leanjournal 2016 winter
DESCRIPTION
IMPROVEMENT consulting & training company twice a year publishes LEANJOURNAL, where managers from different companies share their experience and learning. Contact Laura Gerrits [email protected] if you would like to share in the next LEANJOURNALTRANSCRIPT
LEAN IR SVAJONĖS
LEANJOURNAL 2016 WINTER
LEAN AND DREAMS
DON’T READ IF YOU KNOW IT ALL
“Who knows in advance where the path is leading, will not walk far” – Napoleon Bonaparte
LEAN AND DREAMS
In this paper you will find:
MANAGER’S ROLE IN DAILY MANAGEMENT
HR RECIPE FOR LEAN COMPANY
INTERNAL TRAINERS GEMBA STANDARD IN UAB “KITRON”
FROM GRAVEL ROAD TO SMART HIGHWAY: WHERE ARE YOU TODAY?
4 WAYS OF “MINDFULNESS” PRACTICE AT WORK
“RELAXED” MIND OF MANAGER
OPEN LEAN PROGRAMMES FOR 2016
VIEW FROM KITRON ASA NORWAY
November, 2015 Arendal Norway. I ended my prepara-
tion for practical session sooner than expected so I had
some time to admire the view that was outside the win-
dow… A young cafeteria worker entered the room push-
ing the trail of morning coffee for the managers. Carefully
she prepared the breakfast table, wished a good day and
left...
In 2000 I came to Denmark with a wish to study in CBS
Copenhagen Business School. I did not succeed at en-
tering the college at first try due to the lack of Danish lan-
guage knowledge. Thus I had to postpone my studies
and started working in a cafeteria, which upset me deep-
ly. I admired the specialists that worked in the company.
My face became red every time that someone other than
a cafeteria worker asked me “How are you doing Laura?”
Compared to their work, my job seemed so meaningless. My only responsibility was to serve food, clean the tables and
bring coffee to office workers while they created products. I remember when I used to secretly listen to their meetings
and observe how they make decisions and reflect on them. At that time, I had a dream that I did not realise of having.
Now, when I think back to those times, the years that I have spent at the company’s cafeteria were of highest value.
Spending time with people that make impossible things possible makes you inspired. You once again start to believe in
your dreams and get energy to reach them.
Truthfully, LEAN is a journey towards your dreams, when you meet interesting people along the way, see new things
and experience new feelings. And the most important thing is that you forget the need to know it all in advance and
open your mind to the improvement process that does not require you wearing a crown of foreknowledge.
HAVE A TASTY LEAN AND DREAMS COCKTAIL 2016
Laura Gerrits and the team
1 LEANJOURNAL 2016 WINTER
A CORRIDOR CONNECTING ADMINISTRATIVE AND PRODUCTION ZONE IN UAB “PHILLIP MORRIS LITHUANIA”
A lot of companies in Lithuania are interested in daily
management system. They visit world-class compa-
nies to gain experience on the system’s creation. In
Lithuania, companies like “Thermo Fisher Scientific”
and “Phillip Morris Lithuania” gladly share their daily
management experience and open their doors to tour
groups.
Daily visual accountability, strategic tactics and indi-
cators’ deployed in all levels of the company fasci-
nate the majority of experienced managers. After
tours the company’s naturally raise the following
questions:
We have to do it, but we do not know how to start
our daily management system?
What are the obstacles that we will have to over-
come during the first year of daily management?
What kind of homework do we have to do before
it?
Manager’s Role in Daily Management
2 LEANJOURNAL 2016 WINTER
Each company’s manager wants to start well-
prepared daily management practice. However in
cases when people’s discipline is not sustainable,
more expenses and energy will be needed to spark it
again.
Company manager needs space to prepare himself
and his team to hear, accept and manage the voice
of process which will come from visual daily manage-
ment.
Every tool was created to solve a specific problem.
Thus firstly, you have to ask yourself these 3 basic
questions:
1. Do I have the same problem in my company?
2. What factors tell that we have the same problem?
3. Why do I think that elsewhere applied tools will
help us solve our problems?
EVERY COMPANY IS A UNIQUE SYSTEM.
CREATE UNIQUE TOOLS BY REALISING YOUR SYSTEM’S PROBLEMS.
