Value-Added Work Quick Check (Video)

When looking at an operation, if you are trying to help make it better, you will need a few tricks in your toolkit to be able to make quick judgements on where to spend your time digging deeper.

I don’t advocate ever taking any significant action without a clear, data-based understanding of the situation. But there is the very real challenge of figuring out where to spend your limited time. Simply put, as a consultant or internal coach, don’t have time to look at everything.

So, one trick I use is to walk through an operation, and, at the first moment I see someone who is working in that area, check to see if they are doing a value-added task, or a non value-added task. It won’t be exact. There are some reasons as to why the data collection process could be biased, and the sample size is most likely not big enough to be considered statistically significant.

Just keep in mind that this exercise is not attempting to provide hard data. It is simply a quick assessment as to whether the value-added content of work provides a good opportunity to make improvements. It is also a helpful tool to use when comparing multiple operations so you know which one has the biggest opportunity.

Perhaps most importantly, it provides a good eye-opener for the leaders you are coaching or the team you are leading if you are doing this in an area you manage. People are often in denial about how efficient their work is. They equate activity with value. This quick exercise helps solidify perceptions about the need for improvement.

Most people think that their operation has a much higher value-added content than it really does. In large part, this is because they look at things in too big of chunks. They look at ‘install wheel’ ( a likely task on the fictional go-cart that I use in my training), and leave out all the steps that are internal to that task. Walking to go get lug nuts or wiping off excess grease after lubricating a bearing are hidden within the reasonable sounding parent task.

Watch the video below to learn more about this trick. It is also available in our Continuous Improvement Video subscription on Vimeo.