The Nimitz Goes To Home Depot

By Kevin Meyer

Regular readers know that I have a particular disdain for overly complex MRP and ERP systems, and recommend spending about 0.1% of the cost and going to Staples instead.  Simple visual solutions using whiteboards now control the shop floors in several companies, even very large ones.

Thanks to Jason for pointing me to an article by Andy Sernovitz at Damn I Wish I'd Thought of That confirming I'm not totally nuts.  Andy took a tour of one of the most leading edge pieces of technology... very very complex technology... an aircraft carrier.  Filled with high tech systems in every nook and cranny, but guess how they manage their flight deck: with a visual board.  I do need to apologize to Andy for quoting so much of his original post, but it's important to my point.

The entire flight deck is organized by a simple table-top diagram called the Ouija Board. It looks like this:

This is an incredibly important job. His job is to make sure every plane is in the right place, fueled, and ready to take off, while making sure the runway is clear, and no one gets run over, during war, at sea.  Imagine trying to park 60 semi-trailers on a 4-way freeway intersection, during a pre-school soccer game, in a thunderstorm, during a Harley rally, and never block traffic.  Except they're airplanes, on a boat, full of bombs. Look closely and you'll see that he uses metal models, washers, bolts, and thumbtacks.  Why?  Because it never breaks. 

Now I know what you're probably thinking... in the realm of $500 toilet seats those toy planes probably cost a couple hundred grand, right?  Nope.

He told us he was offered a multi-million-dollar touch-screen computer system to replace it.  His answer?: How do I fix it in the Persian Gulf under attack, or during a typhoon?  I've got everything I need for $10 from Home Depot.  And a spare set in a tackle-box under my desk.

That's not the only example.  How do you think they track the thousands of bombs moving all over this monstrous ship?  Yep, you guessed it: whiteboards.

The location of every bomb on the ship is tracked, in real time, on these whiteboards.  Thousand of bombs have to move across dozens of decks and find the plane to get loaded.  You only have minutes to get it right.

So the next time someone tells you you have to have a complex software system to manage your shop floor, remind them of the Nimitz.  Spend some time leaning your processes, reduce excess material and wasteful activities, and then utilize the most simple... and inherently intuitive and robust... visual management method possible.

Comments

[Michael Lombard]

For those of us who are devout believers in Kevin's whiteboard gospel, it's nice to know that this approach is working everyday in places as extreme as an aircraft carrier. Good stuff!

The only limitation I've encountered with whiteboards is the stationary nature of the display. For geographically dispersed projects, we have to reproduce the information electornically. I guess if those receiving the information were at the gemba, they wouldn't need an electronic version, would they?

[Prasad Velaga]

Kevin,

Your blog is based on the narration of a bunch of nontechnical bloggers who happened to spend 24 hours on Nimitz aircraft carrier as tourists. You liked their blog so much that you did not think of verifying what these ignorant bunch talked about some of the most critical functions required during the war time. Before writing a blog, it is better to verify the blog with a few concerned individuals. When I visit a factory, a worker may express his biased opinion about a system there. But, I should not endorse it publicly without verifying it with a few authentic people in that area. Otherwise, my views will carry zero credibility.

The blog says, "The location of every bomb on the ship is tracked, in real time, on these whiteboards. Thousand of bombs have to move across dozens of decks and find the plane to get loaded. You only have minutes to get it right". The men and women on the street are not to be told all the issues involved in the movement and loading of bombs in moments of crisis. I worked on some DoD research projects in the past. My respect to people on Nimitz increases because those responsible with dynamic systems which can become extremely critical in some moments have not revealed such systems to men and women on the street. The misinformation that came through this bunch of bloggers and warmed your heart is not bad for Nimitz operations. DoD does a lot of studies on man-machine interaction in critical systems. The interaction between decision makers and powerful computers is a part of it.

[Stephen Cook]

I couldn't agree more, I actually flew off of the Nimitz a few times when I was in the Navy and helped manage the supply chain at Dell before joining MFG.com as the COO. They also manage all airplane traffic around an aircraft carrier with simple grease boards. The simpler you keep your tools and supply chain, the better.

[Bill Waddell]

Mr. Velega,

Your criticism of Kevin's pots seems to follow the logic --- "Do not believe what people who have seen the process with their own eyes and heard with their own ears tell you. Instead, trust me simply because I know better, even though I cannot prove any of my assertions because it is all confidential".

And for good measure you toss the word 'ignorant' at those folks whose account differs from yours in what seems to be a case of strengthening your argument by belittling the other side, rather than on the basis of superior facts or logic.

Is that pretty much it? Do I have your comment encapsulized accurately?

Unless you can do better, I am going with Kevin and his sources.

[Matt Youell]

I develop software for workgroups, which has included software used on the shop floor. It might surprise you to know that I like your whiteboard strategy. Obviously I think software can be useful, but only if it best fits the problem. If a manual process fits better you'd be crazy not to use it.

Companies that shell out for expensive packages often end up in a "poverty of wealth" situation. They've purchased software to handle a broad class of problems that they have to fit themselves into. Which is nuts.

Just wanted to say that not everyone in the software world thinks like that!

[Prasad Velaga]

Bill,

I would like to avoid further public discussion on this topic since it is related to Nimitz. However, I answered your question at your personal web site.

I do not know anybody who says that visual aids like whiteboards are useless. They were certainly novel when they were introduced into regular use. But the current technology is offering substantial additional benefits in some cases. For example, an electronic version of whiteboard can automatically and instantaneously check a lot of constraints when an object on the chart is moved by a drag-and-drop operation. By clicking on the object, we can see the entire information related to the object. We can filter and sort the objects by any criterion and show them in a single chart instantaneously. For example, the production schedules of all components and sub assemblies of an assembly can be shown in a single screen instantaneously. Schedules of all parts with the same part number can be shown on a single chart with flexible resolution. We can easily store numerous past situations and compare with the current one graphically. Likewise, we can find numerous benefits from the current technology for understanding our system and make decisions more efficiently. We can ignore this technology when we cannot make use of it for substantial benefits. When steam engines and Otto engines were invented, people found ways to exploit them for having more productivity and comfort. But, some continued with carts pulled by horses because they found good use of those carts for years. I am sorry I overreacted in my first reply.

[Willi Isaak]

I actually saw the principle of toys for the plannning of the runway in a TV-Documentation. I was first shocked, then impressed by the simplicity and finally convinced because they argued, that the main people working as crew members in this area are not white-collar diploma "blinded" people but simply regular army-workers that can work with an easy system and keep it running. If you have new people joining your group the best way to get them involved quickly is by having a simple process that can be easily explained, quickly understood and continually performed. When we look at some of the processes in a company to train new workers we should always ask ourselves, why are we even doing it this way? Why does it take several hours to explain regular rules of behaviour? Visual management and keeping it simple is a very challenging but successful task.
When I started my studies in the US, they first explained to me the 3 stages of cultural adaptation: 1. you think what you see is stupid. 2. you learn to work with it. 3. you finally understand the principle behind it.
Greetings from Germany. Love this blog. Keep up the great work.