Is David hiding in your factory?

Revealing the hidden masterpiece

When Michelangelo started carving his masterpiece David, he didn’t look at the huge block of marble and consider materials he could add to it. He knew David was in there and he just had to chip away the parts which weren’t David.

Often, it’s the same in your factory. Too often companies will look at what can be added when everything that’s needed to make the products is already there. So before thinking about introducing automation, sophisticated planning systems, and bigger premises, take a look at what doesn’t belong in your perfect factory and start chipping away at it. Work to free your factory from everything which isn’t needed, just as Michelangelo freed David.

You may find excess inventory stacked around David – often, by working to remove it, you’ll start to see the basic form take shape. 

What about those snaking lines that look like they were designed by a conveyor salesperson? Do they form part of your pièce de résistance? – probably not, let’s see if we can shorten them. Now, what about that extra space, which attracts unnecessary items; whittle it down to what’s required. That should help take down all that excessive walking and transport of materials. 

As you practice on the rough cuts, you’ll become more skilled in your craft. Look closely at the planning systems - are they trying to manage complexity, or simplify it? Chisel out any unnecessary bureaucracy. By now, things will be flowing more easily and lead time should be reduced if you’re doing things right.

David’s becoming recognisable, but there is plenty of detailed sculpting left to do. As the large pieces of waste material come off, the chisel strokes become more precise. Defects become more apparent. There’s nothing to be gained by being too brutal at this point, we don’t want to remove parts of David.

Not everybody can be a master sculptor, so a little filler may be required to fix the parts which didn’t go quite to plan. The filler will need to be applied well, if it is to stick.

It’s painstaking. Every detail needs to be considered. You still have to step back from the workpiece regularly and take a look, recall the vision and make sure you’re carefully honing in on David.

Creating a factory masterpiece takes passion, vision, and attention to detail. There will always be parts which need smoothing, polishing and careful maintenance, but with great efforts come great rewards.