22 Seconds to Burn – Excel VBA Teaches Lean Execution

Background:

Excel VBA has once again provided the opportunity to demonstrate some basic lean tenets.  The methods used to produce the required product or solution can yield signficant savings in time and ultimately money.  The current practice is not necessarily the best practice in your industry.  In manufacturing, trivial or minute differences in methods used become more apparent during mass production or as volume and demand increases.  The same is true for software solutions and both are subject to continual improvement and the relentless pursuit to eliminate waste.

Using Excel to demonstrate certain aspects of Lean is ideal.  Numbers are the raw materials and formulas represent the processes or methods to produce the final solution (or product).  Secondly, most businesses are using Excel to manage many of their daily tasks.  Any extended learning can only help users to better understand the Excel environment.

The Model:

We recently created a perpetual Holiday calendar for one of our applications and needed an algorithm or procedure to calculate the date for Easter Sunday and Good Friday.  We adopted an algorithm found on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computus that produces the correct date for Easter Sunday.

In our search for the Easter Algorithm, we also found another algorithm that uses a different method of calculation and also provides the correct results.  We were pleased to have two working solutions and initially did not spend too much time thinking about the differences between the two methods.  If both routines produce the same results then we should choose the one with the faster execution time.  We decided to perform a simple time study to determine the most efficient formula.  For a single calculation, or iteration, the time differences are virtually negligible; however, when subjected to 5,000,000 iterations the time differences were significant. 

This number of cycles may seem grossly overstated, however, when we consider how many automobiles and components are produced each year then 5,000,000 approaches only a fraction of the total volume.  Taken further, Excel performs thousands of calculations a day and perhaps even as many more times this rate as numbers or data are entered on a spreadsheet.  When we consider how many “calculations” are performed at any given moment, the number quickly grows beyond comprehension.

Testing:

As a relatively new student to John Walkenbach’s book, “Excel 2003 Power Programming with VBA“, speed of execution, efficiency, and ”Declaring your Variables” have entered into our world of Lean.  We originally created two (2) routines called EasterDay and EasterDate.  We then created a simple procedure to run each function through 5,000,000 cycles.  Again, this may sound like a lot of iterations but computers work at remarkable speeds and we wanted enough resolution to discern any time differences between the routines.

The difference in the time required to execute 5,000,000 cycles by each of the routines was surprising.  The test times (measured in seconds), were recorded for three separate studies as follows:

• Original EasterDay:  31.34,  32.69,  30.94
• Original EasterDate:  22.17,  22.28,  22.25

The differences between the two methods ranged from 9.17 seconds to 8.69 seconds.  Expressed in different terms, the duration of the EasterDay routine is 1.39 to 1.46 times longer than EasterDate.  Clearly the original EasterDate function has the better execution speed.  What we perceive to be virtually identical systems or processes at low volumes can yield significant differences that are often only revealed or discovered by increased volume or the passage of time.

In the Canadian automotive industry there are at least 5 major OEM manufacturers (Toyota, Honda, Ford, GM, and Chrysler), each producing millions of vehicles a year.  All are perceived to be producing similar products and performing similar tasks; however, the performance ratios for each of these companies are starkly different.  We recognize Toyota as the high velocity, lean, front running company.  We contend that Toyota’s success is partly driven by the inherent attention to detail of processes and product lines at all levels of the company.

Improvements

We decided to revisit the Easter Day calculations or procedures to see what could be done to improve the execution speed.  We created a new procedure called “EasterSunday” using the original EasterDay procedure as our base line.  Note that the original Wikipedia code was only slightly modified to work in VBA for Excel.  To adapt the original Wikipedia procedure to Excel, we replaced the FLOOR function with the INT function in VBA.  Otherwise, the procedure as presented was used without further revision.

