1. The Mouse Trap® Experience:
The Power of Lean Learning

2. Course Objective Recognize the value of experimentation
Strengthen lean knowledge
Apply and test scientific method principles

3. Lean is Born From How We Think
Lean cannot be made successful by:
One person
One department
One job title
Lean requires dedication and commitment of all
People must first understand before they can make a commitment

4. A Learning Organization Structure
Formal seminars
Informal coaching
Apply
Organization-wide
Departments
Job responsibilities
Reflect
What worked well?
What didn’t work well?
Why?
What can we do
differently?

5. Standardization Enables Learning
Identify the most efficient way to accomplish a process
Ensure that everyone follows same structured process
Visibly indicates deviations
Improvement opportunities become evident

6. Standardization Enables Learning
How do you do this work?
How do you know you are doing this work correctly?
How do you know that the outcome is free of defects?
What do you do if you have a problem?

7. Experimentation and the Scientific Method
Directly observe the problem
Brainstorm an idea
Develop hypothesis of anticipated results
Implement an idea
Directly observe and record results
Compare actual results with anticipated

8. The Hypothesis
‘A tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test its logical or empirical consequences’
Learning occurs as the hypothesis is tested

9. Why Create a Hypothesis?
Provides direction to the ideal state
Prevents becoming sidetracked
How can you identify success if you don’t have a vision of what it looks like?
Source of all process learning

10. Experimentation Barriers
Failure to understand current state
Failure to develop hypothesis
Focus on symptoms
Failure to verify results

11. Plan-Do-Check-Act Identifies improvement area Maps out an action plan
Details time frame
Continually assesses progress

12. When Do I Use PDCA? Implementing any change
Defining a repetitive work process
Identifying root cause
Developing a new process

13. Plan Identify the condition Recognize an opportunity
Clearly define current state
Analyze the current state
Identify current reality
Develop ideas
Brainstorm ideas
Narrow down ideas to
one
Develop hypothesis
Define your idea
Define expectations

14. Do Execute an idea Perform your experiment
Implement on trial basis and
test

15. Check Evaluate results Direct observation Gather data
More important to learn process
than achieve the desired result

16. Act Experiment did not produce desired result Determine “why?”
Strategize revisions
Experiment produced desired result
Expand solution
Adopt solution
Standardize solution
Continue to search for
improvements

17. Mouse Trap®: The Simulation
Identify problems/inhibitors
Brainstorm potential solutions
Develop hypotheses of expected outcomes
Execute solution
Reflect

18. The Objective Capture as many mice as possible
Make the process as efficient as possible
Teams compete against one another

19. Mouse Trap® Mechanics

20. Role Responsibilities
Operator
Begins when Set-Up has returned
trap to ready state
Turns crank to trigger trap
Material Handler
Begins when Operator has triggered
trap
Removes mouse from trap
Transfers cheese from cup one to
Holds mouse throughout cheese
transfer
Returns mouse under cage

21. Role Responsibilities
Set-Up Person
Begins when Material Handler
has returned mouse under cage
Returns trap to ready state
Timer
Collects data
OBSERVER
Improvement Coordinator
Looks for improvement ideas
Documents improvement ideas

22. Mouse Trap Ready State Guidelines
Trap must be reset to ready state if trap malfunctions at any time

23. Mouse Trap® Process Guidelines

24. Role Responsibility Guidelines
Permitted to do active work during Mouse Trap® is operating
Operator
Set-Up
Material Handler
Picks up the mouse
Moves cheese pieces
Must always pick up
mouse during cheese
transfer
Move 1 piece of
cheese at a time

25. Practice Round 2 minutes Familiarize yourself with trap mechanics
Operating the trap is permitted

26. Round 1 Operate Mouse Trap® in current state No method changes
No modifications to process or operation
1 mouse caught = 1 cheese piece
Material Handler transfers cheese piece from cup 1 to cup 2
Complete results report

27. Let’s Begin!
5 minutes

28. Round 1 Continuous Improvement Discussion
10 minutes
2 improvement areas
Document improvements in PDCA
Timer and Improvement Coordinator actively contribute

29. Let’s Begin!
10 minutes

30. Round 2 Only 2 ideas may be implemented Every change is 1 idea
Improvement ideas must be documented in PDCA
Complete results report
5 minutes

31. Round 2 Operation Guidelines
Turn crank to move boot
Marble falls from bucket and follows red rain gutter to hit blue helping hand rod
Blue helping hand rod allows marble to fall into bathtub
Marble lands on diving board and catapults diver into yellow washtub
Cage falls down pole to catch mouse

32. Let’s Begin!
5 minutes

33. Round 2 Continuous Improvement Discussion
10 minutes
4 improvement ideas
If you are keeping ideas implemented during round 2, these count toward the 4 maximum
Document improvements in PDCA
Timer and Improvement Coordinator actively participate

34. Let’s Begin!
10 minutes

35. Round 3 Only 4 ideas may be implemented Every change is 1 idea
Improvement ideas must be documented in PDCA
4 ideas implemented may be new or may be ideas implemented during round 2
Complete results report
5 minutes

36. Round 3 Operation Guidelines
Turn crank to move boot
Marble falls from bucket and follows red rain gutter to hit blue helping hand rod
Blue helping hand rod allows marble to fall into bathtub
Marble lands on diving board and catapults diver into yellow washtub
Cage falls down pole to catch mouse

37. Let’s Begin!
5 minutes

38. Identifying Current State is Key
Key to Mouse Trap simulation success
Valuable usage of time
Essential to the lean journey
Contributes to sustainable solutions

39. Current State Results Identifies effective processes
Identifies improvement opportunities
Ensures that you are addressing the root cause and not firefighting
Provides direction toward ideal state
Assists in identifying change as it occurs
Serves as point of reference

40. Experimentation is Vital
You must be constantly looking for improvement opportunities
If you stop searching, you become complacent with the current state
Complacency with the current state halts the ideal state

41. Standardize Improvement Through PDCA
Identifies the current state
Identifies the problem
Develops potential solutions
Maps out an action plan
Evaluates results
Standardizes effective solutions
Assesses improvement progress

42. Small Steps = Significant and Sustainable Change
Wide-sweeping and sudden change is not recommended
Wide-sweeping and sudden change is difficult to monitor
Lean is a journey that never ends