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Vol 32 - No 06 - September 2006 National events : Hot topics in a very hot environment! - Effective Visual Management Seminar – Coventry Transport Museum “Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others” - so wrote Jonathan Swift. Over 30 people braved the heatwave and the complexities of Coventry’s one-way-system to gather in the Coventry Transport Museum for a day of enlightenment. This was a full day event put on by IOM to explore how better visual communication can help a business gain competitive advantage. Nine presentations took us from the workings of the human optical system, through some powerful reflective exercises, a comparison of communication methods and their uses, a demonstration of exciting new uses of digital security cameras and ended with a series of case studies of how companies are successfully harnessing the power of visual communication to improve their businesses. The day started with the welcome and a talk by Professor Bob Snowden of Cardiff University, who chaired the morning session. He firstly explained how the human eye worked and then how the brain interprets the visual signals it receives, particularly pattern recognition. He then outlined experiments which probed into the brains of living animals (not humans) to see how and what cells are triggered by visual information. These experiments had brought about the theory that as you go deeper into the brain, the cells hold information about the cells in the layer above, so that deep in the system a single cell could hold the information about say, your grandmother. It is like process mapping in reverse – in the brain, the detail is on the ‘top’ level, feeding lots of information down to a single cell, whereas business process mapping involves the detail at the lower levels, leading from a single process at the ‘top’. Interestingly, we learned that the worst colours to use for differentiation are red, yellow and green - what price the traffic light reports used extensively within companies now? Perhaps symbols rather than colour should be used to ensure quick recognition for everyone. Hazel Douglas from Enteleki explained how humans think and experience the world. Some exercises were used to demonstrate how positive visualisation can have effects on the success of processes. Hazel went onto to explain how experiments in both sport and industry have shown that people who imagined performing operations or activities successfully before they actually carried them out learned more quickly and achieved better results when they performed for real than those who did not use their imagination in advance. This process could easily be adapted for use within organisations for training sessions on new equipment. Steve Whiddett from WHE(UK), an occupational psychologist, looked at signs and symbols and the effects these can have on people’s perceptions. He used the example of University students who will often choose to apply for jobs with employers who have a brand or image they perceive as ‘quality’ rather than based on the job specification! He also showed how familiarity can lead to conditioned reflexes by demonstrating various signs which we interpreted because of their pattern rather than the information actually contained on them. As an example, he explained that new train drivers were 10 times more likely to pass a signal at danger (SPAD) than experienced drivers, which was completely opposite to original theories. This was finally attributed to new drivers not being trained thoroughly enough and therefore not being familiar with the location of signals, whereas experienced drivers knew where to look. Improved training on this aspect has reduced SPADs by new drivers by 80%. Organisations should note Steve’s key message - there is only so much visual information a human can take in, so concentrate on KEY issues. Mike Varnon from Unipart showed us how one division was using visual display boards to get buy-in from staff to changes in the business. Staff, rather than management, are responsible for keeping the display boards up to date. They are used to ensure important information is passed from shift to shift and ensure a commonality across the organisation which means everyone can interpret how the business is doing without having to delve into the detail. Simplicity in the displays ensures that key information is quickly found. Unipart have made real strides in improving their business since the days of being part of British Leyland and are now creating revenue from their experiences through their Unipart Solutions arm. IOM has organised visits to Unipart in the past and members of the audience commented favourably on the experience. Branch events like these are one of the continuing benefits of membership of IOM. The afternoon session, ably chaired by John Theophilus, got off to a good start with an inspired piece of programming that saw a manufacturer of contact lenses presenting at a seminar on visual management. Malcolm Coleman from Coopervision showed us how 5S had been used to free up valuable space in Ocular Sciences. They had also benefited from improved quality, output and reduced costs despite a five fold increase in production in 10 years. They had worked with LERC in Cardiff to design the programme. This was a good example of a sustainable 5S implementation and what it can achieve. Malcolm showed how staff will now demarcate an area for new machinery even if is bolted down, and also showed how use of visual keys (colour and pattern) can modify people’s behaviour. Reduced inventory, a reduction in damage to components and materials and the removal of unnecessary and obsolete equipment were some of the outcomes along with a reduction in the accident rate. Staff who previously had been less than effective found new interest in the work and were making noticeable contributions to the programme, and this was recognised by the issue of certificates to successful participants. John Theophilus, a consulting partner from AT Partners, gave up his temporary job of session chairman (and Vice-Chairman