Page 233 - The Toyota Way Fieldbook

Chapter 9. Make Technology Fit 209

Philosophy
Increase information &
analysis

Performance measures Principle
Business process Use IT for top-down
performance, labor planning and control
productivity
Strategy
Replace human
judgment with IT

Tools Method
Process modeling; Automate business
Outsourced IT processes

Reason
More, better, faster
information; better and
faster decisions

Results
Controls Effect System failures,
Computer monitoring Narrow focus on IT unthinking people,
of workers + process business processes increased waste, higher
total system cost

Figure 9-3. Traditional IT system design

for doing work conform to the business processes implied by the IT. The sup-
posed “business processes” improved by IT are mostly aimed at getting the right
data into the IT system (e.g., scanning in inventory every time it is moved).
The result is often a narrow focus on improving the IT business processes
without closely examining the actual work process. The people become
dependent on the system, which is vulnerable to failures. The people stop think-
ing and start following the dictates of the system. This results in less kaizen and
more waste.
The Toyota Way related a story of supply chain visibility software. The soft-
ware was designed to make inventory visible. When the supply chain group led