This one is common to Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, and any process improvement philosophy. These days... if you are not continuously improving, you are probably moving backwards and it might be time for a change.
: )
Aerospace and Defense
January 17, 2012
January 05, 2012
The Problem Isn't Motivation or ROI
It is a new year again and we have some resolutions to put in place. For me, one resolution is to make healthier choices—eat better, exercise more, get leaner and lose a few extra pounds. But I have trouble getting “motivated” and starting the new routine of exercising in the mornings. I keep telling myself “I’ll start next week.” What can I do to improve my motivation?
Perhaps I am not asking the right question. Is “motivation” really holding me back? I am motivated enough to put these things on my resolution list. I want to be healthier and feel better. Why would I not be motivated to do that? The Return on Investment (ROI) is clearly there. This will add more healthy years to my life. Perhaps motivation is not my problem. What if I rephrase my problem as lack of follow-through?
Perhaps the solution is not putting up motivational posters on my walls trying to visualize a healthier and more competitive me. I just get more frustrated as I see some of my friends getting better and faster at the basketball court every day. (I am the one getting slower.)
The solution to a motivational problem is the exact opposite of the solution to a follow-through problem. The mind is essential to motivation. But for follow-through, the mind can get in the way overly thinking things and sabotaging our aspirations. For example, we decide to go to the gym after work but then, when it comes time to go, we think, “It's late, I'm tired, I could get hurt, maybe I'll skip it today.”
If I want to follow through on something, I need to stop over-analyzing. Shut down the conversation that wants to start again in my head. Stop worrying and finding reasons to put it off. Just put in place a plan and follow it through. Like the ad says: “Just Do It!”
This year I am going to make a very specific decision to implement some changes in my routine and put a specific timeline on it. Something like: “Starting Monday Jan 9th, I will work out each Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 AM for 30 minutes”.
I am also going to put in place a reward/penalty system to counteract the natural resistance to change. If I complete my scheduled workout each week, I can eat whatever I want on Saturday; otherwise I eat only salad on Saturday.
Perhaps you can apply these same ideas to some of your personal or business improvement goals for 2012:
• Stop putting off what you know you need to do—projects with clear and known ROI; projects needed for your personal or professional competitive edge.
• Create an environment that supports change and your new goals
• Commit to a concrete plan and timeline
• Maintain a sense of urgency in this new commitment
• Put in place reward and/or penalty measures to counteract the natural resistance to change.
When your mind (or your team) starts to argue with you —remember that is the natural resistance-to-change getting in the way. Just follow the plan. This year, we are going to stop putting off the projects we objectively know will improve our personal and professional success.
WIsh me luck and good luck with your initiatives. Happy New Year!
September 21, 2011
Attracting Future Engineers and Future Business
Nice article yesterday at The Hill by Boeing CEO, Jim Albaugh.
Jim believes we can do great things once more. Aerospace has lead the way before and can do it again. There is a dynamic global market that companies such as Boeing are working to win.
Jim follows echoing some of the thoughts we have heard from other US manufacturers...
We need Congress and the president to adopt tax and regulatory policies that encourage companies to invest and innovate here at home.
We need them to address what I call the intellectual disarmament of our nation. To lead in high-tech industries like aerospace, we must have a skilled workforce. About half of Boeing’s engineers will be able to retire by 2015. The same is true for other aerospace companies, and we simply are not producing enough engineers in this country to take their place. Addressing this issue is less about spending more money on education than about inspiring students with great missions and giving them challenging projects.
American businesses and workers need rigorous enforcement of international trade rules. Unfair trade practices must end. We need Congress to pass the free-trade agreements that are pending, as well as to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank. Exp-Imp loan guarantee programs are crucial for the competitiveness of U.S. exporters.
Finally, we need significant new investments in public infrastructure. To most people, infrastructure means roads and bridges, but let’s not forget our woefully out-of-date air traffic management system.
The full article at:
Great Achievements Begin with Bold Ideas http://thehill.com/opinion/op-ed/182797-great-achievements-begin-with-bold-ideas
September 07, 2011
Great article - Manufacturing Wake-Up Call
I like the stats in this nice balanced article on the state of manufacturing in the US and ideas to boost it going forward. It is based on data published in a recent Booz & Company and University of Michigan report.
Don't let the pessimists scare us to believe that the US has permanently lost its manufacturing edge. However, there is reason to be concerned. If manufacturing continues to be neglected, the US capabilities could erode to a point of no return.
