Visuals are Always MORE Effective

Suppose you need to use the washroom in another country and do not know their language. What would help you more – the door label with the text MALE or FEMALE in the local language or a picture depicting them? Of course the latter!

Ever wondered why hospitals have 4 dustbins of different color each having bin bags of different colors? Common sense would suggest to have uniformity of color (and economical too). However, the four colors solve a greater purpose and are more economical.    

Why are the road signs graphical? Or why do cars have fuel tank or seat belt signs? Why not write fuel is low or wear your seat belt? Food packets have brown or green marking to identify as vegetarian or non-vegetarian.  

Image of a Visual Control in factory 

Source: http://www.advancedplastics.net/images/MLFactoryTape.jpg

Let us go to more complicated stuff like a 5.1 surround sound system and amplifier. There are lots of cables available in the market to connect the system with a DVD and the TV to get best sound and video output. However with the number of ports, suppose they were all black in color it would take ages to get the connections right. Thankfully, ports and cables are color coded. The same holds true for USB ports or serial mouse and keyboard ports in a computer.

There is a reason why sizes, shapes and colors are used so religiously in many workplaces or even public places. We want to reduce confusion and mistakes. We want to communicate faster and effectively. If we leave people to read instructions and then act, there would be huge traffic jams on the road or sharp cut in productivity in the workplace.

In this article we will stress on the concept of Visual Controls (VC), where can they be implemented, why and how to start.

Visual Controls

It has been established over time that between verbal, written and drawn/ graphical instructions – drawing or graphics has more impact; people react faster & retain more. Mindmaps by Tony Buzan has been found to be very effective in teaching children.

Corrugation business is largely manual in nature with dominance of semi-automatic processes in majority of the plants. Such plants are mostly manned by illiterate or barely literate workers. How do you make them understand the difference between 18+ or 28+ paper reels? Or explain them how to read job cards? Which items are being manufactured for a particular client? What type of customized packing should be done while loading vehicles?

The easiest way is to implement Visual Controls. It is also known as Meiruka in “The Toyota Way.” These are all part of the Lean manufacturing process. As we go about implementing 5S, Visual Controls is the most logical action at the Standardization stage. 

Another simple yet effective use of visual controls. 

Source: http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0050/5762/files/lean_manufacturing_tools_2_large.jpg?1296055065

Visual controls are charts, graphs, buttons, color codes, boards, lights, signals etc used in the Gemba to help communicate with people at their workplace. The main objective is ease of understanding and getting a job done correctly and accurately. An allied concept is Poka-Yoke which means mistake proofing. This is used to prevent operators from committing any routine errors. Simple use of colored tags can help identify items that have passed quality check and the ones that have been rejected. You can see from a distance and understand without asking anyone. Saves time and efforts.

India has many unskilled and semi-skilled people who cannot read instructions & have to be told. Since they cannot read or write, hence if we give them color coded buttons or tags with signs they can operate better and faster more efficiently. 

Why should we have Visual Controls

The biggest benefit of Visual Control is productivity and effectiveness. You save a lot of time and effort if abnormalities or deviation can be identified visually. Labels and stickers are the simplest form of VC for identification. No time is wasted in identifying the item irrespective of who is looking at it.

Ever seen the Safety Week banners in factories? Or the sale banners or leaflets in the malls? They give us information at a glance. It is fast to implement and generate results. Communicating production plans or schedule of machine maintenance is effectively done through use of charts.

A greater advantage of VC is to impart accurate instruction – how to operate the water hose in case of fire or the fire extinguisher, giving first aid in case of burns or heart attack. Traffic symbols though are the most common source of visual instruction.

E.g. A bottle with a label saying Hydrochloric Acid is identification. When the concentration of the acid is also mentioned then it becomes information. However, when the label gives advice on steps of first aid in case mishandling of the bottle; that’s instruction. All achieved with the use of a well – thought of label.  

Taking advantage of Visual Controls lies in rightful identification of areas for implementation.

