http://timebackmanagement.com/blog/stacking_the_box_throwing_downfield_and_pdca/ Working At The Intersection of Personal Productivity and Lean Manufacturing Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:18:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 http://timebackmanagement.com/blog/stacking_the_box_throwing_downfield_and_pdca/comment-page-1/#comment-307 Dragan Bosnjak Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:29:44 +0000 http://wp.timebackmanagement.com/?p=634#comment-307 Sports are often an example of effective PDCA cycle. Not only football (which in Europe doesn't exist, but I watched the game yesterday on satellite...) but also in other sports. But in the football it becomes more obvious because the game stops after every play and you must THINK of the previous points and hopefully adjust for the next ones. In basketball for example there is lot more action and players need to think without stopping the game, without the outside influence from the bench. In our factories though the situation is much more similar to football then basketball because every product, every takt time can be utilised for problem solving and PDCA. And in between one product and the next one should be the coach (team leader) who observes the situation and compares it to standard work and eventually adjusts to meet the schedule. The problem is: the team leader is not always present within takt time when needed, when the cord is pulled. That is the main distinction between a lean and a non lean... Team leader can be viewed as the offensive coordinator, while the group leader as the coach, who intervenes when the problem is too difficult to solve for the team leader within takt time. Sports are often an example of effective PDCA cycle. Not only football (which in Europe doesn’t exist, but I watched the game yesterday on satellite…) but also in other sports.
But in the football it becomes more obvious because the game stops after every play and you must THINK of the previous points and hopefully adjust for the next ones.
In basketball for example there is lot more action and players need to think without stopping the game, without the outside influence from the bench.
In our factories though the situation is much more similar to football then basketball because every product, every takt time can be utilised for problem solving and PDCA. And in between one product and the next one should be the coach (team leader) who observes the situation and compares it to standard work and eventually adjusts to meet the schedule.
The problem is: the team leader is not always present within takt time when needed, when the cord is pulled. That is the main distinction between a lean and a non lean…
Team leader can be viewed as the offensive coordinator, while the group leader as the coach, who intervenes when the problem is too difficult to solve for the team leader within takt time.

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