Some of the points in the article that caught my attention:
* Currently, U.S. factories competitively produce about 75 percent of the products that the nation consumes.
* Manufacturing should be viewed in the future as a regional business. There might not be room for a single global manufacturing provider. The factories must locate close to their markets.
* A strong manufacturing base is essential to reducing the U.S. trade deficit.
* In 2008, 67 percent of all private-sector R&D was conducted by manufacturing companies, according to the National Science Foundation.
* US Manufacturing's decline did not start in to 70s, it started around 2000. The ratio of exports to imports fell and the number of manufacturing jobs fell as well. Capital investments in factories also declined.
* US Industries that still lead globally include Aerospace, Medical Equipment, Machinery, Chemicals, and Semiconductors.
* Four considerations drive manufacturers’ choices about where to place factories: (1) The skill level and quality of factory employees, (2) The presence of high-impact clusters, in which many companies can learn from one another and innovate more readily, (3) Access to nearby countries with emerging consumer markets and lower-cost labor (for the U.S., this means building a future with Mexico) (4) A reasonably competitive regulatory and tax environment (for the U.S., this means simplifying and streamlining the current tax and regulatory structure).
Some of the ideas in the report include building a competitive edge and revitilizing education for manufacturing.
Great article:
http://booz.com/media/file/sb64-11306-Manufacturing's-Wake-Up-Call.pdf
May 30, 2011
Are We Teaching Young Kids Lean Practices?
If we want Lean Manufacturing practices to become more common, we should start teaching them at an early age. What are we actually learning?
5S (Sorting, Straightening, Shining, Standardizing, and Sustaining). Kids do learn early how to keep their area clean, clean up their own mess and put things back in their proper place. My kids’ early grade classes had shelves carefully labeled to help students remember where things belonged and students had to return materials back to their place after completing a project. Excellent 5S practice.
Make to Order. We are definitely teaching kids this lesson. My kids will NOT do any studying or homework in advance even when they know what is due next week. They understand that there is no sense in having a buffer of homework inventory that could go to waste if the teacher decides to change plans, skip a chapter or do them out of order. I have to agree with Just-In-Time homework.
Visual Work Instructions. I feel that we are failing in this area. We hugely depend on the teachers to demonstrate the proper way of doing things and we don’t necessarily provide good visual work instructions. Would the kids follow the instructions if they were provided? Perhaps if we started this habit young, we would read those instructions manual later in life.
Work Cells. We do not practice the concept of work cells or assembly lines in school. Each student usually does their own project from start to finish craftsman style. We see a few team projects in later grades but workload is hardly ever balanced. They might get to feel the efficiency of an assembly line at lunch, but many schools don’t have cafeteria style anymore.
Elimination of Time and Material Waste. We do pretty well in this area in early grades. Students spend the entire school day in one classroom including nap time. Materials are very efficiently used since they are in short supply in school these days. But in later grades we become more wasteful. Someone decided that it is more efficient to move hundreds of students with full backpacks from class to class rather than move a few teachers around. We could set better examples at school of avoiding wasteful movement of inventory, tools and work-in-progress. Instead we learn that standing in line for half of the lunch time is normal and an expected part of life.
Are kids learning enough Lean know-how? Could they? Perhaps we will have to practice more at home... perhaps a hamburger work cell tonight : )
May 03, 2011
Why should we NOT go Paperless?
I have spent a lot of time trying to talk people into going paperless on the shop floor, but perhaps they are on to something. They are wearing me down and I’m starting to believe that perhaps going paperless is overrated. Let’s spend some time analyzing this choice and see if I can talk myself out of going paperless.
There is something to be said for leaving “good enough” alone—we minimize risk!
Risk is not a good thing. We teach project managers about assessing and mitigating risk. We have formal methods of analyzing risk like Failure Mode Analysis and I have a feeling that changing the way we do business is a risky business indeed.
We have done business like this for years. Why change now? We better have a really good reason. The current systems have their problems, but at least we know the problems. A new paperless process could create new problems. Who knows what kind of new problems? How can we know what we don’t know? But we do know that it will be different and different is not necessarily better. Could be better, but could be worse… right? I guess it depends on how bad things are now. But how bad could they be. After all, we have been doing it this way for years.
If we change our processes, we will have to change all our procedure books and we will have to train everyone. It took me ten years, but I was finally getting the hang of our current processes. You want me to learn it all again? Our shop floor people are used to the current way and I am not sure they can learn new ways. Do we want to risk it? They might file a bunch of complaints.