of IOM) to give us a fascinating insight of how digital video recording systems can analyse processes - particularly change-over or almost any process involving physical activity. He then outlined the design improvements which could be made, using a bespoke system he has created. The system John has developed will enable firms to dramatically improve their flexibility and responsiveness – key weapons in continuous improvement. High definition video cameras with powerful zoom lenses are positioned around the operation and the action is recorded simultaneously with time stamped recording. It can be played back, including digital zoom for close-up, and analysed very easily. Staff are involved at all stages to ensure their buy-in. John has even developed a system that will monitor activity and can be triggered by an event recorded by a camera, and will then record the three minutes BEFORE the event! This could be used to monitor rare failures which need to be viewed. Another example given was a changeover routine on a large machine. It was so big that the two people doing the changeover could not see what each other was doing. Whilst the subsequent analysis revealed the usual candidate activities for making off-line, it also became clear that each operator did similar operations differently and better or worse than the other. By looking at this in detail they were able identify best practice and get both to work in the same way saving even more time. Frank Wright from Ordnance Survey demonstrated how process mapping is being used by the National Mapping Agency to create new technical and business processes in advance of major changes to its production systems. Strictly enforced standards and the use of a central team within its Operations Development division ensure commonality of design and presentation. The mapping is also being used to assure senior management that the organisation is ready for the new systems as well as providing the basis for all the necessary training which will be needed. Business control is provided by Process Owners who sign off the new processes on behalf of the business. Helen Dymond then showed how all the process maps have been clearly linked into high level business processes, and how the various layers of mapping linked to and supported each other. She explained that the process mapping techniques were extending beyond the boundaries of the current project into other unaffected parts of the organisation. The key message was that the maps only did their work when they were visible within the business. Extensive use of the intranet, poster campaigns and masterclasses for staff have all been used to “publish” the maps and hence gather feedback from a wide section of the business. Steve Harrison from John Crane gave a hilarious presentation on implementing Kanban systems into his organisation. His key question was: How do you decide on the optimum Kanban size? Steve offered two alternatives - spend weeks analysing data (preferably using expensive consultants to help) then don’t implement at all or trust to intuition, guess and get on with the job – you will soon know if you have it wrong and will rarely be any worse off. If you are sensible and keep some safety stock in the early days, you will be a hero! They have developed their own bar code reader device (based on a PDA) called a zapban, which they use to zap details of empty kanbans. Orders are then placed with suppliers and the kanbans refreshed directly to the lineside. Ed Coomber explained how by using a simple video camera recording of stores they had identified a huge waste of time involving their most expensive staff. This led to improved ordering of key tools using kanban systems, freeing up £1000s of locally held parts (held just in case stores ran out) and improving the OEE of their equipment by eliminating waiting for tools and parts. The speakers proved that simple ideas can lead to huge improvements but it needs management with vision and commitment, and a workforce who are engaged and truly empowered, to make changes. The last speaker, Chris Roberts of Unipart Aftermarket Logistics, which supplies Jaguar dealers worldwide with parts, outlined how visual management was being used to improve service to Jaguar customers in the post-sales service market. Common design of information boards across the entire global supply chain meant that everyone was receiving the same picture and there was no room for misunderstanding. A few simple and key monitors gave everyone the information they needed to understand how the supply chain was performing from the customer’s point of view. Warts and all were on view – if it was going wrong they all wanted (and needed) to know as when something was hidden, it could remain unfixed. They were using the monitors to improve aspects of the supply chain as well, reducing variability, thus improving parts availability and improving customer service: The venue proved a success with the delegates, despite problems with the air-conditioning brought on by a lightning strike, and the friendly staff did their best to make things go well and finally found us a room that was almost too cold! There was plenty to see in the museum galleries which show some of Britain’s finest (and worst) moments in motoring history. I’ll certainly return to spend more time here, as long as I can remember where I left the car. As for the seminar “The best IOM seminar I have ever been to” was a comment made publicly at the event – and echoed by many of the delegates. There were excellent opportunities for networking during the breaks and I saw a number of business cards changing hands – one of the softer benefits of these events. A display of various visual tools in use in attendees’ companies provided a catalyst for some intense discussions during refreshment breaks. It certainly passed very quickly – a good measure of any event, and the mix of speakers and topics ensured even experts in the field took something away from the day. Helen Dymond MIOM and Frank Wright FIOM, Ordnance Survey Related Topics:
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