Page 51 - How To Implement Lean Manufacturing

32 Cha pte r T w o

manage their culture in such a way that the gains are sustained. Sounds simple, but
simple it is not. (We will touch on the subject of cultures in Chap. 11, but you will find
that Chap. 11 is only a brief introduction to the topic of cultures.)
In simple terms, the TPS is a production system, focusing on quantity, and was built
on a sound foundation of quality control. Lean is also a quantity control system but
nearly always, in the Lean application, the quality control system must also be developed.
Second, the TPS is a manufacturing system that is driven and supported by the Toyota
culture. Other Lean firms, at least in the first several years of implementation, seldom
have the strong, focused, mature culture like Toyota. However, with serious work,
specifically on the culture, these Lean firms can have a manufacturing system that
approaches the TPS in excellence. That is why we can say that although the TPS is Lean,
not all Lean Manufacturing is done to the standards of the TPS.
Do not let that be discouraging. Ohno and Toyoda embarked on the development of
the TPS over 60 years ago and they built on what others had done before them, particu-
larly those in the Toyoda Spinning and Weaving Company. They did not create the
Toyota culture in just a few years. It took decades of hard work, decades of dedication,
and literally decades of trial and error to create the culture they wanted. But the key is
that they figured out what they needed to do, what Ohno calls “out of necessity” and
then not only did it, but managed it with a long-term philosophy of growth and integration.
You can do the same, out of your necessity, but only if you’re willing to make the short-,
medium-, and long-term commitments and sacrifices that Toyoda and Ohno made.

Where Lean Will Not Work… or Not Work Quite so Well

Imitations and Lack of Understanding
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery… This is a natural truth, and it is no more apparent
than in the number of ways in which Lean is trying to be imitated. Everywhere you look
you find Lean this and Lean that. Do an Internet search on Lean and it is amazing what you
will find. There is Lean management, Lean education, and Lean healthcare to name just a
few. Then, some practitioners use Lean as a new lead-in for some double-barreled title to
spiff up or differentiate some already mature field such as Lean Six Sigma and Lean
Software Development to name a few. Lean is “in” and all the salesmen know it!
It is interesting to me that I find many people who just can’t quite see how Lean
principles apply to their business when it is a natural fit for their situation. And yet I
also see some people stretching the principles of Lean so far out of shape as to make
them fit what they would like Lean to be. For example, I was assisting a small group
trying to use Lean principles to guide their improvement efforts in education. They had
spent many hours developing the “7 Wastes of Education.” I asked how they decided
on seven. Their reply was “That’s what the TPS has.” They had spent a tremendous
effort to catalogue the wastes and then force-fit them into seven categories. I found it
interesting to say the least, and nonproductive to say the worst.

Some Questions
However, this brings up some questions that some of us should address:
• What are the limits to Lean?
• Where will it not work so well?