What Was the Tool or System That Allowed You to Pivot So Quickly?

In this series, Jeff Kaas explains what the Kaas Tailored team learned about continuous improvement as we transitioned from making furniture to making PPE during the COVID-19 global pandemic. In our first episode, we explain why Kaas Tailored started making PPE. Today, Jeff talks about how the Kaas Tailored team was able to transition so quickly.

Our thinking allowed us to pivot quickly. For example, if we believe that the machine serves people, then the machine should actually make it easier for human beings to do what we think.

Our factory was already set up to be able to respond to whatever our customers might want from us; we call this pull. That is an example of a system that existed because of what we believe about the laws of nature. One of the laws of nature that I believe to be true is that those who can adapt will survive. It is not about being strong. 

In our community, we have a bunch of blackfish called orca. Some orcas are super picky and only eat salmon. They will not live long because they are only going to eat salmon. Other orcas eat almost anything. Those would probably be the ones that live. That is the thinking that is reflective of the systems that we have.

Another important decision we made last year is that the Kaas Tailored will be about shining light and be a platform for people’s potential to come alive. So when you define yourself as a furniture guy, and then no one needs furniture, you are kind of screwed. If I define myself as a lean consultant, and no one needs that, I am kind of screwed. The same thing goes with aerospace. At the moment, no one needs airplane stuff, consulting, or furniture, so I am kind of screwed either way.

However, our mission is about growing people whether we get to do this and get paid, or we get to do this as a mission, or we get to do this as unemployed people doing it because that is what we are all about. So the way we have defined who we are has created this thinking and enabled this to happen. It is not about the stuff, and it is not about the system. Every system should reflect what we believe.

In March of 2020, Providence Health and Services started the 100 Million Mask Challenge. The hope was to reach out to the local community to help create much-needed PPE due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Within a few days, Providence and Kaas Tailored formed a partnership to rapidly produce face shields and face masks for caregivers. As the new normal settled in, we realized how much we missed hosting guests in our factory and leading Waste Tours. We hosted a Zoom call in early June and asked participants to send in their questions about waste and continuous improvement so that we could share what we have learned about continuous improvement as we transitioned from making furniture to making PPE. Stay tuned for the rest of the series.