The digitalization of visual management is an essential asset for managers, team leaders and site directors. It provides a global overview of the shop floor so that performance can be managed and tasks prioritized more effectively, enabling projects to be steered towards success.
Despite the need to move to new digital solutions, the main issue is that digital visual management is still difficult for manufacturers to put in place for a number of reasons: lack of lean maturity, of methodology or of suitable tools, or because they need support. So how to implement digital visual management in the factory and get all the staff on board? Let’s take a look at 5 tips you should follow to optimize its introduction!
Tip 1: Define the KPIs and objectives you want to achieve
Digital visual management uses operational KPIs, which you need to define according to their usefulness to your staff.
Aim for quality rather than quantity when it comes to indicators: too much on-screen information will make visualization less meaningful. This is the first stage in the methodology that will provide the framework for your project.
Display five KPIs that everyone can understand. Don’t forget that real-time monitoring of these figures in your problem-solving tools should above all enable you to make better decisions to resolve problems more easily and identify sticking points (continuous improvement)
Below is an example of an SQCDP in the Fabriq tool:
Tip 2: Take the time to configure your environment on the tool with your staff
Your staff must be involved in configuring the solution at the workstation level: choice of KPIs, identification of the person responsible for updating the data, frequency of updates, etc. We will work with you to customize the environment to your needs.
Once you’ve finalized your environment, you’re ready to give it a test run! Your staff will be able to give you feedback on day-to-day use.
This way, the staff are involved and motivated about the new continuous improvement approach! Don’t forget that your staff are the backbone of your projects, and their interest in them is what will ensure their sustainability.
Tip 3: Locate the screen in a strategic place in the factory
The location of each visual management screen needs to be chosen with care. If we take the example of the food industry before the arrival of digital visual management, whiteboards had no place on the shopfloor for hygiene reasons (moving around, dust, etc.).
It is essential to choose screen location(s) up front. Consider all the possible locations and choose the most strategic one(s): the employees should be able to view information easily and regularly without distractions or readability issues.
All you need to use our tool is a Wi-Fi connection. After choosing which type of screen is most useful for displaying our digital solution, you should then select its location: on a large screen at the end of the production line, on a tablet to make it easier to carry out your audits and field tours, or on a smartphone.
Tip 4: Get your staff involved in the Continuous Improvement culture
Digital visual management is an excellent way of killing two birds with one stone. As well as its core function of displaying data, why not use it to foster and boost the company’s continuous improvement culture?
In a factory, it’s the staff on the ground who initiate change and make it happen , because they are at the center of the process. To begin with, you can organize an initial meeting with team leaders to document possible improvements:
- Do your staff do a lot of re-keying and carry out time-consuming tasks with no added value?
- Do they feel that the issues raised are being properly addressed?
- Do you feel that their commitment is on the wane and that they are not being given enough responsibility?
- Are you able to consolidate all your data?
- Are you able to capitalize on your field data?
This meeting, which is only the first step in the transformation process, will already make it easier to understand your employees’ expectations. This will enable you to put a strategy in place for implementing visual management more or less rapidly. Little by little, the staff on the floor will become the real agents of change. Getting on board with the chosen solution is the key!
Tip 5: Connect your visual management tools for improved collaboration
The key advantage of a digital collaboration tool is that you can centralize all the data you have in a single tool. Everyone can therefore access the information easily.
According to a study carried out by Publicis Media in 2018, almost 70% of people have a visual memory. It is therefore easier to retain information that is visual rather than written.
How does connecting your visual management tools help your staff?
- Collaboration and communication are improved: each person sees how their work affects others, which in turn helps to break down the ‘silos’ between different teams;
- Raising awareness of each person’s progress means greater transparency at meetings;
- Information is fed back more quickly and in real time;
- Your problem-solving is accelerated;
- The environment on your screen can be modulated, making it easier for the whole team to understand the information;
- Layout of information and visual data (charts, color hierarchies, etc.) saves time when reading information;
For example, when you perform a routine, result histories enable you to create one or more process indicators in Fabriq. This means you can track the status, percentage of completion and scores from audits/field visits during your meetings.
It is also easier to connect your digitalized routines to on-screen dashboards when carrying out your Short Interval Meetings (SIMs). In this way, you can manage corrective actions by consolidating and prioritizing them during your meetings, so that you can act more quickly in the event of performance gaps.
Step by step, you can view information more easily and solve problems more quickly, thanks to faster information escalation.
