Chalmers St – Consulting

Observing the Details

When I teach Lean I like to tell the commonly shared story of Taichii Ohno instructing his young engineers on how to observe a process. He would draw a circle on the floor and instruct an engineer to stand in the circle and watch the process. He would leave and come back in a few hours and the engineer would excitedly tell him how many inconsistencies he found and then ask to start working on the improvements. Ohno would say, “no” and tell him that he needed to stay in the circle and continue his observation. Ohno would come back a few hours later. This time the engineer would be a bit tired, but when asked he would tell Ohno that he saw even more waste and variation in the process. Again, the engineer would request to start working on a solution and again Ohno would say, “no,” continue your observations.

I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the story, only that I have read it in multiple different publications. Regardless, it illustrates several important characteristics of good process observation. First, good observation takes time. Second, studying a process requires concentration on a small segment of the operation. Third, the purpose of observation is learning and capturing findings, not solving! Let’s talk more about each of these.

The purpose of process observation is to seek understanding. Too often we go out into operations to “fix” a problem. The first incorrect assumption is that the engineer knows more than the operator. That is patently false; even if the engineer has designed the process, they have not lived it everyday the way the operator does. What looks good on paper often does not translate into the daily process. The only way the engineer can understand the adaptations to the paper process is by quietly observing reality and withholding judgment. Ohno required his students to watch and learn and document. Ohno knew that systemic fixes can only come after deep understanding gained from careful process observation.

Studying the process requires concentration. This is possibly the hardest thing, considering the demands of a busy schedule, and not to mention, the distraction of our mobile devices. I find that my junior industrial engineers want to move on to the next thing after just a few cycles of observation. The problem, of course, is that a few cycles is simply not enough. To get a sense of the typical process requires many observations. Then, to get a sense of the variation from typical requires even more time. This is why Ohno drew a circle on the floor and told his pupils to stand in one place. It combated our tendency to get bored, assume we have seen it all and walk off to look at something else.

This concentration also helps the observer focus on small details. Did the operator hold the part in the same hand each time? Did he or she use the same tool? Does each part they are given look the same? Did they have to stop at all while performing their work? What interruptions did they face while trying to complete the task? What got in the way of the flow of activity? None of this can be evaluated while moving around and looking at multiple steps of the process. These questions can only be answered by careful meticulous observation of each activity.

The operator will not tell us the answers to these questions. So much of what they do is reflex and habit. They often do not realize that they are performing these small variations. I am also surprised by the arrogance I hear from engineers who say, “well, that is not how this process is supposed to be performed. Why did the operator not tell anyone they were having this or that problem?” This is the completely wrong mindset. The value of a 3rd party observer is that they can look beyond each step, understand the whole of the process, and ask questions that the person inside of the process does not think to ask or just takes for granted. The operator changes their work tasks from written procedure for many reasons. Our job is not to make accusations, but to understand why. At Chalmers St. Consulting the nice thing about being external to our clients is that it is very easy to stay curious and just simply ask why.

One other point here that goes beyond the Ohno story is the need for documentation. I assume that the junior engineer was standing in the “Ohno Circle” with a clipboard taking notes. This is because it is crucial to write down what we see. We forget the details so quickly. Each detail has value in telling us what happened and when it happened. Any other context is important when it comes time to understand the cause and then develop potential solutions.

Finally, it is important to highlight the critical investment of time. We can get a broad stroke understanding of an activity in a few minutes. However, broad strokes are not good enough for an optimal solution. Understanding the intimate details of the decisions that an operator or supervisor are having to make throughout their day requires hours of time. For example, we needed to learn why a specific operator at one of our clients was capable of loading the machine with less jamming than any of the other operators. We asked him questions and watched him for a few minutes. It was not until we took video and watched him for a long period of time that we were able to recognize the operator’s excellent attention to detail in loading which made a significant difference in successfully running the machine. Taking the time to understand the small details made all the difference.

In the paragraph above, when I stated “investment of time,” I used the word “investment” purposefully. Not all leaders understand that making time available to engineers, supervisors, and operators to observe, practice, and to improve the process has a powerful return. What they do understand is that this time takes away from the day to day production and takes time away from the immediate break – fix problem solving that is often required to keep today’s production moving. There is a trade off, no doubt. This attention to detail is an investment. Like any investment, avoiding it does not hurt today, but the build up of all these little inefficiencies takes a toll in the long run. Budgeting for time has a real present cost, but it creates a much larger future opportunity return. You just have to commit, do it, and do it well.

Discovery starts with process observation. This is not just a random walk about the plant, but a careful study of a specific part of the process. Solving is not the goal. The goal is to learn first, then solve. All of this takes time and is well worth the investment in the long run.