“Visualization, Verbalization, and Fixable.”

“Visualization.”

The key concept of the Toyota Production System is widely recognized. However, there are many places where something is lacking.

The Japanese Safety community has added several elements to “visualization” and made it interesting.

“Visualization, Verbalization, and Fixable.”

🔹 Verbalization “Ieru-Ka” 【言える化】

When we see a problem, can we express it? Can we verbalize it? Is there any hesitation to do so? Are we allowed to speak up about it, or is the culture discouraging such discussions? Is there a culture that welcomes problems, as highlighted?

Critical.

I have visited many factories where they create beautiful presentations on Visualization. “When you see a problem, let’s pull the Andon and stop.” Bla-bla-bla. In many places, the operators who underwent such training and pulled the Andon were yelled at. “Don’t stop the line.” The first time, they were just confused. After a few more times, people learned that visualization is a lie, and they should be quiet. That is life.

There are also other cases where those see the problem as a problem. For example, a factory faced supply problems. As I tried to highlight the issue, a VP yelled at me. After the meeting, the plant manager came to follow up. “Sorry about that. You see, the VP is promoted from the supply side. Since his arrival, we are not allowed to talk about it.” Therefore, all the attention is on flexibility or quick changeover within the factory. The focus is on how to survive with the unreliable arrival of materials. It was not about being flexible to the customers or reducing batch sizes. It was about covering up the mess that the supply chain creates.

What is the point of implementing “Visualization” if we are not open to discussing the problem fairly?

Leaders and managers need to understand this before implementing visualization. The opposite of visualization is hiding problems; in a typical environment, problems are concealed. Many people fear exposing the real state because they believe they would be punished if they did. Such a problem-hiding mentality is not just a production-specific issue; it is prevalent among many. For example, there are places where they implemented “OEE.” Surprisingly, factories reported 85% or higher numbers. The trick? Engineers feared what it could expose and worked hard with managers to develop an “appropriate rate.” Going to a factory with many machines stopping and the running ones showing 120% was a joke. That was a perfect example of fake visualization created due to the non-verbalization culture.

At Toyota, there was a way for managers to express gratitude by saying, “Thank you,” when the Andon was pulled. They consistently demonstrated appreciation for the issues highlighted. This mindset is essential for successfully implementing visualization.

🔹Fixable “Naoseru-Ka” 【直せる化】

I translated “Naoseru-Ka” as “Fixable.” This means that the organization can solve problems and return to good condition. However, I mentioned “Repair” in the past. We cannot repeat the “repair.” We need to understand the root cause of the problem and implement countermeasures to avoid repeating the “repair.”

When I was in a hospital, an alarm was on. A few minutes later, a nurse turned the alarm off and left the room. What was that alarm for? Isn’t that a problem highlighted? Shouldn't the nurse treat the patient?

A pallet was sitting near the line. I asked the team leader about this pallet and why it was there. The team leader brought colored tape, surrounded the pallet, and walked away. I couldn’t let him go, so I asked, “Let’s work on this problem.” He responded, “I did 5S.”

When we visualize problems and Muda, we also need to develop people capable of problem-solving and Kaizen. This is part of visualization. If we don’t train people in problem-solving and Kaizen, they will become excellent at switching off the alarm—or they will learn to ignore it. Visualization without training on how to solve those highlighted issues will frustrate people. They know they have a problem. They acknowledge that. Yet, they can’t do much about it other than ignore it. Nobody feels comfortable ignoring a problem. Yet, they have no choice but to do so. On top of this, there are directions in which, instead of working on the issues, they are forced to work on something else. This creates a classic “busy” condition, which in Japanese is represented by a symbol 【忙】, composed of heart/spirit and death. Without training, visualization can kill someone’s good soul to make things better.

So, instead of “Fixable,” "Jidou-ka" might be a better term. Whenever the problem is visible, we can:

1️⃣ Stop and understand the problem.

2️⃣ The help chain is activated to assist.

3️⃣ Individuals are trained to solve problems and implement Kaizen.

Without embracing the full potential of the Jidou-ka concept, visualization holds no significance. There are too many “fake” Andon with flashy colors lighting up, but no action. That is a tragedy.

I thought I shouldn’t have written this post because there are too many “twist” interpretations, and some will start saying, “there are three levels of visualization,” or steps. No. I’m not saying that. The original intention of “visualization” consisted of verbalization & Jidou-ka; yet, as the word spread, the soul was lost. The concepts are intertwined to function as they should, not treated as independent tools. The three categories aren’t enough. For example, visualization without standardization and Just-In-Time is also misleading. However, I thought the three elements the Japanese safety industry has summarized provide an interesting reflection on “visualization.”

How is your “visualization” working?