IMPROVEMENT.LT
Why did you decide to create daily management discipline?
When in 2013 I came back to the Lithuanian factory from
the Netherlands, my team and I revised the OPEN per-
formance improvement initiatives that were created from
2009. Within the period of four years we installed and
visualised a lot of LEAN tools in the production process.
However, in 2013 we noticed that although the initiatives
were very good, but created separately they were left to
“survive for themselves”, since they were not integrated
into daily activities. Thus, a lot of positive things, includ-
ing some of the good practices, were lost.
Then it became clear that the decision to become a
LEAN organisation was a one-way ticket. If you decide
to buy it, you have to be prepared to constantly improve
your performance and do not stop. There is no going
back.
Where would you recommend the manager to start daily management?
LEAN is a holistic management system that requires a
manager’s and employee’s discipline to create a value
for a customer. In the beginning it is very important to
create a strategic clarity in the organisation. First of all,
the team of managers has to realise the direction that
the company is taking and why the processes are per-
formed. During the strategic sessions, the managers
choose and prioritise the strategic tactics, accountabili-
ties and agree on performance indicators that are the
most important in the company’s activities and which will
be used to measure the implementation process. Alt-
hough such decision-making takes a lot of time, it is an
investment into a unified approach. The managers need
to convey the strategic clarity to all the organisation. I
can help and support them only by setting an example,
providing motivation and giving feedback.
UAB “Phillip Morris Lithuania”
Number of employees: 483
Practices LEAN: since 2009
Experience is shared by: Rimvydas Pundi-
nas, general director of UAB “Phillip Morris
Lietuva” (occupied this position till
01/01/2015), currently — a director of EU
Manufacturing CI & Maintenance.
The more prepared they are to answer questions like
“why our company has to take this direction?” and “what
benefits can be gained from it?”, the faster and more
sincerely the company’s strategy can be reached.
When the strategic clarity was visualised and discussed
in the organisation, we started the creation of “Philip
Morris Lithuania” performance system (integrated pro-
duction management system), where daily management
is one of the main (fundamental) elements. The creation
of system included not only the production department,
but also the supporting processes and departments.
What obstacles did you have to overcome with-in the first year of daily management practice?
The first obstacle was to maintain the discipline of morn-
ing meetings in all organisational levels. At first, some of
the departments or shifts failed to follow the timetable on
the daily basis.
We created a meeting supervision timetable according to
which twice a week every manager supervises lower-
level meeting and gives the manager his feedback as
well as hosts a coaching conversation. Meeting GEMBA
not only helped to create some discipline, but also al-
lowed everyone to see one’s habits that need to be
changed or improved. This practice has also helped in
creating discipline as well as becoming each other’s
teachers and helpers.
The second obstacle was the search for process indica-
tors in functional department and value chain. When we
started going to meeting GEMBA, we noticed that a lot of
indicators did not lead to actions. The performed actions
were oriented to past problems and not to the today’s
activities that need to be performed in order to reach the
goal of the day. We practice the performance improve-
ment and Kata coaching methods which allow us to
search for valuable indicators that would provide goal-
oriented and fast PDCA actions“.
3 LEANJOURNAL 2016 WINTER
How do you support your managers?
Every morning I supervise a meeting and give manag-ers my feedback. Later on I host a 4
th high-level meet-
ing (for company’s department manager teams). After lunch I go to GEMBA and help the teams, revise their activities, performed works and reached results as well as discuss future plans and specific immediate steps, look into the difficulties and help to reach decisions by motivating them to act, take risks and learn new things that would help to achieve better work results. This time is also a great opportunity to thank people for the performed work, learn new things and get involved into company’s performance improvement. Without visiting GEMBA I would not know the current situation at the factory. The figures on the computer do not always reflect reality. At GEMBA I observe the things that I should be thankful for, motivation and help that is needed. LEAN education is our top priority. Together with out-side consultants and performance development de-partment we organise various sessions and camps. At least once a month I meet performance system mod-ule managers to discuss the introduction process. We also send our managers to LEAN conferences, various trainings and other companies to find out about their experiences. Approximately 100 employ-ees are active participants in PML performance
Photo: first four-month daily management (DM) plan of UAB “Phillip Morris Lithuania” . DM development is on-going.
