CHAPTER 10

Sustaining the gains - is an area in which our company, Quality Consultants, specializes.
Deming is clear when he states the following three points:
1. We must sustain the gains.
2. We can not make progress without sustaining the gains.
3. Ultimately, we cannot survive without sustaining the gains.
Transparency - is the concept that lets you see, in real time, right now, what is happening in
your process, letting you make a determination as to whether anything has changed or needs
attention.
Examples of transparency
1. Andons
2. 5S tool outlines
3. Heijunka boards
As part of PDCA, first it is necessary to determine something has changed, such as a production
rate flagging. Next, it is necessary to:
1. Plan a corrective action or countermeasure (plan).
2. Implement it (do).
3. Confirm whether it is successful or not (check).
4. Determine if additional actions or thoughtful inaction is appropriate (act).
Thus, it is critically necessary to have some information to be able to:
1. Discern something has changed.
2. Confirm that the countermeasure was or was not successful.
Production shortage due to:
1. Quality losses
2. Availability losses
3. Cycle-time losses
Management needed was a
1. cold
2. hard
3. dispassionate
4. honest
5. introspective
Review of the system
If we were off schedule, we could look at:
1. The rejected product segregation bins to see if we had a quality problem, or
2. Look at the Andon log to see if downtime had been a problem, or
3. Look at the cycle-time information to see if the process was performing to cycle time
To achieve the gains we need to reduce the variation, and there is a specific approach that can
be made to reduce variation. We can work with:
1. The product
2. The raw materials
3. The process equipment
4. Poka-yokes
5. Process procedures
Five Step Prescription exists on how to sustain the gains. It is not amazing, but once
implemented, it is always effective. It includes:
1. Good work procedures
2. Sound training in the work procedures

3. Simple visual management of the

process
6.
7.
1.
2.
8.
9.

4. Hourly and daily process checks by

management
5. Routine audits by management

Two points of major concern. The work instructions and standards:

Must be written in behavioral terms
Must be auditable

On the other hand, the objectives of these Routine Management Audits are much different
and are twofold:
1. To teach management
2. To check the ability of the system to meet the policy
10.
11.Most of the variation is because people are:
1. Using the raw materials they are supplied
2. Running the machines they are supplied
3. Following the instructions they are supplied
4. Working in the environment they are given
12.
13.There is a third benefit that is achieved when the managers perform these audits. Here I
do not mean, make sure these audits get done, I mean to do them. I mean:
1. To review the standard
2. To compare the actions to the standard
3. To draw conclusions and develop corrective actions
4. To follow up that the work was completed
5. To document the audit
14.
15.
CHAPTER 11
16.Culture - the combined actions, thoughts, beliefs, artifacts, and language of any group of
people.
17.
18.Adjustment requires several characteristics.
1. The system must be able to recognize that a change is occurring, and it must have a
conscious awareness of its state.
2. It must be flexible enough to make the change.
3. The system must be responsive.
19.
20.Defining and solving problems in three major areas of opportunity. These are:
1. Are the thoughts, beliefs, and actions appropriate for the business and meeting the needs
of the customers? (Appropriateness of the Culture)
2. Are the thoughts, beliefs, and actions in harmony, one with the other? (Harmony of the
Culture)
3. Are the thoughts, beliefs, and actions disintegrated either vertically or laterally in the
facility? (Integration of the Culture)
21.
22.Two of The Five Precursors to Implementing a Lean Initiative are major cultural change
issues. They are:
1. A continuous improvement policy
2. A policy to sustain the gains
23.
24.The Toyota Production System and Its Culture
1. An Appropriate Culture
4. A Culture of Worker Responsibility:
2. A Healthy Culture
Jidoka and Line Shutdowns
3. A Culture of Management
Responsibility