What do those manufacturing “engineers” know anyway? They want me to read THEIR work instructions, but I keep my own notes in my locker. I have been doing this job for years and I know all the little tricks to putting this assembly together. Check this out… I have all my notes written in the margins of this old drawing. They want me to forget my notes and use their recommendations, but they hardly come down here to see how we put it all together.
The few things we do today on these old computers take forever. I don’t see how asking us to do more on the computer is going to make things faster. Do you want me manufacturing? Or typing on the computer? The paper doesn’t make me wait. If I make a mistake, I can just throw the form away and start over. Or I can strike over what I wrote, initial it, and do it again.
We do lose some paper documents once in a while or something gets damaged, but it rarely happens. Nobody ever really goes back and checks the paper. Except for that one audit a year ago. That auditor was so frustrated going through all the paper that he probably does not want to come back : ) If we make it easier to audit historical records, we might get audited more often.
What if the computers go down? It happens, right? Are we going to print paper “just in case”? If we do, what is the point? What are we saving?
We have an amazing IT guy. He can do whatever we need using spreadsheets. We have different spreadsheets for different things. Different managers like to do their numbers differently and we often have to adjust the numbers we get from the shop floor. Some days are better than others, but we don’t want people panicking over a bad day. As long as the average for the week is okay—it’s all good.
I am not sticking my neck out on this new project. What if it fails? I am not sure my manager is fully behind this idea either. After all, he was instrumental in putting the current processes in place.
Even if we want to do this project, everyone is so busy. Who is going to work on this project? You know what happens to people on special projects when we need to reduce the workforce.
Where is the money going to come from? Perhaps we should be buying new machines instead. We are all going to be replaced by robots someday soon, so why bother trying to make us more productive?
They are looking at a commercial off-the-shelf software solution. I don’t know why when our IT guy can probably write a program specific to our needs in one or two weeks. He might be able to do it working during his lunch breaks. Why should we spend the money on a commercial product?
What if the project works? I could get stuck assigned to doing this type of project all over again at another site. That would mean a lot of travel and I don’t like to travel.
What do you say? Do you really want to change the way you are doing business? Or do you agree we should leave “good enough” alone? Is there any risk in the “do-nothing” choice?
August 07, 2010
Fishbone Diagram Templates for Root Cause Analysis with Common Manufacturing Problems
Why start a root-cause analysis with a blank canvas? Are we better served starting with a blank canvas and an open mind, or do we put some common manufacturing problem areas in our template? Will the defaults in our template bias the discussion or make sure we always touch base on certain topics?
I was creating a template to facilitate meetings and ensure certain topics were always covered during a root-cause analysis. However, I found myself quickly filling up the paper. I ended up switching to a tabloid page size, but I thought I should capture several iterations of the template to compare and decide which one would be more conducive to getting a good discussion started.
Which one gets your brainstorming juices flowing? Which one will be more effective?
Do we start with a blank slate?
Staring at a blank template or whiteboard can be intimidating at first. It is now up to the participants to come up with some ideas. However, strong personalities can lead the discussion in a single direction and we risk skipping some potential areas for causes.
I personally like a little more guidance in a template. At least have some common headings for areas of discussion. This way we ensure that certain topics are discussed in every root-cause analysis.
On the other hand, starting with a full fishbone diagram does not seem good either. Perhaps we start with the last one we used like the one above. The risk here is that we might get a feeling that we are done already. Looks finished to me. So perhaps we need a partial template like the one below.
Maybe even this one is too full. But we might want to make sure certain common problems are always included in the discussion.
Consider adding the following common sources of problems in manufacturing to your templates.
1. Materials – Wrong, Deficient, Out of Spec – Is the material correct? Does it meet quality standards and specifications?
2. People – Skills and Certifications for Technicians and Inspectors - Are the employees performing the job qualified to do so? Is the training received sufficient?
3. Methods/Instructions – Incomplete, inaccurate or ambiguous – Are standardized work instructions provided? Are instructions illustrated? Are the work instructions missing a critical sentence or warning?
4. Environment – Controlled, temperature, humidity, vibration, etc. – Is the assembly environment adequate to perform the work? Do the environment conditions need to be monitored for the particular process?
5. Machines/Equipment/Gages – Set up, maintenance, cycles – How do you know that a machine was properly configured to perform the work? When was the last machine maintenance?
