"We are here to learn, to make difference and to have fun!" W.E.Deming 

Skills are knowledge and capabilities of people to perform a task or service.

• Define the best known way to develop employees based on training standards
• Self-learning: employees could gain knowledge by reading or watching video or photos
• The coaching steps, key points and their reasons are the solid structure for training.
• A Skill Matrix is a tool to plan people development, coaching and verification
• During training the coach presents an explicit knowledge, personally demonstrate a skill and verify trainee performance
• Trainee digitally signs after training completed.
• Skill verification steps are defined for later frequent skill confirmation.
• Personal skill status screen builds awareness for individual development

"Without standard, there can be no improvement!" T.Ohno 

Standards are the base for stable work and skill training!

They are the best-known way or a solution:

• to train and coach
• to perform a task or work step in an office, production or maintenance
• a team leader could manage his/her shift
• to document explicit knowledge
• to spread knowledge all around a company

Several types of standards could be defined like:

• 5S – work place organization standard,
• SOP – Standard Operating Procedure,
• VIS standards supporting the basic work or visual inspection instructions,
• SMED – quick changeover procedure
• SOS – Safety standards,
• AM and PM – maintenance standards
• TRAINING – define steps to train or verify an operator skill

Standards main building blocks are Step title, description of Key points, Warning symbols and, photo or video representation.

Standards are managed through defined workflow of approval, versioning, issue, revision frequency and archiving. Links between standards are supported.

"When you go out into the workplace, you should be looking for things that you can do for your people there…." T.Ohno 

“Without questions, there is no learning!” W.E.Deming

An Audit or a Check list supports any control, approval or verification process and waste walk.

Any audit, project mail stone review, inspection or self-control checklist could be defined. Based on your process workflow and know-how you could define for each question:

• Key points and/or reasons for a key point
• Link to the detailed standard
• Select a suitable assessment ranking

Upgrade the checklist based on lessons learned and the new issue will be immediately used on all locations.

The purpose is to see opportunities or weak points, and manage tasks.

Report problems, enter and classify the problem, take photo or video, edit photo…

If auditor is in charge, he/she could immediately assign tasks to a responsible.

Spider, trend

"Having no problem is the biggest problem!" T.Ohno

We have to react if we measure, so KATA is endless problem database ready for a Leader to define tasks and their priority.

Problems are collected from any activity like performing training, changeover, work order, auditing, gemba walk or maintenance.

A leader could define a task and responsibility for implementation immediately after a nonconformity or waste is identified.

RED card – anybody could make a proposal and report:

• A weak point on a machine
• About a waste identified
• Safety or environmental hazard situation
• A solution or even an implemented solution to reduce waste

"Without data you are just another person with an opinion!" W.E.Deming

SMED  – Single Minute Exchange of Die

Quick changeover (CO) standards and execution screen guide the sequence or parallel tasks for team members.

Traditional serial production concept is neglecting changeover time based on blind perception that lost time will be marginal per single product in a big batch. These times are gone! With Lean flexible and leveled (EPED) production rises the challenge to significantly reduce changeover time. The world favorable experience is showing that over 80% of CO time a team could reduce by tasks organization without investments.

KATA SMED standard steps could be in dependent relation to others like FTS-Finish to Start. As for any standard or task KATA supports challenges or problems reporting with photo or video. The time spent for each step is recorded for analysis and improvement.

KPI: The time spent trend and savings report

"You cannot manage what you do not measure!" W.E.Deming

MES – Manufacturing execution system
MES is work order planning and execution tracking system.

The production day is an intersection of training, work orders, changeovers and maintenance activities. The MES module primary focus is to support all involved to plan and record tasks execution, challenges and problems identified and solution. The MES dashboard visualize the machine work status and tasks progress. Users shall verify this information in “gemba” to react on facts. 

KATA assures reporting start of a Changeover, start of a work order, reporting parts done in predefined frequency, reporting inspection done, problems, suggestions, missing material

Work tasks are supported through linked standards and operator skill level.

"The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today!" H.J.Brown Jr.

TPM – Total Preventive Maintenance

Total care of equipment is needed for stable and predictable operations.

TPM and Lean are two competing concepts – we believe the fusion of them is the right approach.

KATA supports TPM activities based on three types of standards: TPM, AM and PM. – define basic knowledge and steps how to maintain or repair.

TPM standard – general

AM standard – Autonomous Maintenance steps to be performed by operator

PM standard – Preventive Maintenance steps to be performed by experts – including predictive m.

AM standard is a »daily« plan for operator: which tasks to be done to maintain a machine in the best condition. After first AM maintenance done, next tasks will be planned according defined frequency. AM Calendar could be used to visualize AM activities planned and done.

On a line a task could be started by scanning machine QR code.

PM standard is an expert plan for machine examination. Plan is visualized in calendar screen.

Machine book log data are the base for the standards upgrade.

The basic indicator is percent of prevention in comparison to corrective hours. The expected threshold is 80% of prevention.

"The only source of knowledge is experience.” Albert Einstein

Lessons learned are know-how of a Company gained from running operations and overcoming daily challenges.

Based on problem solving the company know how is documented and could be shared horizontally among employees, teams, departments or plants. Well documented (photos and video) lessons are all the time available for an operator as a help. A plenty of time could be saved not waiting or looking for an expert.

The application supports operator to report operational or quality problems he/she solved by himself, which raise self-esteem.

User could filter Lessons by product, machine, standard or any string.

"The largest room in the world is the room for improvement!" (unknown)

The competitive advantage of an organization lies in its people creativity and will.

People development means leaders and coworkers daily involvement in improvement activities (Kaizen). It is using brains to overcome obstacles in the direction of target process condition.

Anyone from employees could book a solution to a problem, a challenge or an opportunity. The best case is, if he/she reports implemented solution. More than one per month is world class.

A simple dashboard is the tool for a Leader to support his/her coworker’s ideas, proposals and solutions and reward them.