To create the final EasterSunday procedure, we made two revisions to the original code without changing the algorithm structure or the essence of the formulas themselves.  The changes resulted in significant performance improvements as summarized as follows:

1. Where integer division is required, we replaced the INT (n / d) statements with a less commonly used (or known) “\” integer division operator.  In other words, we used “n \ d” in place of “INT( n / d)” where integer results are required.  This change alone resulted in a gain of 11 seconds.  One word of caution if you plan to use the ”\” division operator:  The ”n” and “d”  are converted to integers before doing the division.
2. We declared each of the variables used in the subsequent formulas and gained yet another remarkable 11 seconds.  Although John Walkenbach and certainly many other authors stress declaring variables, it is surprising to see very few published VBA procedures that actually put this to practice.

Results:

The results of our Time Tests appear in the table below.  Note that we ran several timed iterations for each change knowing that some variations in process time can occur.

EasterDay = 31.34375	Original Code uses INT( n / d ) to convert Division Results
EasterSunday = 20.828125	1.  Replaced INT ( n / d) with (n \ d)
EasterDate = 22.28125	Original Code – Alternate Calculation Method
Re-Test to Confirm Timing
EasterDay = 30.9375	Original Code uses INT( n / d ) to convert Division Results
EasterSunday = 20.921875	1.  Replaced INT ( n / d) with (n \ d)
EasterDate = 22.25	Original Code – Alternate Calculation Method
Re-Test to Confirm Timing
EasterDay = 30.90625	Original Code uses INT( n / d ) to convert Division Results
EasterSunday = 21.265625	1.  Replaced INT ( n / d) with (n \ d)
EasterDate = 22.25	Original Code – Alternate Calculation Method
Re-Test to Confirm Timing
EasterDay = 31.078125	Original Code uses INT( n / d ) to convert Division Results
EasterSunday = 9.171875	2.  Variables DECLARED!
EasterDate = 22.1875	Original Code – Alternate Calculation Method
Re-Test to Confirm Timing
EasterDay = 31.109375	Original Code uses INT( n / d ) to convert Division Results
EasterSunday = 9.171875	2.  Variables DECLARED!
EasterDate = 22.171875	Original Code – Alternate Calculation Method

The EasterSunday procedure contains the changes described above.  We achieved a total savings of approximately 22 seconds.  The integer division methods used both yield the same result, however, one is clearly faster than the other.

The gains made by declaring variables were just as significant.  In VBA, undeclared variables default to a “variant” type.  Although they are more flexible by definition, the result may be significantly diminished performance.  We saved at least an additional 11 seconds simply by declaring variables.  Variable declarations are to VBA as policies are to your company, they define the “size and scope” of the working environment.  Undefined policies or vague specifications create ambiguity and generate waste.

Lessons Learned:

In manufacturing, a 70% improvement is significant; worthy of awards, accolades, and public recognition.  The lessons learned from this example are eight-fold:

1. For manufacturing, do not assume the current working process is the ”best practice”.  There is always room for improvement.  Make time to understand and learn from your existing processes.  Look for solutions that may be outside of your current business or industry.
2. Benchmarking a current practice against another existing practice may be just the incentive required to make changes.  Why is one method better than another?  What can we do to improve?
3. Policy statements can influence the work environment where procedures or methods are executed.  Ambiguity and lack of clarity create waste as additional resources are expended that may not be required.
4. Improvements can be made to an existing process with results that out perform the nearest known competitor.  We anticipated at least being able to have the two routines run at the similar speeds.  We did not anticipate the final EasterSunday routine to run more than 50% faster than our simulated competitive benchmark (EasterDate).
5. The greatest opportunities may be found where you least expect them.  Learning to see problems is one of the greatest challenges that most companies face.  The example presented in this simple analogy completely shatters the expression, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
6. Current practices are not necessarily best practices and best practices can always be improved.  Focusing on the weaknesses of your current systems or processes can result in a significant competitive edge.
7. Accelerated modeling can highlight opportunities for improvement that would otherwise not be revealed until full high volume production occurs.  Many companies are already using process simulation software to emulate accelerated production to identify opportunities for improvement.
8. The most important lesson of all is this:

Speed of Execution is Important >> Thoughtful Speed of Execution is CRITICAL.

We wish you all the best of this holiday season!

Until Next Time – STAY Lean!

Notable EXCEL anomalies, nuances, subtleties:

At the onset of the Holiday project, the task seemed relatively simple until we discovered that the rules for Easter Sunday did not follow the simple rules that applied to other holidays throughout the year.  As a result we learned more about history, astronomy, and the tracking of time than we ever would have thought possible.

