Seven ways in which design thinking is revealed in WCM 4.0

Design Thinking Methodology

Figure: Relationship between Design Thinking and WCM 4.0

Design thinking is a set of principles and methodologies used to understand what users need, their thought processes, how they operate and incorporating that understanding into every aspect of the result on offer. The design thinking model manifests itself through the double diamond model where the first diamond projects the problem as experienced by the user while the second diamond designs the solution that addresses the user’s core issues.

The double diamond model gets its shape from the double divergence and convergence of ideas as the subject goes through the design thinking funnel. The first diamond which acts on the problem level starts off at a point on the preparation phase this then diverges into the discovery phase. After the diversion on the discovery phase the ideas converge in the definition phase.

Once the problem has been defined the design thinking process transitions to the design level, likewise this starts off at a point which is the development phase. It should be noted that the point of interchange between the problem level and the design level is referred to as the point of view. From the development phase the model diverges to the prototype phase, as it begins to converge it transitions through the testing phase and finally points at the execution phase.

Design Thinking Double Diamond Model

World class manufacturing 4.0 redefines how automation and digitalization of the classic world class manufacturing structure is done in order to enhance value from the foundation, pillars and gable. WCM 4.0 encompasses the numerous ways that transform the linkage between the digital economy and the application of the WCM structural elements i.e the foundation which consists of 6S (Safety, sort, shine, set-in place, systemize and standardize), group activities and visual management.

The pillars are; focused improvement, autonomous maintenance, planned maintenance, people development, equipment & product management, quality maintenance, energy & water management, office & administration, and safety, health & environment. The WCM gable tracks the Overall Leadership Effectiveness (OLE), Overall Process Effectiveness (OPE) and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). The classical WCM model is an innovation program that concentrates on elimination waste as defined by the pillars through continuous improvement.

Below are the seven ways in which design thinking manifests itself on World Class Manufacturing 4.0.

1. Preparation

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail, the classic world class manufacturing structure prepares for design thinking through its foundational elements. For physical meeting six S sets the housekeeping and the ambience of the meeting room, it ensures that the environment is safe, sorted, shines, has a place for everything and that everything is in its place, is systemized and standardized.

Group activities ensures that the team is optimally composed to achieve its objectives while visual management in the initial preparation phase displays the vision, activities that are going to be carried out, schedules and the various ground rules that will help the team transit efficiently through the forming, storming, norming and on to the performing stage of group development.

2. Discovery

The real beauty in discovery is not in finding out new problems but in seeing current losses with new eyes. From the vision that had been envisaged in the preparation stage, tools that will be used to identify and collect data are developed. The methodology of analyzing the collected data is also formulated with people, process and place in mind. A lot of postulations that can be used to expose the root cause of the problem are generated in this phase.

In the classic WCM structure, the discovery phase is the point of contact between the selected design team and the pillar which affects a product or process. The main aim of the discovery phase is to reveal the characteristics of operations, tasks and end results. It also brings an understanding of the client’s expectations as well as scoping of the project and finally evaluates the existing products and processes. WCM uses work analysis, motion analysis, time study, standardized work, machine loss analysis and material flow analysis.

3. Definition

The definition phase congregates all discoveries that have been made and narrows them down to an explicit expression of the problem. It reveals the point of view. This process boils down the distributed discoveries into significant insights necessary to help the team address the right challenge.

In WCM the definition phase captures the heart and minds of the operators and the processes; it allows the individuals in the group to synthesize discoveries and make decisions independently and in parallel. In WCM the final result of the definition phase is a meaningful and actionable problem statement.

4. Development

The development phase is a creative process where the group, with the point of view in hind sight, creates as many ideas as possible. The problem statement guides the line of thought on new idea generation. The development stage is at times referred to as the ideation stage. It seeks to establish new levels of performance and as such it requires creativity, some degree of freedom and willingness to try out new ideas.

WCM is cognizant of the fact that the human mind is the greatest asset in innovation. To develop new ideas WCM encourages teams to eliminate roadblocks to creativity by deferring judgment; it aligns teams towards innovation by shortening the path to the performing stage and identifying new methods of crafting new ideas.

5. Prototyping

Prototyping is the process prioritizing and synthesizing a few of the developed ideas and actualizing them. It is a way of physically shaping prioritized ideas with the main aim of getting a feel of the ideas produced. During the early stages of prototyping, low hanging fruits are applied so as to bring in early feedback and bias from the users and colleagues.

In WCM prototyping involves coming up with a scaled down version of the solution. This allows for the operators and end users to get a test drive of the final process or product. A mock process or product is developed so as to check for user friendliness and relevance of the functionalities on offer.

6. Testing

Once the prototype has received positive feedback, it is time to put the process or product to test. It should be noted that since the solution was created from studying the process and product needs during the discovery phase there will be a lot of enthusiasm in providing feedback when the full solution is put in place. This feedback is extremely valuable as it helps fine tune the discovery phase, definition phase, development phase, prototype phase and testing phase. This fine tuning may be random and does not follow any sequence.

As a rule of thumb WCM processes and products are not initiated organization-wide, they are often piloted and focus on method based prototypes. It gives an opportunity to observe the strengths and weaknesses thus offer an chance to iterate before going full throttle.

7. Execution

Here the solution is implemented in its entirety. All data and feedback collected in the previous processes have been applied and the solution has been standardized for application though there’s room for optimization. At this juncture the solution is actualizing the vision that had been envisaged in the planning phase and satisfying the problem that had been set in the define stage.