With all the gloom and doom of the Coronavirus, the divisive political climate and the Zoom fatigue, this has been a tough summer.  Here is a whimsical post to kick off the fall about applying Lean thinking when you’re stuck at home.  

Maureen (Mrs. Toast) and I have found some respite over the last six months in an occasional visit to our outdoor pub, situated on a porch to the side of our house.  There, with a backdrop of our favorite music from Spotify, we can enjoy some lighthearted conversation and laughs.  Back in March, when it became apparent that we’d be spending a lot of time sheltering at home, we resolved to build our own mini-resort – mostly from scrap materials.   The open air was a soothing balm and, especially on a warm evening, we almost felt like we were on vacation.  But there was one problem:  Our little oasis was not waterproof – especially in heavy wind and rain.  After the first storm we tried buttoning up the leaks, and covering with a tarp. But alas, the weather played havoc.  When a second storm was forecast about a week later, we frantically carried all libations inside, fire brigade style, stacking them anywhere and everywhere.   We emptied the bar in about 15 minutes, but setting it up again after the storm took more than an hour. 

Always Kaizen-minded, Maureen was unhappy with this haphazard approach, and set about to simplify and standardize the pub changeover.  First, she sorted out excess or seldom-used materials and then created set locations for the remainder.  (This probably also reduced the time to mix a drink, but that was incidental as we really don’t drink that much and mixing the drink is part of the social experience anyway – i.e. “value-added.”) Next, she created an order of assignments for both dis- and re-assembly of our haven.  A couple old tubs that I once used to drag Lego simulations to customers were more than adequate for transport to a dry location.   Our first-time trial was 10 minutes for breaking down the bar and 15 for setting it back up, but we were making small adjustments for both steps during the trial. Then we waited for a storm.

On April 13, the day after Easter, we had the first opportunity to test Maureen’s quick-change system.  This was a live operation as there was approaching thunder in the air. Time to breakdown the bar was 8 minutes, as was setup after the storm had passed.  Not that time mattered that much in this case.  It was more a matter of reducing the frustration of a chaotic process.  Making the changeover easier was as important as making it faster.  There is a natural satisfaction in making a job easier – even something as frivolous as SMEB (Single Minute Exchange of Bar.)  Would Mr. Shingo approve? 

O.L.D. 

Hey OLD readers – as summer draws to a close and you begin planning for 2021, don’t miss the 16^th Annual Northeast L.E.A.N. Conference.  Naturally, it’s virtual, which makes attendance from anywhere easier than ever.  And we’ve kept price way down to respect the hard times that many of our customers have experienced.   Our theme, 21^st Century Lean, established long before the pandemic is almost prophetic in its objective to deal with the intersection of Lean and IoT.  As Covid-19 has accentuated the promise of the Internet of Things, it’s more important than ever to establish a balance between technology and respect of people.  Hope you can join us and some world-class presenters for that dialogue.  Here’s the link to the agenda and registration:  https://bit.ly/2ZKmo5t