Laundry anyone? Today's post (woefully late, I know) is about continuous improvement, which is one of, if not the fundamental principle of lean. So, why the laundry pics to kick us off? Well, if you read the previous post, it was primarily about applying the lean principle of one-piece-flow to laundry. So of course many (at least those that don't know me too well) may assume that I actually do my laundry that way.....sorry to dissapoint!
The one-piece-flow method of laundry is the ideal, and I strive for it, but it is a process of continuous improvement. The pictures show one load of clothes waiting to go into the washer (on the floor), one load that just came out of the dryer (in the basket), and one load upstairs of dirty clothes waiting to come down to be washed.
But, this status is an improvement over our previous big batch processing! We used to wash the majority of laundry on the weekends --say five loads, and as they came out of the dryer they would all get dumped on the spare room bed...resulting in a mountain of clean clothes. Since they were out of sight and not in a pleasant place to spend 30 minutes folding, they generally would stay there until...well, until they were worn.
So my first improvement was to dump and fold the clothes in the living room (while hanging out with DS or watching TV), put them back in basket and take upstairs. No more clothes on the spare bed. This does result in folded clothes sitting in the basket on the landing (there are two baskets there right now). My next improvement was to be disciplined about not using the baskets until the folded clean clothes are put away --this prevents the waste of overproduction -- washing more clothes than I can handle/or am ready to fold and put away. I am still working on this.
Is it perfect? No. Perfection is not my goal....better is. In my work world we talk about PLAN - DO - CHECK - ADJUST
When companies or organizations are trying to start their lean journey and implementing a lot of change, which is inherently stressful, we emphasize that continuous improvement means going through this cycle lots of times....forever in fact.
You already go through this cycle all the time, probably without knowing it. Once you shift your conscious mindset to this way of thinking change tends to be less stressful -- because you know it won't be 100% the first time you try something new; you plan on having to make adjustments. So now instead of fixing something in your household in one big swoop, think about one baby step you can take. After you try it out, plan on "checking." Ask those involved how it is going--maybe this is just you or maybe it is your kids, spouse, friend, whoever. Once you get some feedback, make an appropriate adjustment and try it again!
So what is one thing you can try to make your household run a little more smoothly? Remember continuous improvement is a journey....a way of travelling...not a destination!
You already go through this cycle all the time, probably without knowing it. Once you shift your conscious mindset to this way of thinking change tends to be less stressful -- because you know it won't be 100% the first time you try something new; you plan on having to make adjustments. So now instead of fixing something in your household in one big swoop, think about one baby step you can take. After you try it out, plan on "checking." Ask those involved how it is going--maybe this is just you or maybe it is your kids, spouse, friend, whoever. Once you get some feedback, make an appropriate adjustment and try it again!
So what is one thing you can try to make your household run a little more smoothly? Remember continuous improvement is a journey....a way of travelling...not a destination!
This is much needed--have been looking for an alternative to the Flylady--please keep writing, and do consider a book at some point. Thanks!
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