Visual Workplace/Visual Thinking: Creating Enterprise Excellence through the Technologies of the Visual Workplace

by Gwendolyn D. Galsworth

This Shingo Award winning book is written for executives, managers, supervisors, team leaders, and coaches, providing a robust discussion of visual principles and practices, based on 30 years of field work by the author, Dr. Gwendolyn Galsworth. As world-renowned author Richard Schonberger "In this book Galsworth, the foremost visual workplace authority, raises the stature of visuality, hardens soft notions about it, and embeds it in structure and theory." The goal of the book is to establish visual thinking as a foremost methodology for continuous improvement, and how to attain this by creating a workforce of visual thinkers. Over 200 full-color images and examples are shared. The first section of the book targets the basic concepts of visual information sharing, the use of visuality as a common language, and the Eight Building Blocks of Visual Thinking. Section 2 focuses on the culture of the role of executives, the leadership paradigm, and the empowerment inversion that results in a deeply engaged, spirited, inventive, and aligned workforce. Sections 3 and 4 map out the Ten Doorways of a Visual visual order, visual standards, displays, visual metrics, visual problem solving, visual leadership, visual controls, visual pull systems, and visual guarantees (poka-yoke devices). In the final chapter, Galsworth discusses the visual and lean paradigms and how to bring them into the alignment needed to achieve operational excellence and make it sustainable.

Genres: Business

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Ricky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is sharing more than just the systematic methodology of achieving visual workplace. It also points out the ways of deep paradigm and cultural shifts by starting with the I driven approach then only expand it to include others.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took a bit to get into this book, but as I started reading about the doors, it started to resonate with me. Good book.

[Bob Wallner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was an excellent book with a great deal of insight. Dr. Galsworth certainly knows the value visuality adds to an organization. Her method, really more of a blueprint, for implementing the "doors" is a great approach. I am a big fan of her radio program and the book supports her program well. I thoroughly enjoyed the case studies and the pictures. They brought the lesson to life.

My only major criticism is that Dr. Galsworth teaches that Visual Workplace and Lean are 2 completely different things. I feel that visual workplace is a fundamental requirement for a lean workplace therefore you cannot have one without the other. A minor philosophical difference that I had with he book was, based on my experience, I do believe that "lean" 5s can successfully be implemented and sustained.

I would love it if Dr. Galsworth put a "visual idea book"....limited text and several before and after pics grouped with her "door" concept. Kind of "Visual Coffee Table Book" for Lean Visual thinkers. A book like this could help get people thinking and would be great conversation starters.