Jason Haines on Connecting the Frontline

When Jason was working on the frontline, he saw a consistent gap between the leadership and frontline teams. “I really got a passion for Lean when trying to figure out how to bridge that gap between frontline employees and the managers, because you always had that tension between them. Both of them really didn’t understand how to communicate with the other. Being somebody that came from the frontline, I felt like that was my area of expertise.”

Jason’s perspective allowed him to approach the conversation in a new way. After learning about the concepts around being a student and a teacher, Jason was able to apply them in driving lean and performance improvement programs. Jason spoke to how he approached the interaction with the frontline. “I started helping them understand that they can also be the teacher rather than the student. So now they’re guiding you through the process and end up having their aha moment about finding ways to improve. Trying to guide people through the process is more powerful as far as teaching them rather than telling them what to do.”

As far as what Jason has seen be critical in companies, teams, and individuals make it through difficult times, especially in 2020, he says the “biggest thing to have people focused on as far as within everything is just be patient, have faith.” 

This is an interesting perspective as it takes a step back from the typical action-oriented tactics used to deal with a crisis and uncertainty. I appreciate the balance this brings to making sure that a longer-term view is part of the process and plan. Sometimes it comes down to staying ‘on-track’ and letting some of the duct settle before jumping into another action plan. 

About Jason Haines:

With 20+ years of experience in manufacturing, Jason Haines is the owner and principal consultant at Industrial Solutions. He was introduced to Lean early in his career while a machine operator at Ohio Metal Technologies, where the concepts were implemented on a daily basis within all facets of the organization. Jason has background in Project Management, Supervision, Employee Training, and direct shop floor implementation. He has worked with hourly employees, salaried personnel and management in Lean concepts such as Standard Work, VSM, One-Piece Flow, TPM, Performance Measures, Production Controls, Pull Systems, Statistical Process Control, Visual Management, and Workplace Organization (5S).

Jason holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Marketing, from Franklin University in Columbus, OH. He also holds a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification from Arizona State University and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from the Pyzdek Institute.