Protect the View

No Excuses
by Mike Burk
 

In 1914 journalist Ring Lardner started writing a series of baseball stories for the Saturday Evening Post. Prior to the publication of Lardner’s tales, most baseball stories were written for children. These earlier stories were positive and uplifting. The main characters were baseball heroes who were always good and always kind, the perfect role models for the early twentieth-century youth. Ring Lardner on the other hand saw ballplayers as misfits who were often “less than noble.” 

His main characters include The Busher, Horseshoes, The Yellow Kid and, my favorite, Alibi Ike. In a story, which appeared on July 31, 1915, Lardner writes “His right name was Frank X. Farrell, and I guess the X stood for ‘Excuse me’ Because he never pulled a play, good or bad, on or off the field, without apologizin’ for it.” Alibi Ike had an excuse for everything he did. He only batted .360 because he had “malaria most of the season,” and he would have made it to the big leagues a year earlier, “only [he] was bent over all season with the lumbago.” His teammates claimed he couldn’t go to sleep without making an excuse.

Constant Explanations
I can relate to Alibi Ike because I know him. We have all met him. I met him a number of times building insulating glass (IG) units. It’s true—he does have an excuse for everything.

The lites exiting the washer are not completely dry because “we are waiting on maintenance to fix the washer.” The units are not completely gas-filled because we “had a new guy filling them that day.” We had to seal those units while they were still hot because “the truck was waiting at the dock.” We didn’t use the vacuum on the edge deletion table because “the filters were plugged up.” The sealant isn’t hot enough, but “I only do that when we’re busy.” The wash tank water is cold, “but we don’t have time for it to heat up.” We must use the silicone spray “to keep the sealant from sticking to the conveyor.” The spray paint is needed on the grids to “cover up the scratches.” I can’t wear the safety gear “because it’s too hot.” Alibi Ike couldn’t do any better.

Excuses can create the illusion that there are no problems. Taiichi Ohno is credited for saying that “having no problems is the biggest problem of all.” He also looked at problems as an “opportunity in disguise” and recommended investigating problems by asking ‘why’ five times. 

Find the Root of the Problem
For example, the problem of the wet glass exiting the washer could be investigated by asking “why” five times. 

1. “Why isn’t the glass exiting the washer completely dry?”
Answer: Waiting on maintenance to fix the washer.

2. “Why are we waiting on maintenance?”
Answer: The parts are on order.

3. “Why are we waiting on parts?”
Answer: There is a two-week delivery on these parts.

4. “Why weren’t the parts ordered in advance or already in stock?”
Answer: We didn’t know we needed them.

5. “Why didn’t we know we needed them?”
Answer: We don’t do preventive maintenance.

The real problem is not that production is waiting on the maintenance department. The real problem is that the facility needs a preventive maintenance program.

We need to take away the excuses and uncover the problems. We must work continuously to determine the real cause for every safety or quality excuse we hear.

Check your IG department to see if Alibi Ike is working for you. If you find him, you might need to send him to the minor leagues for training or trade him to the competition. There is no excuse for building IG units that will not protect the view well into the future.

DWM
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