CHALLENGE & SELECTION 

 The first tool I used was the Visualization tool . 

 I started work as a storeman at a pre - cast factory recently . The factory produce concrete panels   which are transported to construction sites and put together to construct a building or structure ( a bit like Lego blocks ) . I am the only storeman for the factory with a workforce of about 25 on the   production floor . The company was facing issues with items/ components from the store to the production floor as it   has constantly caused production disruption ( PDs ) . The production line would be working on a   concrete panel midway only to realise they were n't able to continue work due to problems like   missing items , components , incomplete drawings etc . This has caused much frustration and   production downtime . 

 Over a few months , the store and the production office looked into ways to overcome the issue of   PDs . Changes were made and we saw improvements that the management wanted to see . However ,   these ' improvements ' worked mostly around the purchasing and supply chain . It ensured the correct   items and quantity were purchased based on the correct drawings . The store now had everything the production workers needed to complete their job . All my customers ( the production workers ) had to   do was walked down to the store to get what they needed . The frequency of PDs reduced . 

 Since I started the Design Thinking course , I decided to put what I learnt into my workplace . My   aim is to understand why PDs , ( although reduced ) are still occuring . I spoke to the production   manager for permission to explore the matter more and present to him my findings ( if any ) . Since I   am the only person managing the store and I have no prior knowledge of pre - cast industry , I decided to use the visualization tool to help me better understand the problem . 

 APPLICATION 

 Since I have no knowlegde of how a factory makes a concrete panel , I decided that I would spend   some time on the production floor . My aim is to : 

 1 . observe and understand better the processes in the making of concrete panels 

 2 . gather feedback from production workers on why they think the PDs are still occuring 

 My observation starts with the arrival of the steel bars to the factory . The steel bars are tied together   using tie wires based on approved engeneering drawings . As this ' cage tying ' process transpire , the   production workers set out to set up the shutters for the concrete mould . This is probably the most   tedious and important part of the process . The mould determines the size , shape , thickness ,   dimensions and all the other critical factor that will decide if the concrete panel is built to   specifications for construction site assembly later on . It is also during this process that items from   the store are required most . Once the mould is complete , the steel cage is then placed inside the   mould . Once a quality check is done , the concrete truck will arrive on site to pour wet concrete into   the mould . The workers then work quickly to ' finish ' the wet concrete over a period of few hours to   make sure it is even and have a reasonably presentable surface finish . After a certain period of   setting time , the mould is taken apart and the concrete panel lifted away to be stored . 

 I gathered feedback by chatting with workers during breaks ( and sometimes during work hours ) .   Most questions are open ended questions . Examples of questions : 

 • What do you think may have caused the recent production disruption ? 

 • Do you have any suggestions what we can do to manage the steel cages better ? 

 • Any suggestion on how to make your work run better ? 

 I spent roughly 1 week focused on the above to gather enough information to put into drawing my   findings . I added more and more information on my drawings and finally summarized them into a   single page that I believe captured the essence of my observations . See attached drawing . 

 INSIGHT & APPROACH 

 The experience of participating directly in my customer 's world reveals what is actually happening   on the production floor . I understand better their work routine , challenges and rational of their   comments/ feedbacks . The experience and information gained I then put them into a drawing which   I feel best captures the relationship between production and store . This picture gives me a birdseye   view of what is happening and this enables me to narrow down areas that can be improved . 

 Among others , my observations from this drawing include : 

 • The different stages of the production and what tools/ items/ components from the store that   supports the ongoing work . Certain items ( example : vacum cleaner ) are used several times   at different stages of the production . Having to return to store is each time after use is rather   unproductive . 

 • The number of trips from the production floor to the store that workers have to make daily .   Some workers walk 10 times to the store each day to collect items they need for their work .   This is time consuming and can be demoralising considering each trip is about 200 m to   300 m return . 

 • How some important production items are found on production floor ( labeled ' excess ' in the   drawing ) . When these ' excess ' items are not returned to store , they can cause problems to   other working teams . Example : some items were overdrawned from the store and left on   production floor . When other teams working on other panels need those same items , they are not available in the store and this disrups work in progress . 