LEAN AND DREAMS 2016:
At the end of 2015 Rimvydas became a PM Director of Manufacturing CI & Maintenance. Currently he is re-
sponsible for the development of continuous improvement, technical maintenance of equipment and produc-
tion training activities in the European Union region.
system module works, the same amount of employees participated in “Kaizen”, SMED, 5S, 5 Whys sessions and “Purposeful Improvement” groups.
What is a manager’s role in daily management system?
To be a coach who is close to people. To support the team on specific actions, i.e., to do the same thing that you are asking from others. Your discipline should be an example to others, you have to acknowledge your mis-takes, take and provide feedback on time.
4 LEANJOURNAL 2016 WINTER
The photo shows managers planning meeting observations in GEMBA.
A HIGHLY INFLUENCIAL PROGRAMME THAT CHANGES THE MANAGERS’ HABITS FO-
REVER
OPEN PROGRAMMES OF 2016 IN LITHUANIA
MODULE I
6– 7 October,
Kaunas
975 EUR without VAT for one person for three-day practical programme of KATA COACH and an individual session at participant’s company. Three people registered will pay only for two: 1.950 EUR.
1700 EUR without VAT for one person for two-day training, exam and a certificate C31000.
Register before 14 March 2016 and save 250 EUR.
MODULE II
October, November at
participant’s company
MODULE III
25 November. Tour to
“Phillip Morris Lithua-
nia”
KATA COACH© 2016
RISK MANAGEMENT
TRAINING
ACCORDING TO ISO31000
20 – 22 April, Trakai
Last year ruts: concentrated on last year result.
Gravel road: centrally approved annual budget.
Paved road: approved and annually revised strategy.
Two lane road: strategy is deployed throughout the company, the deployment is daily monitored in daily man-
agement system.
Having started to search for indicators and supervise them, we often are faced with a question of how they
are related to the objectives of company’s departments. The conflict between the daily process indicators
and motivational system is so common and simple that it should be considered as a natural stage of daily
management development, which is passed one way or another. However, taking the company’s objectives
into consideration, we inevitably tackle such important management elements as planning, communication
and involvement. If management can be compared to driving a car, performance indicators pertain to gears
and a road that we take is laid by planning a strategy and determining the aims. People can choose not on-
ly different speed of driving, but also various roads, that are neither good nor bad per se. Here is our at-
IMPROVEMENT.LT
FROM GRAVEL ROAD TO SMART HIGHWAY:
WHERE ARE YOU TODAY?
Try to evaluate the road that you are taking today. All the roads are good, since they correspond to the company’s
maturity and ambitions. Sometimes a concentrated team drives smoother and faster off-road than through a German
highway where speed is not limited.
IMPORTANT:
Instead of only describing the strategy, a consensus needs to be reached and held on basic questions;
Important changes can be initiated only after clearly relating them to strategic objectives and company’s process-
es;
To supervise regularly not only the project course and their influence on processes;
Do not fluster and initiate too many changes at once, especially targeted at the same processes or those that
compete for resources.
5 LEANJOURNAL 2016 WINTER
LAST YEAR RUTS: FOCUSED ON LAST YEAR RESULTS
Growth objectives are determined, by evaluating last year re-
sults, usually the market (or nearest competitors) situation is
also taken into consideration. They are evaluated by financial
indicators, that are observed each quarter or each month. The
most common practice is to compare the indicators of the
same last year period.
Questions that will help you asses whether the road is appro-
priate for the selected speed:
Does the team understand the objectives unambiguously?
Have you decided on resources/means used to reach this objectives?
Do you expect a quantitative growth or a qualitative change?
Do the factual annual results meet your needs?
Do effort and expenses are adequate to the reached re-sult?
GRAVEL ROAD: LIVE ACCORDING TO YOUR BUDGED
When a growing team encounters the decentralisation of re-
sponsibilities and authorities and the business development
requires financial discipline, annual centrally-approved budget
allows to avoid the unexpected. However, the department
managers find it difficult to foresee the required changes, since
they do not know what kind of obstacles can be encountered.
Improvements and development projects are imposed from the
top after finding out the needs of the subordinate levels. This
road is mostly related to financial indicators, although other
process indicators are also taken into consideration. This
method helps to take control and avoid long discussions.
