“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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Saw some interesting ideas about creating “standard work” for the customer. My friend JT had a photo in a powerpoint presentation that showed some performance metrics for a clinic. One metric was the % of “no shows” (patients that don’t show up for their appointment). There was a “sad face” next to this (and the metric was coded red which indicated it was not performing to the goal). The metric board was in the waiting room and the patient could see what they need to do to make the process perform better.
Saw another example in an airport (took a photo but for some reason it was not saved on my phone). The process for getting a taxi was like this:
1) Customer gets their luggage.
2) Customer goes to desk and gets an assigned cab (pays for it) and is told the cab will be there in 4 minutes.
3) Cab picks up customer.
There was a sign at the desk that told customers that they needed to get their luggage first, then arrange for the taxi. I figured I could multi-task and did not do this. My luggage was delayed (not a reliable process) and the taxi driver had to be reassigned, and the clerk had to fill out some paperwork. Basically, by not following “customer standard work” I delayed the process.
Side note: My friend MG had a crazy experience at the same airport (same cab company?) where the cab driver spent more time playing the role of dispatcher than driver - really not safe. So, my impression of the “taxi process” was - a lean operation, focused on continuous flow. My friend MG’s impression was - not a lean operation, no attention to safety. I guess it depends on what management thinks is important and the systems they put in place.
I did notice another example of “customer standard work” (see photo above). Rather than fixing the toilet, this coffee shop (SB) gave the customer a job.
