lion had a hide was too tough to pierce with arrows. So Heracles stunned it with his club and strangled it with his bare hands. Then Heracles skinned the lion using the lion's own sharp claws and wore its hide, after which he posed for the photo above.

Sometimes the lean leader needs to needs to get your hands dirty and go do the job themselves. When everyone says, "Oh no, that problem is too difficult to solve" pull out your club, stun it and rip off its hide with its own claws. The solution to the toughest problem lies within the problem itself, if you change how you look at it. If piercing doesn't work, bash it. Once it's stunned (problem is contained) look for locally available solutions (claws). Then use the "lion hide" or war stories of things you did yourself to gain credibility with people you are trying to teach and help within your organization.

2. Conquer the Lernean Hydra!

The Hydra was a beast with nine snakey heads. Cut off one head, two would grow in its place. Heracles overcame this problem by cheating. He sliced off all of the heads and then had his companion Iolaus cauterize the wounds with a torch so the heads wouldn't grow back. Then as a souvenir Heracles dipped his arrows in the Hydra's blood and made them into poison arrows.

The lean leader faces many Hydras. Meeting after meeting, e-mail after e-mail, excuses after excuse, report after report, oh the list goes on. But learning from Heracles we need to find a team mate that can help us apply fix the problem by applying root cause countermeasures. "Stay there and hold the torch until you're sure the head isn't growing back while I go cut off the others." The poison arrows are a bonus: the next time someone gives the same excuse or calls for a useless meeting, apply one of your proven countermeasures.

3. Capture the Cerynian Hind!

The hind was a little deer with gold horns. Loved by the goddess Artemis, Heracles couldn't simply club it and bring it back to the king without angering the goddess. Heracles followed the hind for a whole year until he found a way to carry it away without hurting it.

Lean leaders need to capture people's minds and hearts without hurting them by being too directive or aggressive. This requires listening, observing, communication and waiting persistently for the right moment. Many lean leaders have angered the goddess of the waste hunt by trying to carry people along too fast.

4. Subdue the Erymanthian Boar!

This deadly wild boar lived on Mount Erymanthus and terrorized the people there. So Heracles chased it up the mountain and into a snowdrift, caught the boar and took it back to King Eurystheus. The king, who owned a jar large enough to hide in for just such a terrifying occasion, did so.

Change agents and lean leaders must bravely face the one thing or issue that everyone is afraid of talking about. It could be a person who is essential to the team's success, but whose behavior is eroding morale. It could be simply to openly challenge the status quo and to get people thinking. Drive it UP the mountain (elevate the issue) since eventually the boar will run out of mountain to run up. Lean leaders should first hide the jar so the CEO can't hide from the issue.

5. Clean the Augean Stables!

King Augeas owned a few thousand cows. These stables needed cleaning after 30 years of use. Heracles, recently back from chasing deer for one year, was given one day to clean this up. Using natural forces to his benefit, Heracles bent two rivers and made them flow through the stable, cleaning it right up.

Flow! Need we say more? Instead of shoveling the business equivalent of cow dirt, the lean leader must find a less wasteful way by harnessing the business equivalent of rivers. Whether it's information flow, physical work flow or otherwise, lean leaders must design work in ways that get dirty jobs done quickly with minimum effort, sustainably. While patience is a virtue, this labor teaches also that urgency is essential.

6. Silence the Stymphalian Birds!

A flock of killer birds with razor-sharp claws and beaks lived around Lake Stymphalos, and these Heracles first used a rattle to flush out of their nests and then killed with arrows tipped with Hydra blood poison.

These birds are akin to the people who stand aloof in groups and cast barbs and criticisms on the change effort. They have strength in numbers and the ability to stay out of reach. The lean leader needs to find a solution for bringing these people around or containing them individually, not as a faceless mass. The flock cannot be conquered. Whatever may be the change management equivalent of the rattle that disperses the flock and the poison arrow that is a sure counter to each of these deadly birds of prey, it is a Herculean task for a lean leader to find them.

7. Catch the Cretan Bull!

This insane, fire-breathing bull was kept as a pet by King Minos of Crete. Heracles had little trouble wrestling this mad beast to the ground and bringing it back to King Eurystheus, mission accomplished. Not much for insane fire-breathing bulls, the king set it free to terrorize Greece.

