A Check Sheet is one of the Seven (7) Basic Quality Tools. A Check Sheet is a simple tool for data collection. In this post, I’ll show how to create and use a Check Sheet and provide some basic heuristics and common pitfalls of Check Sheet and data collection overall.

A Check Sheet allows us to use a structured & standardized format for collecting defect information:

• Minimizes the chance that different people will collect the data in the different ways
• Forces the team to consciously think about what data they want to collect, why they want to collect it, and what they plan to do with the data once collected

What is a Check Sheet

• Check sheets are data collection forms constructed to record specific information about a process in a organized manner
• Check sheets are designed to answer the question “How often does this event occur and under what conditions?”
• Check sheets can be used either to support conclusions concerning a process on its own or may be a step in the process of assembling the data to support one of the other improvement tools

Elements of a Check Sheet

• A description of what data is being collected – need to make sure that clear Operational Definitions are established for each variable being collected
• Places to put the data (actual ease of data collection / recording needs to be as simple as possible – tally sheets work well)
• Room for comments – both for the defect types and general (in case the data either does not fall into one of the pre-set categories or in case something special happens – e.g. a power failure – that needs to be documented)
• Room for potential statistical data

Check Sheets – Key Points

• Keep the form simple to use and understand; (the easier you make the sheet to use, the more likely you will get the data you need)
• Include only information that you intend to use
• Pilot or test the Check Sheet form before you use it on a full-scale basis – Make changes to it if necessary

How To Create a Check Sheet

• As a team, brainstorm to determine the exact data to be collected and how this data will be organized into categories and then subcategories (taking the time to really think this through will greatly aid later on in the project)
• Always stay focused on the improvement opportunity (what are you trying to learn about) and keep asking yourself what you will use the data for
• Develop exact Operational Definitions of each variable
• Construct the data collection form or forms that will allow recording of the observations or events in their proper classifications as determined earlier
• Test a draft copy of the check sheet by confirming that all possible observations or events may be recorded in one and only one place on the check sheet
• Make necessary corrections to the check sheet
• Collect the desired process data using the check sheet

Check Sheets – Points to Remember

• Allow extra space on the check sheet to record important observations not anticipated during the design of the check sheet
• Determine and record the time period and other process conditions that will be fixed or constant during the observation
• Make sure that the data form and the meaning of all the labels are understood equally and consistently by all team members
• Allow enough time for all observations to be correctly made and recorded during the collection process
• Remember, a check sheet provides only organized raw data. It may be necessary to use another improvement tool to better interpret the results.

Check Sheets – Common Pitfalls

• Measuring things that do not answer the question being asked
• Inability to obtain sufficient sample size
• Associates simply not taking measurements or collecting data (sometimes as a result of strong focus on “making their numbers”)
• “Lost” check sheets – should keep track of how many are handed out and how many come back
• “We can get that from the system” attitude – resulting in spending more time trying to query log files than it would take to manually collect the data
• Poor Operational Definitions resulting in large amounts of “noise” in the data

No, we’re not talking about children or infants here. We’re talking about people who are so invested in their idea, business, and process, which results in hyper tunnel vision and they begin to believe the fantasy that their [enter "whatever" here] is the best and cannot get better. Calling that [thing] imperfect is analogous to calling someone’s baby ugly.

Why?

Because the person is so invested in their endeavor that they fail to see truth.

Here are some examples of Ugly Baby Syndrome:

• You build a product without identifying a problem to solve or a market need. You love you idea so much, but you continue to build something that nobody wants.
• You manage a process in your business that you are very proud of; you believe it’s perfect and that it can’t be improved any further.
• You own a business and have enjoyed market leadership for a long time; you don’t believe there are any competitors. You become complacent because you continue to believe “who will outsmart us? nobody can be better at what we do.”

• You manage a process where speed is a critical to quality metric and you don’t believe you can deliver any faster.
• You believe your creation is perfect and that nothing can penetrate its armor; but, the truth is that there are most likely chinks in the armor that you have failed to see.

