I was recently retaught a lesson that, ironically, I teach for a living. The consulting firm I work in covers not only lean, but also consults and guides clients along with building and improving their quality management systems. Often, we help clients see the parallels between these two topics, and how they each serve the similar purpose of reducing waste, reducing variation and ultimately making it easier to deliver value to the customer. In this case, I was reminded of how important visual management tools are within reliable and repeatable processes.
It all started at the orthodontist. He told my daughter: “Here are two cases for your retainers. Make sure you use them. Please, please, PLEASE don’t just wrap them in a napkin. You don’t want to know how many of these we replace because people do just that, and they wind up getting thrown away.”