Implementing Visual Controls

We can implement Visual Controls just about anywhere – shop-floor, loading bay, offices, staircase or toilets. One can display production status; inventory levels, order processing, payables and receivables even detailed process flow using visuals instead of reams of written instructions. Pipelines in industries have color codes to separate drinking water from gas lines to sewage outlets. Electrical wiring is color coded.

Routine tasks like maintenance schedule can be maintained using Visual Controls.

One can install large indicator lights of red or green color so that material movement or process can be started or stopped. Many companies use yellow marker lines to demarcate areas for dustbin, chairs, and machine boundary as well as material and man movement path to avoid accidents. Gum sacks can be stored using color code for regular stock, reorder level and safety stock. Shadow boards are commonly kept for tools in factories. It is a classic example of Visual Control. 

The Quintessential Shadow Board

Source: http://davebarryplastics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Picture21.jpg

Companies also use display boards or graphs to communicate goals, objectives, targets and achievements for swift evaluation and analysis. The avenues are many and depend on our creativity and imagination.

Get, Set, GO

My advice is not to be overzealous or go by the book about VC. Ask yourself few questions instead of blindly following the concept.

·         Why do you want to use the VC – Objective

·         With whom are you going to communicate with the VC

·         In what form will you implement the VC – labels, stickers, lights, signs – and Why?

·         Which is the right and appropriate location for installing the control?

·         What is the Feedback and Analysis process? (It means how you will test if the VC is fulfilling its objective or doing something more or less than it should. Do you need to revise your objective? Do you need to change the form or location? How will you further improve this VC?)

Visual controls are not some out of this planet modern concept. It has been used for ages.  But since it is so common we often fail to utilize its benefits in our day to day activities.

Here is a small activity. Put a tick mark on the following areas if you are using Visual Controls. If not, that is somewhere you can improve. In the second part of the activity, identify areas specifically in your business where you can implement VC. And go ahead, implement it.

Activity A – Have you implemented VC in these areas?
	Yes or No
Raw Material/ In – Process & Finished Goods Storage Area
Consumables
Spares
Material Movement
Production Schedule, Delivery Plan (Party-wise FG identification)
Waste/ Rejections
Maintenance Schedules & Actual
Filing System
Seating Arrangement or Work Area
Departments

Activity B – New Areas for VC
1
2
3
4
5

The basic rules of a good VC are – simple, straight & clear and well placed for a broader audience. Try it.

Take a Walk - The Zen of Gemba

We have all read about Sir Isaac Newton and the apple falling on his head. It is how he found the Universal Gravitational Constant G. Archimedes’ Principle of Buoyancy was discovered by him while taking bath. Many people have been taking bath since ages or have seen fruits falling from trees but only these people really found something important out of it.  

How are new startups being setup? Where are the ideas flowing from? Why are some businesses doing better than their competitors given the same market conditions and resources? How do you think improvements and innovations happen?  

With all things remaining fairly similar, businesses create a competitive edge through regular improvements in how they function. This is applicable for both manufacturing and service sectors.

Improvements and innovations happen when you see how things work, inquire about the processes, talk to people about why they are doing what they are doing and the way they are doing it. People who are operating at the lowest levels are the ones who often come up with the most relevant and constructive suggestions.

Japanese management has two fundamentally defining concepts – Genchi Genbutsu and Gemba. The literal translation of Genchi Genbutsu is “go and see for yourself” and Gemba is the “actual workplace.”

What is a Gemba?

Gemba is the actual place of work. It can be your whole factory, office or part of it.

The above diagram shows an entire process of automobile assembly. Here the entire steps can be Gemba or for example only the area of seat to main body assembly can be the Gemba depending on our focus of inquiry and investigation.

When you go to the Gemba, check everything in that space – tools, jigs, machine layout, material flow and handling etc.

For example: When you move around your factory what is your objective? What do you usually see? How often do you question the way things are happening in our factory? Are the gum sacks stored close to the gum mixing machine? Do you think there will be any savings by moving them elsewhere? Where are the tools kept? Can you organize them in a better way? Can you reduce the number of spares in your factory? Is there any form of visual control being implemented or can you implement something so that even illiterate workers can get the right information? What is the format of your job card? Does it have adequate details? Or there are some needless information being filled which can be done away with? How can improve customer service?