6. Configuration – Wrong, obsolete, or changed configuration – How do you know the correct configuration was selected when the assembly was worked?
7. Measuring/Test Equipment – Insufficient, inaccurate or incorrect measurements – How would you determine that the measuring/test equipment produced the desired result? When was the tool last calibration?
8. Design – Rework, work-arounds, ECO/ECN – Was the problem or failure due to design? Due to building the wrong configuration? Different revision levels?
Which template do you prefer as a starting point? Empty or half full?
August 03, 2010
August 02, 2010
News: Hybrid Electric-Gas Planes - Perhaps there is hope for cheaper travel
Works for cars, so why not airplanes?
Imagine a hyper-efficient aircraft as large as a Boeing 737, although weighing much less. It would run quieter and cleaner than any other commercial plane ever made, requiring two-thirds less energy, according to NASA-funded research.
The hybrid-powered jetliner of the future would operate on batteries or jet fuel, depending on whether it's cruising or taking off and climbing, when the most thrust is required.
Link to full article:
July 11, 2010
Motivating the Next Generation of Engineers and Manufacturers
- with Squirting Rockets and Flying Pumpkins
Are we developing a new generation of engineering and manufacturing talent in the U.S.? What does our youth think about engineering and manufacturing? What are we doing about it?
Manufacturing still has a negative image
It is nice to see Engineering back on the list in the U.S. News and World Report’s “30 Best Careers for 2009”. Perhaps some of the initiatives I’ll talk about below are making a difference.
But I would like to see more manufacturing related careers on the list instead of careers like clergy, fundraiser, hair stylist and ghostwriter towards the top of the en-vogue list. Many companies are predicting a shortfall of technical skills required for manufacturing like engineering, 3D CAD/CAM, machining, NC programming, etc. Manufacturing needs a big public image campaign in this country. We need to overcome a lack of excitement about manufacturing among our youth.
In an interview with McKinsey Quarterly, Bill Ford, executive chairman at the Ford Co., stated “We’ve lost an appreciation for manufacturing…It’s seen as dirty, smoke stack America, yesterday’s news and it doesn’t fit in the new information age. But in virtually every other country where Ford does business, there is an appreciation for the industrial base, and many countries will do almost anything they can to protect and enhance it. We have not, traditionally—certainly, over the last 10 years—shown that same willingness in the U.S.” However, it is impossible to find a strong global economic power that does not have a strong industrial base.
Yet manufacturing is needed for a strong economy
In addition to the smoke stack images, we also play up the “mad scientist” as a bad guy in many movies. Our youth probably doesn’t understand the difference between a scientist and an engineer, but we need them both. Perhaps even more engineers than scientists. Without early motivation, our youth might not embrace necessary early education in math and science. By the way, I am not the only one partial to Engineering... Henry Petroski in his book “The Essential Engineer” makes a case that without more investment in engineering we will not be able to tackle our global problems. Engineers have the techniques for improving processes, designs and building things. Engineers create a bridge between science and commercial applications to meet the needs of society and daily life - from the development of chemicals, computers and medical instruments, to alternative energy systems and power plants.
The concern for future talent is compounded by the increasing exodus of experience out of the workforce as the baby-boomers start retiring. Today, nearly 30 percent of workers with science and engineering degrees are age 50 and older. The 70’s motivated baby-boomers with images from Apollo missions, Concorde jets, robots and Star Wars. But what images motivate the current generation? I believe we need more engineering super heroes like Iron Man! Perhaps not enough kids know that Iron Man is an engineer. That would be a good start : ) but probably not enough.
Our future technical workforce is at risk and U.S. manufacturing as we know it is being lost to overseas markets in Japan, China and Korea. With too few students entering manufacturing, engineering, science and technology fields, it is critical that more motivation and support be given in these areas. Young people are generally uninformed of the career potential in these areas.
What are we doing about it?
Besides the great Iron Man movies… what else are we doing right?
Some of the things we are doing right include squirting rockets and flying pumpkins...
Every day, engineers around the country volunteer many hours giving back and reaching out to future engineers. As an example, I’ll relate some stories from our local Future Scientists and Engineers of America (FSEA) organization. The FSEA is promoting engineering careers among our youth through school programs and a couple of big events each year including a pumpkin launch and a rocket launch day.