 • Some feedback , ideas and suggestions from workers makes perfect sense when it is   understood from their daily work routine . Example : Invest in more electrical tools to make   work faster and safer . Rather than having only one tool shared among working teams , invest   on a set of tools for each team to use . 

 The observations from this visualization tool led me to propose a few ideas to the production   manager for his consideration . Here are some of the What Ifs proposed : 

 1 . Create a central area on the production floor where general shared tools are kept . Shared 

 items like vacuum cleaner , concrete vibrator and wheel barrows are to be left in this central   area . This will save time having to retrive and return them from the store . 

 2 . Team leaders will prepare a list of items needed for a particular concrete panel for the store . 

 The store will prepare all the items in a box and deliver to the teams . No more walking up   and down 10 times a day to the store . It also reduced overdrawn items from the store . 

 3 . The store will do two rounds of ' sweeps ' each day to collect unused ( excess ) items from 

 production ( if any ) . No more missing items and this also reduce double purchasing . 

 4 . A distribution shelf was built and placed in the central area of the production floor to reduce 

 the number ' trips ' to the store by the workers . This shelf will be stocked with items that the   workers use a lot ( like silicon , rags , chairs , tie wires ) 

 We are still monitoring the impact of these changes on the number of PDs in the factory . Although 

 only time will tell , one unexpected development we received was the feedback from the workers .   Some commented that work is now made easier with less time and energy spent walking to the store or around the production floor looking for items/ tools they need . Some commented they are   happier now that they are able to work more efficiently . 

 Putting my observations and gathered information into a picture makes it easier for my superiors to   understand . Listening to my explaination and looking at the drawing captures more audiences ( than   otherwise just talking ) . The drawing became a central reference for any particular matter discussed   and everyone knows exactly at which stage of the production is being referred to . I find this very    rewarding as oppose to trying to describe the situation only through verbal communication . With   the drawing , everyone is on the same page . This would probably be one of my future ' go to '   approaches to problems in the future ! 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: CHALLENGE & SELECTION 

 The first tool I used was the Visualization tool . 

 I started work as a storeman at a pre - cast factory recently . The factory produce concrete panels   which are transported to construction sites and put together to construct a building or structure ( a bit like Lego blocks ) . I am the only storeman for the factory with a workforce of about 25 on the   production floor . The company was facing issues with items/ components from the store to the production floor as it   has constantly caused production disruption ( PDs ) . The production line would be working on a   concrete panel midway only to realise they were n't able to continue work due to problems like   missing items , components , incomplete drawings etc . This has caused much frustration and   production downtime . 

 Over a few months , the store and the production office looked into ways to overcome the issue of   PDs . Changes were made and we saw improvements that the management wanted to see . However ,   these ' improvements ' worked mostly around the purchasing and supply chain . It ensured the correct   items and quantity were purchased based on the correct drawings . The store now had everything the production workers needed to complete their job . All my customers ( the production workers ) had to   do was walked down to the store to get what they needed . The frequency of PDs reduced . 

 Since I started the Design Thinking course , I decided to put what I learnt into my workplace . My   aim is to understand why PDs , ( although reduced ) are still occuring . I spoke to the production   manager for permission to explore the matter more and present to him my findings ( if any ) . Since I   am the only person managing the store and I have no prior knowledge of pre - cast industry , I decided to use the visualization tool to help me better understand the problem . 

 APPLICATION 

 Since I have no knowlegde of how a factory makes a concrete panel , I decided that I would spend   some time on the production floor . My aim is to : 

 1 . observe and understand better the processes in the making of concrete panels 

 2 . gather feedback from production workers on why they think the PDs are still occuring 

 My observation starts with the arrival of the steel bars to the factory . The steel bars are tied together   using tie wires based on approved engeneering drawings . As this ' cage tying ' process transpire , the   production workers set out to set up the shutters for the concrete mould . This is probably the most   tedious and important part of the process . The mould determines the size , shape , thickness ,   dimensions and all the other critical factor that will decide if the concrete panel is built to   specifications for construction site assembly later on . It is also during this process that items from   the store are required most . Once the mould is complete , the steel cage is then placed inside the   mould . Once a quality check is done , the concrete truck will arrive on site to pour wet concrete into   the mould . The workers then work quickly to ' finish ' the wet concrete over a period of few hours to   make sure it is even and have a reasonably presentable surface finish . After a certain period of   setting time , the mould is taken apart and the concrete panel lifted away to be stored . 