We also learned that Excel’s spreadsheet MOD formula is subject to precision errors and the VBA version of MOD can yield a different result than the spreadsheet version.

We also rediscovered Excel’s Leap Year bug (29-Feb-1900).   1900 was not a leap year.  The leap year bug resides in the spreadsheet version of the date functions.  The VBA date function recognizes that 29-Feb-1900 is not a valid date.

Seasons Greetings

This year has been filled with many new experiences, hard times, great times, and many opportunities for learning.  While some may prefer to see this year pass sooner than later, 2009 is hopefully a year that presented many new opportunities and even greater challenges.

As lean practitioners, we learn to appreciate failure from a different perspective than most people would enjoy.  The focus is not the failure itself, but rather the causes and events that lead up to the failure that are significant.  To those who reflect on this past year and consider the many successes, we also suggest basking in some of the learning from the failures.  Learning what not to do is often the hardest and most costly lesson of all.

Of course, understanding our successes is of equal importance.  The objective is success by design.  Understanding the reasons for our success serves to confirm the effectiveness of current practices.

We are presently working on new discussion topics for the new year.  Overall Equipment Effectiveness has been one of the core topics over the past year and more recently our focus has shifted to problem seeing and solving.  We are evolving into a culture where AGILITY is quickly becoming one of the defining traits of today’s successful companies and new businesses.

Intelligent metrics demand effective and efficient measurement and analysis to be used in real-time.  By our definition, an Agile company is one that already understands and demonstrates lean practices.  A truly agile company is now looking at metrics to dynamically lead and manage the business, responding to events and developing strategy in real-time.  Their agility is demonstrated by the speed of execution and their continued list of successes as a result.

We have been developing some new spreadsheet templates that we plan to release in the new year.  The free downloads page and sidebar widget have proven to be a great success.  To achieve greater functionality, we will be using VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) in some of our future releases.  We have learned that Excel has a few limitations (and the odd bug) that require the use of VBA for our applications to perform as intended.

We are looking forward to 2010 and remain optimistic as the economy begins its slow recovery.  We will likely have a few more posts before the year ends, but knowing that some will soon be traveling or breaking early from work, we would like to wish all of our visitors best wishes for the holiday season.  We look forward to an exciting new year in 2010.

Until Next Time – STAY Lean!

The Language of Lean

Getting people engaged and “on the same page” requires everyone to understand the language used to convey the message.  Even the method of disseminating information can create confusion.  Oral presentations can convey a completely different message than one delivered in writing.

The tone used in an oral presentation cannot be delivered in writing using the same words.  Voice inflections, body language, and atmosphere all add to the message.  How many times have you heard the expression, “When s/he spoke those words, you could almost hear a pin drop”.  It is obviously not just the spoken words but how they are delivered that create an aura of suspense or awe.

How does this apply to lean?  The answer is quite simple.  Don’t assume that people understand – just because you told them either verbally or in writing.  Lean is ”hands-on” management.  Go to the process and see what is actually happening (or not happening).

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words would it take to describe the experience of seeing the real process first hand?  “Don’t just tell me – show me” are words that should be uttered most often by leadership, managers, or any lean practitioner.

The first step to implementing lean is going out to SEE what opportunities exist.  Unlike computer programs that have explicit meanings, people are intelligent and capable of interpreting the real message behind the words.  Computers do not have an intuitive sense.

The Language of Lean can be summed up in two words – QUICK ACTION.  Successful lean organizations understand that ACTION is truly LOUDER than WORDS.  See it, Solve it, Share it executed in real-time.

Until Next Time – Stay LEAN!

Lean Execution: Competing with Giants – It’s all about Speed

Sometimes you need a break from reading and learn from others who are truly walking the talk.  We trust you will find this video, “Competing with Giants – It’s all about Speed“, featuring Dominic Orr, CEO of Aruba Networks, as interesting and thought provoking as we did.

This short clip will be done in less time than it takes to make popcorn.

