The document discusses the importance of efficiency in utilities, emphasizing lessons from the private sector, particularly from companies like Honda and Toyota. It outlines four areas to focus on for improvement: eliminating wasted effort, inconsistency, downtime, and errors, all while prioritizing waste reduction over cost-cutting. The key takeaway is that by trusting the process of enhancing efficiency, utilities can achieve better results without being primarily focused on reducing costs.

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

2. Utilities are generally in the public sector

3. But they can learn from the private sector

4. One lesson is how to do more with less

5. Many companies are bloated and bureaucratic

6. But some are models of efficiency

7. Prominently, both Honda and Toyota

8. Good historical reasons to work efficiently

9. Toyota couldn't pay for materials in advance

10. Just-in-time was necessary, not optional

11. Japanese gov't worked actively against Honda

12. Cost advantages - the only way to compete

13. To do more with less, think efficiency

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

15. This is the part a lot of people get wrong

16. The priority has to be waste reduction

17. Toyota calls these "wastes" muda, muri, mura

18. You're not going to call them that

19. Your enemies make your operation "WIDE"

20. 1. Wasted effort

21. 2. Inconsistency

22. 3. Downtime

23. 4. Errors

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

25. Simple Taylorism has been around a long time

26. Count motions, eliminate repetition

27. Documentation is a place to start

28. At least be conscious of effort involved

29. Don't define "efficiency" too narrowly

30. Document for known reasons

31. Don't let documentation become a monster

32. Koch's "Charts for Charles" debacle

33. Eliminate trivial or unimportant work

34. Replace it with useful, purposeful work

35. Less time on nonsense

36. More time on investments in future value

37. What has future value?

38. Preventive maintenance

39. Training and study

40. This extends to decision-making, too

41. The brain is energy-hungry

42. Don't waste energy on dumb decisions

43. Create templates and checklists

44. Think efficiently about thinking

45. High mental-energy tasks vs. low

46. Schedule mental tasks around mental energy

47. Small-scale outsourcing: Remote assistants

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

49. Document how you do them

50. Find ways to do them better

51. Experiment with new approaches

52. Don't be afraid of experiments

53. Experiments are the foundation of evolution

54. Stick with small, low-risk experiments

55. Good experiments start on the front lines

56. Upgrade when necessary, then standardize

57. Industry standards can be a resource

58. But don't let "standards" become an anchor

59. Procedures should be living documents

60. People are hesitant to document

61. It shouldn't be intimidating

62. Record the steps

63. Record your decision-making trees

64. Think like you're programming a computer

65. Great way to start: Take and print pictures

66. Documentation: Do it for institutional memory

67. Very important in the current retirement wave

68. Always consider ease of maintenance

69. If you maintain it, you get to know it

70. Maintenance familiarity leads to operational expertise

71. People feel helpless with their cars today

72. Few people do their own car maintenance

73. But have you seen a hacker kid at work?

74. Familiarity comes with tearing stuff apart

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

76. Cross-training can have a huge impact

77. Fresh eyes on old problems

78. Learning by teaching

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

80. Pace your work - always be doing something

81. Move the football down the field

82. Nobody likes scrambling when they fall behind

83. It's still OK to take breaks during the day

84. It means you even out the load...

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

86. Smooth out your workloads

87. Avoid frenzied periods and rushed work

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

89. If something isn't within your control...

90. Plan ahead to do less of other things that are

91. If it is within your control...

92. Take a step back and put it in order

93. Create an equalization basin for your work

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

95. Rush periods result in sloppy work

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

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

98. Smooth out workloads to do the work better

99. Smoothing work also means you always look busy

100. 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

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

102. 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

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

104. Get rid of errors

105. Track performance, then check results

106. Create templates within office software

107. Use conditional formatting to highlight aberrations

108. Once you find a problem, trace the cause

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

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

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

112. Deliberately eliminate those root errors

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

114. Use humane names, not codes

115. 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?

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

117. Eliminating root errors may cost money up-front

118. Savings may only add up over the long term

119. But utility customers are around for the long term, too

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

121. To recap

122. Eliminate WIDE
Wasted effort
Inconsistency
Downtime
Errors

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

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

125. Costs cannot be the focus

126. This is a process for getting things done better

127. You have to trust the process

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

129. The objective must be to cut waste

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

131. 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

132. 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.