FIX WHAT BUGS YOU
PART OF THE LEAN MINDSET
"Fix What Bugs You"
If you notice something that is annoying you, slowing you down or doesn’t make sense, you should try and improve it. This is the concept of “Fix What Bugs You”. If something is annoying you or slowing you down, it may be waste, and could be improved.
By following this mindset, people will find it easier to identify improvements. They will be looking at things from the perspective of making their job easier, which will help contribute to improvements across the whole factory. These will often be small improvements but following the “5 Whys” method detailed next could result in much larger improvements.
Example
The operator who attaches the wheels to the toy car is constantly picking up the wrong screwdriver.
All the tools look exactly the same in the holder, and it isn’t until he picks it up that he realises it is the wrong one. This annoys the operator as it slows him down each time. It is a clear example of excess motion as he can sometimes pick up 3 or 4 screwdrivers to get to the one that he actually needs.
To improve it, he adds a label at the end each screwdriver, so he knows what it is before he picks it up.
This is an example of the operator fixing what bugs him.