Another clip that expounds on the first – wonderful insights for business and entrepreneurs:

Enjoy!

Until Next Time – STAY Lean!

Lean STAR From 6 Deadly Job Networking Mistakes

Sometimes we are inundated with e-mails especially from some of the “Groups” we subscribe to.  Today, one e-mail in particular caught our attention and led us to read a post titled “6 Deadly Job Networking Mistakes” that eventually brought us to a well written article by Gill Corkindale titled, “6 Networking Mistakes And How to Avoid Them“.

If you or someone you know is looking for a job, this article is definitely worth reading.  Finding a job is never an easy task, however, learning to network can make it less of a burden when people are in a position to help each other.  STAR was used as an acronym in the article to help job seekers create stories, or STAR stories.

The concept of creating STAR stories appealed to us as we work with people to help them see, solve, and share problems.

LEAN STAR

The ability to see problems and resolve them quickly is one of the core competencies, or skills, that are emphasized and exercised daily in every lean organization.  The best Lean organizations also emphasize sharing the new knowledge with the team and throughout the company.  (The basic tenets are:  See it, Solve it, Share it, and Teach others to do the same.)

The STAR process adopted from the article can provide a very simple approach to knowledge sharing and provides a very straightforward strategy.  As presented directly from the article …

STAR stands for Situation, Task, Achievements and Results; it’s an easy way to tell a concise story that lets your talents and achievements speak for themselves.  An example might be:

Situation: The customer services division of your company was losing customers, had falling revenues and a conflict-ridden team

Task: To stem the loss of customers, improve customer service, restructure the team and develop new products

Achievements: You held on to key accounts, resolved the conflict, rebuilt team morale and increased the visibility and positive reputation of the department.

Results: Increased revenues (figures), a high-performing customer service team, innovative products (examples) and happy customers.

A STAR story should take no more than five minutes to relate and should include enough detail to pique your contact’s interest without overwhelming him or her.

The acronym can certainly be applied to most problem solving events that we are challenged with on a daily basis.  The simplicity of the approach makes it easy to adopt and prevents the process from becoming overly complex.  The intent is to make improvements in real-time.  The objective is to keep the process simple and task oriented.  They are not intended to become “projects”.

Describe the situation, understand the tasks to be completed and planned results, execute the actions and report  achievements, and report actual results.

Situation:  Lost time decanting parts into smaller container for use at the machine.  Operator reach is excessive and can be reduced – potential repetitive strain injury, fatigue factor.

Tasks:  Eliminate decanting sequence and excessive reaching for parts.  Reduce operator fatigue and potential for stress-strain injury (decanting requires periodic bending, reaching, lifting (below and above waist level). Use drop-side container and stand to convey parts directly to operator.  Time to be saved:  25 minutes per shift.

Achievements:  Change to part conveyance using gravity feed and slide was achieved while line was still operating, no down time incurred, and no operational cost increases.  Demonstrated commitment to improve safety – eliminated risk of injury and eliminated ergonomic impact of decanting operation.  Reduced floor space required to store parts at the operation – 6 square feet.  Eliminated potential to damage parts during decanting operation (dropped parts – typically up to 4 per shift).

Results:  Completely eliminated decanting operation.  Gravity feed is used to convey parts directly and in closer proximity to the operator – reduced reach and no lifting required.  Actual time saved per shift was 30 minutes.  Employee less fatigued and able to focus on immediate tasks at hand.  Productivity improvement of 60 parts per shift.

Typically, any variances between planned and actual outcomes are subject to further review.  Both positive or negative variances to expectations indicate that the process is not fully understood or the problem solving process is itself at fault.  Understanding the variance is a new learning opportunity in itself and is part of the discovery process.

Lean STAR stories

Sharing the lessons learned or documenting new knowledge may be uncomfortable for organizations that are just starting their lean journey.  For some people who are relatively new to lean and problem solving in real-time, this can be a very stressful and intimidating process.  Following the STAR acronym presents a user-friendly approach to documenting and sharing that can easily be learned by anyone.

Some companies are very adept at preparing lessons learned and maintaining best practices.  Larger corporations may even assign the task of documenting and sharing this information to intermediate or senior level staff.  For a company just starting their lean journey, the “sharing” process is not a normal part of daily operations and may be awkward and unorthodox in actual practice.

