Page 57 - Lean six sigma demystified

36 Lean Six Sigma DemystifieD

MIND THE GAP

FIGURE 2-1 • Mind the Gap.
Here’s what I mean: Hold up your hand and spread your fingers wide apart.
What do you see? Most likely, you’re first drawn to look at your fingers, not the
gaps in between. This is how most people look at process improvement, by
looking at the people working, not at the gaps between people.
When you take your eye off the people working and put your eye on the
product or service going through the process, you quickly discover there are
huge gaps between one step in the process and the next. You’ll discover work
products piling up between steps which only creates more delay—a bigger gap.
Your lead time problems are in the gaps, not the fingers. You can make the

people work faster, but you’ll find that this often makes you slower, not faster,
because more work piles up between steps widening the gap, not narrowing it.
? still struggling

Become your product or service. Follow a patient around an emergency room;
follow a customer around a restaurant from the time they arrive until they leave.
Follow a car repair around an automotive dealership. You’ll be stunned by how
much time the customer or product spends waiting for the next step in their
journey. Mind the Gap—Eliminate the delays.