Page 23 - How To Implement Lean Manufacturing

4 Cha pte r O n e

Some Difficult Aspects of Cultural Change
As far as deep cultural changes are concerned (something typical of the TPS), I have
used the example of line shutdowns here as a quality control technique. Many more
exist. Another example of this deep cultural difference is the Toyota practice of not lay-
ing off employees. To support this practice, Toyota has developed specific and mature
business skills designed to not only handle their employees but their business as well.
Compare their system to the system within your company. Are you willing to hire the
way you hire, train the way you train, acquire business the way you acquire business,
and THEN promise your employees that you will never lay them off?
Other activities also require strong cultural development before they can be imple-
mented. These include the ability to properly develop and promote from within, as well
as conduct effective group problem solving, to name but a few. However, the biggest of
all is the ability to mold your company’s culture to not only accept but invite and even
encourage change—as the TPS does.
The TPS is an odd culture indeed. While all cultures seek stability, the TPS seeks out
change—and though it sounds as if it is striving for chaos, the system is anything but
chaotic. The change it desires is driven by a culture of continuous improvement with
proven problem-solving techniques, as well as proven processes that strive to reach
mutually understood goals. Although the Toyota culture is forever changing, it is not
the kind of energy-draining change that occurs in many cultures—specifically those
chaotic cultures that go about changing deadlines and altering their basic production
schedule almost daily, if not hourly, and then still using tools like overtime and freight
expediting to meet shipping targets when nothing out of the ordinary really happened.
It all seems directionless and pointless. Far too frequently, there are no good reasons for
these changes and they suck up both your physical and emotional energy.
Thus, we need to review our paradigms and rethink what chaos really is. However,
back to the need for change.

A Difficult Cultural Change for This Implementation Initiative
Let’s examine for a moment the typical culture and how the implementation of our
new Lean initiative might play out. This typical culture is one in which change is not
embraced but is instead fought at all levels. Our typical culture seeks stability. As soon
as we announce that we have a new “improvement initiative,” we will face a series of
questions from the workforce. Two questions will be raised by the majority of cultures,
as they always are, because they have seen “these initiatives” before. The two ques-
tions are:

1. How do I know this is not just another “program of the month (POM)”?
2. Does this mean my job is in jeopardy? (From those workers fearing “improvement”
means “efficiency improvement.”)
Why do employees think these two things? Well, because that’s what has happened
in the past. If that is the history, there is no dodging this issue. It must be dealt with
squarely and up-front.
So our Lean implementation coordinator (LIC) tries to allay their fears, telling them
that Lean is a much broader initiative and that it’s the real deal. It is not just another
POM. He explains in painstaking detail how a Lean system works, with its emphasis on
pull systems, operating at takt by producing just what the customer needs, reducing