The Power of Silent Brainstorming

2015 Automotive Symposium Jd Marhevko,

MBB, ASQ Fellow, CSSBB,

CMQ/OE, CQE, VP QLMS/EHS, Accuride Corp, Past-Chair ASQ QMD

Learning Objectives

Across this time we will…

• See how this quality and lean tool can be applied to a

transactional process

• Increase your understanding of the power of silent

brainstorming

• Learn how to apply the tool in a live environment

Define

A traveling team of instructors trained customers on

the use of newly purchased product. Overall costs

exceeded $600K a year. Main costs included:

• Personnel time to coordinate the events

• Location site expenses

• Training materials

• Car rental/taxi for trainers

• Attendee food and beverage

An average event cost $50K and had excessive

variation. The process was not standard.

Measure

A key output measure was the overall expense. A moving

X (mX) graph was generated to review the history.

s

Target of $25K

Analyze

The team reviewed the key components of the

overall cost and constructed a Pareto chart

Analyze

The team created a Value Stream Map (VSM) of the flow.

They then held a “silent” brainstorming session by using

“piggy-backed” Post-Its. Lessons Learned included:

• Logistics planners needed

a standard process.

• Previewing the cost Pareto

helped to shape approach.

Logistics Planning

Training Materials Coordinated

Personnel Identified

Dates/Timing Established

Deliver Personnel/ Materials; Hold Training

Idea 1 Idea 1 Idea 1

Idea 2 Idea 2

Idea 3

Analyze

Brainstorming ideas were sorted into affinity groups. An

assessment of ease of implementation vs impact was

conducted. Multi-voting was then used to prioritize the items.

Easy Difficult

Implementation

Im

pac

t (>

$1

0K

)

Lo

w

H

igh

• Video Std Work

• Sharepoint file for

vendors/locations

• Host @ Colleges

• Local Food/Bev

• Reduce car rental;

Transport w/Locals

• Train @ Customer site

• Ensure company room rates

in the area w/hotel properties

Room Exercise

• We will conduct our own silent brainstorm

• Q…How should you start to implement a QMS?

Record one idea to a Post-It. Print clearly

Write a “1” on it and pass it as directed

Receive the 1st idea

Review the idea and add a refining thought to it

Write a “2” on the note, attach it to “1” and pass it as

directed

Receive the 2nd idea

Review the 1st and 2nd idea on the note, add a refining

thought to it. Write a “3” on the note

Affinity or Group the ideas into common themes

Room Exercise

• Need volunteers to sort the “triple” notes into

clusters of affinity groups

• Title the groups

• Discuss: How might the “Silent” treatment might

impact the types of ideas?

• Discuss: What are the pros/cons of silent

brainstorming?

Improve

An aggressive 4 week timing plan was established:

• The team

consensed on the

actions to be taken.

• Standard work was

developed via video.

• Finance reviewed

potential impacts.

All actions were

completed within 4-6

weeks of the event.

Control

A video of the new process was created and stored on a

shared system. The team watched it via WebEx for

training. Before and after metric

after feedback was

provided to both

the coordinators

and trainers.

Personal objectives

were tied to formal

HR goals.

Team Take-Aways… After 3 months, the team met to review the process:

• Initial Kaizen session was completed in 2 days.

• It was ok to use input data thought to be ~70-80% accurate.

• An ice-breaking exercise on listening prior to the start of the

session was considered very valuable.

• Actions were implemented across 4-6 weeks.

• Video was a powerful form of “instant” standardization

across geographic regions.

• Finance team was included in impact assessment

• No personnel were negatively impacted by the effort.

Absorption of team members into growth areas enabled

new business to be conducted without adding personnel.

• Would they have achieved this w/o the 50% goal?

Transparency: Final Results

After 3 months, an annualized impact of $300K was

estimated. Hard: $200K. Soft: $100K.

Learning Objectives

In this session we have…

• Seen how this quality and lean tool can be applied to

a transactional process

• Increased your understanding of the power of silent

brainstorming

• Learned how to apply the tool in a live environment

Thank You

Any Questions