Page 162 - How To Implement Lean Manufacturing

140 Cha pte r Ei g h t

with involvement. Those walking around, making casual comments, and even helping
out are involved. Commitment goes much deeper. The best description I have ever
heard uses the metaphor of eating ham and eggs for breakfast. In this case, we can say
the chicken was involved; the pig, however, was committed.
Now, back to the evaluation. This can be done two ways: quick and dirty or thor-
oughly. I suggest you do both, for different reasons and at different times. First, you and
your sensei should do a quick-and-dirty evaluation:
• List the key players who are necessary to make this initiative work.
• Make the best evaluation you can using The Five Tests of Management
Commitment to Lean Manufacturing.
Make sure you do your evaluations based on the behavior you see from the key players.
Don’t just go by what they say. At this point, this evaluation may be very rough but it
will point out any obvious issues and will get you thinking about this issue. At some
point, or at several points, individual or group commitments, or a lack thereof, will be
significant issues, and it is best to flush them out early. So an early awareness of problems
is a good first step.
From this evaluation, develop potential action items. At this point, this is just an
opinion, so treat it very carefully. As you proceed in the early steps of the initiative, take
careful note of any commitment issues. Be complete and document the who, what,
when, where, why, how often, and how much, for each example. However, unless there
are obvious and very serious problems, take no action on this list of items at this time.
Save it for later.

The Second Management Commitment Test and Group Dynamics
Next, do a thorough evaluation of the management commitment—this can not be done
initially. For this second evaluation to have significant meaning, there must have been
some context developed so the key players can more fully understand what types and
levels of commitment the Lean initiative will require. It is best to do this evaluation after
the key players have been trained in your Lean initiative. Also, there must have been
several major changes made in the basic operation so the key players can understand,
firsthand and by experience, the type of changes required. Generally, this can be done
as early as three months after kickoff, or as late as 18 months afterward.
This is a crucial time in the program. For the first few weeks of program implemen-
tation, particularly if the initiative was sold well by the Lean leadership, there will be a
lot of positive energy and the majority of those involved will be very enthused about
the initiative and its future prospects. This is how nearly all groups form and develop—
lots of positive energy and seeming agreement early on. Life seems pretty great during
this phase, which we will call the “cocktail party phase.”
Unfortunately, some time after starting the program, some tensions develop due to
the necessary and resultant changes. This tension is unavoidable. What happens is that
people begin to jockey for position, reassess their positions, and question things like,
“How can I do this and still meet my goals?” In short, individual goals conflict with
group goals and differences surface. Even if they do not, the worry exists that they
might. This creates some conflict that was not present on day one. What started as a
conflict-free group with seemingly common goals and a large amount of agreement is
now breaking down.