Questions that will help you asses whether the road is suitable
to you:
Do you often have additional expenses that are not
included in the budget?
Do the important improvement projects are ended
on time and under the approved budget?
Do the implemented projects create a stable result
that meets the initial expectations?
Do the managers have a possibility to implement
minor improvements under their authorisation
(budget)?
Is there a gap between the directing managers and
middle link managers when understanding and
performing for the objectives?
PAVED ROAD: APPROVED AND ANNUALLY RE-
VISED STRATEGY
Strategy formation allows the team to have a better
understanding of the direction that the company is tak-
ing and plan long-term changes. Having an approved
strategy, the budget is formed taking into consideration
strategic objectives and ways to achieve them. The
most common bumps on this road can be divided into
three main groups, i.e., strategic objectives are improp-
erly cascaded to the departments, too little attention is
dedicated to strategy planning and deployment; the
approved strategy is “forgotten” till the next year’s plan-
ning.
Questions that will help you asses whether the road is
appropriate to the selected speed:
Do the subdivision managers understand the influ-
ence that their team has on strategic objectives?
Are the actions necessary to reduce the influence
of important obstacles on performing for the objec-
tives implemented?
Are the executed projects / improvements related
to strategic aims?
Are the projects of important improvements fin-
ished on time and under the approved budget?
Does the result meet the initial expectations?
Are there any essential and unexpected deviations
between annual results and strategic directions?
Are the process indicators observed in the compa-
ny related to the company’s pupose?
6 LEANPAPER 2016 WINTER
A TWO-LANE ROAD: VERTICALLY DEPLOYMENT
STRATEGIC GOALS, REGULARLY OBSERVED IM-
PLEMENTATION OF STRATEGY
First of all, proper deployment of strategic goals brings
the clearness into what is expected from every subdivi-
sion / process during different levels of process. On the
other hand, by understanding the goals and how they can
be achieved, the managers and the employees become
more actively involved in the changes and show more
initiative. The cascading of goals should be understood
as the establishment of subdivision goals according to
the company’s goals by taking into consideration the in-
fluence that the subdivision has on them. For instance, if
the company wants to increase customer satisfaction, the
goal that has to be achieved by the production manager
is to reduce the quality complaints, while the shift super-
visor’s goal is to increase the quality in the process.
These questions will help you to check whether this road
is the most suitable to you:
Are there any conflicts among different subdivisions
when they become an obstacle to reach each others
goals?
Does the subdivision assessment (and promotion)
criteria meet the goals?
Do the planned and implemented important improve-
ments influence the results in a way that was ex-
pected?
Are the middle level managers actively involved in
performance improvement projects / initiatives?
Are improvement projects executed on time and sus-
tains over the time?
For more information about strategy deployment, contact Vilma Nasteckiene [email protected] or +370 68 634 532
SMART HIGHWAY: A STRATEGY INTEGRATED IN
DAILY MANAGEMENT
After starting to breakthrough the goals, the most com-
mon question is whether the goals should be cascaded
to the employee. If not, then what level should the
goals reach?
During the performance improvement, the company is
first of all a team. Each organisation is different, thus
the common advice is to combine team and individual
goals, while on the lower level, the goals can simply be
converted into indicators by establishing their meaning.
The tactical process improvement plans that are re-
quired to implement the strategy, rise in various levels
by combining the expected results with process indica-
tors, which helps to integrate then into the daily opera-
tive activities. The horizontal balancing of goals is of
equal importance so that the goals and implemented
improvements of one department would not interfere
with other department or process.
After setting the priorities between daily activities which
you have to battle through and the performance im-
provement projects, you lay a smart highway designed
for autopilots. A suggested method is “Hoshin Kanri”,
which focuses on continuous implementation and fol-
lowing of agreements with regard to the initiated im-
provements and pursued process indicators.
IMPROVEMENT.LT 7 LEANPAPER 2016 WINTER
“Mano Būstas” group
Number of employees: 1076
Practice LEAN: since 2010
Experience is shared by: Renata
Gailiūnienė, UAB “Mano Būstas” Lt Per-
sonnel department manager
3
Photo: Internal programme for LEAN managers, 2014
I became involved in LEAN discipline introduction in 2011. The company has over 1 000 employees and 120 managers.