The objective of lean is to develop the problem solving skills throughout the organization – at ALL levels.  Lean organizations are learning organizations and adopting this approach will help any company to learn more to and also to become better teachers.  Turning people into Lean STARS will give everyone a story to tell.

Until Next Time – STAY Lean!

Contingency Planning For Lean Operations – Part I

Contingency Planning For Lean Operations – Part I

Lean operations are driven by effective planning and efficient execution of core activities to ensure optimal performance is achieved and sustained.  The very nature of lean requires extreme attention to detail through all phases of planning and execution.  Upstream operations simply cannot tolerate any disruptions in product supply or process flow without the risk of incurring significant downtime costs or other related losses.

Effective risk management methods, contingency plans, and loss prevention strategy are critical components of successful operations management in a lean operation.  Risk management and preventing disruptions is the subject of contingency planning and requires the participation of all team members.

Successful contingency planning assures the establishment of an effective communication strategy and identification of core activities and actions required.  Contingency plans may require alternative methods, processes, systems, sources, or services and must be verified, validated, and tested prior to implementation.

Understanding and assessing the potential risks to your operation is the basis for contingency planning with the objective to minimize or eliminate potential losses.

Inventory represents the most basic form of contingency planning.  Safety stock or buffer inventories are typically used to minimize the effects of equipment downtime or disruptions in the supply chain. 

The levels of inventory to maintain are dependent on a number factors including Lead Time, Value, Carrying Cost, Transit Time (Distance), Shelf Life, Minimum Order Quantities, Payment Terms, and Obsolescence.

Why is this relevant?

Material and Labour represent two key resources that may be influenced by external factors that are beyond the control of any company policy or practice.  Internally controlled or managed resources such facilities, equipment, and tooling are less susceptible to unknown elements.  For the purposes of this discussion, we will examine Labour in a little more detail.

The H1N1 virus, originally known as the Swine Flu, is the latest potential health pandemic since the outbreak of SARS only a few years ago.  The government has been struggling to organize mass immunization clinics and to engage the media to aid in the cause.  In the meantime, the potential impact of the H1N1 virus on your operation remains to be an unknown. 

Experts have commented to the media that the lessons from the SARS outbreak have still not been learned.  One would expect that past practices would have already been adopted into new best practices from our experiences with other similar events in our history.

Government agencies at all levels (Federal, Provincial, and local) have mismanaged the activities required to procure and distribute the vaccine, and failed to provide an effective communication and immunization strategy to ensure the risk to public health was minimized and the at the very least understood.

The lack of coordination and accountability for the success or failure of the communication strategy, procurement and distribution of the vaccine, and other related activities are strong indicators that the planning process did not consider the infrastructure requirements and relationships needed between levels of government.

The lack of an effective communication strategy introduced confusion and speculation in the media and the general public.  Mass education only seemed to become more aggressive as incidents of severe H1N1 complications and related deaths were reported in the media.

If this really was a pandemic event, many operations today would (and may still) be adversely affected due to direct or indirect (supply chain) labour shortages.  Do you have contingency plans in place to address this concern?

It could be argued that “if we are affected to this extent, then our customers will be as well.”  This is not necessarily true unless your customers and / or suppliers are located in the same immediate area or region of your business.

People travel all the time, whether they are commuting to work from out-of-town or traveling to or arriving from a foreign country on business.  The source of exposure is beyond your immediate control. 

What other elements can directly impact labour?  We will explore some of these in our next post.  In the meantime, keep your hands washed and remember to cough into your sleeve.

Until Next Time – STAY Lean!

Unexpected and Appreciated – Uncommon Courtesy:  This morning, a person cut into the drive through lane ahead of us – not realizing the gap in the line was there for thru traffic.  Recognizing the error in drive through etiquette and to make amends, we were pleasantly surprised by the ”free” coffee at the pick up window.  Thank you ladies!

5S Your Software (Computer)

We recently discussed how software skills of people in your company can impact their effectiveness and efficiency.  One of our suggestions was to provide additional training and resources to allow staff to upgrade their skill levels.

