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PRINCIPLES FOR IMPROVING SYSTEMS
Seeking Consistency with Flexibility


STANDARDIZE

1. Get people doing the same job to do it more alike. "Are we reducing the number of ways that people do the same job or are we increasing them?"

2. Get people doing the same job to create "how to do it" standards. When people find it necessary to break a standard, then ask, "What's wrong with the standard?" rather than "What's wrong with the person?" "Do we have clearer standards? Do we have a means for people to question the standards? Are we improving standards every six months?"

3. Reduce exceptions to the rule. When exceptions have to be made, ask "What's wrong with the rules?" "Are we decreasing or increasing the number of exceptions?"

SPEED-UP

4. Reduce the number of steps, the number of people, and the flow distance of a process. "Are we reducing or increasing the number of steps and people?"

5. Empower workers to make decisions. "Are we moving decisions 'downward' or are we taking decision authority away? Is red tape killing us or do we know how to be flexible?"

6. Speed up feedback on errors. "Are we finding and responding to errors more quickly?"

7. Shorten "set up" times so that people can move from one task to another very quickly. "Are we making it easier or more difficult for people to move from one task to another?"

8. Focus improvement efforts on bottlenecks and constraints on the system. "Have we figured out which is the slowest part of the process? Are we shortening lines and 'back-ups' or lengthening them?"

SIMPLIFY

9. Reduce memorization. "Are we reducing or increasing the number of things to memorize?"

10. Decrease stockpiles. Order supplies more frequently and in smaller bundles. Keep materials nearby and precisely placed. "Are we decreasing or increasing stockpiles? Are we making it easier or more difficult to find supplies and materials?"

11. Reduce the number of interruptions. Permit focused attention on one customer and one task at a time. "Are we reducing or increasing the number of interruptions?"

12. Allocate resources to the front end of processes in order to reduce the most rework. "Are we increasing or reducing the number of errors passed down from the front end of the process?"

CROSS-COVERAGE

13. Move towards generalists and away from specialists. "Are we making people more or less able to cross-cover one another?"

14. Have fewer bosses and a flatter hierarchy. "Are we making access from the top to the bottom of the organization more complicated or less complicated?"

Typically, photocopies of pages off the internet do not duplicate very well. Clean black-and-white copies of the 14 Principles can be sent as an attachment in Word Perfect or by snail-mail. There is no charge for this service. Contact Ends of the Earth Learning Group by telephone or snail-mail or send a request to ronaldturner@endsoftheearth.com

These System Principles come from

How to blame the system and NOT mean, "I give up!"
PRINCIPLES FOR IMPROVING SYSTEMS


Home Page Contacting us ronaldturner@endsoftheearth.com Who are we? Links
Sounding Board Books Facilitator Toolbox Cartoons/Stories