Squirting Rockets
It was a beautiful day and Adam was building his first rocket at the Boeing facility in Huntington Beach. How exciting! His brother Alex was also working on his rocket next to us.
The rocket body: 2-liter plastic soda bottle. The rest: foam board, paper cone, plastic bag, string and tape. The goal is to keep the rocket in the air the longest time. Adam and I are brainstorming the parachute release mechanism and after a few tests, we think we have it. I was concerned that it would not stay in place so I encouraged him to add one more little piece of tape to hold it in place.
Fill with water about half way; they supply the air pressure… 3, 2, 1… Adam squeezed the launch trigger and SWOOOCH! It launched around 30-40 ft in the sky. The top opened and revealed the parachute, It looked like it was going to open but it didn’t :( Still a beautiful sight, but Adam turned to me, “Dad… it was your fault…Next time let me do it my way!”. I learned my lesson. But more importantly, Adam is looking forward to launching a better rocket next year.
Flying Pumpkins
A few months before we were at another FSEA event, the Pumpkin Launch. Alex had built a catapult last year at an FSEA after school project, so as an “expert” he was carefully evaluating the designs from the different teams. His favorite was a big wooden catapult.
But the big surprise of the day was the Pumpkin Cannon. Long Beach College had a pumpkin cannon as opposed to the traditional catapult designs. During testing, a test ball got stuck in the cannon building up more pressure than expected and launching right through the football field score board… OOUCH! The crowd was in shock and the kids were of course… loving it! The kids yelled: “How can they disqualify them? Boooo! We want to see them do it again!”
Alex enjoyed all his after school FSEA projects. It’s all about inspiring the next generations of engineers through hands on learning and experience. FSEA classes are led by volunteer engineers from manufacturing companies. These engineers are great raw models for our youth.
Design Squad
I am also a big fan of the TV show Design Squad. I first heard about the show on an airplane flight when I was lucky enough to sit next to Deanne from the show. She had me sold on the idea for the show right away. She was so enthusiastic about the show and I later found out why when I saw it with my kids. Premiering on PBS in 2009, the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series Design Squad is high-energy, high-drama reality TV that lets kids show off their smarts as they design and build working solutions for real-world clients—people who are hungry for clever ideas from a new generation of innovators. From creating remote-controlled flying football targets for Hasbro to dry land dog sleds for the Jamaica Dog Sled Team, the action culminates in the final episode when the top two scorers battle for the Grand Prize: a $10,000 college scholarship.
Many manufacturing companies and associations are taking action…
Many manufacturing companies like Boeing are participating and contributing, especially at the high school and college levels. Associations like the National Science Foundation (NSF), The Society for Manufacturing Engineering (SME), and many others are also pushing for more STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education for all American students. The National Science Board (Board) wrote a letter to the President on this topic and the importance to ensure the long-term economic prosperity of the Nation. To see the full letter: http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications/2009/01_10_stem_rec_obama.pdf
Get involved
If you love Engineering like me or Henry Petroski, get involved. If you are already participating in something, thanks and keep up the good work!
Who knows… it might be your kid designing that great next exoskeleton that will help disabled people get around town, or the new super efficient electric car we will use to commute to work.
Maybe my kid will not end up an engineer; perhaps he’ll be a fundraiser extraordinaire : )
But if he is, I hope he will be raising funds for one of the organizations above working for the future of manufacturing in the U.S.
References
FSEA on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI4C1A4gwLA
http://www.discoverycube.org/fsea.aspx?q=68
TV Show Design Squad
http://pbskids.org/designsquad/
“Top 30 Careers for 2009”, US News
http://www.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2008/12/11/the-30-best-careers-for-2009.html
“Building A Sustainable Ford- Interview with Bill Ford”, McKinsey Quarterly
“The Essential Engineer – Why Science Alone Will Not Solve our Global Problems”, Henry Petroski, 2010
Recent Posts
- The Manufacturing Continuous Improvement Lifecycle
- The Problem Isn't Motivation or ROI
- Attracting Future Engineers and Future Business
- At This Girls’ Camp they Take to the Drill Press
- Great article - Manufacturing Wake-Up Call
- Are We Teaching Young Kids Lean Practices?
- Q&A with Peter Coffee on Social Apps - Adding Value or Disruptive?
- Why should we NOT go Paperless?
- Enterprise Integration Includes PLM, MES
- Fishbone Diagram Templates for Root Cause Analysis with Common Manufacturing Problems
Recent Comments