 I gathered feedback by chatting with workers during breaks ( and sometimes during work hours ) .   Most questions are open ended questions . Examples of questions : 

 • What do you think may have caused the recent production disruption ? 

 • Do you have any suggestions what we can do to manage the steel cages better ? 

 • Any suggestion on how to make your work run better ? 

 I spent roughly 1 week focused on the above to gather enough information to put into drawing my   findings . I added more and more information on my drawings and finally summarized them into a   single page that I believe captured the essence of my observations . See attached drawing . 

 INSIGHT & APPROACH 

 The experience of participating directly in my customer 's world reveals what is actually happening   on the production floor . I understand better their work routine , challenges and rational of their   comments/ feedbacks . The experience and information gained I then put them into a drawing which   I feel best captures the relationship between production and store . This picture gives me a birdseye   view of what is happening and this enables me to narrow down areas that can be improved . 

 Among others , my observations from this drawing include : 

 • The different stages of the production and what tools/ items/ components from the store that   supports the ongoing work . Certain items ( example : vacum cleaner ) are used several times   at different stages of the production . Having to return to store is each time after use is rather   unproductive . 

 • The number of trips from the production floor to the store that workers have to make daily .   Some workers walk 10 times to the store each day to collect items they need for their work .   This is time consuming and can be demoralising considering each trip is about 200 m to   300 m return . 

 • How some important production items are found on production floor ( labeled ' excess ' in the   drawing ) . When these ' excess ' items are not returned to store , they can cause problems to   other working teams . Example : some items were overdrawned from the store and left on   production floor . When other teams working on other panels need those same items , they are not available in the store and this disrups work in progress . 

 • Some feedback , ideas and suggestions from workers makes perfect sense when it is   understood from their daily work routine . Example : Invest in more electrical tools to make   work faster and safer . Rather than having only one tool shared among working teams , invest   on a set of tools for each team to use . 

 The observations from this visualization tool led me to propose a few ideas to the production   manager for his consideration . Here are some of the What Ifs proposed : 

 1 . Create a central area on the production floor where general shared tools are kept . Shared 

 items like vacuum cleaner , concrete vibrator and wheel barrows are to be left in this central   area . This will save time having to retrive and return them from the store . 

 2 . Team leaders will prepare a list of items needed for a particular concrete panel for the store . 

 The store will prepare all the items in a box and deliver to the teams . No more walking up   and down 10 times a day to the store . It also reduced overdrawn items from the store . 

 3 . The store will do two rounds of ' sweeps ' each day to collect unused ( excess ) items from 

 production ( if any ) . No more missing items and this also reduce double purchasing . 

 4 . A distribution shelf was built and placed in the central area of the production floor to reduce 

 the number ' trips ' to the store by the workers . This shelf will be stocked with items that the   workers use a lot ( like silicon , rags , chairs , tie wires ) 

 We are still monitoring the impact of these changes on the number of PDs in the factory . Although 

 only time will tell , one unexpected development we received was the feedback from the workers .   Some commented that work is now made easier with less time and energy spent walking to the store or around the production floor looking for items/ tools they need . Some commented they are   happier now that they are able to work more efficiently . 

 Putting my observations and gathered information into a picture makes it easier for my superiors to   understand . Listening to my explaination and looking at the drawing captures more audiences ( than   otherwise just talking ) . The drawing became a central reference for any particular matter discussed   and everyone knows exactly at which stage of the production is being referred to . I find this very    rewarding as oppose to trying to describe the situation only through verbal communication . With   the drawing , everyone is on the same page . This would probably be one of my future ' go to '   approaches to problems in the future !
### Output: 