“gemba walk” (lean thinking term) to go to the actual place where value is added + “walkabout” (Australian aborigine) a short period of wandering bush life engaged as an occasional interruption of regular work
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This is a true story - you couldn’t make it up.
So, I’m in Canada, visiting some of the facilities that are a part of our Healthcare Value Network. (by the way, I saw some really cool stuff). Anyway, Saskatchewan is a big Province so to get there and from place to place, air travel is necessary. One organization made arrangements for me to get from one place to another. That’s great, and much appreciated.
When I get to the terminal, I drop off the rental car and try to find this airline. Turns out it isn’t in this terminal. It’s in another building about 1/4 mile away (not sure what it is in kilometers - that’s what they use in Canada). So, I could walk, but this is Canada and it’s January so I need to take a cab. OK, so that’s what I’ve got to do.
When I get to the terminal, there are some very nice people there. I say “hello” and the woman says, “You must be Michael”. I say “yes” and she hands me this laminated boarding pass (they reuse them for travelers). ”Do you need to see my ID or passport?” I ask. ”Nope”, they say. Well - that’s different.
So it’s a very nice flight, got a free glass of wine and some snacks - for me and 2 other passengers. There were name plates up by the cabin that told me the names of the pilot and co-pilot - never saw that before. I’m thinking this is the way to fly and I’ll try it again.
But that’s no the end of the story. So, I’m done with my work in another city and headed home. I print my boarding pass out at the hotel and it looks like this:
It’s a little different than what I’ve seen before, but hey - this is Canada and it looks to me like it’s got all the critical information.
So I take this, my passport, my luggage and myself and make my way to security. I hand the document above to the TSA person (or whatever they are called in Canada) and she looks at it and scratches her head. Then she calls over her supervisor, who also scratches her head. Meanwhile, I’m waiting and so are the people behind me (they seem polite enough, but I’m sure they are not happy to be waiting). The supervisor woman says, “This isn’t a boarding pass - you’ll need to get a proper boarding pass”. I explained where I got it (delta website, hotel printer). That didn’t matter. Well, what to do? So, I’ve got to go back to the Delta ticketing area and get a “proper boarding pass”.
OK, I’ve got some time. I’m not happy about the delay and rework. I get back to the Delta ticket area and there’s a line of folks waiting to check in. So I wait, and wait, and wait. Then I see that one of those computer kiosks is not being used, so I use it. The same way I always use it. Some of the other customers give me a “look” for jumping ahead of the line (stupid American! - is what I’m guessing they are thinking), but the machine produces a boarding pass. Here it is:
Take a close look at those 2 boarding passes. This is like one of those puzzles that I remember as a kid in the back of “highlights” magazine - finding the 7 things that are different in the 2 pictures. Can you find them? I’ll tell you the answer. No. You cannot find the differences, because there are none. They are identical.
So I go back to the security line. The same people are there. I say “remember me? I did what you told me and here is what the computer printed out”. They looked at it and said, “thanks” and they let me through.
Like I said. You can’t make this up.
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