Page 212 - The Toyota Way Fieldbook

188 THE TOYOTA WAY FIELDBOOK

20 Inches across the
sheet!

Dealer Name Dealer Region Dealer Address Dealer Representative Phone Number Fax Number Pre-Programmed Code
111 Short Street
A Plus Cabinets South West Anytown, AK John Smith 888-555-1212 888-555-1213 Fax Machine 3- #49
555 West Main,
Astounding Cabinets East Yourtown, MS George Jones 877-222-2222 877-222-1234 Fax Machine 2- #32

Figure 8-6. Sample dealer list

information necessary to perform this task was available, it was not
laid out in a manner conducive to the specific task. Let’s evaluate the
steps of the task.

1. Look at order and identify dealer
2. Locate the dealer on the list
3. Scan across the page to identify the fax machine and code
(remember this information)
4. Find the fax machine
5. Enter correct code and send fax

Evaluating the method, we discover that errors could occur during each
step. It’s possible to identify the dealer on the order and then incorrectly
identify the dealer on the list. When scanning from the dealer to the
fax code, it’s possible to cross over into another line and identify the
wrong dealer (remember, the sheet was behind the fax machines,
where it was not possible to track across the lines with a finger). Moving
from the sheet to the fax machine, the employee had to remember the
correct fax machine and the code on the machine. It was possible to
get the correct machine and the incorrect code or the correct code on
the wrong machine or forget the information that had been looked up.
Management concluded that employees should be careful when
scanning the list and that remembering the machines and codes
should be easy. When they looked at the system, they concluded that
is was “easy” largely because they only had to do the task one time
error free to prove the point that the system was fine. If they had to
do the process hundreds or thousands of times, and sometimes were
in a hurry, they would discover that they too would make numerous
errors. This is a common failure of thinking by management. It may
be easy to do a task one time without errors. Doing it hundreds of
times without errors is another matter entirely.