Over the last 6 months two things have actually grabbed my attention and made me think how I, as a security practitioner,

can attempt to influence and have a part in creating a safer environment for all those who are used in the organisation I work for. These two things are the Safety In a different way approach and Lean Safety thinking. This in turn resulted in lots of

conversations on whether these 2 topics in fact interact or are they opposing forces? Depending on your point of view,(whether lean is good or bad ), there is offered a whole raft of documents and released information to strengthen your perspective. However, one thing that sticks out most from all this product, is that individuals and organisations have lots of different views of what lean is and depending upon this understanding and future application, it significantly impacts the results in regards to health and wellness. Yes I agree when lean practices are introduced badly, when bottom line is the most essential aspect, this can have a large detrimental result on employees, ranging from mental to ergonomic problems. The paper by Theoni Koukoulaki on the impact lean production can have in regards to musculoskeletal and psychosocial dangers makes interesting reading.

It is my belief that when lean practices are correctly implemented and handled, they do match the believing behind Security Differently. However what then is lean done right and what is it not?

What is and what is not lean thinking and practice then?

First of all what is lean not, it is most definitely not just a resource decrease. This not just upsets the entire characteristics of the organisation, (obviously there are circumstances where the regrettable laying off of manpower will occur, but these ought to not be made when establishing a lean technique), however likewise can increase waste from pressures put on staying employees.

Listening to Cheryl Jekiel on the Gemba Academy pod cast just recently, she can be heard stating that organisations need to come to the view that lean is not just a brief term expense conserving exercise, but realise the worth of a totally engaged workforce with a continuous enhancement skillset.

It is likewise not simply a series of tools or programs to be presented as a flavour of the month, required upon the labor force. In a current article I posted on Linkedin, I said that standardisation of work is a crucial element of lean theory, what we must comprehend is this is not simply a standardised neat workspace, (yes these do tend to lead to much safer workplaces), nor is it the reality that there are standard operating directions written by management. Standardisation of a procedure workplace is an approach of developing environments where it is easy to work securely and efficiently and recognize any needed improvements.

I am advised of an incident from a few years back where a maker operator was moved sites, now on both these websites the very same make and model of maker was being used, albeit the second device was a version older. On this specific occurrence the operator got here and started work, throughout the operation he pulled one familiar (to him) leaver and an unanticipated result took place triggering damage to the maker. The factor was that although the machines were the exact same make and model the levers remained in a slightly various setup. There might be some who state why did he not read the operators handbook, why did he not acquaint himself, but in fact he recognized with the machine, it was the very same make and design he had just been using. If a standardisation program had been undertaken, if the operators of the makers had actually been associated with this task, this unneeded event would have been easily determined and corrected. Rather it was made simple for the operator to stop working.

Malgorzata Jakubik and Robert Kagan, from the Lean Enterprise Institute Poland go on to outline the value of having instructions and procedures that catch the sequence and method of completion, developed by the individuals who actually carry out the tasks. But how can this be accomplished without becoming just a leading down process that adds a growing number of treatments that do absolutely nothing to allow the work to be done?

Regard is a crucial ingredient to ensure that the instructions are comprehensive and well thought out and give worth to the business for both procedure quality and security. Line management need to understand that the staff member closest to the risk does undoubtedly have a special and comprehensive understanding of what makes the job effective and the very best ways to lower waste, (both functional occurrences and injuries). When supervisors understand that the various understanding of personnel, when integrated can get rid of the most intricate of problems, then regard for even the most junior of employees ideas can assist in the favorable result for a task or task. If this is followed throughout the writing of directions and procedures then the labor force will feel more buy in and are most likely to follow and raise issues when things are not as they should be.

What is lean then? I feel it safe to state that many individuals acquainted with lean will understand it to be the removal of waste within the organisation procedure to make sure optimal revenue and consumer fulfillment. When put like this it appears a million miles far from any security thinking not to mention the security differently method. However this actually sells the theory of lean short. To paraphrase the Lean Worldwide Networks definition of lean thinking and practice, they mention it is:

“Revealing regard by establishing people to continually improve the work through issue fixing, minimizing/eliminating waste such as time, human effort, injuries and so on and asking what kind of management behaviour and system is needed to improve and change the organisation“.

This shows that a strong program of employee participation to help/bring modification for enhancements will not just result in lean advantages however also links to the safety in a different way central concept that “understanding and improving of normal work processes is central to enhancing safety efficiency”(R Gantt, Safety Differently-A New View of Safety Excellence).

Worker engagement and understanding is so crucial to a lean culture that in a 2003 study brought out by Wirthlin Worldwide and West Michigan Works for example, the specialists and business owners spoke with, mentioned that it will not be successful without worker understanding and participation.

Robert Hafey, in his book Lean Security, (a book I highly suggest), has actually highlighted effectively how conventional safety focus believing distinguishes itself against a true lean process focus, for instance “employee is the issue as a tradition focus vs the procedure is the problem as a procedure focus; who made the mistake vs what allowed the mistake to take place; control employees vs develop workers”,in this manner of procedure thinking surely provides itself then to Hummderdal’s thinking in that employees ought to be helped in conquering restraints and expand the features that enable them to be successful.

Lean Tools

What ways are readily available to us then from the lean toolkit to permit this lean security in a different way technique. There are numerous tools available for lean management and all can be used, dependant on the organisation willingness, to improve safety. I am going to concentrate on 4 that I think will assist most companies to continuously improve.

Gemba: this approach is a should for all management. To put clearly Gemba means the real place and is a philosophy to advise us to get out of the office and to the shop flooring by doing this we have a first-hand observation of tasks and by engaging with workers we will acquire a true understanding of the problems being faced.

5S: I make sure that the majority of people understand FIVE and its idea of sort; set; shine; standardise and sustain and although a powerful tool to make sure that work environments are totally free from mess and tidy, it is not almost housekeeping and a visual thing. When done properly it pushes the culture of the organisation towards among cleanliness, where the removal and non-creation of waste ends up being force of habit.

Hoshin Kanri: What is Hoshin Kanri? This is a process of aligning the objectives of the company (Technique), with the strategies of middle management (Techniques) and the work carried out on the plant floor (Action). It permits consistent objectives through the organisation to be fulfilled, and assists remove waste from bad communication and inconsistent method. As talked about earlier respect through the service is a crucial to ensuring this alignment.

Poka-Yoke: the designing of mistake recognition into the procedure is essential to the success of any business. It is also a mechanism that allows the workers to interact issues feeding back into the Gemba of the management and creating an employee centred culture.

To conclude then it is my opinion that there are many links in between lean and security differently. Nevertheless this is reliant on how the organisation implements both. It should understand that these two subjects are not a quick fix, flavour of the month method, however a cultural journey. One that is worker centred and produces an environment where the workers are enabled and empowered to take part in making sure that work jobs can be completed successfully, where lessons are discovered not just from failure but also successes and to ensure that the culture is that of continuous enhancement.

Matthew Syed in his book Black Box Thinking (another exceptional read) goes on to say that “to generate openness, we must prevent pre-emptive blaming” if we do this we will have a truly adaptive and improving system.

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