Lean 3P is PDCA on Steroids

Well said by author Allan R. Coletta of a new book The Lean 3P Advantage: A Practitioner’s Guide to the Production Preparation Process. Development of the 3P process is attributed to Chichiro Nakao, a former Toyota group manager and the founder of Shingijutsu company. The accepted meaning of 3P is Production, Preparation, Process.

Allan is a chemical engineer with an extensive background in manufacturing operations, supply chain and engineering, gained while working in the chemical process and healthcare diagnostics industries. Allan is a practitioner more so than an author, and I believe you will enjoy that perspective in the podcast.

Toyota delivers product designs on schedule 98% of the time (as stated by @flowchainsensei on twitter). Now, I am not sure how I can confirm this statement except that I believe this source to be accurate and even if Bob was 50% wrong, it would mean Toyota still exceeds the majority. However, after interviewing Allan and reading the book, I can understand and believe that statement. This is an excerpt from the book:

Lean 3P is a powerful enabler for invention and innovation because it creates a structure and a process for people to create both independently and collaboratively. However, 3P is not presented as a "one size fits all" means of creating brilliant new products that takes us from "blue sky" to product launch. It might work like that in some instances where a new product is a variation of an established product or in organizations where the same team is inventing, developing, and working together to launch a new product. With additional experience the role of 3P in the full product development will likely expand. For companies new to Lean 3P, the question might be how 3P will integrate into existing product development processes.

A recent blog post, Applying Lean in the Lean 3P Design Process contains a written excerpt from the podcast.

Download Podcast: Click and choose options: Download this episode (right click and save) or go to the Business901 iTunes Store.

I talked to Allan for a rather long time and had to shorten the podcast. I chose to cut his acknowledgments of several people that include Andy Johnson, Maria Stopher, Ken Rolfes and two former Business901 podcast guests, Drew Locher and Ron Masticelli. I apologize to any that he mentioned and I failed to here.   

Allan’s Lean experience started while serving as Site Manager for ICI Uniqema’s largest Specialty Chemicals plant in North America and continued to expand is his role as Senior Director of Engineering for Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics. His passion for manufacturing and engaging people in continuous improvement continues to grow through personal application of Lean principles. Allan serves on the Delaware Manufacturing Extension Partnership’s Fiduciary and Advisory Boards, and is a member of the Delaware Business Mentoring Alliance. He is also a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME).

Should Innovation be driven by Capabilities?

Innovating in services is the escape route from the commodity trap and a solution for growth, giving firms a significant competitive advantage. As they innovate into the future, companies must think beyond their products and move outside their own four walls to innovate. –says Henry Chesbrough’s, author Open Services Innovation: Rethinking Your Business to Grow and Compete in a New Era.

I am a firm believer that Standard Work is the 1st step of innovation followed closely by continuous improvement. Detailed in the blog post, The Lean Innovation Engine–Turn the Key. In summary:

• SDCA: Standard Work that creates a CAN-DO attitude and free up time to spark problem solving.
• Applying PDCA, allows you to “see” opportunities for improvement.
• A Continuous Improvement Culture (Kaizen) catalyzes the creation of stimulating habitats, leveraging the resources in your environment.
• These habitats, along with your attitude, influence the culture in your community (The Customer Experience will mimic the Employee Experience).
• The culture allows for EDCA and the BIG “I” of innovation.

So it is our culture that allows for effective innovation. Why do we believe that out of the box thinking drives the innovation engine. Seldom are we short of great ideas. We are short of the capabilities to deliver on the great ideas. But we proceed and make choices on what we need to “innovate” without this understanding.

In the The Lean Startup, we discuss the idea of the Pivot (a way to adapt and adjust before it’s too late). Many pivots may take place not because of improper product/market fit, but because we lack the capabilities of moving forward  with the idea. Even in mature companies, if our capabilities are not matched to the innovation, we may disband the idea (I think that is one of the values that can be derived through Osterwalder and Pigneur’s Business Model Canvas described in the book, Business Model Generation).

In most of my improvement engagements, I start with a current state map of someone’s existing process. We utilize the Business Model Canvas and future state mapping to “design” the new innovation. We will map out the process first, assigning the resources as needed. This normally exposes our weaknesses and highlights the additional training and outside resources that may be needed. We continue down this path, but why?

Should we consider, internalizing more of the “design” process? Would that help us to better understand the solution that we can design for the customer? Would it allow us to better utilize our existing resources? Would it allow us a better chance of delivery? Would it create a better ROI?

We hear a lot about change and change management but is evolutionary change better for us than disruptive change? Can we have disruptive innovation without disruptive internal change? Will we have any innovation implemented without a thorough understanding of our existing capabilities? I wonder.

Service Design Presentation

 

Marc Stickdorn is one of my favorite resources on Service Design. Even without that endorsement, he has earned his recognition as the co-author of This is Service Design Thinking. Marc appeared on the Business901 podcast, Service Design Thinking Podcast with Marc Stickdorn. Below is an excellent presentation on Service Design with a little Service Dominant Logic mixed In.

 

 

Marc graduated in Strategic Management and Marketing and worked in various tourism projects throughout Europe. Since 2008 Marc is full-time staff at the MCI – Management Center Innsbruck in Austria, where he lectures service design and service innovation. His main areas of interest are service design and strategic marketing management particularly in a tourism context. Marc is co-founder and consultant of “Destinable – service design for tourism” and guest lecturer at different business and design schools.

You may be interested in the Lean Service Design Trilogy Workshop.