Gemba Panta Rei

During an overview of TPS given during a Just In Time training class, one of the participants asked why it was that Toyota was willing to share their secrets with their competitors. This is a question worth thinking deeply about.

Certainly Toyota has used TPS as part of their PR effort when starting factories outside of Japan, and this is reflected in the positive labor relations they have. For a time the Toyota Supplier Support Center was providing free consulting in TPS to Toyota suppliers. They were helping companies become Lean as a public service.

Toyota probably also knows that TPS is not as easy to copy as it might seem. It has been said many times that TPS is more than a set of tools, but it is very tempting to take the tools and begin hammering away at the Muda. You may be able to do this profitably for a very long time, but you will end up in a very different place than if you had adopted (and adapted) the whole Toyota philosophy.

The people at Toyota will tell you that TPS keeps changing. If you aim to implement TPS as it is today and you succeeded in 5 years, Toyota will have moved on. When Hiroshi Okuda became Chairman of Toyota, he said in his message to Toyota employees "I want everyone to change." Even at Toyota where TPS has roots that go back more than 50 years deep, the plant (TPS) needs constant watering.

I heard a story that in the early days of Toyota Loom Works a blue print for an automatic loom was stolen. The people at Toyota Loom Works were calm, saying "We're always finding and improving faults with our product so if the people who stole our designs build it according to that design, we will already be far ahead of them". Perhaps Toyota shares their TPS blueprint with the world precisely so that they will never glow complacent, but will keep on improving to stay ahead of those who steal their designs.

Posted by Jon Miller at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A survey of members by the Lean Enterprise Institute's in February of 2004 found that 36% of those surveyed were in the planning or starting phase of Lean implementation. This number may be even higher if the level of requests we receive for training in Lean fundamentals, 5S, and the kaizen methodology are any indication. New Lean Champions come to us every week, looking for resources.

This is not a surprising result as the Lean Institute is a destination for those starting out in Lean, looking for books and training seminars on Lean principles. The Lean Institute is doing tremendous work in increasing awareness of Lean.

This same survey by the Lean Institute identified "backsliding to old ways" as the greatest obstacle, at 36%. It also cited senior management support as "luke warm to weak" by 35% of the respondents. No matter how good the corporate consultant, the training seminars attended or the pilot programs and 5S efforts, the lack of passion and desire for Lean at the top level will limit the success at these companies.

How are Lean practitioners to gain the interest, understanding, and ownership of the Lean (TPS) approach to managing a thriving business over the long-term? The simple answer is that some organizations will succeed at this and some will not. We advise the Lean Champion to benchmark the companies doing Lean well over the long haul, and copy their behavior. Toyota would be a good starting place.

Nearly all organizations who implement Lean principles will see gains and improvements in financial performance. Ultimately, those that view Lean just as a tool to improve stock price each quarter will not become the Toyota of their industry.

One of our consultants comes to us from a firm which was until a few years ago considered a leader in implementing Lean across its global operations. However, the strategy was one of cutting costs and ultimately lead to the relocation of much of the work offshore. The executives of this firm probably did not have a vision of providing good products and good jobs for society beyond their limited tenure at the company, much less for the next generation decades beyond their retirement. Lean was a strategy to cut costs out of the manufacturing process. Lean has not extended very far beyond the factory in this company, and it is doubtful that it will under its current direction.

According to an April 2004 Industry Week survey, 67% of manufacturers surveyed identified Lean Manufacturing as their main improvement approach. Eight months later, this number still seems too high. As we interact with the manufacturing community we see the awareness of Lean growing, but it is only superficial (tools, jargon). This is thanks mostly to the increasing number or articles in trade journals and the 'mainstreaming' of Lean. Do we see an increasing sign of the adoption of TPS as a business system by leaders of manufacturing firms? Sadly, not yet.

At about the same time as this IW survey last year, an excellent book came out. Jeffrey Liker wrote The Toyota Way which comes closer to doing justice to Toyota's philosophy for action than any author has writing in English. Pick it up, read it, share it, and let it be the test of whether your organization is committed to adopting a Lean strategy.

This is not so much a plug for the book, but a plug for the Toyota way itself. There are many good management books that are suited to professionals in various fields. For the committed Lean professional, we advise reading about the Toyota way and pursuing a career with an organization that shares a passion not just for Lean but for following the TPS blueprint.

Posted by Jon Miller at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As we being a new year, there have been humbling reminders of one of the fundamentals of the Toyota way, namely Genchi Gembutsu. In short this means "go to the actual scene (genchi) and confirm the actual happenings or things (gembutsu).

Secretary of State Colin Powell returns from the ruins of the tsunami and says he has never seen such devastation, pledging further assistance. The pledge of aid has increased more than 10 fold from the initial White House statement after December 26th. Things look a lot different from ground zero. As we say in kaizen "go to Gemba" or the actual place, to see the facts and make decisions based on those facts.

When we visit Toyota City and pass by Toyota's headquarters on our Japan Kaikaku Experience study missions, we have to point out the headquarters to everyone on the bus. It is easily missed. This 3-story high building built in the 1960s is not impressive. Toyota certainly has the money to build a giant modern headquarters. More than one Toyota supplier indeed does. This humble old building has suited Toyota for 40 years.

This small, old, outdated building houses Toyota's top executives. Yet only recentlly have they begun planning to rebuild it, citing the need for refurbish the aging building and earthquake-proofing.

This headquarters building has suited the world's #2 automaker for so many years because Toyota's executives have been successfully living the Genchi Gembutsu principle. They know that their offices do not make them money, the factories do. Toyota factoris are far more impressive facilities than their headquarters. How many of us can say the same?

I had the opportunity to travel with one of our consultants on a training assignment to a new client. It was a good reminder for me of what needs consultants in the field have. Was the pre-training information sufficient? Do we have clear standards for our trainers to follow? Have our consultants and trainer all been adequately cross-trained? These answers can be found only at the consultant's Gemba. It was Genchi Gembutsu, going to where we add value and seeing what actually happens, that made these issues clear to me.

Even as we Lean practitioners incorporate technology into Lean training such as new software for mapping Value Streams or enhanced online presentation capabilities, we are becoming perhaps too focused on the trappings of training and doing kaizen rather than engaging the people on the Gemba and their creativity.

It is more difficult for us non-factory folk who do not have a 'Genchi' nearby, or who must travel hundreds of miles to get to their Gemba. I am speaking of 'knowledge workers' such as consultants or traveling salesmen. Technology can enable us to do our jobs effectively over a distance but we must not forget that reports are not fact, merely post-mortem and Genchi Gembutsu is the action is.

Posted by Jon Miller at 3:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)