We should also mention that upgrading to the latest software release may also improve their performance.  Microsoft recently announced upgrades to their Office product line so now may be the time to “5S” your computer and install the latest software.

The Learning Curve

When the Office 2007 upgrade was introduced, many of the software interfaces that we were accustomed to were changed.  The intention of changing this interface was to make some of the more “advanced” features available to the average user.

While these intentions are admirable, we have found that many companies didn’t upgrade.  Compatibility concerns will soon become an issue as software developers desire to take advantage of the newly introduced functionality and capabilities of the latest release.

When we made the switch to 2007, admittedly there was a bit of learning curve.  The new functionality introduced by the new user interface seemed a little awkward at first, however, the effort was more than worth our time.

Although we did lose some perceived functionality in Excel, specifically with our custom menus, the newly added features have been well worth the effort to transition to the next generation of software.  This added functionality is evident by the many Function Specific books that have been written on topic such as Charting, Pivot Tables, and VBA.

Microsoft is Upgrading Again

We recently heard that Microsoft has announced yet another upgrade of the Office products to be released in the near future (if not already).  It can be increasingly difficult for software developers to support multiple versions of previous software releases.

Visual Basic for Application (VBA) programmers are more than aware that even Microsoft’s Macro Recorder does not capture all the functionality to support the features available in the 2007 Office software.

Although Excel has evolved considerably over a relatively short time, we are still surprised to find Excel 1997, 2000, 2002, and 2003 being used like they were released yesterday.

5S Your Software

Recognizing clutter in our physical environment is easy.  We don’t do a very good job when it comes to our “Digital” work space.  The Digital Dump doesn’t exist.  Even deleted files are sent to the Recycle Bin.  Increased storage capacities also make it easy to add new software without having to remove prior versions.

Retro-Compatibility sacrifices can usually be resolved in some form of work around that results in someone losing more of their valuable time.  We also carry multiple versions of Microsoft’s Office software to assure continued compatibility with prior releases and at times sacrifice features and functionality accordingly.

Sooner or later, compatibility will be compromised.  Few have ever performed a Software 5S, this may have just been one of our first times discussing it as well.

Until Next Time – STAY Lean!

Time Studies with your BlackBerry

Performing a time study is relatively easy compared to only few years ago.  The technologies available today allow studies to be conducted quite readily.

Time Studies and OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness)

The Performance factor for OEE is based on the Ideal Cycle Time of the process.  For fixed rate processes, the Name-Plate rate may suffice but should still be confirmed.  For other processes such a labour intensive operations, a time study is the only way to determine the true or ideal cycle time.

When measuring the cycle time, we typically use ”button to button” timing to mark a complete cycle.  It can be argued that an operator may lose time to retrieve or pack parts or move containers.  Including these events in the gross cycle time will hide these opportunities.  It is better to exclude any events that are not considered to be part of the actual production cycle.

When calculating the Performance factor for Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), the efficiency shortfalls will be noted by the less than 100% performance.  The reasons for this less than optimal level of peformance are attributed to the activities the operator is required to perform other than actually operating the machine or producing parts.

All operator activities and actions should be documented using a standardized operating procedure or standardized work methodology.  This will allow all activities to be captured as opposed to absorbed into the job function.

The BlackBerry Clock – Stopwatch

One of the tools we have used on the “fly” is the BlackBerry Clock’s Stopwatch function.  The stopwatch feature is very simple to use and provides lap time recording as well.

When performing time studies using a traditional stopwatch, being able to keep track of individual cycle times can be difficult.  With the stopwatch function, the history for each “lap” time is retained.  To determine the individual lap time or cycle time, we recommend dividing the total lapsed time by the number of completed cycles (or laps).

The individual lap times are subject to a certain degree of uncertainty or error as there will always be a lead or lag time associated with the pushing of the button on the BlackBerry to signal the completion of a cycle.  Although this margin of error may be relatively small, even with this level of technology, the human element is still a factor for consideration.

Once the time study is complete you can immediately send the results by forwarding them as an E-mail, PIN, or SMS.

