August 3, 2016 Industry Forum Blog Ashley McKenzie, continuous improvement, Cool Runnings, Dick Fosbury, Fosbury, Fosbury flop, improvement, improvement cycle, Jamaican bobsledding team, Olympic athletes, Olympics, Sir Dave Brailsford, Spirit of improvement The mind set we use for successful improvement is one that our Olympic athletes demonstrate year in, year out. These 5 spirits of improvement apply whether we are running a kaizen activity or carrying out our daily jobs. Spirit 1. Challenge all the fixed ideas. We often find it difficult to break out of a long held habit or way of doing things. But unless we can challenge our fixed ideas in a positive way, we will never move forwards. This is exactly what Dick Fosbury did in the 1960’s. To help him jump higher he challenged the existing straddle technique. The resulting “Fosbury Flop” is now used by all the elite high jumpers. Fosbury also demonstrated the next spirit. Spirit 2. Do it now! No excuses. It is tempting to put off implementing a solution until it is perfect. The problem is you may never get round to doing it. Try out an improvement idea immediately. Even if it means mocking it up to prove it works before investing. Fosbury experimented over a number of years. First he tried the scissor kick before gradually adjusting his technique. He persisted, despite criticism for his style, and his results kept improving. End result – gold in the 1968 Olympics. Spirit 3. Use your wisdom, not money! You can always make initial improvements without having to spend. The trick is to think of ways to modify what is currently done. Then, try out your ideas by mocking up a solution. When you get it to work then you can invest. I couldn’t resist using the example of the Jamaican bobsledding team here. This tropical nation first competed in the Winter Olympics in 1998. While I found no proof that they practiced using a bath tub and a refrigerated van, as in the film Cool Runnings, it is true that they borrowed other team’s spare sleds. After 7 games appearances, in 2014 they appointed their own experienced coach, having started with support and advice from other bobsledders at the games. Spirit 4. Get to the root cause by asking why? – 5 times. The key to solving problems is to use a logical approach and get to the root cause of the problem. It’s no good applying a sticking plaster to the symptom. One way to do this is to keep asking “why?” until the root cause is established. I didn’t find any examples of Olympians using Problem Solving techniques, please share any you find. However, one of Team GBs current hopefuls sums up the perseverance required to make this technique work. Ashley McKenzie, who competes in the 60kg Judo category says “I am arguing all day, until you tell me I am right.” Spirit 5. Improvement is infinite, better is not good enough. This reminds us that the improvement cycle never stops. If you sit back after you have made 1 improvement then the competition will overtake you. All our athletes demonstrate this, however, Sir Chris Brailsford summed it up best, “Sport is about continuous improvement, it’s about getting better. It’s about being better next year than you are this year.” His cycling teams examine every single aspect of their sport and try to increase each one by even 1%. These all add up to give significant advantages. He adds “We’ve got to keep looking, researching and working – trying things. And that’s what it’s all about.” Contact our team to find out how Industry Forum can help improve your manufacturing competitiveness today.
