The Toyota Phenomenon

Posted on October 30, 2005 by John Hunter

The Toyota Phenomenon [the broken link was removed] by Ernst Glauser:

Toyota’s success starts with its brilliant production engineering, which puts quality control in the hands of the line workers who have the power to stop the line or summon help the moment something goes wrong.

Walk into a Toyota factory in Japan or America, Derby in Britain or Valenciennes in France and you will see the same visual displays telling you everything that is going on. You will also hear the samejingles at the various work stations telling you a model is being changed, an operation has been completed or a brief halt called.

Everything is minutely synchronized; the work goes at the same steady cadence of one car a minute rolling off the final assembly line. Each operation along the way takes that time.

Shoichiro Toyoda, Honorary Chairman and director of Toyota Motor Corp.: “There is not a day I don’t think about what Dr. Deming meant to us. Deming is the core of our management.”
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Deming Review Postcasts

Posted on October 29, 2005 by John Hunter

Postcast on W. Edwards Deming by Paul C. Palmes.

This is the first of three programs dedicated to the teachings of W. Edwards Deming. The Internet has numerous websites devoted to his thoughts and methods. I strongly suggest that you avail yourself of many of these offerings if this and programs that follow stir your interest

As I mentioned previous I see potential for podcasts as another tool to improve learning of management ideas:

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Management Training Program

Posted on October 28, 2005 by John Hunter

Fog Creek Software Management Training Program by Joel Spolsky:

Finally, when you’re really really good, they let you hang around with Yussef on the ovens. Yussef was about 100 years old and so good at running the ovens it was scary. When Gabbi tried to show me how to solve the problem of bread sticking to the conveyer belts on the way out of the oven, he ran back and forth like a lunatic for ten minutes, turning knobs, pulling levers, redirecting heat, and burning a few hundred loaves while he struggled to get things under control.

But Yussef, facing the same problem, turned one tiny knob on a seemingly-unrelated chimney about one degree to the right. It made no sense, he couldn’t explain why it worked, but it did: it solved the problem instantly and suddenly perfect loaves started popping out. It took me another couple of years to really understand the complex relationships between heat and humidity inside an 80 foot tunnel oven, but it would have taken ten more years before I could solve problems as well as Yussef did.

From the Lion of Lean [the broken link was removed] (an interview with James Womack):

So I said to the Toyota executive, “You’ve only got two or three suppliers per category, and you never take bids. How do you know you aren’t being ripped off?” So this guy, who was around 60, gives me an incredibly frosty look and says, “Because I know everything.” Everything? “That’s my job,” he says.

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Posted in Deming, IT, Management, Popular, quote, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Toyota Manufactures More Itself

Posted on October 27, 2005 by John Hunter

Bucking the trend, Toyota controls quality, cost by making many parts in house [the broken link was removed], AutoWeek via Lean Manufacturing Blog:

On one hand, the company sees parts making as a critical piece of its overall quality-control program. Toyota argues that keeping some parts in-house actually makes it more efficient. Outsourcing parts simply to meet the changing industry norm is viewed warily by Toyota executives.

“I don’t believe we can outsource our responsibility to the customer,” Seizo Okamoto

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Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Manufacturing, Systems thinking, Toyota Production System (TPS) | 1 Comment

New Business Ideas Take Time

Posted on October 27, 2005 by John Hunter

New Business Ideas Take Time [the broken link was removed] by Edward DeBono

Some types of change carry more immediate benefits, such as problem-solving. The problem is disrupting a system or individuals, so solving that problem is of instant benefit. Even in cases where the benefits are not immediate, they can be predicted easily.

Because of this, management thinking is too preoccupied with problem-solving.

Good point. This is true for at least too reasons: short term thinking and the desire to have a measure of success. It is much easier to find a measurement of the benefit of eliminating some problem than the benefits of learning and taking more time to think. As Lloyd S. Nelson said many of “the most important figures that one needs for management are unknown or unknowable.”

