Get to the 'why' when tackling production problems

May 24, 2017
When something doesn’t go right with a job in one of our shops, it’s almost always because someone deviated from our system. They skipped a step, for example, usually not because they’re being lazy or trying to cut corners, but just because they think it may save them some time.

If you have production bottlenecks, it’s time to start asking why. Repeatedly.

Here’s what I mean. When something doesn’t go right with a job in one of our shops, it’s almost always because someone deviated from our system. They skipped a step, for example, usually not because they’re being lazy or trying to cut corners, but just because they think it may save them some time.

Finding out if that’s actually what happened just takes asking “why” multiple times. For example:

  • Why was this car delayed? Because we were missing a part.
  • Why were we missing a part? Because the wrong one was delivered.
  • Why didn’t we catch that earlier in the process? Because we didn’t mirror-match the new part against the old ones.
  • Why didn’t we mirror-match the parts? Because parts were coming in so fast and we didn’t think we had the time to do it.

Bingo. It took four “whys” (sometimes it can take five), but there’s the cause of the problem. I believe whole-heartedly in the mirror-matching process, and my staff has come to believe in it as well. But occasionally, when things get really crazy, it may not happen on every part on every job. That rarely saves us all that much time – and in the example above, it clearly cost us.

The process of multiple “whys” helped us confirm that it wasn’t our system that was broken (though if it were, the “whys” can help you pinpoint that as well). The problem was clearly that someone deviated from our system. But no matter which it is, you want that cause to come to the surface so you can get back to basics, making sure everyone is doing what you know works.

The good news is problems like these can become a great opportunity to remind your team about the benefits of consistently following the system – and the potential downside that thinking “there’s not time to do that” can have.

It’s also an example of how following the system is particularly critical early in the process. Finding that wrong part on the day the vehicle is supposed to be delivered can mean a delay. But that very same incorrect part problem, if caught early in the process, wouldn’t have delayed a thing. We still would have had the car in process for days, typically, so we could have recovered from the error without missing a beat in production.

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I also remind my staff that the only thing that takes more time than following our systems is dealing with the aftermath of not following the system. Are you really coming out ahead skipping a step to save some time if that means a vehicle has to be repainted or re-washed or partially re-disassembled and then reassembled a second time? If you don’t have time to do something right, how are you going to have time to re-do it, maybe multiple times, to correct an issue?

The reality is you are going to spend that time somewhere along the line. It’s almost always best to spend it upfront rather than scrambling at the end.

Getting to the bottom of what’s causing production delays is, I believe, what sets great shops off from the rest. I often say fixing cars is just a byproduct of what we do. We could be making sandwiches or building furniture or shining shoes. No matter what the business, what will truly set you apart from your competition is having a team of problem solvers. No one can just accept the problems they see within the business. Everyone needs to drill down and figure out how to fix it.

So the next time there’s a stumble in production at your shop, start asking why. Figure out if it’s your system, or someone’s failure to follow that system.

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