If you suffer from any of the above symptoms, then a dose of truth and humility is the cure. Most likely, what you believe is likely false. In other words, that baby you feel is so angelic and perfect, is most likely pretty average looking.

So, let go of your ego, acknowledge that nothing is perfect but the pursuit of perfection is an admirable trait, and get to work.

Jeff Hajek, the author of “Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean”, was kind enough to send me a book to review. Overall, I thought the book was good for an audience of on-the-ground practitioners of Lean. My first impression was not to take the book too seriously, given the cute and irreverent title of the book; but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book provided good and helpful insights for Lean Practitioners in the field.

My favorite parts of the book was his simple way of teaching the principles of Lean using everyday examples, such as a lemonade stand and Netflix. He does so in a way that is simple, but not simplistic. I think that chapter will resonate to most people with experience and are new to Lean. I also appreciated Jeff Hajek’s treatment of the “Respect for People” pillar in the Toyota Production System.

Overall, I liked the book. My only criticism is the book title. Despite the adage, most people judge books by the cover. The book title sets the tone for the book and I’m not sure if the playful book title aligns with the serious and educational content of the book. Other than that, I recommend “Whaddaya Mean I Gotta be Lean” by Jeff Hajek.

Jeff Hajek is a Lean consultant and founder of Velaction Continuous Improvement.

Below is also a video of Jeff Hajek teaching a video tutorial on the 5 Whys or Root Cause Analysis.

A good article in Businessweek illustrates the impact of Lean Thinking or, more specific, Lean Consumption or Lean for Service Operations can have on Healthcare. Here are a few items from that article worth noting:

[Look for] integration opportunities: connecting adjacent but unconnected pieces of the patient experience to create small, incremental improvements. The integration process begins with a question—”What’s right for the patient?”—and proceeds to a deep examination of the patient journey, resulting in a holistically designed experience that benefits all.

Kaiser Permanente’s “Total Health” initiative emphasizes preventative over acute care. In December 2009, Allison Arieff wrote a story in The New York Times about the health-care giant’s attempts to rethink and redesign every aspect of its operations, “from medical records to medication administration, color palettes to carpet,” all in an effort to create more integrated patient experiences. Kaiser identified 22 key steps in a patient’s journey, including check-in, visiting the pharmacy, even walking along a corridor. Changing the design of the patient bed’s headboard saved Kaiser $2,369 per room. The real beauty of this initiative? Kaiser is a highly visible player in the industry, and other providers are watching them closely for signs of success.

Consequently, patients are shuttled from generalist to specialist to surgery to clinic to pharmacy, passing though dozens of different rooms and record systems along the way. Each of these transitions presents a pain point to the patient and an opportunity for error to the provider. It doesn’t take a designer to see what a difficult journey this is, rife with redundancy, wasted effort, and potentially catastrophic mistakes.

The rest of the article on the Businessweek website or below. Great lessons there on integrating processes for an improved user and patient experience. ¹

The true spirit of Kaizen isn’t just about improving the organization, but it is also in teaching, guiding, and in effectively stretching people beyond their current capabilities. Indeed, it is in developing people and in increasing their capability to contribute and add value.

Staying true to the spirit of Kaizen has a few implications on approach: Rather than be the hero in an organization, Kaizen actually requires us to teach others and coach them to be the hero. The role of a sensei, then, is to really decrease so the student can increase.

They must increase, I must decrease

That’s exactly what is happening where I’m currently employed. My goal is to eventually work myself out of a job. This means my goal is to create enough self-sufficiency in the organization such that they can systematically solve their own problems using the principles of Lean Thinking.

Right now, they need me as their Sensei; over time, as they gain more competency, then they won’t need me anymore.

But, the reality is this: most organizations, like most people, need a coach; a mentor; a teacher; a leader. But the Kaizen vision is free of pretense: create self-sufficiency in the organization so they eventually won’t need me anymore.

I’m okay with that.

My goals are aligned to theirs and I’m looking out for their best interest, not mine.

That’s the true spirit of Kaizen: continuous improvement and developing people.