All businesses should appoint a ‘Simplicity Officer’. This person should encourage and refine business ideas for the simplifying of processes. Simplicity requires a deliberate effort as continuity is the natural instinct of organisations.

Sounds very much like lean thinking to me.

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The Power of Teams

Posted on October 27, 2005 by John Hunter

The Power of Teams, by Lynn Witten (broken link removed):

>Train team leaders and members. It is critical to provide training and guidance to people on how to function as effective team members and leaders. In addition, problem-solving training can give teams and team leaders a structured approach to finding solutions. It can help teams overcome members’ natural defensiveness and finger-pointing.

Evaluate incentive systems. Many incentive systems have been established to reward individual effort or effort from one functional area. In team-based systems, rewards need to recognize the impact of a team’s performance on the whole system.

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Lean Principles in Health Care

Posted on October 26, 2005 by John Hunter

“Lean” principles apply to health care [the broken link was removed], by Donna Daniel:

Making the shift to a lean enterprise, whether it’s in a hospital, a physician practice or a nursing home, isn’t easy. Like any culture shift, it will require commitment and time. There may be resistance, especially given the complex nature of health care. But stay the course.

Lean has a successful track record in many industries so you will need to provide education, communication and reinforcement throughout the process. Lean may be challenging to implement at first, but it may be the best investment your organization can make to improve financial performance and the quality of care you deliver to your most important customers — your patients.

Prevoius related posts:

Health Care Improvement Articles

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OpenOffice 2.0

Posted on October 26, 2005 by John Hunter

Topic: Software – Open Source – Freeware

OpenOffice 2.0, the excellent freeware office suite is now available. It is great free software that imports Microsoft formatted documents and creates the same amazingly well.

Open Office runs on Apple, Linux, Microsoft and more operating systems and installs easily. One nice feature is that you can create pdf documents from any file (text, spreadsheet, presentation) with the click of one button. They also added a new database in release 2.0.

I’ve used the previous edition for quite some time and think it is very good; it is amazing such a product is free. More excellent freeware: Firefox and Picassa (for photos).

Posted in Management | 1 Comment

Go Lean to Remain Competitive

Posted on October 26, 2005 by John Hunter

Go Lean to Remain Competitive [the broken link was removed]:

Captains of industry should adopt Lean Production Systems, an idea {conceived} by Toyota for its car-making, to transform their plants to efficient ones, for survival in the globalisation era

Sundaram Clayton Limited Brakes Division President C N Prasa.

In 1998 the SCL Brakes Division won the Deming Prize and in 2002 they won the Japan Quality Medal.

Sundaram-Clayton Limited [the broken link was removed], Mission:

We are committed to being a profitable and socially responsible leading manufacturer of environmentally friendly auto components and sub-systems for customers in markets and to provide fulfillment and prosperity for customers, employees and suppliers.

India has been represented very well among Deming Prize winners the last few years including 3 of 4 winners this year.

I think it will be interesting to see if this is a sign of a broader adoption of such management principles in India. If so, I think that would compliment the software industry in promoting continued economic development in India quite well. And, if so, in 10 years I think we will be hearing much more about manufacturing in India than we do today.

More articles on Management Improvement in India (including several on Sundaram Clayton Limited).

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Why Fix the Escalator?

Posted on October 25, 2005 by John Hunter

Why Fix the Escalator? from the Lean manufacturing blog on a visit to the NUMMI plant:

A very large permanent sign above the escalator said something like:

“Sorry for inoperative escalator. It would cost $120k to repair. We feel money could be better spent on other things. Please accept our apologies.”

Wow. The frugality and practicality of TPS was illustrated by that sign, our tour group thought. Rather than a knee-jerk reaction of fixing it when broken, somebody asked that powerful question: “Why?”
…
Another question I’m challenging myself with: If this had been a GM plant, would I be criticizing them for being cheap?

Good points and questions. I have another question, why was the escalator put there in the first place? I did not visit the plant but it sounds like it isn’t needed. Did something change, or was it a wasteful decision in the first place?
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Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS) | 1 Comment