Deal with problems before they grow too big to handle

I was recently invited by Arun Devani, the CEO of Synresins, to visit his business at the far end of the Industrial Area to see how it has applied the principles of Kaizen.

Arun took me through the journey he and his colleagues have been on, stimulated by his attendance at a Kaizen conference on lean manufacturing in Canada.

There he heard about what happens at Toyota when a problem occurs on the production line: they bring it to an immediate stop.

Everyone involved gathers together for an intensive look into what happened and why, and they then see how to solve the problems before they risk wasting more materials, damaging machinery or further delaying production.

So a while ago, when Synresins was suffering from serious stock-outs, Arun called for a big multi-day meeting in the boardroom.

On the first day each person present was given a flip chart and asked to write down all the problems they were facing – all of them – identifying possible sources. No solutions at this stage, just the problems, and then each took the others through what they had written.

On the next day, and on other flip charts, possible solutions were identified, including to the smallest of the problems, bearing in mind the old saying that “a stitch in time saves nine”.

The following day, aware that many were behind with entering data, they came with their computers into the board room and hacked away till the information was up to date. Then on the final day the team agreed its action plans.

Everyone at Synresins is involved, and no one can say they weren’t consulted or listened to.

Those who are more at home in Kiswahili than in English received help, and nothing — however ugly — is hidden. People know they are safe to be open and frank, without fear of retribution, and this includes criticism of “the boss’.

All focus is on solving problems, and on learning and sharing that learning.

The role of the leader is not to dominate or to preach, but merely to facilitate, to listen and to wait for the solutions to come… which they invariably do.

Synresins applies Kaizen’s “300-29-1” pyramid, through which thy take care of 300 minuscule problems so they can eliminate 29 sub problems, and ultimately the single big one.

Each little problem must be identified, and each one solved as soon as it is spotted: a pipe that’s 10 degrees off the vertical, a tiny crack or a leak, a loose cable, a missing nut.

Often such problems lie hidden under layers of dirt, which is why cleanliness is so vital. But cleanliness also encourages a sense of pride and an expectation of high quality, not to mention that it is vital for ensuring health and safety.

After all, no one wants to slip on a slick of spilt oil.

Today’s minor imperfections, “deviations from the normal”, that allow a machine to wobble, a pipe to shudder, can grow into tomorrow’s expensive disasters.

So Synresin’s people are always on the lookout for what isn’t perfect. Once a month, on a Saturday, the whole staff of 50 is divided into random teams of five.

They go scouting around for emerging problems, and also to see if those identified earlier have been solved.

As a result of these expeditions and their meetings in the board room (no chairs allowed), staff no longer confine themselves to narrow job descriptions but take total responsibility for the areas where they work… and beyond. They’re all risk managers, they’re all risk mitigators, and they’re all problem solvers.

Interestingly, Arun is not a great fan of ISO, as he feels the much coveted certification too easily allows for conformity to standards and compliance with procedures that are set at unambitiously low levels.

Yes, the true spirit of ISO is to stretch organisations and see them constantly reach for greater heights. But too many pay insufficient attention to the discipline of continuous improvement that is so fundamental to the Kaizen philosophy.

It’s not just Synresin’s production people who get together to chew over their problems and find solutions. The approach is applied to all aspects of the business, from people issues and ones to do with equipment to matters concerning sales and systems and finance (the whole balanced scorecard spectrum, one might say).

Representatives from different functions and different levels (not excluding the CEO) pitch in with their contributions, all feeling part of the whole.

The company is divided into two teams, one called the Demand Creation Team and the other the Demand Servicing Team, and the two interact with their respective internal customers :the very thought of departmental silos does not arise.

Sales people feed in quality concerns they bring back from customers; finance folk rope in others to help customers pay more promptly; and everyone is always looking to reduce waste, wherever it may be found.

The waste reduction projects are all laid out on a schedule, each with its shillings target of savings and the name of who is responsible for achieving them.

Great improvements have been made as a result of doing a better job of revealing where and how each element of cost arises. Each department has also been made a profit centre, with agreed targets.

“How can we be responsible for profits?” the finance department asked when first handed this unusual challenge. ‘Reduce exchange rate losses,’ came one obvious answer.

For Synresins (as for everyone), if they don’t get rid of waste they can’t expect to be competitive.

Their overriding challenge is imports from Egypt, whose manufacturers benefit from subsidies and from larger scale. So Arun and his colleagues know they must beat a certain price, or they simply won’t see the orders materialise.

No wonder they work so hard to solve each and every problem as soon as it rears its ugly little head.

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