At that time I was resolved to including as much managers and their teams into the performance improvement practices
as possible. I had no knowledge about LEAN or how the personnel can contribute to it. I had to experience a lot of situ-
ations until we found the perfect recipe for our company. Today this recipe is highly beneficial, however, I do not know if
that will be tomorrow’s case.
NEW MANAGER’S COMPETENCES DEDICATED TO LEAN CULTURE DEVELOPMENT
When starting the introduction of LEAN discipline, we had to cleanse ourselves and decide what kind of competences
are needed for every manager to make the discipline stable.
MANAGERS’ GEMBA
Going to GEMBAS and supervising helped us to understand what kind of competences our managers have and what
are still missing. We observed how we, as managers, measure the daily activities, how many times a week do we evalu-
ate our activities, how we manage to delegate and solve problems, train employees, etc. These processes helped us to
factually evaluate the habits that we—the managers—have and what is needed to maintain the LEAN practice. We cre-
ated our own 360 degree tool. We applied the 360 degrees to those competences that are needed and they are as-
sessed properly. Essentially, it already is a measured and specified object.
1
2
INTERNAL PROGRAMME FOR LEAN
MANAGERS
By understanding the missing and present com-
petences as well as by knowing how LEAN disci-
plines correspond to all level’s managers, during
2,5 years of testing, we have been creating a sev-
eral-model programme together with Laura.
In our company, every manager is LEAN. Cur-
rently, the programme is still under improvement,
as we are still adapting its tools, since today we
face different challenges. For instance, we have
changed all the “Kaizen” ideas system, visual
board standard, etc.
3
PERSONNEL MANAGER’S RECIPE FOR LEAN COMPANY
8 LEANPAPER 2016 WINTER
Photo: graphical visualisation of managers’ habits to host morning meetings, 2015. After the programme, every manager
receives coaching-mentoring sessions hosted by direct manager, personnel manager and LEAN project manager.
TO SELECT THE INTERNAL TEAM OF COACHES AND DEVELOP THEIR COMPETENCE
We have a lot of managers. I soon realised that without having internal trainers I will need to work an extra shift. I
select internal trainers from the managers whose discipline set an example to those that have an ability to teach oth-
ers. Coaches have practical training. While walking together I say to him: “At the meantime, observe how I provide
feedback, how I host training, and next time, you’ll try to do it yourself and I will supervise you.” I start the process
and the direct manager together with LEAN project department support the managers from that day forward. If they
need any help, they can always lean on me.
4
WHAT MOST EXPENSIVE LESSON DID YOU LEARN?
We have implemented motivation for the involvement in LEAN project or the quantity of finished projects. There-
fore, we now have loads of projects that are not a priority or are not related to strategic goals. People perform
them only to increase the number and solve unimportant questions that do not create any value. Currently, we
evaluate the projects and a stop those that do not meet our strategic directions. Thus, we are able to select pro-
jects that do not contradict each other and create value for our clients.
A person will adapt to any system, thus it is important not to turn around the wish to “control” the involvement.
LEAN AND DREAMS 2016:
Renata and her team are teaching LEAN manager programme to colleagues in Spain, Poland and Russia.
The programme allows HR department and LEAN department to “feel” the current situation of performance
management daily.
IMPROVEMENT.LT 9 LEANPAPER 2016 WINTER
IMPROVEMENT.LT
WHAT IS IT?
LEAN management is a daily discipline of strategy im-
plementation oriented to a continuous value increase to
customer. The discipline involves company managers
from all levels while their standard work provides lead-
ership for employees that are the closest to a custom-
er.
LEAN management discipline includes four intercon-
nected elements:
Visual management
Manager standard work
Daily accountability process
Performance improvement and coaching “kata”
discipline.
DESIGNED FOR COMPANIES that seek:
To transform strategy deployment plan on paper into a
live and visual daily performance improvement routine of
every manager and employee.
To involve separate functional teams into the common
value increase by using consumer-oriented process indi-
cators.
To improve the communication and problem solution
reaching time “from the bottom to the top” and vice ver-
sa.
To have a discipline that would allow quick adaptation to
current management habits and behaviour to fit the
needs of customer and the market.
After introducing LEAN tools in production, to include the
remaining organization into daily LEAN management.
STAGES OF LEAN MANAGEMENT BY IMPROVEMENT©?