The BlackBerry Camera – Video Camera

Another useful tool is the video camera.  Using video to record operations and processes allows for a detailed “step by step” analysis at any time.  This is particularly useful when establishing Standard Operating Procedures or Standardized Work.

Uploading videos and pictures to your computer is as easy as connecting the device to an available USB port.  In a matter of minutes, the data is ready to be used.

Video can also be used to analyze work methods, sequences, and also serves as a valuable problem solving tool.

Until Next Time – STAY Lean!

We are not affiliated with Research In Motion (RIM).  The intent of this post is to simply demonstrate how the technology can be used in the context described and presented.

10 Ways to Enhance Customer Satisfaction

Customers are the reason we are in business and customer satisfaction is what keeps them coming back.  It takes a tremendous effort to gain a new customer and only seconds to lose one.  Service must be exemplary if we want to sustain and grow our customer base and ultimately our business.

Mission:  Exceed Customer Expectations

Is it really possible to EXCEED customer expectations?  How can you exceed customer expectations when the expectation is 100% Quality Products Delivered On Time - In Full?

Consider the fast food industry.  Many popular Fast Food companies offer drive through service.  The expectation is that we will get what we ordered and receive the correct change when we pay.  This is the service rendered and expectations have been met (provided of course that the quality of the food is also upto our expectations).

Every customer expects to be treated like …

… a customer or at least a human being.  It could be argued that employees are expected to be kind, courteous, and cheerful while serving the customer.  These attributes of good customer service may also be clearly defined in the “customer service” clause of their respective employment standards or published in the “Who is OUR Customer” poster.  Instead of doing it because it’s the right thing to do, good customer service is now a condition for continued employment.

Vending machines can provide similar services without the human touch.    When Vending machines fail to deliver what we paid for they are slammed, cursed, tilted, shaken, and kicked.  When people fail to deliver, we write letters, attempt to talk to management, or we simply don’t go back. 

Mission:  We Will Enhance Customer Expectations

Some employees are exemplary – courteous, kind (at a minimum they at least say thank you, have a nice day), and are very efficient. Some employees are on the opposite end of the spectrum – almost as though our presence is an inconvenience.

Do you ever feel like you are being served by “the hand”?  For some of us, the first person (or hand) we see in the morning is the one at the drive through window.  Can this person make or break your day?  Likely not, but they can at least enhance the experience with a friendly “Good morning and have a nice day”.

What is the point of this post?  The customer perceives VALUE based on the full service experience.  The people in customer service can make or break the customer’s experience with  your product or service.  VALUE is worth more than simply meeting Cost Objectives and Performance Expectations.  Value and Cost are not equal.

Someone may VALUE your opinion although they wouldn’t necessarily pay you for it.  The expression “let me give you my 2 cents on this” comes to mind.

How do you enhance customer satisfaction?

Major food chains and retailers are constantly looking for customer feedback.  You may even be enticed to complete the “How did we do today” survey by an offer to discount your next purchase.

10 Ways to Enhance Customer Satisfaction

1. Communicate.  Communication with the customer is the key to enhancing customer satisfaction.  Follow Up and Follow Through to assure and confirm expectations have been satisfied.
2. Be Confident.  Customers like to deal with people who know what they are doing.  We don’t want to hear, “This is my first time doing this so …”
3. Be Professional.  The customer is always right – even when they are wrong.
4. Build Customer Confidence.  Your performance and ability to meet the customers’ needs will re-assure them that they have made the right decision.
5. Build Value (Reputation).  Be effective and perform efficiently:  Everyone  wants the best lawyer or the best doctor.  “We have the best person on it.”
6. Ask the customer.  Is there anything else we can do for you today?  This suggests that you are able to do more if necessary.  The customer may just say, “Not today, but may be next time.”  At least you know they’ll may be back versus NEVER.
7. Don’t send out surveys.  There are many ways to measure customer satisfaction without sending surveys.  “Paying” someone to provide an opinion may even change it.  “Will I still get a free lunch if I tell you what I’m really thinking?”  Remember the Vending Machine example from above?  The vending machine knows exactly how poor performance looks and feels.
8. Be THE Solution.  We coined a phrase some time ago – “Thinking so you don’t have to.”  Take away the problem and be the solution.
9. Thank You.  Show your customers that you appreciate their business.  It may be as easy as saying “Thank You for Your Business.”
10. Smile – Whether the customer can see you or not - SMILE.  Studies have suggested that people know or can sense when other people are smiling.  We can’t quote a source for this statement, however, smiling is also good for you.

