Jul 17 2012
Genchi Genbustu – Go and see for yourself
Genchi genbustu is a Japanese term that means “go and see for yourself” and is an integral part of the Toyota Production System (TPS).
It refers to the fact that any information about a process will be simplified and abstracted from its context when reported. This has often been one of the key reasons why solutions designed away from the process seem inappropriate.
Legend has it that Taiichi Ohno would draw a semi-circle in chalk beside the production line at Toyota and make engineers stand in the circle for an entire shift so that they would see for themselves what was really going on.The story has also been told that if an engineer wanted to make a change that they would have to stand in the semi-circle for one shift and if after that length of time they still thought their idea had merit then they would be allowed to implement it.
I’ve always coached people to “get boots on the ground” and see what is really happening. It’s necessary to bring front line staff together to document processes & workflows using documentation techniques such as flow charting, value stream mapping or patient journey mapping. However 100% of the picture will not be realized and that’s why it is not enough to end there. One needs to actually go into the field to verify what is really going on. If genchi genbutsu is neglected you can guarantee whatever is missed will show up on go-live day and the cost of that neglect can be very, very great indeed.
For further reading I highly recommend this article: http://lssacademy.com/2009/02/13/genchi-genbutsu-do-you-really-understand-it/ from LSS Academy.
Can you afford not to go and see for yourself?
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genchi_Genbutsu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Production_System
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiichi_Ohno
Jul 22 2012
The Red Bead Experiment – It’s a system thing…DOH!
The Red Bead Experiment to show total fault in the system was made famous by W Edwards Deming (Deming attributes the original demonstration to Mr. William (Bill) A. Boller of the Hewlett-Packard Company).
The purpose of the red bead experiment, and the reason I cite it here, is to prove scientifically that the majority of problems in business are actually attributable to the system and not the employees. Furthermore the people charged with acting on and improving the system are the managers and leaders and not the employees. The red bead experiment is myriad in its lessons and takes awhile to unpack and folks much wiser than me have taken the time to try and unpack it for you…I defer to their brilliant efforts in explaining what Dr. Deming loved to present.
For more information from the source please read Out of the Crisis by W Edwards Deming. See page 347 for a written account of a 1983 demonstration in Pretoria, Oregon.
For a summary of the red bead experiment please see James R. Martin’s site here: http://maaw.info/DemingsRedbeads.htm.
To watch a YouTUBE video of the red bead experiment please see the Fluor Hanford videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBW1_GhRKTA&list=PL8E522DD542C4CA69
Finally for a nifty red bead simulator please visit Symphony Tech’s site here: http://www.symphonytech.com/redbeads.htm
By Craig "hachiroku" Mercer • Quality (Systems Thinking) •