![]() ![]() “5 Why’s” became our de facto problem solving methodology. The new structure started surfacing problems that could not be ignored. I became obsessed with reducing batch sizes, creating flow, and stopping to fix problems. When team members would store “problems” in boxes under the tables, I banned boxes on the line. When those “problems” moved to the table tops, I removed tables and other places where “problems” could be hidden. Next I read Learning to See, which was equally mind-blowing, so I proceeded to stop our factory for two weeks to rearrange the workflow from silos to cells and watched lead-times drop from months to weeks. The process yielded over 350 pieces the first day! I was sold on this new way of working. I took a simple label sewing operation that had previously only yielded 120-140 pieces per day (embarrassing, I know) and redesigned the process so items would flow through one piece at a time. We started our lean journey at Wooden Ships in the spring of 2007 after I read The Toyota Way. The book so clearly described our flawed batch and queue production processes and then miraculously proposed a set of practices to remedy the situation. So I proceeded to run an experiment.
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