How does this relate to LEAN?  Poor customer service will kill any business.  At that time it doesn’t matter how efficient or lean your operation is.  Most lean operations “present” very well.  The cleanliness and organization of the operation suggests a degree of sophistication and a real sense of “we know what we’re doing.”  Unfortunately, the customer experience may not include tours of your operation.

Until Next Time – STAY Lean!

Lean Office with Excel and VBA

Have you ever wondered what people do at their computers all day?  How can they possibly be that busy working on their day to day tasks?  The answer may surprise you!  Computers were supposed to make our jobs easier and give us more time to do other things.  The reality is quite the opposite.

We have noted that many people are not as adept at using the software we have placed at their finger tips as we would like to think.  As a result, we have found that one of the significant losses in the front office is time wasted doing work that could easily be done by the software.  Unfortunately, we simply don’t know how to do it.

Time is wasted entering, retrieving, editing, and manipulating data to consolidate and prepare reports that only require further manipulation and editing so an effective analysis can be performed.  This is particularly true for spreadsheet applications.

Pivot Tables are an excellent example of the point we are making here.  Some people are aware of them and even fewer know how to use them.  Pivot Tables make organizing data a relatively simple chore.  Once created, it is a simple matter to refresh the data and regenerate new reports.

We have also observed that many of the tasks being performed using spreadsheets can be easily and readily automated resulting in considerable time savings.  When we discuss these opportunities with the current users, we find that most people only use a fraction of the capabilities that are available to them simply because they are not aware of them or simply have have not been trained.

There is something about our current work methodology that supports learning  just enough to get the job done rather than learning all we can to perform the job efficiently and effectively.

Resources:

There are many venues available including online training and packaged offsite training programs however, we still prefer learning by the “book”.  Many books include a companion CD that not only includes working examples and tutorials from the book, but often times a copy of the book itself is offered in digital form.

If purchasing books seems to be more of a burden than you bargained for, visit your local library.  They often carry many books that are better borrowed than purchased, especially if you are starting at the most basic level.  In a short period of time, your experience will outweigh the content of the introductory texts.

The next time you find yourself entering even more data and formatting spreadsheets and reports, consider teaching yourself some VBA over the next few weeks to see how much you can do to help yourself by putting your software to work!

Trusted Web Sites

If Microsoft Help will take you online to visit the archives of Microsoft’s help system, it only seems inevitable that you will find yourself searching for an online “solution” as well at some point in the near future.  Rather than list the sites here in this post, we recommend that you look at the Web Sites Page under ”Books and Resources” menu or click here.

Visual Basic for Excel

Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Visual Basic for Applications:  Step by Step

We are presently reviewing Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Visual Basic for Applications:  Step by Step, by Reed Jacobson, published by Microsoft.  The book requires a minimal degree of familiarity with the Excel and VBA environments and offers a solid interactive approach to familiarize the reader / student with Macros and VBA.

While this may be a little more than just coincidence, the examples developed in the first few chapters of the book were very similar to an actual situation we encountered only a month ago.  Although we already developed our solution, it was interesting to note that the “HOW TO DO IT” was already out there, bound in a book and sitting on a shelf.

The ERP system would generate a text file that was manually loaded into a spreadsheet, manipulated, formulas added, data edited, and finally formatted to create the final report.  This task would require anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes per day.  Using the macros created through the first few chapters allowed this work to be completed in less than a minute.

While books may not make for a great gift, the time you can save to do other things is the best gift you can receive.  It is interesting how often we hear “I don’t have time”.

Next Steps

We are more than impressed by companies that support in-house libraries where books and other resources are available for their employees.  If you don’t have one where you work, this may make for a great suggestion where everyone wins.

Until Next Time – STAY Lean!