Dropped by Seattle on July 20 to visit Northwest Center, and was struck by how far the ideas of respect for people and “bring the work to the worker” can go. As some will remember from my book The Lean CEO, Northwest Center hires people who are commonly described as disabled. At Northwest Center they are not disabled at all – they are productive employees who are earning paychecks and helping their businesses grow. In fact, Puget Sound Laundry, the division I visited, is capturing the high end of the hospitality market due to a sterling quality and delivery record.
Puget Sound Laundry looks different than your typical laundry operation. There’s no clutter, no music, no small talk, and the operation hums along with a kind of rhythm. Many of the workers look different as well. But when you step back, you can see the body language of a productive workplace. The workers may have diverse ways of learning, but they all adapt to a natural way of working, and the results speak for themselves.
Mike Quinn, their VP who brought in lean, doesn’t think this is anything special. In fact, he told me he runs this operation the same way he ran operations with “normal” people in the steel industry.
To me, the lesson is simple. If you truly believe in lean principles, and have genuine respect for people, you can accomplish things that most people would say are impossible. What I don’t understand is why everybody isn’t talking about this place. And what Mike doesn’t understand is why so few organizations have discovered the power of a diverse workforce.