bhupinder
Par 100 posts (V.I.P)
Toyota
Goal:
Company-wide participation in efforts to improve operational efficiency
Technique:
Alert systems and meeting templates that empower employees
ToyotaToyota has long been recognized as one of the world’s most innovative companies. Its “lean thinking” approach to manufacturing inspired now-common practices such as just-in-time production, which minimizes inventory to keep costs and depreciation down. “The environment inside Toyota’s production system is legendary,” says Tom Kelley, general manager of corporate design and innovation at Ideo. “The leadership says, ‘Show me all your ideas. You’re on the front lines, so you know this stuff better than me.’ Every time workers have an idea, they will have an audience — and they know it’s expected of them.”
Toyota’s management philosophy is based on the Japanese principle of kaizen, which means “continuous improvement.” The basic notion behind kaizen is that progress occurs one tiny step at a time, contrary to the more western notion of producing success in big, bold moves. For kaizen to work, everyone needs to have the authority to help make the company more efficient and prosperous. At Toyota, for example, every employee on the assembly line has the authority to shut the system down using the Andon — a signboard with lights, audio alarms, text, and other displays — to notify management and other workers of quality or process problems.
“The Andon comes on numerous times a day,” explains Mike Morrison, vice president of the University of Toyota, the company’s in-house managerial training facility. “Let’s say you and I are working on one part of the interior, and you detect a rattle of some kind. I stop the line and everyone in our group comes to see how we can resolve it. It’ll be written up and reported.” Such interruptions are viewed as positive, alert moves to assure quality — not as problems that make everybody wait.
The company has also made feedback from its employees a continuous part of the idea-generation process. For example, Toyota utilizes a framework at meetings called a PDCA (for “plan, do, check, act”) cycle. “It’s just a one-page document for displaying problem statements and developing the final move and the result,” Morrison says, “but it’s a useful guide that ensures you don’t skip any steps in the brainstorming process.”
Goal:
Company-wide participation in efforts to improve operational efficiency
Technique:
Alert systems and meeting templates that empower employees
ToyotaToyota has long been recognized as one of the world’s most innovative companies. Its “lean thinking” approach to manufacturing inspired now-common practices such as just-in-time production, which minimizes inventory to keep costs and depreciation down. “The environment inside Toyota’s production system is legendary,” says Tom Kelley, general manager of corporate design and innovation at Ideo. “The leadership says, ‘Show me all your ideas. You’re on the front lines, so you know this stuff better than me.’ Every time workers have an idea, they will have an audience — and they know it’s expected of them.”
Toyota’s management philosophy is based on the Japanese principle of kaizen, which means “continuous improvement.” The basic notion behind kaizen is that progress occurs one tiny step at a time, contrary to the more western notion of producing success in big, bold moves. For kaizen to work, everyone needs to have the authority to help make the company more efficient and prosperous. At Toyota, for example, every employee on the assembly line has the authority to shut the system down using the Andon — a signboard with lights, audio alarms, text, and other displays — to notify management and other workers of quality or process problems.
“The Andon comes on numerous times a day,” explains Mike Morrison, vice president of the University of Toyota, the company’s in-house managerial training facility. “Let’s say you and I are working on one part of the interior, and you detect a rattle of some kind. I stop the line and everyone in our group comes to see how we can resolve it. It’ll be written up and reported.” Such interruptions are viewed as positive, alert moves to assure quality — not as problems that make everybody wait.
The company has also made feedback from its employees a continuous part of the idea-generation process. For example, Toyota utilizes a framework at meetings called a PDCA (for “plan, do, check, act”) cycle. “It’s just a one-page document for displaying problem statements and developing the final move and the result,” Morrison says, “but it’s a useful guide that ensures you don’t skip any steps in the brainstorming process.”