DAILY PROCESS INDICATORS’ SEL-
TECTION IN ALL LEVELS
Contact Laura Gerrits via email [email protected] or phone +370 67201880
DAILY VISUAL ACCOUNTABILITY
COMMUNICATION AND PROBLEM SOLVING
ROAD
VISUAL MANAGEMENT
STANDARD
PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT AND “KATA” COACHING
LEADERS STANDARD
WORK
Program is deployed together with teams and their managers in the working place 80%, only 20 % in the classroom
1 2 3
4 5 6
LEAN MANAGEMENT BY IMPROVEMENT©
UAB “KITRON”
Number of employees: 457
Practice LEAN since:
Experience is shared by: Aušra Antanavi-
čienė, UAB “Kitron” HR manager
INTERNAL COACH GEMBA STANDARD IN UAB “KITRON”
Where did you start Your road to LEAN?
I discovered LEAN 8 years ago when I was working in Danish capital company which produced clothes and furni-
ture.
I liked LEAN system due to its simplicity. Even without having a lot of theoretical knowledge about LEAN, the
workers can rapidly understand the logics of tools. After beginning to practice it ,they found a lot of improvements
without even understanding how they lived without them. This is what inspired me.
It is not only a production management system — it is the culture of organization, based on accountability and
trust among workers and managers. After attending KATA COACH 2013 programme I realised that daily man-
agement is a missing link that makes a great change in the company.
What have you observed at GEMBA?
Being HR manager I started noticing gaps in daily communication.
You hear about activities in third level meetings however they do not
reach the first level. I see the open questions used by managers to
indulge teams in the reach of today’s goal, the amount of activities
and improvements per day, etc. Improvement of collaboration, com-
munication is my field of expertise thus I can work easily.
Process indicators was a new field to me. However, it became clear-
er when we received GEMBA standard, which lists the analysis of
indicators and PDCA activities by using open questions. Then it is
easier to trace the sequence of how the indicator is related to other
indicators, what kind of value it brings to the staff, how it is measured
and where it comes from.
We have noticed the gaps in indicators and PDCA actions.
“FROM OTHER MANAGERS AND EMPLOY-
EES I HAVE RECEIVED REMARKS THAT I
SHOULD GO TO THE PRODUCTION FLOOR
MORE OFTEN.
GEMBA STANDARD AND THE FOLLOWING
OF ITS SCHEDULE GAVE ME A GOOD
REASON TO GO TO THE PRODUCTION
FLOOR OFTEN.”
LEAN AND DREAMS 2016:
Daily activity discipline is a great personal victory to every “Kitron” manager. Together with Laura Gerrits we now
teach our colleagues in Norway and Sweden how to create, maintain and improve discipline and it is an enormous ap-
praise to the “Kitron” group. HR function started to add the value to the business. Thus my professional dream came
true.
10 LEANPAPER 2016 WINTER
What is the purpose of going to GEMBA?
I understand the goal of this standard as brushing
your teeth every morning. In 2015, we as an or-
ganisation started to participate in daily manage-
ment system. Four managers became internal
coaches whose goal is to observe the develop-
ment of our discipline, its gray zones, where com-
munication is late, how the indicators allow us to
collaborate among departments, etc.
We observe all morning meetings in all 4 levels
according to the schedule. After the meeting we
provide feedback to the manager and by applying
coaching-mentoring method (which is included in
our GEMBA standard) we give the manager ques-
tions which help him assess which indicators are
valuable to the team, what actions are “late” and if
he needs help from LEAN department in as-
sessing the reasons of problems. It sometimes
occurs that annual goals of the department do not
correlate with real daily indicators.
Daily management should not depend on consult-
ants, general director or production manager. It is
everyone’s responsibility. Our GEMBA standard
was created for us to learn from each other and
improve our daily discipline.
EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON OUR ACTIONS.
DO NOT THINK OF BEING AFRAID, SIMPLY DO
IT. YOU WILL NEED TO BE A 100 % READY.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO ADMIT THAT YOU
DO NOT KNOW OR DO NOT UNDERSTAND
SOMETHING AND THEN ASK QUESTIONS.
