Abnormality Management

There are many different styles of management. One that works well in a Lean leader’s bag of tricks is abnormality management. In a nutshell, processes and systems are refined to highlight abnormalities.

When abnormal conditions are highlighted, leaders and their teams can take action to return the situation to the standard condition.

While this sounds simple, the truth is that it is seldom applied effectively. This is because most organizations do not have clear standards that are consistently followed, so it is hard to define what abnormal looks like.

The basic process of abnormality management goes something like this:

1. Develop a standard.
2. Develop a way to identify when the standard is not being met. (i.e. make the abnormal condition apparent). This is most often done with visual controls or some form of daily management.
3. Take action to remove the abnormal condition.

While this list looks simple, as you dive deeper into the steps, it will become clear that following these steps is easier said than done. Developing a standard requires creating robust processes. It involves training teams. And it involves enforcing those standards through industrial discipline.

Basic visual controls can be easy to establish. But in complicated processes or high-volume production environments, it can be difficult to make your visuals highlight when your less common abnormalities present themselves.

There is also the very real challenge that taking action requires the availability of resources and the presence of appropriate problem-solving skills within the team. Those can both be in short supply. And since we are talking about abnormalities, the resources required to fix these problems will only be required on occasion. You’ll have to find ways to use them efficiently (i.e. they are not standing around waiting for problems) without making them unavailable when they are actually needed.

On the plus side, though, abnormality management works well in a Lean environment. Lean makes extensive use of Standard Work, visual controls, kanban, daily management, 5S, jidoka, and other tools designed to make problems stand out. Abnormality management creates a positive feedback loop. When abnormalities are identified, processes get improved, which makes it easier to spot future abnormalities.

Words of Warning for Abnormality Management

• Abnormality management can limit a leader’s creativity. It focuses more on problems than on opportunities.
• Abnormality management does not work well when standards are not present. Trying to manage by abnormality too soon in a process’s development is a waste of time.