Visual Devices make Training Easier at Warburn Estate

October 8, 2021
As many of you will know from our webinars, Warburn Estate has been drilling deeply into standardization first with the development of ‘Work Standards’. (As Kato said and there is nothing related truer, ‘Without work standards there will be no standardized work.’)

As many of you will know from our webinars, Warburn Estate has been drilling deeply into standardization first with the development of ‘Work Standards’. (As Kato said and there is nothing related truer, ‘Without work standards there will be no standardized work.’)

Visual Devices make Training Easier at Warburn Estate -

But if or when ‘Work Standards’ become a pile of documents on a desk, little may really change at the frontline.

We started on the cask line with Josh (Supervisor) focussing on the ‘Jetpack’. The machine that collates the casks into 2 or 4, covers them in shrink film, then shrinks the film in a tunnel to bind the 2 or 4 together.

Visual Devices make Training Easier at Warburn Estate -

The ‘output’ standard came first, as it must – start with the end in mind – what does the customer (internal or external) need/want? The first element on that work standard had a measurement on it that was a little complex, especially at 2am in the morning on night shift. I could see the look on Josh’s face – ‘this isn’t going to be easy to train, people are not going to find this check easy’. The latter part of the look made me understand that he knew it probably wouldn’t happen, the check wouldn’t be done properly, if at all. More likely an estimate would be made. The question thus became, how do we make ‘training of and doing’ easier? I suggested to Josh he make a transparent template the boundaries of which matched the measurements in the work standard. 2 days later, with a big smile on his face, Josh showed me this.

The ‘output’ standard came first, as it must – start with the end in mind – what does the customer (internal or external) need/want? The first element on that work standard had a measurement on it that was a little complex, especially at 2am in the morning on night shift. I could see the look on Josh’s face – ‘this isn’t going to be easy to train, people are not going to find this check easy’. The latter part of the look made me understand that he knew it probably wouldn’t happen, the check wouldn’t be done properly, if at all. More likely an estimate would be made. The question thus became, how do we make ‘training of and doing’ easier? I suggested to Josh he make a transparent template the boundaries of which matched the measurements in the work standard. 2 days later, with a big smile on his face, Josh showed me this.

I knew from the smile Josh felt he had landed on something. He knew he’d just made his job as a leader easier. When that happens, things stick.

As per the development pattern, following the ‘output’ we focussed Josh on the machine, then the people. (We don’t first write an SOP, often the mistake made.)

As happened above, the machine standard contained very important and valid measurements. But again, left at that, those very important and needed reference documents were in danger of being a ‘pile on a persons desk’.

Visual Devices make Training Easier at Warburn Estate -

“Josh, what did you learn from the transparent template? How can you best use that learning again?” Josh’s answer a week or so later – ‘measuring sticks’.

“Josh, what did you learn from the transparent template? How can you best use that learning again?” Josh’s answer a week or so later – ‘measuring sticks’.

I guess the really interesting thing here is it’s not really about visual devices. It’s about Josh thinking visually, making best use of the concepts within the 8 Building Blocks of Visual Thinking.

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