TCUK10 Graham Wignall - Lean Docs

There’s No Stopping Us Now!
What we can learn from the Toyota Production System, or Lean Documentation 101
Graham WignallBusiness Development Director

There’s No Stopping Us Now!

Topics For Today
Why learn about lean?
TPS, Lean techniques and documentation
Types of waste in documentation
Building the business case
Conclusions
Q&A
Managing
content
A time and
a place
Re-use of
content
Conclusions
Lean
techniques
Types of
waste
Q&A

Why Learn About Lean?
“A good catchword can obscure analysis for fifty years...”
Wendell L Willkie
Conclusions
Learning
About Lean
Types of
waste
A time and
a place
Managing
content
Re-use of
content
Q&A

Why Learn About Lean?
Too many projects, not enough funds
What’s hot? (and what’s not...)
Don’t speak Geek (or if you must...)

Lean Techniques & Documentation
“He that idly loses 5s. worth of time, loses 5s., and might as prudently throw 5s. into the river.”
Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac
Conclusions
Learning
about Lean
Types of
waste
A time and
a place
Managing
content
Re-use of
content
Q&A

Publishing – How ExpensiveIs It?
Typical figures for technical documentation show
Technical illustration costs per page $200
Authoring/proofing costs per page $200
Translation costs per page (20 languages) $800
Total cost per page $1,200
If you have a range of 50 products, each with a 200 page manual, you could be spending $12,000,000 per year!
It MUST be possible to do this more efficiently…

Types Of Waste
“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”
Peter F. Drucker
Conclusions
Learning
about Lean
Types of
waste
A time and
a place
Managing
content
Re-use of
content
Q&A

Types Of Waste In Lean Manufacturing
Lean Manufacturing focuses on seven kinds of waste (or Muda, Mura and Muri in TPS terminology):
Overproduction
Motion
Waiting
Conveyance
Processing
Inventory
Correction

Types Of Waste In Documentation
There are five main areas in documentation where waste occurs:
Publishing ‘over-complete’ documentation that caters for multiple configurations, variants or audiences
Lack of integration between engineering and technical documentation departments
Multiple authors writing the same thing in different ways introducing inconsistency and lowering quality
Process or control deficiencies allowing out of date information to be used or published
Unnecessary review cycles

Re-use Of Content
“All we are doing is looking at the time line, from the moment the customer gives us an order to the point when we collect the cash. And we are reducing the time line by reducing the non-value adding wastes.”
TaiichiOhno, Toyota
Conclusions
Learning
about Lean
Types of
waste
A time and
a place
Managing
content
Re-use of
content
Q&A
無駄
Muda: activity that adds no value

Re-use Of Content
The same content appears more than once in a document
Procedures
Warnings, Cautions and Advisories
Only use lifting equipment designed for the task.
Never expose lifting equipment to loads exceeding the specified safe working load (SWL) value.
Check lifting equipment visually for damages prior to use.
Check that all dowels are secured with locking pins before lifting.
When replacing parts, only use original parts authorized by ACME Inc.
a. Install jack adapters (1) on brackets (2).
(1) Place adapters (1) on brackets (2).
(2) Insert pins (3) in holes of adapter (1) and brackets (2).
b. Position two 5-ton tripod jacks (4) under adapters (1). Use jacks.
(1) Turn two pressure valve screws (5) clockwise to close. Use jack handle (6).
(2) Pump handle (6) until ram (7) contacts adapter (1).
c. Position 3-ton tripod jack (8) under tail boom
jack pad (9).
(1) Turn pressure valve screw (10) clockwise to close. Use jack handle (11).
(2) Pump handle (11) until ram (12) contacts pad (9).
d. Release parking brake (para 1.61).

Re-use Of Content
The same content appears in more than one document
Product data sheets
User guides
Maintenance manuals
FAQs

Re-use Of Content
The same content relates to more than one product
Components and subassemblies
Procedures
Boilerplate
BMW 120d
BMW 520d
BMW 320d

‘Accidental’ Content
“How do I write thee? Let me count the ways...”
with apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Conclusions
Learning
about Lean
Types of
waste
A time and
a place
Managing
content
Re-use of
content
Q&A
無駄
Muda: activity that adds no value

WARNING: Switch power off only when the fan has stopped
WARNING: Switch power off once the fan has stopped
WARNING: Disconnect power only when the fan has stopped
WARNING: Never switch the power off until the fan has stopped
WARNING: Do not power down until the fan has stopped
WARNING: Do not power down before the fan has stopped
WARNING: You must wait until the fan has stopped before switching off the power
WARNING: Wait until the fan has stopped running before switching off the power
WARNING: Do not disconnect power if fan is running
WARNING: Fan must be stopped before disconnecting power

Accidental content is very expensive
It has to be proofed
It has to be reviewed
It may have to be translated
It has to be published
It reduces consistency
It reduces clarity
It reduces quality
It reduces usability

