Is lean and ergonomics something you add to what you are doing or what your doing??
Is lean and ergonomics something you add to what you are doing? If so, don't expect it to last.
In lean the common metaphor used by companies is to say that they are on the ‘lean journey. The same could be said of ergonomics as it’s not a one and done but something that builds on itself over time. But what do you do once you have your lean and ergonomics journey underway, how do you sustain it? How do you build it into the bricks and mortar, and the DNA, of the organization? For sustainability we don’t want lean and ergonomics to be its own thing—we want it embedded into the organization.
Lean and ergonomics shouldn't be thought of as an initiative, but in the early phases it must be seen as a specific initiative to gain the attention and attraction that it needs. But sustainability has different requirements—it must become part of the organizational and cultural practice. I’ve seen lean and ergonomics ‘journeys’ that have been relatively successful when judged by Kaizens and ergo projects here and there. In essence they have been forever stuck in initiative and/or project modes. Initiatives don’t last forever and neither do projects. In order to sustain lean and ergonomics you must deliberatively build and embed lean and ergonomics into every process and system.
Below are 4 Tactics to Make Lean and Ergonomics a way of life at your organization:
1. Get rid of the lean/ergo for THE plan—the one and only organizational success plan. If you're going to integrate lean and ergonomics into your organization, you can't have a lean plan or an ergo plan, you need ‘A Plan’. You can only have a plan. It doesn’t matter if your plan is for daily operations or organizational strategies, lean and ergonomics thinking, methods, tools and tactics must be built in.
Need to better understand your industry? Then find a way to create direct observation events. Need to change your organizational footprint? Then determine how you can leverage kaizen and organizational ergonomics workshops, rapid experimentation and lean/ergo design rules to achieve the optimal design. This should be a part of your organizations first step or first stage in THE plan—part of the discussion, part of the system and part of the process. It shouldn’t be relegated to the second or third after you have a plan, as most organizations do.
2. Work on your toughest problems using lean and ergonomics simultaneously. If your plan doesn't already take you there—that’s a problem. Lean and ergonomics should be utilized to solve your toughest problems. Are you still just using it for some process efficiency or safety gains? Or is lean and ergonomics how you solve your problem? Use the tools and tactics to explore and find new means to deliver value.
3. Target and promote lean and ergonomics behaviors, not lean and ergonomics talent. When starting a lean and ergonomics journey, you need talent and skills—typically people with experience come from the outside who teach you and others. This gives you the foundation of talent and skills necessary to carry out lean and ergonomics into the organization. But—BUT—as lean and ergonomics become ‘the how’ the organization works, then the lean and ergonomics talent can move on. This is when behavior and ‘standard lean and ergonomics work’ behaviors and daily practices become vitally important. At this time, talent and skills are teachable. Behavior is what will drive the new lean/ergonomics culture.
4. Train for people in roles rather than lean and ergonomics. Lean and ergonomics training is needed early on and a necessary practice to get the organization through the early phase in order to accomplish everything from the very beginning (need for early buy-in) to ‘a few months done the road’ (advanced skills). You have introductory courses, direct observation/practice workshops and coaching seminars. This is necessary but still leaves the impression that lean and ergonomics are ‘projects’ or ‘fads’ for the short term.
To truly integrate lean and ergonomics, you can't just train everyone generically. You must train for the roles your people perform. For instance, what does a process engineer need to know, feel and be able to do? What about a product engineer? What about a vice president? What about a frontline supervisor or employee? Each role has a unique combination of lean and ergonomics skills, with role-specific knowledge and skills to know when, where and how to apply those skills. Train for that reality.
Lean and ergonomics are not THE goal. They are a means to an end. You must transform your organization’s approach from lean and ergonomics being one me thing we need to do to one in which it’s simply ‘how we work’. From a special, called out thing to a natural, daily occurrence. From an initiative to your DNA.