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DOING MORE WITH LESS
Brian Gongol
DJ Gongol & Associates, Inc.
March 14, 2017
Nebraska Rural Water Conference
Kearney, Nebraska

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Utilities are generally in the public sector

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But they can learn from the private sector

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One lesson is how to do more with less

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Many companies are bloated and bureaucratic

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But some are models of efficiency

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Prominently, both Honda and Toyota

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Good historical reasons to work efficiently

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Toyota couldn't pay for materials in advance

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Just-in-time was necessary, not optional

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Japanese gov't worked actively against Honda

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Cost advantages - the only way to compete

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To do more with less, think efficiency

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If "cheaper" is the goal, you're bound to fail

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This is the part a lot of people get wrong

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The priority has to be waste reduction

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Toyota calls these "wastes" muda, muri, mura

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You're not going to call them that

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Your enemies make your operation "WIDE"

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1. Wasted effort

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2. Inconsistency

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3. Downtime

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4. Errors

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1. Eliminate Wasted Effort
Don't do work that doesn't need to be done

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Simple Taylorism has been around a long time

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Count motions, eliminate repetition

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Documentation is a place to start

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At least be conscious of effort involved

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Don't define "efficiency" too narrowly

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Document for known reasons

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Don't let documentation become a monster

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Koch's "Charts for Charles" debacle

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Eliminate trivial or unimportant work

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Replace it with useful, purposeful work

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Less time on nonsense

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More time on investments in future value

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What has future value?

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Preventive maintenance

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Training and study

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This extends to decision-making, too

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The brain is energy-hungry

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Don't waste energy on dumb decisions

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Create templates and checklists

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Think efficiently about thinking

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High mental-energy tasks vs. low

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Schedule mental tasks around mental energy

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Small-scale outsourcing: Remote assistants

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2. Eliminate Inconsistency
Find the right way,
then follow it consistently

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Document how you do them

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Find ways to do them better

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Experiment with new approaches

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Don't be afraid of experiments

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Experiments are the foundation of evolution

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Stick with small, low-risk experiments

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Good experiments start on the front lines

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Upgrade when necessary, then standardize

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Industry standards can be a resource

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But don't let "standards" become an anchor

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Procedures should be living documents

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People are hesitant to document

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It shouldn't be intimidating

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Record the steps

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Record your decision-making trees

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Think like you're programming a computer

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Great way to start: Take and print pictures

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Documentation: Do it for institutional memory

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Very important in the current retirement wave

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Always consider ease of maintenance

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If you maintain it, you get to know it

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Maintenance familiarity leads to operational expertise

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People feel helpless with their cars today

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Few people do their own car maintenance

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But have you seen a hacker kid at work?

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Familiarity comes with tearing stuff apart

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Maintenance is a skill-development practice
Active engagement with equipment
leads to consistency

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Cross-training can have a huge impact

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Fresh eyes on old problems

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Learning by teaching

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3. Eliminate Downtime
"Be always ashamed to catch thyself idle."
- Benjamin Franklin

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Pace your work - always be doing something

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Move the football down the field

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Nobody likes scrambling when they fall behind

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It's still OK to take breaks during the day

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It means you even out the load...

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...so you can look forward to an even pace of work

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Smooth out your workloads

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Avoid frenzied periods and rushed work

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Get a real grip on what you do and don't control

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If something isn't within your control...

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Plan ahead to do less of other things that are

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If it is within your control...

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Take a step back and put it in order

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Create an equalization basin for your work

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"But I do better when there's a deadline!"

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Rush periods result in sloppy work

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Downtime means you're not really useful
(not justifying your paycheck)

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Get rid of workplace downtime
Get your downtime at home or on vacation

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Smooth out workloads to do the work better

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Smoothing work also means you always look busy

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Self-worth is enhanced by doing meaningful work
"Human dignity and self respect are undermined
when men and women are condemned to idleness."
- Margaret Thatcher

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Fulfilling, paced work makes people happy
And happy people make measurably better decisions

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People who look busy have an easier time getting help
"Help a man to help himself,
but do not expend all your efforts
in helping a man
who will not help himself."
- Theodore Roosevelt

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4. Eliminate Errors
"Well done, is twice done."
- Benjamin Franklin

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Get rid of errors

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Track performance, then check results

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Create templates within office software

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Use conditional formatting to highlight aberrations

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Once you find a problem, trace the cause

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If you don't know why you're making a mistake,
you're going to repeat it

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Ask why.
Then ask why again.
Then ask why again.
Then ask why again.
Then ask why again.

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The "Five Whys" go to the root cause of a problem

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Deliberately eliminate those root errors

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Take tips from industries with very big risks
 Aviation
 Military
 Nuclear power

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Use humane names, not codes

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Don't stop until you've traced original causes
Do you have eye injuries because your people are careless,
or because they're self-conscious about wearing
eye protection?

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See why cost savings can't be the top priority?

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Eliminating root errors may cost money up-front

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Savings may only add up over the long term

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But utility customers are around for the long term, too

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Don't let go until you know the root cause of the error

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To recap

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Eliminate WIDE
Wasted effort
Inconsistency
Downtime
Errors

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What did we never ask?
"How much will this cost?"

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If you only cut costs, this process won't work

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Costs cannot be the focus

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This is a process for getting things done better

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You have to trust the process

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Better work will result in savings
But that can't be the objective!

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The objective must be to cut waste

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As you eliminate waste...
You will get more done with less

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Questions?
 Thank you for your
attention
Brian Gongol
DJ Gongol & Associates
515-223-4144
www.djgongol.com
info@djgongol.com
@djgongol on Twitter
facebook.com/djgongol

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References
 All photographs, images, and illustrations are the
original work of Brian Gongol. Copyright and all other
rights reserved.
 The books shown in the preceding slides served as
highly valuable resources in the preparation of this
presentation and they are all recommended reading.