Action Learning

Case Studies of Implementing Lean Manufacturing

WORKING ON BUSINESS PROBLEMS IN TEAMS

FOR DEVELOPMENT PURPOSES

Centerpiece: A real business problem or opportunity

Action Learning Definition

WORKING ON (REAL, IMPORTANT) BUSINESS PROBLEMS

(OR OPPORTUNITIES) IN (DIVERSE, CROSS-ORGANIZATION) TEAMS

FOR DEVELOPMENT PURPOSES(TO IMPROVE THE BUSINESS & DEVELOP

PARTICIPANTS)

Expanded Action Learning Definition

What is Action Learning?

A dynamic tool used to:

• Drive strategic change

• Transform the organization

• Accelerate development

• Achieve business breakthroughs

• Develop leadership capabilities

• etc.Develop participants

Address significantbusiness challenges

Working onauthentic, urgent business problems/opportunities in diverse, cross-organization teams to improve thebusiness and developparticipants

Results

Learning

Action

Action Learning

Address significant business

challenges

Develop leadership, teaming & business tools, techniques &

skills

Action Learning Framework

Evaluation Implementation

Sponsors

ParticipantsTeams

Projects

RolesProgram

Education

Benefits

Develop individual

- Accelerated development

- Leadership, teaming & business skills

Develop organization

- More innovative & entrepreneurial

- Cross-organization collaboration (without sacrificing autonomy)

- Important work gets done

- Building a sense of the total enterprise

AL Typical Design

©2002 Executive Development Associates. All rights reserved.

Session One: Education and

Projects

Session Three:

Sharing and Proliferation

Project introduction & selection

Work planning tools & techniques

Team building Project specific / Just In Time (JIT) education Innovation &

entrepreneurship Set learning / develop-

ment goals Test project work plan

Mid-point progress review

Assimilate & synthesize work

Create, test & improve presentations• What learned? • Findings &

recommendations• Implementation plan

Presentations to spon- sors

Debriefing & planning next steps

3 - 6 Month Timeline

3 - 5 Days 2 - 3 Days

½ - 1 Day

Teams do projects

Session Two: Review

Team Structure Example

Team 18

Participants

Action Learning Program – 24-32 Participants

Team 28

Participants

Team 38

Participants

Team 48

Participants

Sponsor Sponsor Sponsor Sponsor

Reginal Revans

William Reginald Revans (14 May 1907 – 8 January 2003) was arguably one of the most influential of British educationalists of the twentieth century.

He pioneered Action Learning, which today is among a handful of educational innovations which has survived and developed as a theory of action, and a theory in action

Biodata of Regina

The origins of action learning is Reg Revans, and his inspiration came from the plight of the Titanic

Revans worked at the Cavendish Laboratories at Cambridge University in 1930s

He studied under Rutherford and JJ Thomas, fathers of nuclear physics. He also worked with Albert Einstein

His first real work in action learning was for the National Coal Board, then the world's largest employer; he was asked to write an educational plan for its workers, from this in 1945, action learning the theory was born.

Revans went on to develop action learning in projects for the Nation Health Authority, the core expression

L (Learning) = P (Programmed Knowledge) + Q (Insightful Questions) was born.

AL Model of Carsem: PDCAPlan

Address Organization Concerns

Engage Team and select projects

Provide Training

Check

Act

Do

Lead projects

Review results

Sharing of Results

Proliferate to other areas

Review Value Stream Mapping

PLANAddress Organization ConcernsLean Manufacturing to eliminate 30% waste

Background of Lean Manufacturing

Toyota Way of Operation = Toyota Production System (TPS)

Gross Profit USD 10 Billion

Biggest Car Manufacturer in the world (more than 4 combined US auto mobile companies)

James Womack and Daniel Jones writes about TPS and coin the term LEAN

Jeffrey Liker writes 4 more books to describe the success of Toyota:

Toyota Culture, Toyota Way, Toyota Way: Field Book,, Toyota Talent

Lean Tools

Books by James Womack and Daniel Jones

Books by Jeffrey Liker

about LEAN

Elimination of waste

Improve in productivity

Create values for customer

Leaning to Compete

Leaning to Compete

Lean = Eliminating the Waste

Defects

Overproduction

Waiting

Non-utilized People

Transportation

Inventory

Motion

Extra Processing

A Member of the Hong Leong Group

Lean Practices in Production

• Standard Work of Leaders

• Visual Control

• Training and Audit (TWI)

• Daily Accountability

• Discipline (Gemba Walk, Lean Management Assessment)

Summary

Key Points

Training alone cannot solve business issues – only 11.5% Action Learning is another OD tools to improve organization effectiveness We adopt Plan-Do-Check-Act approach

Possible key actions

Action Learning

Align training to critical business needs – Lean Gain management support Setup teams to address issues and provide short training for them Performance Improvement Lab has adopted Learning Organization Approach Consider Lean approach for yuor organization effectiveness

Reference

Toyota Way – Jeffrey Liker

Lean Six Sigma for Service Sector – Micheal Goerge

Beyond Training and Development – William Rothwell

Lean Benchmarking: Closing the Reality Gap – Aberdeen Group

Building the Lean - MIT

„The most dangerous kind of waste is the

waste we do not recognize. .“

~Shigeo Shingo 新郷 重夫Toyota Production System

(1909-1990)

Shingo is the author of numerous books including: A Study of the Toyota Production System; Revolution in Manufacturing: The SMED System; Zero Quality Control: Source Inspection and the Poka-yoke System; The Sayings of Shigeo Shingo: Key Strategies for Plant Improvement; Non-Stock Production: The Shingo System for Continuous Improvement; and The Shingo Production Management System: Improving Process

Functions.