Avoid continuous improvement overload on shop floors

Avoiding improvement overload is an odd topic for an improvement column, but it’s important for any manufacturing shop floor manager. Push too hard without focus, and even the most positive work environment can turn toxic. Getty Images

Avoid improvement overload. Doesn’t this sound like an odd statement for a continuous improvement column? It implies that you are always working on improvement … as you should. But how effectively are you managing and leading your lean journey? Do you keep piling on more projects and more work, all in addition to the work that needs to be done to get products out the door on time at expected quality levels and at target costs?

The problem of improvement overload could be real or just a perception based on a miscommunication. The degree to which it is reality or perception may vary depending on where you are in the company. Regardless, a disconnect between reality and perception in your organization could be a serious, lurking problem. Let’s explore how to identify and handle improvement overload.

Signals of Overload

Improvement overload happens when the organization simply takes on too much too soon and too aggressively. People might be openly dismissive or vocal about the next improvement project (“We have to do this in addition to everything else?”). Or they may quietly grumble, express apathy, and exhibit a more subtle defiance. Your ability to see the signals, and whether the overload is real or perceived, can prevent the issue from festering and help keep your lean journey on track.

Several direct signals can indicate you may be experiencing improvement overload. You go to your industrial engineer and welder with the news that plant leaders have an improvement project in mind and you want them to be involved. They say something like, “Boss, we are already working Saturdays and barely keeping up. How can you expect us to spend time with this new project?” This indicates you have a capacity or interest issue.

Another direct signal might be when key people simply stop showing up to improvement events. They always have a reason for missing. Maybe they had to get an order out the door, were tied up in another improvement project meeting, or just forgot. Whatever the case, they are not putting effort into the new project.

Subtler reactions to improvement overload are the worst and may be harder to see. For some, the feeling of overload can drag down their overall performance. They don’t decline all at once but instead slowly slide to a dark place. You may be left wondering why previously stellar performers seem to be slipping away.

Another subtle signal is when people show antipathy toward the next new improvement project. They don’t say “No.” Rather, they grudgingly go along and say, “Sure, pile another one on me. I’ll find some time somehow.” That is not a resounding endorsement.

You get the idea. Some signals are clear, direct, and hard to miss. Others are below the surface and harder to detect. Your job is to be an advance scout; be aware when the signals emerge; and make sure the issues, whether real or perceived, are addressed.

Techniques to Avoid Overload

Observing the signals and then doing something about them is a bit like performing a quality check at the end of production and then taking corrective action. It’s too late. The damage is done. In production you need to conduct upstream vigilance and attempt to mistake-proof (poka-yoke) a process so mistakes cannot occur. Similarly, you can use the same techniques to avoid getting to the point where improvement overload becomes an issue.

It’s about getting ahead of the problem, and one way to do this is to have an effective project charter that spells out the business case, problem statement, goals, scope, and team members. If these items are clearly, concisely, and quantitatively defined, you will reduce confusion around expectations. The business case addresses why you are doing the project. The problem statement describes the situation as quantitatively as possible. A goals statement highlights what to improve, by how much, and by when. All this helps you avoid ambiguity.

Also, try designing improvement projects in bite-size pieces, allowing for crisper starts, stops, and transitions. When resources are already stretched, an open-ended project can be demoralizing because it may not be clear when it ends, how many resources should be applied, and where it rests in terms of relative priority. Reduce the stress by making the improvement work bite-size and discrete.

You can get a sense of the overload status by listening closely and observing the behavior of those directly and indirectly involved in improvement projects. Do you see energy and enthusiasm or half-hearted blind compliance? Rattling on about a new project (particularly if the boss is pushing it) is easy. Listening for deep understanding is hard. Insight about improvement overload comes from effective listening.

You occasionally should measure your improvement work load capacity. You may find that there is legitimate need to reprioritize projects based on new stimuli, either from the external marketplace or from internal matters. Or you might find that some projects should simply be ended because they’ve run their course. A project might have reached a point of diminishing returns, or the improvement team might have reached its full potential.

Think of this as selectively pruning the improvement project portfolio. Also, sharpen your design, selection, and execution of new improvement projects. The better you do this, the more effective your lean journey will be.

Assess Your Improvement Load

How can you assess your current situation? One way is to create an improvement portfolio, much like you would your investment portfolio. Take inventory of all your current and proposed improvement projects. Assess them for significance. How do they help execute your business plan? How do they affect customer satisfaction? How many projects have short-term versus longer-term time frames? Are they on track? For all open projects, note the degree of completion, how they compete for scarce resources, and other criteria that may be particular to your company. After pulling this information together, you can make decisions about changing priorities, being more or less aggressive, pruning selected projects, and rebalancing your scarce resources across targeted projects.

You also can rely on voice-of-the-customer techniques. In this case, you’re focusing on internal customers—your employees. Speak to employees at every level of the organization to get their perspectives on improvement project stability or overload. You could gather voice-of-the-customer feedback through either formal or informal surveys.

Focus on both real and perceived concerns. The perceptions may be based on miscommunications or a lack of understanding. Rather than seeing this as a problem, consider it an opportunity to develop clarity and alignment.

Try using a project-close-out assessment tool to ask project team members, sponsors, and support staff (such as lean sensei, training staff, or HR) for feedback on the upside and downside of the project. Did they have adequate time to devote to the project without creating problems somewhere else? Were they conflicted about supporting multiple projects and still getting everyday jobs completed? Did they ever feel like they were spread too thin?

Whatever its form, the assessment should help you objectively understand where you stand in terms of improvement overload. It can be an early warning that signals you to adjust your improvement portfolio, priorities, and timing, and thereby avoid the sense of overload your employees may feel.

Create an Effective Work Environment

Yes, avoiding improvement overload sounds odd, especially in a column about improvement. But it really is an important topic, particularly during times when you are asking people to do more with scarce resources.

Avoiding improvement overload doesn’t mean you should back off. Rather, it means that you need to be critical and objective about how you deploy your improvement resources and set priorities. By understanding where, how, and when improvement overload might occur, you can make decisions early that will help avoid overload problems later.

Whether managing reality or perception, you must understand your employees’ ability to effectively take on “one more project.” Pushing too far or too hard can hinder progress on specific projects as well as the overall lean journey. Find a balance to get the best results. The goal is to create the most effective work environment for your employees.