Remember that everything can be improved from the current state and improved further thus cutting unnecessary waste and remove bottlenecks. The system of 5S can be implemented in the Gemba and refined continuously for better outcome.  

Why Gemba and Genchi Genbutsu?

In today’s scenario, it is actually quality that differentiates products, brands and companies. The culture of quality in everything (irrespective of whether it is demanded or not) will be the defining factor for successful companies in the future. And continuously improved quality is what certain companies provide irrespective of whether the customer truly demands it or not. These outstanding companies create the demand by providing the solution first.

Google and its entire range of products are a case in point.

Our tendency is to accept mediocrity, to cover up shortcomings and allow slackness. We do not bother to wake up before it is too late. This is something we cannot afford to do anymore if we want to sustain our business.

The earlier concept was to stock huge amount of inventory. Production plans also used to be created to make say 2500 cartons at one go. Now the trend is changing. Customers want smaller lot sizes and multiple deliveries. How can you brace up to this shift in customer wish-list? Can you reorganize few processes and create efficiency gains? You will not get the answer sitting in your air conditioned office. You have to move around in the shop-floor and investigate.

Look at the movements in the above diagram. Isn’t there a scope for improvement through realignment of functions? But quite often the above system will continue in companies for ages.

We usually look at problems as obstacles, hindrances, trouble. What we do not try to see is that if the problem is addressed by going to the root cause, it can be resolved for good and a better system be created.

Let us consider an example of a carton that is made once a month for a client. The reels for the carton are kept slightly away from the corrugation machine. Slowly this order gets manufactured once every week as demand rises. Have you started storing the reels close by to reduce wastage of motion or started clubbing the production of two weeks and deliver at the desired intervals? Most probably not. That is why we need Genchi Genbutsu at the Gemba – to go and see how things are actually happening at the exact place of work.

How to improve?

You go to the Gemba and see for yourselves. Now what? How do you improve? How do you increase the efficiency and do smart work? How do you remove the “that is how we have been doing” mindset of people? Adopt Gemba Kaizen!

Gemba Kaizen is very similar to quality circles. It is a saving. You start going to the Gemba and identify multiple Kaizens (small incremental changes) and implement them. As the Gemba Kaizen suggestions are implemented you can see small savings in terms of cost and positive changes in the motivation level of staff and workers.

For example: Where should you conduct the in-process check for quality of cartons?

Deming’s circular method of Plan – Do – Check – Act is the usually suggested way of implementing Gemba Kaizen. Another suggestion is that by the second round, instead of Check Standardize the Kaizen.

Suppose you put the quality check before the pasting process and test for few days and see marked improvement in output (in terms of time consumed, errors rectified), create a Standard Operating Procedure. Standardize the process and communicate it.  

However, Gemba Kaizen should not be a random initiative. There has to be a routine for people to meet regularly, visit the Gemba and suggest Kaizen in a structured manner. Often due to lack of follow-up people slide back to old methods and shortcuts. A system of regular appraisal of the existing Gemba Kaizen will be rewarding. It encourages people to come up with new Kaizen and continue to maintain the existing ones.

The Process

The following is a generalized process that many of you can implement in your business: 

Think

Remember that everything can be improved. Every problem is an opportunity to do better rather than considering it as a hindrance. Taking a walk at your workplace, factory or office on a regular basis is probably the easiest and soundest way of remaining healthy. It has a cyclical effect. When you walk around your place business, you look at the processes, you inquire about the process effectiveness, you investigate reasons for weaknesses and improve them; the business becomes from efficient and productive. You get inputs for innovation. Your bottom-line starts improving further.  All this positively affects your mental health which in turn improves and sustains your physical well-being. If you think that presently your business is operating well does not mean it will continue to do so forever.

As a business person, make it a habit to keep on consciously walking to the Gemba on a regular basis and enjoy the benefits of good health both individually and that of your business. 
Published in Industry Insight Jan 2014