Some have said that it’s “interesting how Japan has had such an influence on the world as an island nation, as island cultures traditionally have problems that mainland cultures do not.” (OLEAD410, 2019) There is no greater example of the reach that Japanese industry has had on Global corporations more than with the development and implementation of the “Lean Plus” concept of manufacturing. “Lean Plus” (or Lean+ as it’s sometimes seen) is the more colloquially known term for the Toyota Production System. “The Toyota Production System (TPS) is an integrated socio-technical system developed by Toyota (automotive manufacturer) to efficiently organize manufacturing and logistics, including the interaction with suppliers and customers, to minimize cost and waste.” (BPI, n.d.)

TPS, or Lean+ was originally developed to reduce waste and allow for continuous improvement by only utilizing the correct amount of something needed, in the time it’s needed. This exemplifies the thinking that island cultures needing to rice paddy farm and fish for survival “…create levels of work ethic and creativity that are typically higher than mainland cultures; (OLEAD410, 2019) ” because it’s tiring to expel more energy than needed to complete a task, and the more efficient you are the higher the yield. This is seen in “modern Japan where these ways of life are no longer the only mainstays of the economy, as the work ethic and creativity are extremely useful in developing modern technologies, such as computing, and industrial machines, such as cellphones, software, desalination plants, and nuclear power.” (OLEAD410, 2019)

Lean+ has been extremely useful when utilized in American manufacturing, where having one or two spares was always seen as a necessity, and waste was overhead that was absorbed. One of the organizations to see the biggest gain from the TPS has been The Boeing Company. It was reported that upon Boeing saw immediate benefits of “overhaul[ing] its jetliner production system using lean-manufacturing principals, such as a moving assembly line and just-in-time inventory. The payoff has been factory efficiency gains that have allowed Boeing to better compete against Airbus in selling jets. Boeing won a record 1,029 orders in 2005 and probably beat Airbus for the first time since 2000.” (Wallace, 2006)

American companies aren’t the only ones utilizing Lean+; benefits have been seen with European automaker BMW. Josh Cable a contributor for Industry Week notes that BMW’s South Carolina plant where the X3 and X5 SUVs are made has a footprint of “4.4 million square feet of space” and that” there isn’t enough room to warehouse parts, and the plant doesn’t manufacture any parts” going on to say that “in most cases, the plant [only] has enough parts on hand to operate for two to four hours. If one of the plant’s more than 250 suppliers is late delivering a part, the supplier can be fined as much as $2,000 per minute.” (2011)

The Toyota production system has remained a powerful tool for several different types of industries in manufacturing; industries where waste is monitored in a cost is associated with physical materials, but it’s implementation is far reaching, often times being paired with Six Sigma (A tool that performs statistical analysis for continuous process improvement anywhere repetitive processes are being performed) across several organizations. Given Japan’s rich history and spirit of “Kaizen” (continual improvement), it’s not surprising that they were the innovators of such a revolutionary way of process improvement, but it is amazing to see the reach it’s had Globally to improve the products we use daily.

 

 

References:

BPI. (n.d.). Toyota Production System. Retrieved November 24, 2019, from http://www.leansixsigmadefinition.com/glossary/toyota-production-system/.

Toyota Motor. (n.d.). Toyota Production System: Vision & Philosophy: Company. Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://global.toyota/en/company/vision-and-philosophy/production-system/.

Wallace, J. (2006, January 10). Aerospace Notebook: Putting ‘lean’ processes into all of Boeing. Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Aerospace-Notebook-Putting-lean-processes-into-1192351.php.

Cable, J. (2011, November 22). Flexibility Fuels BMW’s Unique Manufacturing Model. Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://www.industryweek.com/global-economy/flexibility-fuels-bmws-unique-manufacturing-model.

The topic I chose to address this week is from unit 6: synergy. This unit really stuck out with me as I have the benefit to work in manufacturing. Teams are encouraged and are vital to the delivery of the completed product. The hierarchy of the organization goes as follows: individual operators (mechanics, machinists, etc.), then shift teams, to production cells, then to business units, and from there enterprise groups, to the organization as a whole. Each division allows for team members to play an integral role in the process, while working as a tight knit team to ensure that the final product is made with first pass quality and timely delivery.

The text goes into more specific detail on the role of teams and team work when they state that a “team [is] number of persons associated in some joint action, while teamwork is described as a cooperative or coordinated effort by persons working together.” (Moran et. al., 2014) This is illustrated in the graphic below; fish within the school is considered the team swimming in a common direction towards a shared destination; it’s not until the team works towards a common goal (in this case, the shark) that teamwork is seen when the fish find strength in their numbers to face challenges.

 

The lesson goes into further detail on synergy when they discuss that often times the largest hurdle to overcome when trying to establish synergy is new members. Stating that “when we work with someone new we get frustrated, not because that person doesn’t know the job, but because that person isn’t a true member of the team yet, and as such misses out on implied cues.” (OLEAD 410, 2019) In my organization this is referred to as “tribal knowledge”, it’s the knowledge on techniques or processes that aren’t written in books but that everyone knows, or is expected to know. This process can be made difficult for many of the workers in manufacturing when language barriers present themselves. In this situation patience, repetition, and remaining calm are paramount to ensuring that expectations are made clear, and that sensitivity to one’s culture and communication level are respected; this is important to remember because “membership in a group partly deprives the individual of the freedom he or she craves but has to sacrifice in order to be predictable in the group.”(This Solution, 2017)

Lastly the lesson expands on this by noting that hurdles can also be overcome by acknowledging what type of culture an individual is coming from. It’d be unrealistic to expect someone culturally diverse from you to hop into a team atmosphere if they are coming from an individualistic culture where “they allow members of society to pursue individual goals somewhat at the expense of the group by allowing aggressive and competitive behaviors (Moran et al., 2014)”. The reverse can be said when the expectation is for someone to function autonomously when coming from a collectivist culture where the workload is shared and completed together.

Teams are the framework for any successful organization because it allows major projects to be handled in more manageable pieces. This is provided the team functions beyond that of a group level, and teamwork is distributed evenly and to the strengths of the team members. Adversity can also be handled easier when team mates are patient with new members and give a reasonable amount of accommodation as the new member learns existing “tribal knowledge”. Doing these things allow everyone in the organization to feel like a contributor and respected.

 

Sources:

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., Moran, S. V., & Harris, P. R. (2014). Managing cultural differences (9th). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

Admin, Blog. “How to Make Teamwork WORK in Your Business.” This Solution, This Solution, 18 Apr. 2017, https://thissolution.com/how-to-make-teamwork-work/.

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2019). OLEAD 410 Lesson 6: Cultural Synergy. Retrieved October 13, 2019 from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2008449/modules/items/27026976