April 2021
Risk Performance Improvement - What is your MUDA?
Chad Tisonik, CSP, CHCM, CRA
Principal/President Advisory Services
HNI Risk Advisors
I was scanning the morning headlines hoping for something to catch my eye and BAM! There it was. The title read: “10 brands you know that will disappear”. All of the names on this list are household names. Some have been fixtures in the US for over 100 years! How could this happen? Certainly, there would be a multitude of reasons for failure. Could we find ways to control success, longevity of our brand and perpetuation in our own firms?
In my career, I have been lucky enough to see the inner workings of 1000s of organizations. The sights of sparks flying, wheels turning, workers in motion and buildings rising from the ground fill my mind. I tried to find commonalities for success and kept coming back to one common denominator for success or failure – Waste (Muda) (or lack thereof). From injuries to workers intentionally taking the wrong supplies to avoid work, to working faster (more defects) to have longer breaks, I feel like I could write a book on workplace waste and loss.
I researched waste; one of the first concepts that caught my eye was the writings of Shigeo Shingo (1909-1990). Shingo is known as one of the world’s leading experts in manufacturing process and the Toyota Production System developer. The seven indicators of waste according to Shingo are easily remembered by the following acronym: TIM WOOD
T – Transportation – Are we moving things too often or unnecessarily on the jobsite?
I – Inventory – Do we have too much material or labor on hand… or not enough?
M- Movement – Are we progressing through our workspaces safely?
W – Waiting – Are we waiting on others to complete tasks, bring material or just being late?
O – Over production – Are we producing too much of a good or service that is never sold?
O – Over processing – Are we working at tasks unnecessarily due to bad planning?
D- Defects – How do wrong orders, loads, damaged equipment, injury, repairs, returns impact us?
Another one for the list includes “U” – Unrecognized human potential. Do we have certain employees who can and want to do more but we refuse to see it? This is huge!
In the case of Toyota, producing too many of something that will never be installed in a car is Muda, moving boxes four times before they are used is Muda, people waiting for someone else to do something is Muda. As you read this, I am sure you have already identified specific examples of Muda in your firm. Here’s the hard part…Find a way to make a change and enforce that change. Some will step up and lead, some will resist the change (more Muda).
Education and understanding of your workforce and how they perform is crucial!
Organizations must change, adapt, and evolve to survive.
HNI can share a waste reduction tool called the "Behavior Bank Account". This tool identifies top waste and risk areas, trains on them and shares gain with the employees that care.
Your workforce will not rise, collaborate, and make crucial changes to reduce waste in your workplace without your leadership. As leaders we need to identify areas of waste, track them, reduce them, or even eliminate them from our workspace. Our business values depend on it! If we don’t ID and manage this risk right now, when?
In closing, a quote from Shingo:
“Are you too busy for improvement? Frequently, I am rebuffed by people who say they are too busy and have no time for such activities. I make it a point to respond by telling people, look, you’ll stop being busy either when you die or when the company goes bankrupt.”
For more information on Risk Performance Improvement, contact Chad or any of PSI's friends at HNI Risk Advisors: ctisonik@hni.com or 262.641.5862.
Project Profile: Bryant & Stratton College Simulation and Therapy Laboratories
Bryant & Stratton College's State-of-the-art Simulation and Therapy Laboratories
This three-phased project for Bryant & Stratton College included:
- Construction management of the demolition and build-out of a new state-of-the-art 4525 square-foot training facility;
- Conversion of an empty classroom into a new occupational therapy assistant laboratory; and
- Conversion of a cramped laboratory into a well-designed physical therapy assistant laboratory.
The facility includes high-tech equipment to simulate traumatic experiences to train students in emergency situations.
See more project photos.