No Time To Waste

by LeanTeams

On Purpose: Purpose as a decision-making enabler

When our purpose has been clearly communicated, it enables decisions to be made locally in line with our goals, preventing the need for business leaders to get involved in day-to-day decision making

If you want your people to think, don’t give instructions, give intent

L. David Marquet, Turn the Ship Around

On Process: Pull vs. Push systems explained

Push: Work is released by a plan/schedule, regardless of whether the next step or the customer is ready.
Typical results: large batches, high WIP, long lead times, expediting.

Pull: Work is released by actual demand/consumption—the downstream step (or customer) signals the upstream step to replenish only what was used and only when WIP/capacity allows (Kanban/CONWIP rules).
Typical results: lower WIP, shorter/steadier lead time, better quality.

Important: A pull system only works if each step can run at or below TAKT time (TAKT = available time ÷ demand, i.e. the rate of customer demand). If a step can’t meet TAKT, fix stability/flow first or pull will stall.

Quick test: Ask “What starts work here?” If the answer is “a signal from the next step or the customer,” you’re pulling. If it’s “the plan says so,” you’re pushing.

As flow is introduced, let customers pull value from the next upstream activity

Womack & Jones, Lean Thinking

Leader’s Task of the Week

Move from push to pull 1) Choose a work task that is always overloaded (e.g., “IT tickets”). 2) Baseline: Record a) WIP (items in process), b) Lead time (request→done), 3) Set the pull rules a) Start: work only when ready. b) Cap items per step. c) Define streams (e,g. Standard; Expedite (max 1 at a time). 4) Make it visible a) Simple Kanban flow e.g. Requested → Ready → Doing → Done. b) Use cards with due date 5) Run it for a week a) Daily stand-up: b) Are we respecting WIP limits? c) Any blocked? → escalate now. d) Fill only when a Ready slot opens. 6) Review & tune a) After 5 days, compare to baseline: WIP ↓, & Lead time/age ↓, b) Adjust as required (e.g., WIP limits, entry criteria)

On People: the impact of Muri (overburden)

Muri is asking people to do more, faster, or longer than they can reasonably sustain.
On people it shows up as stress, errors, rework, absenteeism, and churn.
Creativity and learning stall, psychological safety drops, and daily improvement dies as teams focus on coping.
Muri is fed by Mura (uneven demand), unclear roles/standards, under-resourcing, excessive multitasking, and “heroic” overtime.

Reduce it:
• level demand (heijunka) & set takt-based staffing,
• limit WIP.
• use standard work and rebalance with a skills matrix and cross-training,
• Use daily stand-ups to reallocate capacity and highlight issues early.

Eliminating overburden to people and equipment and eliminating unevenness… are just as important [as eliminating waste]

Chapter 4 The 14 Principles of the Toyota Way, Liker, Jeffrey K

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