VELOCITY - DEE JACOB [24]
“I see,” said her mom.
“And it goes on and on,” said Amy. “When materials are just sitting in a pile, waiting to be processed, that’s muda. It’s wasted time. Meetings that could be over in ten minutes, but they last hours because that’s how they’re scheduled – that’s muda. Workers standing around with not enough to do … muda! Underutilized machines that consume energy and cost money to keep and maintain – more muda! It’s everywhere!”
“What’s she talking about?” Harry asked Zelda.
“Dad,” said Amy very patiently, “at the company where I work, we’ve started something called Lean Six Sigma. The purpose of it is to reduce waste throughout the company and to increase value for customers. We just started the meetings this week, and I’m really pumped up about it.”
Her father nodded. “Oh … well, good.”
“So anyway, Mom, this new vice president of operations, Wayne Reese, is sensational. He’s a Master Black Belt in LSS.”
“Black belt? Are you teaching people karate?”
“Right, Mom. We haul everyone into these meetings and then we beat ’em up and say, ‘Don’t waste resources!’ No, black belt refers to a level of skill. If you come into the program, you get a basic level of training in LSS and you become a white belt or a yellow belt. Then there’s the green belt level, which involves in-depth training. And ultimately there are black belts and master black belts, which involve lots more training and experience. And you have to lead projects to get certified and pass tests and all kinds of things. Anyhow, Wayne is a Master Black Belt, and he knows this stuff backward and forward. I just love him.”
“Is he married?”
“Mom … please. Yes, he is married. Three kids, two in college, and one still at home. He’s waiting to buy a house here until the last one graduates from high school. What I meant was–”
“Moolah,” said Harry, as if the word amused him.
Amy tried to ignore him.
“What I meant was that Wayne has really shown me the light. I think the potential is huge. He says that every Winner business where he’s implemented Lean has saved millions and millions of dollars – to one degree or another. Customer satisfaction has gone up. And the employees love it. Workplaces are neater and cleaner. People are involved in all these activities going on. Everybody’s measuring everything to reduce defects and increase customer satisfaction. But Wayne also warned me that it takes a serious commitment to make it happen. Everybody has to be brought up to speed. There has to be what they call cultural change and for that to occur it’s going to take a lot of–”
“Moolah!” Harry said again with a little chuckle.
“No, Dad, the word is muda,” said Amy a bit testily. “It means–”
“I know what it means,” said her father. “It means waste in Japanese. And do you know who taught me that?”
“Could it have been me?” suggested Amy.
“It was Taiichi Ohno.”
Every once in a while, despite the ravages of the Alzheimer’s disease, Harry would have these lucid moments. They tended to happen when something in conversation jogged his long-term memory and triggered his intellect. It was then that, for a few minutes, those around him could sense the remainders of the sharp, analytical mind that had once been.
“Who?” asked Ben. “Did you say the name was Oh-no? Like, ‘Oh no, I forgot my lunch!’”
“Yes, Taiichi Ohno. Doctor Ohno to you, young man,” said his grandfather. “And who else was there? I’m trying to remember … yes, it was Shigeo Shingo and Eiji Toyoda. Brilliant, all three of them.”
“Mom, what’s Grandpa talking about?” asked Michelle.
“I’ve heard of them,” said Amy. “They were with Toyota.