The insane, fire-breathing pet project of the senior leader... woe be to the lean leader who must take on this Herculean task. Who is wiser: the king who keeps the mad bull or the king who captures it, only to release it on his subjects? Some crazy pet projects need to be kept contained, or clubbed and quietly choked like the lion. The tricky part of this Herculean task is for the lean leader to manage the stakeholders, contain the mad bull-project and protect the organization from its insanity.

8. Round Up the Horses of Diomedes!

The human flesh-eating horses of Diomedes, King of the Bistones were stopped when Heracles killed King Diomedes and fed him to his horses, thus making them tame enough to take them back to King Eurystheus.

A herd of horses naturally follow its leader. If the leader feeds them flesh, they become flesh-eating horses. Capture these horses and you have a herd of man-eating horses on your hands. This is trouble, not a conquest. The Herculean labor of a lean leader is to see through an organization that appears on the surface to be "hopeless" and identify the source of the corruption, eliminate that practice, belief, person or persons from the organization and feed the people hope and truth rather than fear and mistrust.

9. Bring the Girdle of the Amazon Queen Hippolyte!

What started out as a seemingly easy task for Heracles went quickly awry when Heracles visited the land of the Amazons, where the Queen agreed to give him girdle in exchange for the daughter of Eurystheus. But the goddess Hera spread the rumor that Heracles came to the Amazons as an enemy, and he ended up taking it by force.

The lean leader who does not effectively manage all stakeholders can easily become victim of false rumor and sabotage. This is especially true when venturing into a very different culture, such as groups or physicians, design engineers or executives. The strong lean leader may be able to take the girdle by force once, but won't make any allies that way.

10. Steal the Cattle of Geryon!

Geryon was a giant winged warrior with one head attached to three human bodies. His prized possession was a herd of red cattle. A two-headed dog and a giant guarded this treasured herd. Heracles killed these freaks and brought the cattle back to his taskmaster. Having plenty of practice poison arrows and monster-slaying at this point, the truly Herculean part of this task may have been crossing the Libyan desert.

The lesson here for the lean leader is pretty straightforward: if after a long journey we are confronted with 1) giant, 2) headed dog, and a 3) bodied winged monster which blocks our path to treasure, we must strike them down. The lean leader must not hesitate after a long, tiring journey across the change management equivalent of a hot, barren desert. Strike with vigor and accumulated skill to overcome the two-headed dog of indecision, the last guardian of the treasure and whatever other big freakish obstacle we may face.

11. Collect the Golden Apples of the Hesperides!

The Hesperides were nymphs in whose garden these golden apples grew. These apples were protected the hundred-headed dragon Ladon. Heracles worked out a deal with the nymphs' father Atlas whereby Heracles would do Atlas' job and hold up the earth for a time while Atlas fetched the apples for him.

At times the lean leader must take on the Herculean task of holding up the world while someone else implements the changes required. This may mean that the lean leader must be capable and prepared to step in as an interim manager and run the operation, either to stabilize a situation, safeguard a customer during a massive change effort, or simply to free up a senior manager who can personally lead the lean implementation while you run their operation.

12. Capture Cerberus!

For his finale task, Heracles captured Cerberus the three-headed (sensing a theme?) guard dog of the underworld without the use of weapons. It was a simple matter of wrestling down the dog's heads until it agreed to go back with him to King Eurystheus, who mistaking it for an insane fire-breathing bull, set it free again.

The lean leader must figuratively grab those doubters and naysayers who are of two minds about lean: they see that it is good, but see how the organization is failing to address risks or do it properly. They are guardians of the underworld to who say "no" to people who wish to leave the darkness do so for a reason. Wrestle with their heads without weapons, listening objectively, until they agree to come out into the light to see your view. Then set them free.

Learning from the 10 Labors + 2

The 12 labors of Heracles were originally assigned by King Eurystheus as the 10 labors. He added on two more because Heracles did not give Heracles credit for number 2 and number 5. He killed the Hydra not single handed but with crucial help from his companion Iolaus. The stable-cleaning river method was also nixed by the King. What we can learn from this as lean leaders is threefold: take any help you can get even if it means you don't always get credit for the task, sometimes it's not lean but luck or market conditions that saves you so don't fool yourself, and unintended consequences are part of accomplishing the Herculean labors, including additional labors.

To all lean leaders and change agents out there who struggle with these 12 and other Herculean labors, may all your lean improvement results be epic, your success stories be legendary and may all the challenges you overcome be monstrous.