Setup visual controls

From HMCwiki

When setting up visual controls you should imagine of a work environment that is information-friendly. Not too much, nor too little, but just what is needed at the point it is needed. Think of a place where sharing is the norm and guesswork is nowhere to be found. You have the knowledge to do things right and what is wrong is obvious to all. Anything less than this type of a Visual Control environment and your workplace will be rigged for failure. It is free to implement, it will generally knock out a third of your inadvertent errors, and the time saved in searching for missing information will feel like you just got back from Cancun (without the hurricane). To discover the types of visuals you need in your areas:

• Establish an environment that instructs the right way to do things.
• Make it the environment user friendly.

How to begin

• Look at your area with naïve eyes
• As if you were working there your first day
• As if you came from another planet or from A&M or both
• As if no assumptions ever need to be made

Procedure

Then make your area “visually cool” by asking…

• What needs to be known?
• What needs to be shared?
• What requirements are needed to make it happen?
• What do we not want to happen, or how do we keep it from happening?
• What are the procedures needed to make this a successful operation?
• Are there timing issues which need to be shared?
• Where is the best place for the instruction – Is it close to the point of action?
• Can you make what is wrong look abnormal?
• Can color-coding or diagrams make it more obvious?
• Is it public-friendly (tasteful, discreet, stealth to the public eye)?
• Does it indicate the next step clearly?
• Are there tables of (phone #s, conversion tables) at the point where they are used?
• Are only those reference numbers/names etc. pertinent to the work area displayed? Too much info is noise to your visual system!
• When something is out of its prescribed place, do you know what goes there?
• Are positioning requirements, sequencing requirements apparent?
• Are performance measures current, out in the open for all to see how they are doing?
• Are the phone numbers there to facilitate common supply/repair needs?
• Are the most needed items close by and less needed further away?
• Is the area “visually” swept, clutter removed and things put in place at the end of the day?
• Can questions be answered with signage before they are asked?
• Is the signage placed at eye level of the action?
• Do you update the signage as new questions arise, or as procedures change?
• Do you have expiration dates on signage that have temporal value and do you remove expired visuals to keep info boards fresh?
• Is like -information grouped and headed in bold for quick reference? p.s. try not to have more than 6 lines together without a break or new category.
• Are the how-to’s obvious?
• Can you replace or reinforce an instruction with a picture/symbol (remember a C+ picture today is better than no picture tomorrow)
• Can a warning sign startle caution? (i.e. pool of red where spills are most apt to happen)
• Are the staff included (majority rules here) in deciding what performance measures are posted?
• Are the signs wipe-able where needed?

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