Driving Efficiency
“Time waste differs from material waste in that there can be no salvage. The easiest of all wastes and the hardest to correct is the waste of time, because wasted time does not litter the floor like wasted material.”
Henry Ford
Re-use of
content
Conclusions
Learning
about Lean
Types of
waste
Managing
content
A time and
a place
Q&A
斑
Mura: unevenness, inconsistency

Feast And Famine
Write
Review
Publish
Translate
Write
Translate
Review
Publish
Write
Translate
Review
Write
Translate
Review
Write
Translate
Review
Modules can be written, reviewed and translated in parallel:
Reduced time to market
More effective use of resources

Driving Efficiency
“When you buy bananas all you want is the fruit not the skin, but you have to pay for the skin also. It is a waste. And you the customer should not have to pay for the waste.”
Shigeo Shingo, Toyota
Re-use of
content
Conclusions
Learning
about Lean
Types of
waste
Managing
content
A time and
a place
Q&A
斑
Mura: unevenness, inconsistency

Customer Centric Documentation
Everywhere you look, customers are paying for banana skins
The glove-box manual that tells them all about the optional Sat Nav they don’t have
The handbook in 20 languages, 19 of which they can’t read
The 400 pages of documentation when all they need to know is where to find the power switch

Customer Centric Documentation
Move to “mass customisation” in documentation
Deliver the right material in the right quantity to the right person
Deliver only what is needed
Assemble documentation from components
Assemble and publish on demand
Publish “Just In Time”

Managing Content
“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.”
Bill Gates, Microsoft
Conclusions
Learning
about Lean
Types of
waste
A time and
a place
Managing
content
Re-use of
content
Q&A
無理
Muri: overburden, lack of standardisation

The Challenge Of Re-Use
Any new method that reduces Muda or Mura but produces more work downstream for people or equipment eventually produces a new type of inefficiency
Moving from tens or hundreds of documents to thousands or tens of thousands of components represents a major challenge for people and systems
Identifying, versioning, managing and assembling output requires new tools and skills
As the number of ‘moving parts’ increases, so does the management overhead, particularly when dealing with an extended supply chain

Component Content Management
To get maximum value from your documentation resources, you should be able to do a number of things:
Write once, use many.
Re-purpose.
Manage translations where appropriate.
Publish to multiple outputs.

Building The Business Case
“The most efficient way to produce anything is to bring together under one management as many as possible of the activities needed to turn out the product.”
Peter Drucker, Management Consultant
Managing
content
A time and
a place
Re-use of
content
Conclusions
Learning
about Lean
Types of
waste
Q&A

Re-use Of Content – The Opportunity?
Total cost for 10,000 pages $12,000,000
Industry case studies show typical figures for re-use of 20-30% or more
If re-use allows you reduce the amount of content you produce, that amounts to
3,000 pages per year
$3,600,000 per year

‘Accidental’ Content – How Expensive?
If you reduce the ‘accidental’ new content by just 10% you save:
$20 per page authoring
$80 per page translating
$1,000,000 per year

Automation – The Opportunity?
SDL’s experience indicates that human ‘transaction’ costs account for 50% of document production
Automation typically reduces these transactions by 30% saving:
$30 per page authoring
$120 per page translating
$1,500,000 per year

Conclusions
“If you need a new process and don't install it, you pay for it without getting it.”
Ken Stork, past president,
Association for Manufacturing Excellence
Managing
content
A time and
a place
Re-use of
content
Conclusions
Learning
about Lean
Types of
waste
Q&A

Conclusions
Many organisations have invested heavily in Lean Manufacturing tools and methodologies, but their documentation lags far behind.
Authoring Management tools to enforce terminology and reduce ‘accidental’ content creation
Component Content Management to support modular content and re-use
Dynamic Publishing tools to build customer centric documentation on demand
Align the requirements of Technical Communications with wider corporate initiatives.
Learn the language of those who have access to funding!

Questions & Answers
Managing
content
A time and
a place
Re-use of
content
Conclusions
Learning
about Lean
Types of
waste
Q&A

DITA Workshops
DITA Workshops with JoAnnHackos @ SDL in Maidenhead:
Minimalism: Creating Information People Can Use
December 7th-8th
DITA: Getting Started
December 9th – 10th
www.comtech-serv.com

© 2009 SDL International. Company Confidential. Forward-looking information is based upon multiple assumptions and uncertainties and does not necessarily represent the company’s outlook.
Thank you
Copyright © 2009 SDL International. All rights reserved.
SDL and the SDL Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of SDL International or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
This document is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as advertising. All warranties relating to the information in this document, either express or implied, are disclaimed to the maximum extent allowed by law. The information in this document is subject to change without notice.

TCUK10 Graham Wignall - Lean Docs

by SDL Language Services on Sep 28, 2010

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