.....
Different Types of
Tasks require Different Thinking
The degree to which
a task can be standardized, compared to the degree of variability in the types
of tasks performed, can give structure to work done by different roles.
Work that is low in
variety and can be highly standardized would be the type of work you might see
on a production line, at receiving, shipping, order entry, A/P entry. This is
where the day to day problem solving and elimination of muda happens. At Alpha,
these are our White Belts, our EXCEL 201 students.
Work that is high
in variety and is difficult to standardize would be something associated with a
leadership position, where focus must be on long-term strategy, long-term
people development, and enabling the other two sectors (often team leaders,
junior to middle managers) in problem solving end elimination of mura and muri. This is where Black Belts, positioned in the top right hand
quadrant, should be actively coaching and mentoring the Green Belts, positioned
in either remaining quadrants.
- At a frontline level the focus is on
process, problem solving, and the elimination of waste (muda)
- At the mid-management level the focus
shifts slightly to resources, team development, and the mitigation of
unevenness in operations (mura), and overburdening of people and
equipment (muri)
- At the leadership level the focus
shifts to systems and strategic alignment along with the mitigation of muri
and mura.
So if we map our EXCEL
Training model against the above matrix, it might look like this:
Servant-Leader Model
The EXCEL team is
structured around a Servant-Leader model, where more senior team members are
expected to coach, mentor and train more junior members. In the past, when
someone had completed a Green Belt level of training, they expectation was that
they were immediately more effective at CI activities. While perhaps better
equipped with new tools, a degree of experience in the use of those tools and
techniques was sometimes lacking.
Green Belts have
been matched up with Black Belts in a casual, informal way, to allow the
opportunity for Black Belts to actively coach and mentor Green Belts in
continued use of newly learned tools and techniques. Sustainment requires a
degree of discipline; Black Belts are here to help Green Belts develop that
discipline. The nuts and bolts of how Black Belts and Green Belts do that is
defined in their Standard Work. Standard work is essentially the things Black
Belts and Green Belts must do on a regular basis to continue their respective
development and develop the discipline that yields sustainment alongside
continuous improvement.
This model requires
sufficient capacity of all Black Belts and Green Belts to complete their
standard work, as well as sufficient numbers of each belts to avoid
overburdening. We currently allocate no more than four (4) Green Belts to any
one Black Belt, and we make an effort to match outside of departments. These
matchings are not fixed in any sense, that is, they are intended to be fluid
based on the needs of the Green Belts. With 20+ more Green Belts having recently joined the EXCEL team, we will need to add more depth at the Black Belt level.
Standard work may
be created for other roles within the organization; we will begin by
defining Black
Belt Standard Work,
Green
Belt Standard Work
and Leadership Standard Work, communicating the
expectations for completion of the standard work to Green Belts and Black
Belts, and ensuring there is sufficient support by the Leadership team for the
EXCEL team to complete their standard work.
......
We have defined Green Belt and Black Belt standard work, and will be working on the Leadership standard work this summer.
AMac
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