by Ken Snyder, Executive Director of the Shingo Institute

Over the past year, I’ve discussed on this blog various possible changes to the Shingo Model™. This blog post represents our official announcement regarding changes to the Model.

First, there will not be any changes to the Shingo Model configuration, but we have created more consistent color codes for each of the elements in the Shingo Model as follows:

• Results = Gold
• Principles = Blue, with variations in shade to represent the three different dimensions (see explanation below)
• Systems = Green
• Tools = Red
• Culture = Purple

The placement and wording will all remain the same with the exception of some clarifications we’ve made in the way we present the Guiding Principles.

The Guiding Principles

1. We eliminated the Results dimension in the Guiding Principles pyramid. Having it there was hindering proper understanding of Results as an element of the Shingo Model.
2. Accordingly, we moved the principle “Create Value for the Customer” to the Enterprise Alignment dimension.
3. We changed the wording of the principle about flow and pull to “Improve Flow and Pull,” as discussed in a previous blog about this principle. This will clarify what the Shingo Institute prescribes for this principle.
4. Everything else about the wording of the Shingo Guiding Principles themselves will stay the same. The principles resonate with people, perhaps more than any other part of the Shingo Model, and that may be the most important role they play.
5. While people who understand it know that the principles pyramid has always been just a part of the Shingo Model and not the Model itself, we have found that people new to the Model are sometimes confused about it. Part of that has likely stemmed from the way we were using the colors in the pyramid. In order to make it clearer that the principles pyramid is part of the Guiding Principles diamond at the top of the Model (which has always been blue), all three dimensions of the pyramid will now be distinguished using different shades of blue. We’ll also take care to display the principles in ways that will make it clearer how they fit with the Model.

We have also strengthened our explanations of the supporting concepts that appear in the Shingo Model booklet.

The Images

Download the new graphics files HERE.

Download a poster of the Shingo Model and Guiding Principles HERE.

Download the latest version of the Shingo Model booklet HERE.

To learn the Shingo Model well enough to incorporate it at your organization, attend the Shingo workshops. See the latest schedule of workshops HERE.

Finally, please join me along with many other thought leaders of continuous improvement at this year’s Shingo Conference to talk about these continuous improvement concepts and many others. Attending the conference will keep your improvement efforts fresh and invigorated. I hope to see you there.