During my workshop this week, I was asked the question, "How do you know what tool to use and when?" This is a very common question asked by new lean practitioners. Having done a quick scan on the number and types of quality improvement tools, I quit counting at 240. Yes , there are over 240 discrete quality improvement tools. When you consider that there are dozens of applications and techniques of these tools, picking the right one, at the right time, can be a daunting task.
By application of the tool, I mean that the use of takt time in a process that repeats every 50 seconds is entirely different than a process that repeats every 14 weeks. Time observation on a repetitive process is different than time observation on process that occurs annually.
Fortunately, for lean thinkers there is some great news! There are a core group of tools that can be mastered (or at least we can become competent with) that will carry us a very long ways. Some of the tools help us to see waste and some of the tools help us to eliminate waste. The following table lists the tools and their purpose.
I refer to these tools as the common tools used to see and eliminate waste. Over the coming weeks, I will publish thoughts on some of the applications and techniques of these various tools individually.
In my years as a Sensei, I virtually always stay within this tool set when initially trying to understand a problem. For more complex problems there are some other tools and techniques that will come into play, but mastering these will enable 10 years of probelm solving within virtually any organization.
Lean Blessings,
Ron
Ron Bercaw
President and Sensei
Shingo Prize Winning Author
www.breakthroughhorizons.com
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