Continuous improvement helps abate lockout citation

I’m working with an FDRsafety client to help abate a lockout citation. From the outset we included workers as subject matter experts and employed Task Based Risk Assessment, also known as TaBRA.

Because of my passion for integrating a lean and safe approach with the plant’s goals for continuous improvement, we decided early on to use the cornerstone of continuous improvement thinking, Plan-Do-Check-Act, or PDCA, to develop the abatement plan. We have a great team: management, union, engineering – and a management that wants to do the right thing.

Management wanted to pilot our approach on one line before making engineering changes and updating lockout training. Good thinking – and it allowed us the latitude to constantly shift gears while moving forward. We have now expanded the training on TaBRA to include supervisors and engineers. It has been an eye-opener. TaBRA is much more detailed than a traditional JSA – and the old expression, “the devil is in the detail” is proving true.

It’s great watching a process that creates better working relationships among management, workers and the union unfold with increasing buy-in. But something far more important is happening. The people “planning and doing” for this project have become true continuous improvement thinkers. At every step of the process, we check what we have planned and done and then make adjustments, or “act” upon the lessons learned. This causes us to shift gears slightly, always with the larger goal in mind. Along the way, things are improving.

If I were to characterize the approach, it would be like this: Let’s say you want to sail north. You make a plan, do it, and along the way, constantly check your course, sometimes making necessary adjustments for the wind, currents or other factors. Each course correction is a mini PDCA. You make a new plan based upon your current state, perform the adjusted “do,” check yourself and again make adjustments.

Continuous improvement is indeed continuous. I think Deming, the man who popularized PDCA, would be happy.