Page 79 - How To Implement Lean Manufacturing

60 Cha pte r F o u r

Tactics and Skills for Quality Control

People
People, and the proper handling of people—including training, career planning, and
the commitment to a job—are forever are at the heart of the TPS. The culture of Toyota
is built on the people, and the company makes few compromises in this area. Some of
the basic needs to execute the TPS are covered in the following subsections.
Multiskilled Workers Multiskilled workers are required to staff the production facilities,
for two major reasons. First, to achieve process improvements it is often necessary to
reduce or change the elements of the work. This in turn often requires a redistribution
of the work. In addition, work cells are often designed so they can be operated by one,
two, three, four, or five people, for example, depending on changes in demand. If the
workers are not multiskilled, the dynamics of Lean are lost. Multiskilled workers are at
the heart of flexibility in Lean Manufacturing.

Problem Solving by All Problem solving by all has been a hallmark of the TPS since its
inception. Workers are expected to solve simple problems, and the TPS incorporates a
time trigger regarding the escalation of problems and the involvement of others. Here
we have the very revolutionary concept of line shutdowns initiated by the line worker
himself. To really give justice to allowing the operator to shut down the production line
is a book in itself. But just for fun, let’s touch on one of the topics here—that is, how
problems are perceived within the TPS is much different than the typical attitude
toward problems. In a normal Western plant, problems are seen as a nuisance and even
a sign of failure of management, engineering, or even the worker himself. Hence, prob-
lems become a thing to hide and shrink away from. No one wants to accept the resul-
tant blame handed out, and so many problems go unresolved even though they are
obvious to many. This is commonplace, even today, in most facilities where we work.
However, within the TPS, problems are viewed as a weakness in the system and an
opportunity to improve the system and make it more robust. Guilt and finger-pointing
are avoided and problems are addressed and solved.
Now, let’s do a little exercise in imagination. First envision several problems within
your organization. Think of a production problem that has persisted for a while, maybe
one that people feel a little uncomfortable talking about. No one else is around, so be
honest!
Now ask yourself, “What must we do as a company to remove the root cause of this
problem?” Do not be surprised if myriad answers come to mind, few of which are really
doable.
Next, ask yourself, “What must we change in our company so this problem will
never appear again?” and you will get an idea of the deep cultural change needed to
alter the attitude toward problems in your company.

Understanding of Variation An understanding of variation is a topic almost skipped in
Ohno’s book. Yet this topic is the topic of problem solving, process improvement, and
inventory reduction, to name just a few. So why is it missing form Ohno’s writings?
Well, after some thought I’ve concluded that he had both a deep understanding of, and
an ability to manage, variation reduction to such a level that it was simply obvious, it
was second nature, to him. And Ohno—if he has a weakness—sometimes does not state
the obvious. Do not slight this topic. It is at the heart of your company’s survival and