PEOPLE LIKE BEING RESPECTED AND BE-
ING PAID ATTENTION TO.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO KNOW ALL THE INDICATORS,
DO NOT NEED TO FORCE A NEW INDICATOR TO
MANAGERS. YOU SIMPLY NEED TO OBSERVE, LIS-
TEN, ASK AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK. MANAGERS
KNOW BETTER THE THINGS THAT THEY WISH TO
IMPROVE.
THREE AUŠRA’S ADVICE FOR INTER-
NAL TRAINERS IN COMPANIES:
Photo: Aušra hosts coaching-mentoring session in GEMBA.
How did your view towards traditional teaching in class
changed after teaching in workplace?
We did not know what to do next with our internal lead-
ership programme which helps teaching managers’ sit-
uational leadership, motivation and change manage-
ment. Since the teaching is performed in class, we
faced a difficulty in ensuring that the managers will ap-
ply their knowledge in workplace. How to measure the
value of teaching in class? How do managers use their
knowledge in practice? When asked that question the
answer is often “I intended to use, but I did not know
how”. Now I can see how the manager whom I taught
applies his skills in daily management discipline. And I
can also provide feedback: “remember when we
learned about things that can be applied in this situa-
tion?” Our internal leadership programme was integrat-
ed into our daily management programme for manag-
ers. They complement each other. Our managers re-
ceive a specific tool which helps them motivate a per-
son, include him into activities and manage changes.
Principles of situational leadership also complement
daily management discipline.
1
2 3
11 LEANJUORNAL 2016 WINTER
We are sharing one of our IMPROVEMENT standards, which was successfully applied and adapted in our
clients’ daily management improvement. This standard is used by internal UAB “Kitron” trainers
IMPROVEMENT.LT 12 LEANJOURNAL 2016 WINTER
4 HABITS OF NOT BEING MINDFUL AT WORK
NON-MINDFUL COMMUNICATION NON-MINDFUL EATING
NON-MINDFULNESS TO THE
BODY NON-MINDFUL WALKING
Failing to read an e-mail to the end Writing e-mails while being angry Interrupting and finishing thoughts of
other colleagues during the meetings Responding to criticism with criticism Judging the situation subjectively
Eating on „autopilot“ Eating while feeling hunger only in mind Eating while working on the task calen-
dar Eating while sitting at the computer
Not taking care of your body Tension between the eyebrows Tense lower jaw Head in the shoulders
Running to the coffe machine as if to get the last cup of coffe
Walking in your mind, not by your feet Holding your breath
THE RESULTS OF NON-MINDFULNESS:
1. NO ENERGY TO PERFORM AN ACTIVITY IN HIGH QUALITY
2. TENSION IN YOUR WHOLE BODY
3. TIRING „BUSY MIND“ EVEN IN YOUR FREE TIME
4. NO JOY ABOUT LONG TERM RESULTS
1 2
3 4
Dėl „Mindfulness“ sesijų įmonėje, susi-
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4 HABITS TO PRACTISE MINDFULLNESS AT WORK
MINDFUL COMMUNICATION MINDFUL EATING
MINDFULNESS TO THE BODY MINDFUL WALKING
Read an e-mail to the end Do not writin e-mails while being angry „Hold your horses“ in case of criticism Get an objective opinion from collea-
gues Listen without imposing your opinion
Do not eat on „autopilot“ Check your appetite mindfully Eat using senses rather than thoughts Chew food instead of devouring it Enjoy food here and now
Live in the body rather than next to it Relax the place between eyebrows Relax the jawbone Pull the head out of the shoulders and
find the neck
Walk slower to the coffee maker Concentrate on the steps while wal-
king Walk on the floor rather than on
thoughts Breathe easily
THE EASE OF MINDFULNESS WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH THE
FOLLOWING:
1. CONCENTRATION ON TASKS
2. THE QUALITATIVE RESPONSE INSTEAD OF THE IMPULSIVE RESPONSE
3. 8-HOUR ENERGY LEVEL = 19-HOUR ENERGY LEVEL
1 2
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Dėl „Mindfulness“ sesijų įmonėje,
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čeliūniene
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3
„RELAXED“ MIND OF MANAGER
UAB “Ekonovus”
Number of employees: 335
Practices LEAN: 1 year
Experience is shared by: Nijolė
Gringienė, manager of Vilnius branch
Can you describe your first encounter with daily
visual management system?
