Shut Up, Don't TALK to our people !!!

If you break their concentration it will take up to 22 minutes for them to back into the groove.

It is a known fact that it takes 22 minutes for a worker to get into their zone. I kindly refer this to their "Hypnotic State" ... How can I tell? Their motions are fluid and if you stand and watch them, it actually appears like they are dancing.

Yes, they have tuned out any surrounding noise and are laser focused on performing the task before them. We need to keep them in that state of mind ... but how?

No Interruptions

As Readers of Lean Thoughts you know about my passion for Daily Management, but this can also create a problem.

This is what happened to me. As the time approached for our Daily Management Report-Outs, I found that members of my management team where doing their own pre-meeting tour and asking my Team Leads and Key Operators "How are things today?" Well isn't that Great !! Love that our management team is on the shop floor and actually communicating with the team. But ... I have 12 people on my management team and each one was stopping and interviewing folks ahead of our meeting meaning in some cases my Team Leads were being interrupted 12 times and each interruption lasting 1-3 minutes. The result was the Team Lead was not able to perform there required tasks for perhaps 1 hour due to the interruptions. The lesson learned, Management Team, stay away, let the teams settle into their daily pace allowing them to identify Disturbance to Flow that could impact the process of not meeting the target objective.

No Distractions

The space around our Team Members is sacred territory. This space needs to be highly respected and never invaded. We literally took it to heart with an ongoing challenge on how to deliver parts required directly into their hands without interruption or being a distraction.. We became extremely innovative spanning from using flow racks that could be replenished from the work area parameter to using plastic pipes to convey fasteners next to the hands of our Team Members, minimizing motion.

We knew our people would get into their zone and any distraction would require them to take another 22 minutes to get back into it.

No Interruptions and No Distractions ... then how do I manage?

First, you need to hone your skills to become an amazing observer. Complimenting your Observer ability has to be supported by strong visual management methodologies.

You need to observe that your process is in balance, Is someone struggling? Is a process step accumulating inventory? or is it starved? Is your Team Member functioning fluidly and performing his working dance? Do they stop working when a Material Handler approaches? These are all subtle micro-stoppages that are robbing your productivity.

Yes, you know the 5 X 15 rule ... that within 5 seconds from 15 meters you can see if a process is in control and functioning at rate. The ability to see the normal from the abnormal. One of my favorite tools for this is using an hour by hour board. I can quickly tell if the Team or Team Member is meeting our production requirements. Added bonus, the teams like posting their hourly accomplishments of success but it also shows engagement.

As I wander through our plant if I observe an hour in the red on the board, i am mentally concerned, but hopefully the team will figure it out and adopt a Corrective Action. If 2 sequential hours are Red, then time for an Interruption and figure out how to help.

Of course you can talk ... just be selective.

People love sharing and will give you their undivided attention, but provide them with a proper venue. My Teams know that I will be at their Report-Out Board at exactly the same time every day and they will have my undivided attention for a maximum of 5 minutes. It always amazes me just how much information they can share in such a compressed time slot. I Love it, They Love it ... and our Action Items get visibly documented so we can hold each other accountable.