It all started when the chief executive started talking
about some kind of boards and we did not understand a
thing about it. At first it was very difficult to understand
the indicators and you are always thinking about them.
However, gradually I relaxed my mind from the storing of
unnecessary numbers by simply writing them down and
remembering their place. Then all I have to do is look
through them. In such a way I have time to think trough
my actions.
How did your employees adapt to changes?
Since we have two major lines in recycling, i.e. upper and
lower, at first they competed against each other. The low-
er line even asked to ban the upper line from walking
through their territory so that they would not to see the
cards that are placed.
When we started the objective planning in our branch,
various colours were displayed. We also have come with
a common colour—a black card. There once was a criti-
cal day that cannot be characterised by any plans and it
can be influenced by numerous reasons. So when you
regularly meet with employees you either ask them about
it or they find a way to express their problems.
Currently, they already provide their own suggestions,
today was the first time that I have heard that in order to
retain the same payment fund we can reduce the number
of employees. Beforehand I have only heard requests to
raise the salary and give some money.
But in order to have more money you have to take creative
measures. And they have put their mind to formulate them. I
think that it is already a huge step.
How do you evaluate work productivity, quality and
how have these things changed?
Our productivity has raised. When the workers reach their
goals, they are satisfied that they have done it and they have a
green card. When they get a red card they start to look at each
other. It has never happened before and now they ask why they
have to work for each other. Now they supervise each other.
And if they supervise each other the productivity is automatical-
ly higher. And I do not need to search and think about the plan,
our performance. They know that they get bonuses for success-
ful work. Actually, there is less spoilage now, but control is nec-
essary anyway—so you go by and keep checking. These are
the main instances that have occurred so far.
Photo: recycling line team meeting
16 LEANJOURNAL 2016 WINTER
Has the system already become a habit and was there any temptation to come back to the old order?
I think that if we would come back, the chaos would
also be back, since we would not know what to do. Now
we do everything according to a plan and write projects.
And the projects emerge from our actions and the
things that we see. Another important thing that the
system provides to us is the ability to hear the members
of the lowest stage of chain. With such knowledge you
come to your board and when you stop, the ideas and
minds crystallise. If we would come back this would
mean the loss of plan. Everything that we have reached
within these years would be scratched. After trying
once, you can never come back.
How do the visual management tools and the
routine itself help you manage the Vilnius
branch?
I am very glad that after the training session on the 1st of
July all the drivers use boards. Such boards shed some
light on the most important things that allow me as a man-
ager to see the people that want and try to work hard and
the ones that put some thought into their work. The board
system makes you come and talk about yourselves and
things that you have done. And when a person starts talk-
ing and sees that the colour is red he starts looking for a
reason.
The task of the manager is then easier since you see eve-
rything and after looking at the boards you get a whole
picture. When observing the boards you constantly get
ideas. I will repeat myself that never have I ever thought
that the visual boards will allow my mind to “fly”. And now
I say to everyone that it is perfect.
LEAN AND DREAMS 2016:
Vilniaus branch and its manager Nijolė not only practices daily discipline, but have already
became an internal competence centre where new managers are trained.
17 LEANPAPER 2016 WINTER
LEANJOURNAL 2016 WINTER IMPROVEMENT SERVICES DELIVERED IN EU
1 MODULE 2 MODULE 3 MODULE
Searching for useful daily
process indicators
Practising to conduct ra-
pid PDCA cycles one by
one and in the team
Observing each managers
daily management mor-
ning meeting, giving
feedback and providing
coaching-mentoring
session
Developing the accounta-
bility in daily management
Integrating A3, DMAIC
problem solving methods
Train the Trainer sessions
Contact Laura Gerrits via email [email protected] or phone +370 67201880
KATA COACH©
Your people deserve to grow
Tailored program for all level managers who want to integrate continuous improvement in their daily management discipline and
become Coaches for their teams. Program is conducted 65 % on the shop-floor, and 35 % as a classroom training.
Program is delivered to both manufacturing and service companies in Europe. Every company is unique, the program is prepared
by integrating the continuous improvement framework the company use. Internal trainers are taught to conduct the program for
new hired managers.
DO YOU WANT YOUR MANAGERS TO BE PERFORMANCE COACHES FOR THEIR TEAMS?